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Restoring the environment | A work in progress

17 Jan 2021

By Sarah Hannan  Last year, Sri Lanka witnessed a record number of incidents of deforestation, illegal logging, illegal sand mining, and an increase in water pollution being reported in the media. By now, several committees and task forces have been appointed to assist the Government in finding the causes and suggesting recommendations to avert further destruction.  Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera returned to The Sunday Morning Hot Seat to respond to some questions that we had on ongoing activities to protect the environment and where the Government stands on delivering the promised actions.   Following are excerpts of the interview:   What is the progress on amending the Environment Act that was promised to be tabled in Parliament this month?  The amended Environment Act is now at the Attorney General's Department and is being finalised. We will be able to enforce the Act as soon as we have the final document at hand.   Is there any update on the investigations that were launched regarding the deforestation in Rambaken Oya area?   We investigated as to whether any of the land belonging to the Forest Department was affected by the illegal logging that was reported. A team was appointed by the President’s office to conduct further investigations in this regard, as the land in question that was subjected to deforestation falls under the purview of the Mahaweli Authority.   What are your observations over the allegations on 700 acres of Muthurajawela being grabbed for a tourism project?   Investigations and inquiries over this are ongoing. We found that the entity in question has encroached into the reserve land that is under the Forest Department. Therefore, we will continue with our investigations and bar any such development work taking place in the Muthurajawela marshland.   Recently, the Archbishop of Colombo His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith also raised concerns over the issue and we have communicated to him that we are looking into the matter, and will take all necessary actions against the entity that is at present not budging from the encroached area.  What action would be taken against the state officials that have allegedly aided land grabbers to destroy the marshland, and against the polluters and squatters?   We have given orders to the law enforcement authorities and the local government authorities to issue eviction notices to the factories that were in question, yet there is a challenge in removing these groups, as they are working with racketeers that have hindered the process. We have now requested the assistance of the Sri Lanka Air Force to provide surveillance footage to identify these encroaching entities, so that we have documented evidence of such incidents.   Corruption has taken root over the years in these administrative regions, and we are gradually removing it, but it will be a long process, in which we have taken the first steps to uproot the persons involved, and legal action will ensue in due course.  When will the Muthurajawela marshland be gazetted as a protected area?   I cannot tell you an exact date regarding this matter, as we have several issues that need to be addressed before we name it a protected area, such as to survey the area, rid the marshland from squatters, and ensure any further attempts on land grabbing are entirely thwarted.  The Secretary to the Ministry of Environment said that the recommendations presented in the Kelani River pollution report require relocating families. When will this process commence?   We have identified the requirements and are looking at obtaining suitable land to relocate these families. The initial work has commenced, and that is listing the families that are required to be relocated.   This is not only taking place for Kelani River but several other rivers that are now looked at under the “Pavithra Ganga” programme, which we initiated to protect the rivers and waterways of the country. It is yet again a Herculean task that we have embarked on and will take a considerable amount of time to complete.   What action will be taken for the river polluting factories located on the embankments of the Kelani River?   Some factories were not in operation by the time we completed the report. Therefore, we advised that they were properly closed down and no waste was to be directed to the river. For other factories, we have asked them to install waste water treatment plants, and will be closely monitoring them, with periodical reviews to ensure that they are following the necessary guidelines that have been issued by the Central Environment Authority to ensure that no pollutants are released to the river hereafter.  Bans on single-use plastics and sachets seem to have been delayed. Did the companies attempt to bribe the Ministry? Will this leniency continue where they pay the green tax/ fines imposed and continue releasing products to the market?   The companies requested that they be given a grace period, as they are switching to recommended packaging types. Many have already halted the production of single-use plastics and sachets.   At no point will we be bought over by such companies, and once the ban comes into effect, no one will be given the opportunity to pay a fine and continue to introduce single use plastics and sachets to the market. We are firm on our decision, and this time, we will not give in to any requests to allow the continuity of such products.  Will there be a product batch recall that would take place, or would you allow the products in the market to be sold and then impose the ban once the stocks are exhausted for single-use plastics and sachets that are in the market?   We are not planning to recall any of the batches of single-use plastics or sachets that are circulating in the market. These products have already been released as consignments to retailers, and we cannot let them run at a loss or bear the costs due to a government decision.   The products will be in circulation until the stocks are exhausted. However, we will keep a close watch on whether any products are introduced to the market after the ban comes to effect and strict action will be taken against such companies.   Have the demarcation of national parks, forest reserve land, and Department of Wildlife Conservation land been completed? What has been the progress of fencing these areas?   We are continuing with the demarcation process and some areas have been fenced off completely. We are also conducting fresh surveys on all the national parks, forest reserve land, and Department of Wildlife Conservation land as well, to ensure that a clear demarcation takes place.  Environmentalists say that the illegal sand mining that is taking place does not seem to slow down. What action will the Ministry take in this regard? What are the challenges the Ministry faces regarding this matter?   The challenge we have is at the level of executing the directives that we give to the law enforcement. We are conducting inquiries when needed over such officials that are found to be hindering the process. Regardless of their position of power, we will take action against these companies.   We have also asked the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau to inquire about companies that have obtained permits recently and have not been in operation, and take necessary action to revoke their permits if they are not actively involved in permitted sand mining businesses, so that they would not misuse it.   Mineral sand exploration and mining is strongly criticised by environmentalists. Have companies obtained EIA reports by now to continue mining mineral sands in the North?   All companies that are involved in these projects have to obtain the necessary assessment reports. Once the mineral sands are extracted, no company will be allowed to export any of the unprocessed sand. We will only allow them to take the material out of the country after a value addition has been made.   Their activities will be closely monitored, and the sites too will be subjected to audits to ensure that there is no adverse impact to the environment and that no unregulated activities take place. 


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