A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, June 9, 2017
Sustainable financing is essential in conserving the ocean environment – Prime Minister Wickremesinghe
Addressing
the UN Sea and Ocean Summit held in support of the Sustainable
Development Goals, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized to the
global leaders that Sri Lanka, being an island nation is deeply
conscious that our fate is not in our hands alone as for Sri Lankans
oceans are life and death.
“Our large coastal communities survive at ocean level. For us, rise of
the seas, pollution of the oceans, depletion of fish, good coastal eco
systems are not abstractions – they are the core of our existence,” said
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
He stressed that if cleansing oceans from plastic debris and other
pollutants and assuring maritime sustainability does not happen there
will be no future for island nations like Sri Lanka. “This is especially
why we are so supportive of international environment actions,” the
Prime Minister pointed out.
He pointed out that experiencing the consequences of environment
destructions, Sri Lanka has strongly endorsed the Paris Climate
Agreement, FAO International Plan of Action and stand behind every
significant international environmental agreement – especially the
Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
He has further pointed out in his speech the importance of sustainable
financing in order to realize commitments through sustainable programs.
“. Government financing and philanthropic support will probably be
insufficient and we will have to encourage creative private public
partnerships and other means to unlock commercial capital. These are
ways in which we can mobilize new stakeholders and collaborators whose
support will help ensure broader constituency for our endeavors,”
Wickremesinghe elaborated.
He has continued to emphasize the importance of creating a sustainable
ocean economy, new blue – industries including off-shore renewables,
marine technologies, aqua cultures, clean up and transition activities.
He added “Environmental interconnectivity can provide an opportunity for
peacekeeping, peacemaking and development that will bring multiple
benefits to several regions in and around South and Southeast Asia and
the Eastern Pacific Ocean.”
Following is Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s full speech to the United
Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable
Development Goal.
Madame President - Mr. Secretary General
Allow me to express my appreciation to those who have been responsible
for organizing this conference – notably Mr. Peter Thomson - President
of the General Assembly, the Governments of Fiji and Sweden - co-hosts
of the Conference, the Permanent Representatives of Portugal and
Singapore - facilitators of preparatory meetings and to the Secretary
General of the Conference.
This assembly is part of a historic process – The collective
international efforts to define and correct the depredations of
humankind on the Planet Earth. It is a relatively recent effort,
beginning with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in
Stockholm and the Stockholm Declaration in 1972. Since then we have
made much progress in recognizing the environment and its protection as
the responsibility of all nations. We have largely accepted the
connection between ecological management and the human condition. We
have had many conferences, created many institutions. Public awareness
and concern about the environment is wider than at any time in history.
Yet with all these developments, we have still a long way to go to reach
the optimum level of global environmental sustainability.
This is why the work and outcome of this conference is so important. The
oceans constitute about 70 percent of the earth’s surface and contain
97 percent of the earth’s water. If we do not make more progress on the
oceans, the seas and maritime resources, all our other environment
efforts will be difficult, if not impossible to achieve. In many ways
then, this has vital significance for the future of humankind. The
condition of the oceans, so well described in the concept papers and the
discussions of delegates, enhance the urgency of our task.
As we proceed with our deliberations, there is an area which my
government believes needs more attention. This is the organization of
funding sources. For commitments to become reality requires not only
sustainable programmes but also sustainable financing. Alongside
corrective measures and technical developments, we need to create a
sustainable ocean economy, new blue -industries including off-shore
renewables, marine technologies, aqua cultures, clean-up and transition
activities. Government financing and philanthropic support will probably
be insufficient and we will have to encourage creative private public
partnerships and other means to unlock commercial capital. These are
ways in which we can mobilize new stakeholders and collaborators whose
support will help ensure broader constituency for our endeavors.
The outcome of this conference and several like gatherings scheduled in
the near future also must link to parallel concerns – notably the
institutional legal framework contained in UNCLOS and its implementing
agreements and institutions. My government and I personally have urged
the adoption of measures related to the freedom of navigation in the
Indian Ocean. We strongly believe that such measures will help to
initiate a stable zone of economic progress that can eventually embrace
larger ocean areas and will provide the stability that accelerates rapid
environment improvement.Environmental interconnectivity can provide an
opportunity for peacekeeping, peacemaking and development that will
bring multiple benefits to several regions in and around South and
Southeast Asia and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Madame President,
Island nations like my own, are particularly vulnerable to the impact of
ocean environments and climate change. In the past decade or so, Sri
Lanka has been devastated by nature driven tragedies. Floods and
landslides of 2003, the massive Tsunami of 2004 and other disasters have
wrecked my country. Right now, as I speak, we are inundated with savage
floods causing hundreds of deaths and hundreds of thousands of
displaced people. Human misery is unbelievable. We are grateful to the
international community, the United Nations and its agencies and the
Secretary General, and so many generous contributions of assistance.
But, all this underlines how helpless we are in the face of
environmentally sourced disasters.
For nations like my own, the oceans are life and death. The Indian
Ocean, in which we are located, provides employment, food, avenues of
trade and commerce. Our large coastal communities survive at ocean
level. For us, rise of the seas, pollution of the oceans, depletion of
fish, good coastal eco systems are not abstractions – they are the core
of our existence. Parenthetically, I might mention that the Indian Ocean
around us now has the second largest accumulation of floating plastic
waste in the world. Cleansing the oceans, assuring maritime
sustainability is our future – and we increasingly ask: What is our
future unless this is done?
We are deeply conscious that our fate is not in our hands alone. This is
especially why we are so supportive of international environment
actions. We strongly endorse the Paris Climate Agreement which was
ratified on our behalf by Sri Lanka’s President His Excellency
Maithripala Sirisena. We affirm our commitment to the FAO International
Plan of Action and are implementing the Sri Lanka National Plan of
Action on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. We consistently
stand behind every significant international environmental agreement,
especially the Sustainable Development goals and the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change. It is our hope that the collective
interest embodied in these instruments will be the basis for a new
consensus.
Madame President
I come from a culture, a country where our philosophic heritage
cherished the sanctity of the environment. The Lord Buddha, widely
venerated in our part of the world, enjoined people to preserve it for
prosperity. The passage of time, the exigencies of modernization and the
separation of individuals from their natural habitat have undercut that
message. But the wisdom of such sage advice, which nurtured our
ancestors, is now starkly evident. And conferences such as this, remind
us that we must reclaim our heritage or perish.
Madame President,
For 72 years, the United Nations has worked, with varying degrees of
success, on the global agenda as it has evolved. The here and now, the
immediacies of the world, largely engage the attention of the UN.
Although it tries, there is understandably not much space available to
focus on the future. But surely, part of our task is also to shape
Planet Earth so that we will leave a heritage that generations to come
will welcome.
Our efforts in the environmental area fulfill that obligation. That is
why I strongly endorse the objectives of this Conference and hope that
your deliberations will create practical, prompt and inclusive results.
Today’s urgencies and our legacy for the future demand no less.