Once more on development

Environmentalists and developmentalists are in a never-ending struggle. While environmentalists challenge most development, developmentalists say environmental concerns would delay development. The truth is that development should not be at the expense of environment.

The recent World Summit on environment highlighted the dangers of climate change, particularly the ill effects of global warming. The melting of polar ice threatens to lift ocean temperatures and raise sea levels. Island nations are particularly vulnerable. Some islands such as the Maldives may be totally submerged. Even the British Isles and Sri Lanka may face submergence of coastal areas in the next few decades.

Global warming has also affected the Himalayas or the Third Pole as it is referred to by some. It threatens floods and destruction of crops both from floods and dry weather.

It is now apparent that the development model followed by countries has been the reason for many of these ills. The over-exploitation of non-renewable sources of energy pose a severe problem for life on earth. The desertification as a result of deforestation and other human activities would make water so scarce that it could be source of future wars between nations.

Sri Lanka is on the threshold of a new development drive. As stated earlier in this column the main impediment to the country’s development, the war has ended. Hence, we have to take into account the environmental concerns when chartering the new path of development. Obviously the model followed hitherto by many countries is now obsolete. It is replete with environmental catastrophes.

Clearly we have to go for renewable eco-friendly energy sources for development. These include bio-energy, solar energy, wind power and hydropower. Sri Lanka being a tropical island the prospects for the use of solar energy are immense.

Sri Lanka is also rich in bio-diversity. We have to preserve it. Bio-diversity is important for sustenance of life on earth. There is also the question of environmental pollution. Industrial pollution endangers the ozone layer, pollutes the rivers and waterways endangering the life of humans as well as fish.

We have also to re-think whether we should go for mega projects involving large use of non-renewable fuels or whether we have to opt for small and medium scale projects that could use renewable eco-friendly energy.

The present generation should not exhaust all resources of the earth. Hence, there is a need to ensure that exploitation of non-renewable sources should not exceed their rates of regeneration. Similarly rates of pollution emission should not exceed the rate at which the environment could harmlessly absorb them. We need not look outside for models of development. Our ancient civilization provides us with a good example of harmonious living with nature. Man’s most common and vital necessities such as land, water, air, forests were held and utilised in common, under the hydraulic civilization that characterised early Sri Lanka.

Eastern culture, especially religions such as Jainism and Buddhism advocated loving kindness to all, man and nature- flora and fauna.

Productivity should be assessed with reference to sustainability too. For example it is time to question the productivity of gasoline driven cars. As one writer put it “it would be hard to imagine any technology less efficient than a large structure built of steel, rubber, and hundreds of other materials, weighing 2,000 Pounds, to carry a single passenger weighing 150 Pounds while burning enormous quantities of gasoline to do so.” The danger of the automobile is not only that. It contributes to fog, acid rain, noise pollution, lead poisoning, ozone depletion etc.

The automobile is only one example. The dangers of the modern development style should be analyzed and taken into account in developing a new model of development for Sri Lanka.

It cannot be the Singapore model or the Chinese model for the situations and circumstances are different. It should be a truly native and independent model.