Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera reaffirmed the country’s commitment to conserving marine resources and sustainable industries adding that Rs.6 Billion has been earmarked for long term projects which includes reducing and eliminating marine pollution.
The Minister was speaking at the Regional Symposium on Sustainable Development Goal # 14 which brings together like minded stakeholders and member nations.
“Reducing marine pollution and mitigating its effects in Sri Lanka has been prioritized in the 2018 Budget under the Blue-Green initiatives, and the government of Sri Lanka has allocated close to Rs.6 billion to implement long-term solutions to reduce and eliminate marine pollution and developing sustainable fishing practices,” he said.
“It is important to control Illegal,Unregulated, Unreported (IUU) fishing. Fishing methods such as mechanized and bottom trawling have a multitude of negative externalities that need to be addressed in a holistic manner through multilateral cooperation,” the Minister said.
Minister Samaraweera added that since the reinstatement of GSP+ in May 2017, there has been a 125% increase in seafood exports to the EU in the year 2017, attributing it as one the major success stories of the government’s efforts to open up market access for Sri Lankan exporters.
“Sustainable resource management is essential in order to successfully export into markets such as the EU. It is precisely this type of sustainable export industry that was envisaged in the 2018 Budget, themed “Blue Green Economy: Enterprise Sri Lanka”.
The Minister also spoke on investments in the tourism and fisheries industries adding that measures have been taken to replenish and conserve the coast in areas such as Mt.Lavinia, Ratmalana and Angulana. The government he said has also taken several initiatives to protect numerous lagoons around the island so to restore their unique eco-system making them resilient to climate change.
“Accordingly, hotels and other establishments are being assisted in investing in technology to ensure zero discharge of waste to the rivers and streams. Additional Pigeon Island, Bar Reef and Delft have been declared as conservation and marine protected areas,” he said.
“In order to build on these initiatives and ensure longevity, a virtual institute for the blue-green economy has been launched as a pilot project, to create and sustain spinout programmes identified under the Blue-Green initiative,” the Minister added.
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