Book Launch and Follow-up Workshop for the “International Workshop on Environmental Management in North-East Sri Lanka ”

June 14, 2005

News Release

An international workshop was held in Thirunelvely, Jaffna was held during 1 st -4 th December 2003 by the above committee. This workshop was organized by a joint committee consisting of members from the University of Jaffna , Eastern University and TECH, and was funded by UNDP.

This was the first conference on the environment of the northeast is the past 20 years. The workshop was attended by over 200 hundred people daily, who consisted of experts and local people.

There are redevelopment schemes taking place to rehabilitate those affected by both the war and the Tsunami. While implementing these projects, we need to bear in mind the long-term consequences these projects may have on an environment that has already been severely ravaged by the war. The objectives of the workshop was to gather reliable information on a wide range of environmental issues to better plan, co-ordinate and utilize the local natural resources when redeveloping the northeast of Sri Lanka.

Opening ceremonies for the book launch was conducted on June 14, 2005. The invitation for lighting of the sacrificial flame was given by Mr. M. Sundaramoorthy, Director of TECH. The first flame was lit by Miss. Manneliza, Director of SUSTAIN International Humanitarian Development (IHD). The second flame was lit by Dr. S. Sivachandran, senior lecturer from the University of Jaffna . The third flame was lit by Mr. Arulganam, Agricultural Specialist from UNDP. The fourth flame was light by Mr. Saiso, from JICA, Japan . The fifth flame was light by Mr. Selvin, from SHIRAN. The sixth flame was light by Mr. Paramsothi, from South Australia Tamil Association.

Mr. M. Sundaramoorthy gave the welcome address to the conference delegate, and introduced Mr. R. Nimalan Karthikeyan, senior advisor for TECH. Mr. Kartheikeyan introduced the book and was the moderator for the conference. Dr. S. Sivachandiran and Prof. Jahsua, visiting lecturer from the University of Jaffna , gave speeches about the success of the conference and of the recommendations in the book.

The book outlined five different major issues that were discussed in the conference. It also outlined current situation, recommendations and possible organizations to implement the recommendations. These were further elaborated on at the book launch.

The five major issues outlined are:

Natural resources invention
Resource management
Public health
Modern tools for environmental management
Pollution.

It was agreed that some of the recommendations are no longer applicable due to the change to the landscape of the North East caused by the Tsunami. Further proposal was to form a core group to review and update the recommendation in light of the recent Tsunami.

The inaugural handing out of the conference report book was performed by Miss. Manneliza. The first book was received by Prof. Sithiravadivel. The second book was received by Mr. Arulganam. The third book was received by Dr. Soosaiyananthan, from the University of Jaffna . The fourth book was received by Dr. Kuganathan, from the University of Jaffna . The fifth book was received by Father Karuratnam, from NESOHR. The final book was received by Mr. Sasio.

The workshop has been successful in producing guidelines for the use and conservation of the environment. The discussion also highlighted the need for the transfer of technology and technical skills to the affected areas. It was also decided that a team is required to formalize a plan on implementing these recommendations. To date three recommendations have been implemented.

Outcome
It was agreed upon that a core group was required to spearhead the review and coordinate the implementation of the recommendations. The review needs to include the post Tsunami impact on environment. This group needs to include representatives from NGOs and experts throughout the country who have an interest in the development and environmental management of the northeast Sri Lanka .