Archive for the ‘Climate Change & Sri Lanka’ Category
Missed opportunities and betrayals at Copenhagen
| The much-awaited Copenhagen Climate Summit that aimed to “seal a climate deal” ended last week with UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon calling it “only an essential first step”. Here, Sri Lanka’s chief climate negotiator Dr. W. L. Sumathipala and co-laureate of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Prof. Mohan Munasinghe (vice chairman, IPCC) share their views on the much-talked-of summit with Malaka Rodrigo. ————————————————————————————— |
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The outcome of the Copenhagen Climate Summit is weak, says Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The delay in cutting down emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide will increase the earth’s temperature and bring intense catastrophic repercussions especially to developing countries like Sri Lanka, he says.”It was expected that world leaders would reach agreement at Copenhagen to meet the projected emission cut targets. But the Copenhagen Accord is merely a political document without any legal force to ensure clear emission cuts. So I see the summit as a missed opportunity,” a disappointed Prof. Munasinghe said.
Representatives of 193 countries went through two weeks of deliberations, working till last Saturday and burning the midnight oil on Friday in their bid to seal a meaningful climate deal. Dr. W. L. Sumathipala, who led the Sri Lankan team at the talks, says the negotiations were indeed rigorous despite many international political twists at the summit. “Ultimately the Copenhagen Accord, prepared by a handful of leading countries, was presented. But the accord only received the recognition of the assembly of 193 nations, not their approval. So the talks on emission cuts have been extended to 2010,” says Dr. Sumathipala who heads the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment. The biggest disappointment for Sri Lanka at the talks was the lack of commitment by rich nations to the Climate Adaptation Fund. This fund was proposed as a mechanism to support developing countries to face the adverse effects of climate change such as the sea level rise, extreme weather patterns, intense droughts and outbreak of diseases. To meet these climate change challenges, experts say the fund should disburse at least US$ 200 billion a year to developing countries. Sri Lanka proposed that the rich countries should pay 1% of their GDP towards this fund because it believes that the industrialized countries which had emitted tons of carbon dioxide on their path to development were largely responsible for global warming. “According to the polluter-pays principle, industrialized nations are bound to pay compensation. It is indeed a climate justice action,” argues Dr. Sumathipala. But what is offered for the Climate Adaptation Fund in Copenhagen for the short term period of 2010- 2013 is only US$ 10 billion. The rich countries agreed to increase the contribution to US$ 100 billion a year by 2020, but this offer came only as a late reply. “Together with other developing countries, we had raised Sri Lanka’s concern at the conference to get enough funding for an effective Climate Adaptation Fund. But the final outcome has fallen short of our expectations,” laments Dr. Sumathipala. However, the biggest disagreement at the summit was over the emission cuts. The IPCC suggested an emission cut of 40% by 2020 to keep the earth’s temperature rise at a manageable 2oC. But on this score, too, the summit failed to deliver.
The maximum emission cut the European Union agreed was 20% of the baseline 1990 emission level. The United States, the biggest emitter, also pledged to make emission cuts, but it had taken the baseline of 2005 emission level. When compared to the United State’s 1990 emission levels, it will be only about 5% of emission cut that is pretty low. “We are heading for a situation, where earth’s temperature would rise by 3.5oC to 4oC and this could be very dangerous,” warns Prof. Munasinghe. Dr. Sumathipala says countries have been given time till January 31, 2010 to submit their pledges for curbing carbon emissions by 2020 and even emerging economies like China and India will be expected to be bound by their pledges. But what is the position with regard to Sri Lanka?”Sri Lanka’s emission levels are so low that experts do not think there will be any mandatory cuts that will be imposed on the country. When coal power plants begin operations, there will be a slight increase in Sri Lanka’s Carbon Footprint — the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a country, but we will still remain a low emitter,” assures Prof. Munasinghe. Another negative trend that emerged at Copenhagen is the grouping of the industrialized nations together with emerging economies. Despite the rigorous time-consuming negotiations, 24 influential countries including industrialized countries such as the United States and EU nations joined hands with emerging economies such as India and China to draft the Copenhagen Accord which was presented to the summit on the last day. According to the Sri Lankan experts, this new grouping could undermine the voice of developing countries like Sri Lanka in future negotiations. “It turned out to be a non-democratic process and climate justice issues, including the equal emission rights for every human and accepting liability for damages caused by past emissions, were not recognized,” Prof. Munasinghe says. But there are pluses too according to the professor. “The Copenhagen Accord which is a weak document was kept open by the assembly, offering time until January 31 for countries to come up with aggressive mitigating targets. The other positive outcome is that all the countries accepted that climate change is happening beyond doubt and recognized the two degree danger limit for temperature rise. Prof. Munasinghe also highlighted that Sri Lanka should be ready to take advantage of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) process where a country would earn foreign exchange. According to the CDM process, established under the previous agreement signed in Kyoto, countries could trade off their emissions by purchasing carbon credits (projects that cut carbon dioxide emissions). Sri Lanka established the National Carbon Fund in 2008 to gain these benefits, but we were late. So it is important to keep an eye on opportunities arising through the new rounds of climate negotiations early and act quickly. The final lesson of Copenhagen Summit is that we cannot rely only on government leaders. Civil society and the business community can work in partnership to address the problem of climate change and push governments to take the right action. “Without trying to address climate change by itself, we should try to make our overall development path more sustainable using the sustainomics framework which I first proposed at the Rio summit in 1992. Only then can we simultaneously tackle the issue of climate change and sustainable development,” says Prof. Munasinghe. |
Road to Copenhagen to seal the deal
What will Sri Lanka’s official stance be at the Copenhagen Climate summit that will begin on December 7? Malaka Rodrigo reports Climate change is simply the greatest collective challenge we face as a human family,” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said recently emphasizing the importance of the forthcoming Copenhagen climate change summit. The world is talking about Copenhagen and an important climate deal, but what really can we expect from it?
In 1997 world leaders gathered in Kyoto, Japan and signed the first climate deal to reduce emissions. Thirty-nine developed countries identified as Annexure I countries were given mandatory limits to which they should reduce their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. But key industrial countries, the USA, Canada and Australia among them, who jointly emit nearly 36% of the world’s Green House Gases did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, casting doubts on its effectiveness.
The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. Agreeing on a viable mechanism to control emission of Green House Gases for the period after 2012 is on the agenda of the Copenhagen summit. “We need to understand that what is going to be discussed in Copenhagen is mainly political and economical. Scientists’ debate on climate change is much over with IPCC’s 4th assessment report pointing out that climate change is truly happening,” says Prof. Mohan Munasinghe, Vice Chairman of the UN’s climate change agency- the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace prize for its efforts in promoting understanding of the climate change phenomena.
Sri Lanka’s delegate Dr.Sumathipala
Setting up emission cuts for each country is the ultimate aim of the Copenhagen gathering. But there is already a rift between developed countries and emerging economies such as India and China.
The Kyoto Protocol did not set any mandatory emission cuts for these developing countries in 1997, but the developed countries now want all countries to share the burden. However, cutting down emission means that either developing countries need to reduce their energy-consuming manufacturing or start using clean but expensive energy. The lobby led by India and China sees this as a denial of their right to develop, considering developed countries reached that status after emitting billions of tons of GHG in the past which is still accumulated in the atmosphere contributing to global warming. This has caused a deadlock in climate talks in recent months.
The Copenhagen summit begins on December 7 and will go on until the 18th. The first week will be dedicated to discussions between negotiators from each country who are yet to arrive at an agreement. What will be Sri Lanka’s official position in this important round of talks?“We will participate in the Copenhagen climate talks as an independent nation,” says Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Patali Champika Ranawaka, whose ministry will represent Sri Lanka at the negotiations. However, Sri Lanka’s stance would be mostly in line with the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Group that comprises a distinct group of developing low-lying coastal countries. These countries are vulnerable to climate change, even though their contribution to global green house gas emissions is minimal. Sri Lanka has a 1700 km sea front and taken together with the islands in the north, this increases to 2400 km. So the predicted sea level rise would affect Sri Lanka too. Sri Lanka’s suggestions that will be tabled at Copenhagen cover many aspects.
The country wants to make the Adaptation Fund created under the Kyoto Protocol more active with adequate financial commitments from developed nations. Sri Lanka believes adequate, predictable and sustained level of financial resources on a grant basis and technology transfer for adaptation and mitigation is essential for developing countries to survive climate catastrophes and their effects. For example it is expected that Sri Lanka’s dry zone where most of the paddy cultivation is done will be worst hit by climate change as the region will get drier. Extreme weather events too will disturb farming, making climate change a socio-economic crisis coupled with poverty. Finding new hybrids of paddy that will survive changing climate may require technological support from other countries. Dr. Sumathipala The Lankan delegates will table the suggestion for technological and financial support for enhancing the capacities to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change at Copenhagen. Sri Lanka will also suggest that the 37 developed countries identified by the Kyoto Protocol should contribute 1% of their GDP to the Climate Change Adaptation Fund.
Addressing the International Forum of Environmental Journalists held in Colombo a few weeks ago, the Environment Minister revealed Sri Lanka’s position on Green House Gas Emission targets emphasizing that developed countries would have to target 49% cuts by 2020 and at least 85% cuts by 2050.
A few weeks ago, Sri Lanka also became a partner to the UN initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD) Programme. Sri Lanka is only the 14th country to be enlisted in REDD and our delegates will keep their eye on getting the relevant benefits during the Copenhagen summit.
“The climate talks are complex and tedious. There were several rounds of talks previously but many ended up with differences,”said Dr. W.L. Sumathipala, the key Sri Lankan representative at these climate talks adding that the first few days would be crucial to get out of the deadlock at the negotiating tables.
Dr. Sumathipala is also Director of Climate Change Secretariat established last year aiming at providing a platform to address climate change issues at the national level. The secretariat is currently preparing the Second Climate Assessment Report for Sri Lanka which is an obligation for countries that are signatories to the Kyoto Protocol. Once published, this report will provide an overview of effects of the impact of climate change in Sri Lanka.
Published on 29.11.2009 on the SundayTimes
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/091129/Plus/plus_10.html
Fighting environmental injustice at Copenhagen
by Sajitha PREMATUNGE | http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/11/29/imp01.asp
 Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka |
When global warming was first detected in the 1980s, scientists came up with many theories ranging from natural fluctuations in temperature to sun spots.
But by the end of the decade with such scientific publication as “Our Common Future”, it became clear that the major contributing factor to global warming was burning of fossil fuel.
The maximum permissible increase in temperature under prevailing conditions is 2 C. And at the current intensity of global warming this is likely to expire in 2030. This doesn’t leave much margin for error. And exceeding this limit could result in catastrophic climatic repercussions that are the stuff of movies like, ‘Day after Tomorrow’.
According to UNDP Carbon budget, the maximum permissible amount of Carbon emission per person is 2170 kg. An average person emits only 600 kg, whereas a US citizen on average emits 24,000 kg of Carbon. Technically Sri Lanka should be able to further emit Carbon, but we have no choice but to limit emission levels because so-called developed countries have already burnt out our share of Carbon.
This form of environmental injustice has persisted in spite the many Conventions held over the decades. The targets introduced by the Kyoto Protocol in order to reduce global warming by cutting down emission levels of GHG (Green House Gases) “for US (7% reduction from 1990 level of emission), Europe (6% reduction from 1990 level of emission) and Japan (8% reduction from 1990 level of emission) were never met during the voluntary period between 1997 and 2007.
“US and Canada has still not agreed to cut its emission levels by 40% from that of the 1990 emission level, the now required percentage to prevent a major climatic catastrophe,” pointed out Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources. Kyoto Protocol has been rendered inactive, with no plans as to what should happen after the compulsory period of emission reduction from 2008 to 2010.
History has rarely acted in the favour of developing nations, especially regarding environmental issues. But Sri Lankan authorities and environmentalists alike hope for the best at the Copenhagen Summit to be held from December 8 to 18. The concept paper presented by Sri Lanka deals with issues that have been blatantly disregarded by developing nations of annex 1 countries of the Convention, such as emission reduction targets, funding for the adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change, technology transfer, capacity building, etc.
Sri Lanka’s proposal for emission reduction targets for Annex 1 countries has been formulated taking their ‘historical responsibility’ into consideration. According to the proposal realistic changes in emission patterns are urgently required to prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. Moreover, funds under the Kyoto Protocol have been insufficient in order for developing nations to cope with the adverse effects of climate change. Therefore, the proposal suggests an Adaptation Fund, to be sustained by a contribution of at least 1% of the GDP by developing nations.
 Dr. W. L. Sumathipala, Director National Ozone Unit |
The 16 $ million left in the Adaptation Fund is not merely enough for developed nations to cope with the needs of 2.5 billion people who are affected by climate change phenomena and 160 $ billion worth of annual damage, the Minister stressed.
According to the Bali Action Plan all developed nations, although not parties to the Kyoto Protocol, have to take emission reduction commitments. The proposal suggests that all developing nations contribute to global efforts by significantly reducing their emission levels. It also proposes that developing nations adopt Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions, which depend on sufficient financial provisions, technology and capacity building support by developing nations.
Speaking of technology, the proposal also focuses on technology transfer between Annex 1 and Annex 3 countries in terms of mitigation and adaptation techniques to climate change. But a major problem encountered in encouraging technology transfer is the problem of intellectual property rights, as stated by the Minister. Moreover, we fall into a technology trap if we attempt to integrate foreign technology in its raw state. He emphasized the need to localize technology before integrating it into the Sri Lankan setting. The proposal also recommends that capacity building support be made available to developing nations in terms of mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
The proposal also dwells on REDD-Plus activities, country driven and voluntary, where developing nations could obtain funds to reduce emission. Sri Lanka has also presented a concept paper to become an observer of Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Obtaining funds have proven difficult in the past since we are in an isolated position the Minister said. Most countries who are parties to global conventions meet in groups to resolve their respective regional issues. The G77 and China the only regional group that Sri Lanka belongs to have different priorities as a larger group. During the SAARC Environmental Ministers Conference in Deli, it was proposed that SAARC countries should be considered as one unit. The Minister said we, as one unit, hope to formulate a comprehensive Climate Change Plan. A SAARC regional research centre has already been proposed.
Dr. W. L. Sumathipala, Director National Ozone Unit, who has played a major role in obtaining the Montreal Protocol Implementers Award and securing the Presidency of the Montreal Protocol later, the Bureau of Vienna Convention itself for Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, is playing a major role taking this proposal the Convention.
“No tendency has been shown by Annex 1 countries so far to reduce emission below necessary levels,” said Dr. Sumathipala. Annex 1 countries still stand by their decision that all countries should reduce their emission levels alike. This is environmental injustice. There is a lot of political tug-of-war involved. He pointed out that there is a huge gap between Annex 1 and Annex 3 countries in terms of technology and funds.
In order to deal with technology-related issues Sri Lanka has already taken the initiative by establishing a Climate Change Research Centre and is currently collaborating with India to obtain meteorological data. The National Carbon Trading Fund has turned to be a national attempt to overcome the problem of funding.
* History has rarely acted in favour of developing nations, especially regarding environmental issues. But both Sri Lankan authorities and environmentalists alike hope for the best at the Climate Change Conference – Copenhagen 2009, to be held from December 8 to 18.
* “No tendency has been shown by Annex 1 countries so far to reduce emission below the necessary levels. This is environmental injustice. There is a lot of political tug-of-war involved” – Dr. W. L. Sumathipala.
Sri Lanka joins battle against global warming
Minister says emphasis will be on renewable sources of energy
By Shalika Ranaweera
The government has decided to invest only in renewable energy sources in the future once the Norochcholai and Sampur coal power plants are completed, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday.
“Sri Lanka is having plenty of untapped renewable energy sources that could be harnessed effectively in the future. Mr. Ranawaka told a news conference he had focused his attention on the negative effects of global warming and came up with Sri Lanka’s proposals, which would be presented at the Copenhegan Convention (COP) to be held next month. “After the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012 there will be no legal commitment towards environment protection and as such the upcoming Convention is important event where we expect to submit our proposals for a better and safer environment.
“Sri Lanka will propose that Annex 1 countries (Developed Countries in Kyoto) should reduce their domestic green house gas emission by at least 49 per cent below the 1990 levels and should contribute at least one per cent of their GDP to the adaptation fund which would in turn help developing countries counter the adverse effects of climate change.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=68933
Future of Southern Sri Lanka and climate change
Dr. Champa NAVARATNE University of Ruhuna
The impacts of climate change in the forms of higher temperatures, more varying precipitation, and more extreme weather events threaten millions of people living in Southern Sri Lanka. The southern region is highly vulnerable to droughts and floods that not only devastate lives and livelihoods, but also undermine the progress on economic growth and poverty alleviation. According to previous records, droughts which occurred in year 2001, especially in the Sooriyagoda area; along with the floods and land slides that occurred in 2003 at Morowak Korale can be regarded as major threats of climatic changes faced by the people in southern region.
The risks associated with water-related climate variability are likely to intensify and worsen. Over the coming decades, global climate change will have an impact on water security in significant and highly uncertain ways especially for developing countries. This is largely because poverty levels are high, and capacity of a developing-country to adapt to global change is weak.
When considering the southern region, there are five main river basin ecosystems namely the Nilwala, Kirindi oya, Walawe, Malala oya and the Kirama oya. Those are the highly affected river basin eco systems in both flood and drought conditions. Moreover the impact of climate change on water, translates into a direct impact on food, livelihoods and ecosystems.
….contd.
Please visit the link to read complete articl http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/10/31/fea01.asp
IT ‘vital’ in climate change fight: Ban
03.10.2009 | AFP
GENEVA — Information and communication technologies are “vital” in tackling climate change, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Monday, urging the industry to think up fresh ideas to harness technology and usher in a green economy.
Opening one of the industry’s biggest fairs, ITU Telecom World, Ban said: “ICTs are … very vital to confronting the problems we face as a planet: the threat of climate change.”
He highlighted an example in which the United Nations has teamed up with mobile phone companies and other partners to transmit weather news to African farmers through text messages to their mobile phones.
Ban called on the industry to come up with more of such innovations.
“I am sure you in this room can think of even more creative ways to use ICTs to usher in a new green economy. I hope you share your ideas and make them a reality,” he told government officials and the industry’s executives gathered at the fair.
Ban also asked developing countries to “strive … to be pioneers and innovators.”
“Governments and industries that embrace a strategy of green growth will be environmental champions and economic leaders in the twenty-first century,” he added.
According to the UN’s International Telecommunication Union, some 450 exhibitors and 40,000 participants are expected to attend the five-day trade show.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jzdZyhhGjoMEkg3mGaY9oJ7OZruw
Bad weather report
Climate upheavals are putting the health of the country and the population at risk. Nadia Fazlulhaq talks to a leading weather expert
Disrupted weather patterns and irregular weather behaviour can have an adverse impact on the country and the population, with potentially disastrous consequences, says a senior official at the Meteorology Department.
K. H. M. S. Premalal,
Met Department
deputy director,
climate change division
In recent years an ebb-and-flow phenomenon has been observed in the weather, and this is affecting the country’s rainfall and temperature patterns, according to K. H. M. S. Premalal, deputy director, climate change division, Met. Department.
“There has been an increase in temperature and humidity,” Mr. Premalal says. “We see extreme weather events such as sudden heavy showers, which cause landslides and floods. “There is high humidity during the day, and the nights are warm. Over the past few years we have observed a gradual rise in the heat index, with an increase in air temperature. Even traditionally cool areas like Nuwara Eliya are experiencing warmer weather.”
Dramatic changes in the weather can also trigger health problems, Mr. Premalal says. For example, high humidity can result in heat cramps, heat stroke, skin rashes, asthma, and even premature births, low birth weight in newborns, respiratory infection, cardiovascular disease and lung cancer.
Studies show that intense heat can trigger respiratory disease and cause short-term lung problems, as well as a help to spread vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue, Mr. Premalal said.
“High temperatures can precipitate sudden death in persons suffering from heart problems,” he said.
“In addition, more people in developing countries are suffering from diarrhoeal disease and malnutrition. Between 90 million and 200 million more people will be at risk from malaria and other vector-borne diseases, and around 2.5 billion more people will likely be exposed to dengue,” he said.
Health aside, water sources and agriculture are also affected by abnormal weather behaviour.
“We have noted a 5.9 per cent drop in rice yields,” Mr. Premalal says. “During the 2007 Maha season, there was a drop in paddy yield because of high rainfall variability in the second inter-monsoon period and the northeast monsoon. In 2008 it rained for 30 days during the harvest period and crops were ruined. And this year we didn’t get the expected rainfall,” he said. “Remember that rice farming is the livelihood of more than 1.8 million farmers in the country.
Meanwhile, rising sea levels are causing saltwater intrusion and increasing salinity in the soil and putting agricultural land at risk. “The UN has given us paddy strains that can tolerate drought conditions. We have distributed these special rice varieties to farmers in Puttalam. We should be thinking of similar approaches to carrying out other types of cultivation,” he said.
According to the typical annual weather pattern, the country experiences its first inter-monsoon period between March and April; the southwest monsoon between May and September, the second inter-monsoon between October and November, and the northeast monsoon between December and February. However, the monsoon pattern has shown fluctuations.
“August is usually a breezy month, with people typically flying kites at this time of the year and enjoying the outdoors. This year August was a month of heavy scattered rains.” Mr. Premalal said sudden heavy showers were causing floods and landslides.
“Almost 30 per cent of the land area in Sri Lanka is endangered. Heavy rainfall is the main triggering mechanism for landslides. Ten districts out of 25 are vulnerable to landslides,” he said.
Sea level rise will affect Lanka’s marine ecosystem
Sri Lanka’s marine ecosystem will be affected due to sea level rise around its coastal zone due to melting of the Himalayas. Therefore, the problem related to Himalaya is a regional phenomenon, Environment Minister Patali Champika Ranawake said.
The Minister was expressing his views during bi-lateral discussions with Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal at the Prime Minister’s Office on September 1 during a Regional Climate Change Conference in Katmandu. The theme was ‘A vision for Addressing Climate Change Risks and Vulnerabilities in the Himalayas – From Katmandu to Copenhagen.’ Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Nepal Thosapala Hewage and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Nepal joined in the discussion.
The Nepali Prime Minister said serious negative impacts have been occurred on the Nepalese nation due to global warming and melting of the glaciers of the Himalayas which has already started.
There is a problem of the glacier lake outburst due to melting of these glaciers that has been in existence over millions of years, he said. There is also another threat of serious floods arising due to over flowing of the mighty rivers of Indu, Ganga, Sianyan, Muntushun and Brahmaputra etc., which originate from Himalayas, he said.
Scientists have warned that there is a high risk of transforming the Katmandu city which has the highest population density, in to a glacier lake as the city has been located in a plateau valley surrounded by a ring of mountains.
South Asian Himalayas are the source of the mighty rivers of the region that supply the world’s most populated flood plains. The Nepal Prime Minister said civilization of Nepal which existed over 10,000 years will be swept out due to drying up of all rivers once the glaciers, the main source of rivers in the country are melted.
Minister Ranawake explained that Sri Lanka is approaching a new era after defeating terrorism that lasted over 30 years. The Minister also explained steps taken by the Sri Lankan Government, under the direction the President, to speed up the process of sustainable development of the country. A 10-year program titled Haritha Lanka has been planned spanning from 2010-2020 to secure sustainable development in the country without depending on an oil based economy, the Minister said. Minister Ranawake conveyed President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s wishes to the Nepalian Prime Minister and extended an invitation to the Prime Minister on behalf of the President to visit Sri Lanka. The Minister also had bi-lateral discussions with Nepalian Environment Minister Ganesh Sharma and Ministry Secretary.
SriLankan Youth combating climate change
by Malaka Rodrigo | SundayTimes | 09.08.09
Young people must be the centre of activities to combat climate change because their generation will have to face a worse fate in future. That is why British Council initiated their International Climate Champions Programme engaging young people around the world as communicators who can influence their peers and the general public on the urgency of climate change. And the 2009 International Climate Champions (ICC) for Sri Lanka, vows to fight against the climate change in their own capacity.
British Council helps this enthusiastic group of young people to develop and implement projects within their local communities. The Sri Lankan champions for 2009 – selected from a group of talented youth have already got the chance to participate in a few international workshops. “The chances we got to network with other like-minded youth were simply awesome,” commented Ashrifa Ali – a Sri Lankan climate champion who will be assembling a Green Army under the theme “Let’s unite to combat climate change.” Ashrifa is a Biotechnology Student at the Spectrum Institute of Science and Technology. Her Green Army is now concentrating on taking the message of Climate change to the students, the corporate and the public at large.
Karen Sadanandan – the youngest climate champion who had recently completed her A/Levels initiated an Eco-friendly Society in her school Stafford International. A plastic bottle recycling project in the school was already organized by Karen and colleagues successfully. She is now working toward establishing a green area in the school and a poster campaign together with her fellow Climate Champ Ashrifa. “The Climate Champion programme gave us a framework to work toward a common goal,” said Karen who is enthusiastic to do whatever they can to delay climate change.
Rochelle Van Dort is a management student at the National Institute of Business Management. She was the overall winner of the International climate Champions Competition 2009. Her project in this regard is the “Grow a Green Barrier Campaign” involving school children and youth to plant a mangrove belt in Negombo area. Her project raises awareness among the students and local community on the importance of mangrove and their role in battling climate change through seminars and field visits to mangrove swamps.
Taamara de Silva’s project idea is to have a tree re-planting programme focusing on establishing a strong foundation to promote the concept of climate change among the youth of Sri Lanka. He aims at establishing a monitoring system to ensure the sustainability, which is a drawback in most of current tree-planting programs. Taamara hopes to integrate the project into the school curriculum in view of creating a nationwide impact of potential significance.
Navoda Mihiraj is a first year student of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ruhuna. His ICC project – a small scale reforestation programme in schools in Galle won the runner-up prize for the ‘best champion project plan’ competition on the International Climate Champions.
“British Council is impressed with Sri Lankan Climate Champions” said Gill Westaway – the Country Director of British Council Sri Lanka. She said the enthusiasm shown by Sri Lankan youth is encouraging as it is important to act against climate change now without a delay. British Council’s International Climate Champions programme is now expanded to sixty countries across the globe. During 2009, British Council recruited over 1,300 as International Climate Champions. British Council will provide support and training to help these young Sri Lankans to sharpen their skills and to take their climate change projects into education institutions, their communities and regions.
If you are a youth passionate on environment and issues who would like to be an International Climate Champion for 2010, please contact the programme coordinator Thushara Gunasekera for more information on 4521583 or thushara.gunasekera@britishcouncil.org.
http://sundaytimes.lk/090809/Magazine/sundaytimesmirror_01.html
Srilankan Youth’s Attitude on Climate Change
by Malaka Rodrigo | SundayTimes | 09.08.09
British Council with Neilson Research company has done a survey to asses the “Attitudes and Behaviours on Climate Change” among Sri Lankan youth. The survey was conducted amongst urban youth in the age group 18-35 years and here are some of the important findings of it.
Only 45% aware about phenomenon of Climate Change (CC)
Among those who are aware of CC, only 20% are in sate of ‘urgency’ claiming something needs to be done immediately.
* 2 in 5 feel strongly concerned about climate change
* 3 in 4 in Sri Lanka are in the “Achievability” state of mind
* 1 in 3 in Sri Lanka feel that climate change will strongly effect them
* Higher proportion i.e. 3 in 5 claimed doing something towards the cause
* News (whether through TV or print) are the top most source of knowing about environmental issues like climate change
*Celebrities and Environmentalists will motivate people the most towards the cause
* Respondents more willing to take steps at an individual level
The Neilson survey revealed that, though the youth today is aware and concerned about climatic changes, the pressure is not felt very strongly yet, as most perceive the impact of climate change to manifest in the long term, 10 -15 years horizon, rather than ‘now.’ The need of the hour is to bring more and more people into the ‘urgency’ state of mind in order to make everybody to act ‘now’!
http://sundaytimes.lk/090809/Magazine/sundaytimesmirror_02.html
Kalagune's Blog on Climate Change 