Environment

Jaffna Peninsula’s freshwater problem: Focus on solutions

Admin April 30, 2023 57

R. Ram Freshwater is only 3 percent of the Earth’s water. But about 2 percent of it is in glaciers and polar ice caps, leaving only about 1 percent available for consumption. Of that, a significant amount is wasted as rainwater, and another portion is locked up in inaccessible places.

Environment

Environmental harm overlooked in Kiwul Oya Irrigation project: An overview of the potential impacts of the proposed scheme

Admin April 21, 2023 50

R. Ram Irrigating the Mahaweli ‘L’ zone, with Mullaitivu as its center, was the aim of a project that has remained dormant for decades. The government has decided to give it a new lifeline through the Kiwul Oya project. Kiwul Oya is the main tributary of Ma Oya, which starts in the eastern part of […]

Environment

Clinical waste: Act responsibly to protect us and environment from health hazards

Admin April 13, 2023 51

Haya Arva In early 2020, a youth-driven initiative to keep the environment clean was launched only to end abruptly due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with the pandemic came a new and more serious environmental threat in the form of clinical waste. According to the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), although Sri Lanka […]

Environment

National Environmental Act is to be amended after two decades

Admin April 8, 2023 227

Aruna Lakshman Fernando More than seventy different laws that have an impact on the well-being and safety of the natural environment and human health, directly and indirectly, are operational in Sri Lanka.  While the majority of them address issues in specific sectors, the legal framework related to overall environmental pollution and environmental protection centres

Environment

Environment and the media: Striking the right balance

Admin March 23, 2023 392

M.S.M. Ayub As a representative of the Sri Lanka Environment Journalists Forum (SLEJF), I participated in a South Asian media conference in Singapore in 2001 on the role of the media in mitigating environmental degradation. It came to light at the conference that the problems faced by journalists all over the world when handling environmental […]

Economy Environment

Economic challenges facing Sri Lankan women dependent on biodiversity

Admin January 10, 2023 554

Arul Karki   Sri Lanka’s women workers play an important role in the national economy. In the plantation, agriculture, service, and industrial sectors, the proportion of women workers is increasing. In particular, more women than men work in the agriculture and plantation sectors, the survival of which is closely linked to the environment.   Women’s […]

Environment

Human-elephant conflict: Electric fence safeguards temple but puts villages in peril

Admin November 6, 2022 257

Danushka Silva (This is the first part of this two-part article.) Sri Lanka is one of the foremost countries conserving wildlife resources. When discussing Sri Lanka’s wildlife resources, elephants are a special topic that often comes up. About 10% of the regional wild elephant (Elephant Maximus) population is conserved in Sri Lanka. Therefore, a big […]

Environment

Pallakandal Church and the challenge it poses to Wilpattu

Admin November 5, 2022 221

Danushka Silva Wilpattu is Sri Lanka’s largest and oldest natural forest. More than a century ago, Wilpattu was declared as a national reserve and became a national park on February 25, 1938. Once an area is designated as a National Park in accordance with the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, the Wildlife Conservation Department is […]

Environment

Discarded facemasks: The next big environmental crisis?

Admin November 4, 2022 260

Priyantha Karunaratne  People continue to use facemasks to protect themselves and others from covid-19 and reduce the chance of its spread, but the improper disposal of single-use facemasks has become one of the main environmental challenges today.  Haphazard discard of used facemasks in water sources, and marine and wildlife areas is now emerging as a […]

In Focus

Northern narcotics crisis: Special Task Forces deployed to crackdown on peddlers and users

Admin November 2, 2022 229

S. Rubatheesan Minister proposes Cabinet sub-committee to take stern action and set up rehab centres in the region Kaladdy junction in Jaffna is a vibrant area filled with students due to its proximity to various education institutions such as the University of Jaffna, the Open University’s Regional Study Centre and the Technical College. On Thursday, […]