Adopting Green Growth Strategies in Sri Lanka

L.Padmini Batuwitage Ph.D.1

1. Introduction

We have entered the second decade of the 21st century having followed a path of progress with mixed results. During the last century, especially after the Second World War, the main focus of the global community was accelerated economic development aiming at higher standard of living for humans. The present multiple global crisis related to finance, economics, energy, fuel, food, security and wider environment bear testimony to the ill effects of profit oriented economic growth models that were used in the past ignoring limits to growth. Developing countries such as Sri Lanka are more vulnerable in this situation as the present crisis continues spreading in different scales in different forms in all the countries irrespective of the magnitude of their contribution to its root causes.

This paper conveys the relevance of the applicability of Dr.. E.F Schumacher’s philosophy found in his book “Small is beautiful” that proposed an alternative path to growth, in the pursuit of green growth policies and strategies in Sri Lanka. Initially, the paper presents an overview of the impacts of economic growth in the past in the present context, and discusses the importance of application of green growth concepts in the economic development as a strategy to achieve sustainability of human development. Then the paper discusses commonly known global green growth strategies in general and the significant green growth policies and strategies available in Sri Lanka in particular. The paper emphasizes that the principles of economic growth expounded by Schumacher’s description have been ingrained in the Sri Lankan culture based on simplicity and containment, and therefore, this potential can be wisely used to face the contemporary challenges of economic growth within the framework of sustainable and equitable development. The paper highlights the need for target oriented integrated approaches as a way forward to address the deficiencies and inabilities to make progress with effective monitoring and reporting systems and identifying the right mix of policy interventions. The paper also underscores the need for a skilled human resource base for effective implementation of the available policies with due recognition for the need for ‘knowledge, organization and discipline’ as three essential ingredients as Schumacher emphasized for development. The paper includes some opportunities and challenges of adopting Green Growth Strategies/technologies with examples in energy, waste and solid waste management sectors. Finally, the paper calls attention to the need for implementation of the policies and strategies available mobilizing the stakeholders to take timely action to make progress.

2. Impacts of Growth in the present context

The evolutionary process of civilizations from hunting and gathering to modern information technology explains the gradual changes in human capabilities that have been instrumental for changing production and consumption patterns dramatically. The standard of living of communities in different regions has been improved gradually at different levels accordingly. However, despite numerous technological advancements, gaps between rich and poor are widening globally and locally. The ratio between income earned in countries with the richest 20 percent of the population compared to the poorest 20 percent has also widened – from 30:1 in 1960, 60:1 in 1990, to 74:1 in 1997 (GEO3-2002).

The Human development Report 2007/2008 published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP/HDR 2007/2008) emphasized that more than 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where income differentials are widening; consequently incomes in developing countries will have to grow three times the pre-1990 rate to achieve the same reduction in poverty incidence that was achieved in developed countries. This indicates the massive amount of additional resources needed for the developing countries that contain over 80 per cent of the population in the world, to reduce poverty in their countries if they follow the same economic paradigms.

1 Hon Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Sri Lanka, Former Additional Secretary (Environment and Policy), Sri Lanka.

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UNDP/HDR in its latest publication (2011) emphasizes that ‘there should be pathways that enable people, communities, countries and the international community to promote ‘sustainability and equity’ so that they are mutually reinforcing’. If economic development models coupled with technology do not provide due recognition to the natural system perspectives of sustainability, i.e. the behaviors of the natural systems, these models will not only fail to sustain human development but also will enhance and spread social unrest threatening to social security and ecosystem stability.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the share of workers in vulnerable employment worldwide is estimated to reach over 1.5 billion, equivalent to over half (50.6 percent) of the world’s working population. The number of women and men in vulnerable employment is estimated to have increased in 2009, by as much as 110 million compared to 2008.2

The report also says that, ‘worldwide, 633 million workers and their families were living on less than USD 1.25 per day in 2008, with as many as 215 million additional workers living on the margin and at risk of falling into poverty in 2009’. The ILO report highlights the urgent need to establish wide coverage of basic social protection schemes to cushion the poor against the devastating effects of sharp fluctuations in economic activity.

The global youth unemployment rate rose by 1.6 percentage points to reach 13.4 percent in 2009 relative to 2007. This represents the largest increase since at least 1991, the earliest year for which global estimates are available3. The overall impact of the economic crisis on women and men is far more important than the differences in impact between these groups (ibid).

The present multiple global crises situation related to finance, economic, energy, fuel, food, environmental risks related to natural resources and pollution, and security possess an unprecedented challenge for all the countries in the world irrespective of their contribution to the root causes of the problem. Globalization on one hand has linked the economies of the countries in the world together. On the other hand, environmental impacts such as climate change have no borders and are spreading worldwide. The poor are the most vulnerable as they do not have capacity to face these challenges. The issue of security and related threats are becoming more critical with the increasing trends of the other crises situations worldwide. Economists who have designed and are promoted the business as usual model have been unsuccessful in their quest to either predict or to address the increasing trends of the crises thus today we are in a more complex situation which the human societies have never experienced before.

Unsustainable production and consumption patterns of humans aiming at unlimited growth without considering the limitations of the ecosystems services have created profound imbalances in the functioning of natural ecosystems in different regions of the world at different levels. Negative impacts of climate change can be sighted as a classic example4.

It has been predicted that in the 21st century, average global temperatures could increase by more than 5 degrees centigrade (50C) (UNDP/HDR 2008). To avoid catastrophic impacts due to climate change, with 50% probability5, it is necessary to keep the temperature rise below 20C 6.

2 ILO Annual Global Employment Trends Report 20093 The global unemployment rate rose to 6.6 percent in 2009, an increase of 0.9 percentage points over 2007. However it varied widely by region, ranging from 4.4 percent in East Asia to more than 10 percent in Central and South-Eastern Europe (non-EU) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CSEE and CIS) as well as in North Africa4 Current concentrations of Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) which cause temperature rises, global warming and thereby climate change have reached 380 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent exceeding the natural range of the last 650,000 years. GHGs are Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide(N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Prefluorocarbons (PFCs) and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Parts per million of CO2 equivalent means – all GHGs expressed as a common matrix in relation to their warming potential . 5 With only 50% chance of avoidance.6 This require stabilization of GHGs at concentrations around 450 ppm CO2 equivalent.

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Out of the other Greenhouse gases (GHGs) which cause climate change, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) has the highest concentration at present. Between 1970-2004, Carbon Dioxide (CO2) contributed 77 percent of the increase, out of which 57 percent is due to burning of fossil fuel and 17 percent is from deforestation, logging and peat fires (Kick the Habit -2008 quoting IPCC7 figs.). This underscores the need for reduction of CO2 emissions especially due to burning of fossil fuels. Deforestation also is an issue to be considered.

According to Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC’s) Carbon Budget, the environmentally permissible carbon quota per person for 2009 is 2170 kg. The world average is 4700 kg that is twice the permissible level. That means the permissible ecological space has already been used without considering the limitations of environmental space8.

Another example of the negative impacts of unsustainable production and consumption can be cited taking ecological footprint of human societies in to consideration. ‘Ecological footprint’ is a term basically used as a measure of human demand on Earth’s ecosystems. It is a function of population size, average per-capita consumption of resources, and the resource intensity of the technology used 9. The Global Footprint Network (2007) (www.footprintwrk.org) reported that the total global ecological footprint of 2.7 (ha/person) already exceeds the earth’s bio-capacity of 1.8 (ha/person)10.

Today, it has become a challenge for industrialized countries to reverse the trends of their unsustainable production and consumption patterns based on resource intensive production systems and infrastructure development exceeding the carrying capacity of global ecosystems. At the same time, other countries including the countries with emerging economies having over 80 percent of the world’s population are facing unprecedented challenges to ensure the well-being of their population within a shrinking environmental space. Under the globalization no single country will be able to face these challenges in isolation. These challenges are increasingly daunting due to the net addition of more than 70,000,000 humans to our planet each year.

3. Application of Green growth as a strategy for sustainability

The concept of ‘Green economy’ or ‘Green growth’ is emerging worldwide as a requirement to address the present economic and environmental challenges. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) defines green economy as one that results in improving human well-being and social equity, while reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. UNEP expresses green economy in a simple way so that a green economy can be thought of as one which is low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive (Towards a Green Economy 2011).

Sustainable production and consumption (SPC) is the key to transform the growth/economy green. The developing countries are in a more vulnerable situation in this context as they have limited access to environmentally sound appropriate technologies and knowhow to build the capacities of their countries while economic growth has become imperative to improve the human wellbeing of their societies. External forces, which are most powerful to promote and support the linear or exponential economic

7 IPCC means Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change8 To achieve 20C target, industrialized countries will require to cut emissions as much as 30% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% by 2050 (UNDP/HDR 2008). Most vulnerable countries to climate change demand that societies reduce the 20 targets to 1.50 in order for them to be within safety levels.

9Each unit of the ecological footprint corresponds to the number of hectares of biologically productive land available per capita to produce the food, the fiber that people consume, the infrastructure people use, and the ecologically productive area required to absorb the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by burning of fossil fuel10 High-income countries account for an ecological footprint of 6.1 (ha/person) as against the bio capacity of 3.1, whereas middle income and low-income countries have ecological footprints of 2.0 and 1.2 (ha/person) compared with their bio-capacities of 1.7 and 1.1 respectively.

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development models under globalization, override the fragmented and limited efforts designed to promote SPC. This makes application of SPC strategies in low or middle income countries challenging.

It is worth to note the key ideas of Dr. E.F.Schumacher presented in 1973 in his publication of “Small is Beautiful” in the context of economic development and human well-being with due consideration of the natural ecosystem limitations.

The principles behind Schumacher’s ideas under different perspectives are valid for today more than before as some of his predictions have surfaced in many societies at present. It will be useful to consider his valuable thoughts in decision making to face contemporary development challenges. His idea of promoting technology with a Human Face is one of the key factors conducive for green growth which well covers the need for social inclusiveness as specified in the modern context, in achieving sustainability of life on earth including human societies.

Schumacher emphasized the need to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow human beings, but also with nature and, above all, with Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us. He argued that the meaning of democracy, freedom, human dignity, standard of living, self realization, and fulfillment is not a matter of goods but a matter of people. But people can be themselves only in comprehensible groups. Therefore, he emphasized that we must learn to think in terms of an articulated structure that can cope up with a multiplicity of small-scale units. He pointed out that economic thinking should go beyond its vast abstractions and make contact with the human realities of poverty, frustration, alienation, despair, breakdown, crime, escapism, congestion, ugliness and spiritual death. These perceptions provide the main features of the framework of good governance that we need to promote the well-being of human societies which are missing today.

Even though there is another notion that “Small is sometimes beautiful”, the message that we can get from Schumacher’s thoughts is to take appropriate intelligent choices focusing on the limitations of the capacities of ecosystems to provide their services and their inability to fulfill the needs for unlimited appetite of humans with unlimited aspirations. Schumacher recognized the duality of the human requirement when it comes to the question of size specifying that there is no single answer. He recognized that human needs many different structures both small and large, some exclusive and some comprehensive. For constructive work, the principle task is always the restoration of some kind of a balance (Schumacher 1973).

Schumacher’s ideas are more relevant to Sri Lanka as he has linked the modern economic perspectives with the Buddhist philosophies which are strongly ingrained into our culture and thereby into the national policies from the ancient times. Schumacher underscored the significant insights of Buddhist way of life that can be called as ‘Buddhist Economics’, just as the modern materialist way of life has brought forth modern economics. He argued that while the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation. But, Buddhism is “The Middle Way” and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well being. He emphasized that the key note of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and non-violence. He pointed out that from an economist’s point of view, the marvel of the Buddhist way of life is the utter rationality of its pattern – amazingly small means leading to extraordinary satisfaction of results.

This concept is totally different from the modern societies perspectives that were designed and controlled based on the philosophies of ‘bigger-is-better’, ‘more-is-better’, ‘richer-is-better’ perspectives rather than based on ecologically sound perspectives with appropriate scale considering the limits of growth and need for equity for all. According to the Buddhist Economics as mentioned by Schumacher, the above approach is completely irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human wellbeing, the aim should be to obtain the maximum well-being with minimum of consumption. This philosophy well matches with the modern concept of decoupling of resource use intensity from the economic growth which means achievement of green economic growth. It is important to be mindful that in promoting green growth and keeping with the concept of Sustainable Wellbeing promoted by Schumacher; government, industry, employers and all other relevant players must also be mindful of the social angle of growth and pay heed to employee rights and creating a safe workplace for employees as well.

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Schumacher’s prediction of the fuel crisis is valid for today more than ever even though at that time it was mostly considered as unorthodox. His perceptions on the illusion of astonishing scientific and technological achievements with unlimited powers can solve the problem of production is worthwhile to consider in this context. He emphasized that this illusion is based on the failure to distinguish between income and capital where this distinction matters most.

Sri Lanka’s unique historical, societal development provides a valuable model to both ‘national/local’ and global leaders, about the benefits and possibilities of adhering to the “middle path” capturing the distinction between income and capital. Table below shows performance of the human development in 2005 in respect to a few OECD11 (developed) countries along with global and regional perspectives in comparison with the status of Sri Lanka (Batuwitage 2011).

Table: Human development status of selected counties, of global and regional perspectives and of Sri Lanka - 2005

Country HDI Rank

Life

Expectancy

At birth

Average

Literacy

Rate

GDP

Per Capita

(ppp US$)

Iceland 1 81.5 99.0 36,501

Canada 4 80.3 99.0 33,375

Japan 8 82.3 99.0 31,267

Netherlands 9 79.2 99.0 33,684

USA 12 77.9 99.0 41,890

UK 16 79.0 99.0 33,238

Developing countries 66.1 76.7 5,282

South Asia 63.8 59.5 3,416

OECD 78.3 99.0 29,197

High Human Development 76.2 99.0 23,986

Middle Human Development

67.5 78.0 4,876

Low Human Development 48.5 54.4 1,112

World 67.5 78.6 4,876

SRI LANKA 99 71.6 90.7 4,579

11 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

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HDR rank (1-70) - High Human Development

HDR rank (71-155) - Medium Human Development

HDR rank (156-177) - Low Human Development

Source: HDR/UNDP 2007/2008

While Sri Lanka ranked 99 in terms of its HDI, significant comparable achievements have been made in terms of the “Life Expectancy at Birth” and “Average Literacy Rate” with nearly ten times lower income than that of highly developed countries. The income/GDP per capita of Sri Lanka is even less than the global average. Child survival to age five also adds another dimension of human development. In 2003, the percentage of child survival to age five in high-income OECD countries (US$ 28,500) was 99.4 whereas; Sri Lanka achieved 98.5 per cent with an income of US$3,750. It is urgent that Sri Lanka maintains and accelerates the progress of improved health of its people, which is also directly related to quality of life and to “Happiness” as an important part of well-being (Batuwitage 2011). It has to be noted however that there are significant regional disparities that have to be addressed urgently using appropriate technologies.

With regional disparities sustainable human development cannot be achieved. That means, it is necessary to focus on socially inclusive growth and accommodate all those who are at employable age in the path of economic development focusing on economic, social, and environmental sustainability together.

Engaging the Sri Lankan economy into an environmentally sustainable and low carbon development path could also bring profound and lasting adjustments to the socio-economic structures of the country. The transformation into a sustainable and low-carbon development will trigger shifts in the labour markets, will create demand for new skills and re-skilling programs as well as specific measures to facilitate a just transition for workers, employers and enterprises, including social protection and financial schemes.

The effects of climate change and the resulting policies on the world of work are not always fully understood and in some cases considered a drain on the economy and competitiveness. Whereas in fact, most recent studies show that climate-smart policies can bring environmental, economic and social benefits together. Rethinking on the purely economic arguments levelled against ecologically sound innovative practices in agricultural land use for example, with potential for wider impact needs attention with adequate policy thrust on policy implementation.

Often, the lobby for change and rationale for green growth has been grounded in the conviction that it is a win-win situation for the environment and for economic development. Relatively little attention has been paid to the social dimension of sustainable development, particularly the implication for employment and decent work. The concept of Green growth should be embraced with a wider vision to accommodate the concept of green jobs at different levels and decent work for all. Green jobs are defined by the International Labour organization (ILO) as direct employment in economic sectors and activities, which reduces their negative environmental impact, ultimately resulting in levels that are sustainable. Specifically these are ‘decent’ jobs that help to reduce consumption of energy and raw materials, de-carbonize the economy, protect and restore ecosystem services, flood protection and biodiversity and minimize the production of waste and pollution.

The changes in production and consumption patterns that are called for in the drive towards a climate friendly economy, require incorporating the social, gender and employment dimensions into decision making.. These employment dimensions are best addressed through the framework of the national decent work agenda premised upon core labour standards, most of which have been incorporated into the domestic legislation. Engaging with key partners in the world of work are thus quintessential to ensure the transition to green growth and green development is socially just.

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As much as winner are likely to far out number the losers specific attention is demanded in relation to workers and enterprises that may be part of this transition. Additional jobs must be created as in manufacturing and pollution control devices, for example. Some employment will be substituted as in shifting from fossil fuels to renewable, or from waste disposal to waste avoidance/prevention, reuse and recycling. In the process certain jobs may be eliminated with direct replacement when packing material that is not eco-friendly is phased out or banned and their production therefore is not longer relevant. Existing professions will be transformed and re-defined and will require green skills to maintain or even boost productivity. Strategies for greening therefore need to take cognizance of these realities specially for the working populations of the country.

It must also be understood that green jobs do not automatically constitute decent work and much of environment friendly jobs such as in the waste sector are in fact dirty, dangerous and difficult to perform. Our challenge therefore is to convert these jobs into cleaner, quality jobs that contribute to workers’ safety and health as it cleans and preserves the environment. Green jobs if implemented in the spirit in which the constituents of the ILO intended it to be defined, can be used as a bridge of transformation upon which green development will make its transition from what is now, to realizing its full potential in the future. To make this strategy effective, facilitation of ILO is necessary in implementation activities too beyond policy development, especially in relation to skills development.

4. Commonly known Global Green Growth Strategies

4.1 Agenda 21

At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, famously known as ‘the Earth Summit’ in 1992, the world leaders adopted “Agenda 21” as a road map for sustainable development. Agenda 21 underscores the need for considering the economic, social and environment development as three pillars of sustainable development. Chapter 4 of Agenda 21 devotes on sustainable consumption and specifically includes that “Consideration should be given to the present concepts of economic growth and the need for new concepts of wealth and prosperity which allow higher standards of living through changed lifestyles and are less dependent on Earth’s finite resources and more in harmony with Earth’s carrying capacity. This should be reflected in the evolution of new systems of national accounts and other indicators of sustainable development”.

However it is imperative to be mindful that in the first decade of the 21 st century itself, in 2008, the global community experienced an economic crisis which is considered as much deeper crisis that the world has experienced since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Until today the crisis continues at different levels in different forms in different countries.

While Agenda 21 emphasizes the need for balancing economic, environmental and social development as a way forward to sustainable development, Green Growth emphasizes more of the need for greening the economy as economic development focusing on unlimited growth overrides the benefits of environmental development initiatives due to present market mechanisms. It has also to be noted that United Nations target of securing financial assistance amounting 0.7 % of the Gross national Product (GNP) annually as official development assistance (ODA) to the developing countries for implementation of Agenda 21 have never been met and the assistance provided thus far is far below the expectations and needs.

4.2 A Global Green New Deal

The UNEP Governing Council/Global Environmental Ministers Forum is the United Nations high-level environmental policy forum and brings the environmental ministers in the world together to review important and emerging environmental policy issues. It also provides broad policy advice and guidance to promote international cooperation in the field of environment.

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The theme of the 24th UNEP Governing Council/Global Environmental Ministers Forum (UNEPGC24/GEMF) held in February 2009 in Nairobi was “A Global Green New Deal” towards a green economy as a strategy to address the present ecological and financial crises in a sustainable manner. Delegates from 147 countries including 110 ministers and deputy ministers and 192 representatives of major groups of stakeholders took part in high-level consultations under this theme.

At this forum it was surfaced that “The financial, fuel and food crises of 2008 are in part a result of speculation and a failure of governments to intelligently manage and focus markets but, they are also part of a wider market failure triggering ever deeper and disturbing losses of natural capital and nature-based assets coupled with an over-reliance of finite, often subsidized fossil fuels,".

It is important to take in to account the challenges faced by countries, especially the developing countries, as well as, the opportunities in transformation to green economies while poverty alleviation and equitable development has been the priority of the political agenda.

The following conclusions at the ministerial forum reflect the ground level realities of application of green growth strategies worldwide:

Government alone cannot manage and fund the transition to a green economy, which includes sustainable production as well as sustainable consumption.

Significant additional investment and further incentives are needed to scale up the existing green projects and initiatives from across all regions, reiterating the UNEP’s call for investment of 1% of GDP12 (approximately US$ 750 billion) over the next two years to seed a significant greening of the global economy made at the 64th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The current economic crisis is a unique opportunity that can be used for fundamental restructuring of economies. Countries can encourage the transition to green energy, green growth and green jobs. There is a need to study further the concept of the green economy, in particular, as it relates to developing countries and countries with economies in transition.

4.3 Ten Year Framework of Programmes (10YFP)

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in 2002 after Rio+10 in Johannesburg, the global community called for developing a 10 year framework of programme (10YFP) in support of national and regional initiatives to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production. Guidelines have been developed under this programme for governments and other stakeholders to implement SCP programmes. The 10YFP program with its activities proposed by countries is supposed to be adopted at Rio+20. Some regional programmes are being implemented linking to this programme while many countries are either planning or implementing SCP programmes/activities in different form at different levels. SWITCH Asia programme is one such initiative which is under implementation in many countries in the Asian region with financial assistance of the European Union.

4.4 Green Jobs Initiative

A Green Jobs initiative was launched by ILO through a partnership established in 2007 with the UNEP, the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Organisation of Employers, who joined in 2008, with the firm belief that green jobs is integral to green development and coherent policies and effective programmes leading to a green economy cannot ignore the concept of green jobs and decent work for all.

5. Significant Local Green Growth Strategies

5.1 Strategies directly related to ‘Green Growth’

12 A Global Green New Deal – Policy Brief, UNEP, 2009 March

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In Sri Lanka, numerous policies are available to support green growth. Among many other national and sectoral policies available to address specific issues and programmes in various sectors related to green growth, the following are some significant conducive policies which are directly support for a green economy in the country:

Recognition of application of Cleaner Production (CP) and lifecycle thinking in the National Environmental Policy developed in 2000.

National Cleaner Production Policy and Strategy developed in 2005.

Sectoral Policies of CP developed in accordance with the National CP policy for Health, Tourism, Fisheries and Agriculture.

Haritha (Green) Lanka Programme and the National Action Plan for implementation of the Haritha (Green) Lanka Programme (2009) administered by the National Council for Sustainable Development chaired by H.E. the President

National Green Reporting System introduced in June 2011 (under the HL Programme) to encourage industry and service sectors to become green;

The Green Rating System developed by the Green Building Council of Sri Lanka in January 2012 for the built environment taking up the challenge to create sustainable buildings for the future

National Energy Policy to reach a minimum level of 10% of electrical energy supplied to the grid to be from natural renewable energy by 201513.

National Solid Waste Management Policy (2008)

National Climate Change Policy (2011)

It is necessary develop regulations and to create awareness on the multiplicity of laws, rights of citizens, complaints procedures and penalties for not abiding by environmental laws. To get the full potential of the multiplicity of rules and regulations and systems in place to make a greener Sri Lanka, it is absolutely necessary to make awareness amongst people as well as industry of what is in place and their expected outcomes.

5.2 Haritha (Green) Lanka Programme

In 2009, A national programme titled Haritha (Green) Lanaka (HLP) was developed and launched by the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD). NCSD is chaired by the President of the Country and the Haritha (Green) Lanka program was developed under NCSD to secure the leadership of the highest political authority of the country. This programme has ten missions/thrust areas under which strategies and short, medium and long term action plans have been developed with key performance indicators under each activity.

The ten missions are;

1. Clean Air – Everywhere;2. Saving the Fauna, Flora and Ecosystems;,

3. Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change;

4. Wise Use of the Coastal Belt and the Sea Around;

13 It is expected to increase this target to 20% to achieve by 2020

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5. Responsible Use of the Land Resources;

6. Doing Away with the Dumps;

7. Water for All and Always;

8. Green Cities for Health and Prosperity;

9. Greening the Industries;

10. Knowledge for Right Choices.

Comprehensive, achievable and measurable indicators were established for 82 strategies and 375 activities that were set up under the 10 broad thrust areas. The performance of the Haritha (Green) Lanka Programme was to be monitored by the Ministry of Plan Implementation. As there is no such a ministry exists under the present portfolio, the Ministry of Environment which functions as the secretariat to the NCSD is monitoring the performance in collaboration with the stakeholders. Some significant achievements have been made under the programme by implementing agencies. The action plan has been included in the syllabi by the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration where administrative officers in the country are trained. However, it has to be noted that a strong monitoring mechanism is a major requirement to achieve the objectives of the Haritha (Green) Lanka Programme linking with provincial councils, local authorities, district and divisional secretariats, private sector and communities.

The country needs a skilled human resource base which can adequately provide environmental friendly knowledge and technical facilities/services to support to build green infrastructure required to move into a green economy which is not currently available in the country at required levels and quality.

5.3 Strategies to promote voluntary action

While imposing regulations, the Ministry of Environment launched an Environmental Charter on the ‘World Environment Day’ in 2008 to promote voluntary action in environmental management. The charter includes a shared vision, five principles and seven habits to commit and practice for all citizens of Sri Lanka; this is directly related to the SPC efforts at all levels.

Shared vision of the Environmental Charter1. The ecosystem possesses a limited carrying capacity. It cannot absorb unlimited pollution and

natural resources depletion arising from the unsustainable production and consumption of humankind.

2. Unsustainable production and consumption leads to degradation of natural ecosystems and creates grave imbalances of the quality of life of all life forms including human beings.

3. Ecosystems are inextricably interlinked and any adverse impact on one could lead to numerous chain reactions on the others.

4. Sustainable systems are circular in nature self sustaining. Outputs become inputs.5. “Time” cannot be regained once lost and productive use of time with environmental care is

essential. I added the ‘is essential.’ Maybe it is not in the original but something is missing as you now have it stated.

Five principles of the Environmental Charter

1. It is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka to protect nature and conserve its riches as stipulated in the Constitution.

2. All national environmental policies, statutes and standards are minimal compliance requirements.

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3. It is necessary to resort to a lifestyle having minimal environmental footprint, which goes beyond mere compliance.

4. Each of us has an important role in addressing environmental degradation caused by unsustainable production and consumption.

5. Living in harmony with the environment with a simple lifestyle leads to a sustainable future.

Seven Habits of the Environmental Charter

1. Practice water conservation and efficient use in all water consuming activities.2. Ensure optimal utilisation of land with minimum impacts to the environment.3. Adopt energy conservation and efficient practices in all energy-consuming actions.4. Promote and adopt environmentally responsible purchasing of goods and services.5. Practice waste avoidance over recycling and recycling over the other forms of treatment and

disposal practices.6. Be a ‘change agent’ to promote environmental best practices and transfer such knowledge to

future generations.7. Live as citizens and corporate entities within a minimum permissible environmental footprint, and

thereby, be an example to other countries in the world.

This charter was posted on the official website of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Administrations in the same year (2008) for information of all the government institutions requesting them to adhere. However in the absence of efficient monitoring mechanisms, the outcome of the Environmental Charter cannot be either quantified or reported. What can be emphasized is that there are ample policies available in the country to move into a green economy.

The environmental charter is something that could be introduced into general parlance – that can be displayed in public places and industrial notice boards, schools etc. in an attempt to create awareness.

These types of voluntary mechanisms may best be promoted by the nongovernmental organizations and community leaders if the communities are empowered with the required knowledge and other infrastructure facilities. The organizations such as Practical Action could provide appropriate technologies in line with the principles of Green Growth that are socially inclusive.

6. The way forward

As mentioned in the previous section, there are significant policies available in Sri Lanka that support green growth. Many projects have been implemented and also under implementation to promote cleaner production/sustainable production. In order to scale-up and wide-spread the best practices and take new initiatives and make progress to achieve expected outcomes and positive impacts, it is necessary to focus on ecologically sound system’s perspectives of appropriate scale, limits-to-growth and equity as essential elements in the development scenarios.

In order to address the deficiencies and inabilities to make progress in achieving a green economic growth, it is necessary to integrate the system dynamics conducive to promote sustainable production as well as consumption and enhance the responsiveness and collaboration of production processes and consumption practices through effective monitoring and reporting systems.

6.1 Supportive elements of production side

The following key external forces/supporting elements are necessary to stimulate producers to produce sustainable products and to help sustain their programmes:

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Supportive public policy and environmental regulations, recognition, rewards and penalties in the implementation of Sustainable production and Consumption (SPC);

Responsive agents to sensitize, to promote and to make the population fully aware of Cleaner production, Environmentally sound technologies and Sustainable production and consumption (CPTs/ESTs/SPC);

Responsive, qualified and capable agents to develop/adapt/adopt/transfer Green Technologies and to provide technological and non-technical services to promote implementation of SPC;

Responsive and committed funding agents, Angel funds , and prudent investments to support the development and implementation of SCP in Sri Lanka;

Suppliers of green human resources to promote and support the implementation of SCP. Green human resources imply skilled human resources with adequate capacity to integrate SPC in the economic and social developmental programs at all levels.

6.2 Supportive elements of consumption side

On the consumption side, the following four external forces/supportive elements were identified to help to ensure behavioural changes of consumers toward SCP. Service providers who work to ensure sensitisation/promotion/dissemination of SCP and related green concepts among the public by providing information to all pertaining to prudent product and practice choices;

Fiscal measure developers and implementers to foster efficiency among consumers in resource and energy intensive sectors;

Environmental regulations, which promote practices for moving beyond compliance of existing standards so as to improve resource and energy efficiency and to reduce pollution levels. Incentives and rewards for environmentally prudent choices and penalties for resource intensive choices;

Ecosystem health is maintained so that it continues to provide ecosystem services such as water regulation, climate regulation (clean air), waste treatment, provision of food, provision of medicinal plants, provision of raw material, provision of recreation etc. for the health and wellbeing of the people.

Batuwitage (2011)

As mentioned above, strong responsiveness and collaboration is necessary between the production and consumption sides to achieve the desired objective. Absence of or deficiencies in one of the nine external forces will have negative impacts on achieving the desired outcomes. The root causes of failures of many significant initiatives to achieve expected outcomes in the country is due to either failure of or inability to consider the system perspective of the problem domain and address the challenges through strong monitoring and reporting systems. Periodic publication of the status of the ecosystems can help political, academic and NGO leaders to identify the right mix of interventions necessary to fine-tune the external forces to continue or to accelerate the changes in the direction of SCP and thus, to make the outcomes more sustainable.

Transformation of existing jobs into green jobs, Promotion of new Green Jobs and Substitution to Green Jobs as appropriate will be an input as well as a continuous outcome if timely action is taken with an integrated approach in the path of sustainable development. Socially inclusive and socially just – green jobs concepts and Strategies are useful for promotion of decent work and equity for all.

7. Opportunities and Challenges of adopting Green Growth Strategies/technologies

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In order to analyze/understand how adopting development strategies that are softer scarce resources and on environment help or not help Sri Lanka in the current context to help reach its goals effectively, three key issues are considered and presented below in energy sector, water sector and solid waste management sector.

7.1 Energy sector

The Bio Energy Association of Sri Lanka in its proposals sent to the Ministry of power and energy for the review of the current national energy policy highlights two errors from the past that have to be avoided in the new policy:

The first error is opting for oil based generation as the only alternative for the use of hydro electricity, which accounted for 95 per cent of our needs, without looking for other indigenous resources. Association claims that today we are mesmerized with the thought that coal power is the panacea which is not. The association specifies that the contribution from hydro resources was reduced to less than 50 per cent as a result of this option.

The second error is the very large subsidy given to industries using furnace oil for thermal generation which resulted in crippling the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation with an considerable/avoidable loss. Moreover, many industries who are converting their furnaces and kilns fired with imported oil to bio mass, which is a progressive step, are being handicapped by this subsidy. Those using oil continue to have an advantage with the hugely subsidized oil14. The Association urges that Sri Lanka not having any proven fossil fuel resources has to accept the challenge of developing several sources of renewable energy available to us. It emphasizes that this is a blessing in disguise and harnessing indigenous sources will not only ensure energy security but will help Sri Lanka to retain its position as a low carbon footprint country with the attendant numerous advantages.

In this context, the recent initiative taken to install a solar panel in the official residence of H.E.the President for energy can be sighted as a pace setting significant step to bolster application of renewable energy sources under the direct leadership at the highest political level. The promotion of the CFL bulbs island wide is also an important step that have been taken to stimulate green initiatives in the energy sector.

It is necessary to take cognizance of technological advances being made in developed countries to harness inexhaustible renewable energy resources such as solar thermal and wind energy systems which are expected to replace fossil fuels altogether in the foreseeable future. Sri Lanka has to accept the challenge of developing a mix of several sources of renewable energy available to us.

The organizations such as Practical Action could assist the industries to utilize renewable energy sources by providing access to appropriate technologies in line with the Schumacher’s philosophies which lead to ensure sustainability of transformation.

7.2 Prevention of river bank erosion by using Bio-Engineering methods

The two figures below present a success story of using bio-engineering methods to prevent river bank erosion in Deduru Oya.

14 This has now been corrected with the recent price revision. It is hoped that this will not be reverted as was done in the past

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Photography by Soysa M.B, Divisional Secretariat, Chilaw (2011)

The initiative was taken by the Land Use Division of the Divisional Secretariat of Chilaw in collaboration with the local community with funding from the Ministry of Environment. The project reduced the carbon footprint tremendously by avoiding exclusive use of conventional type concrete and cement structures and on the other hand enhanced the bio-capacity of the area which are the key elements of green growth.

National Policies have to be develped to encourage utilization of these types of low cost socially acceptable, environmental friendly strategies island wide as appropriate.

7.3 Solid Waste Management

Today, it has become a challenge for the local authorities to manage solid waste in an environmentally sound manner. The National Policy and Strategy of Solid Waste Management highlights the importance of following the waste management hierarchy: “Avoidance of waste generation, reduction, reuse and recycle of unavoidable waste and then disposal of the residual waste in an environmentally sound manner”. The waste management policy further highlights the importance of composting of degradable waste as a viable, appropriate and low cost option. In the context of Sri Lanka this type of strategies are appropriate as against high cost, energy intensive strategies such as incineration in general, considering the type and the amount of waste generation by majority of the local authorities.

According to the database of Municipal Solid Waste in Sri Lanka (2005) published by the Ministry of Environment, which represents the data of 2004, there is only one local authority (Colombo Municipality - CMC) which generated more than 150 metric tons a day. CMC generated 700 metric tons a day which can be considered as an outlier that needs different policy options other than rest of the other LAs.

The second highest amounts generated accounted for ranging from 50 to 150 metric tons a day in 5 municipalities. In today’s context it may be increased by another 50 MTs or so upto about 250 MTs a day.

It is important to note that according to the data base, Out of 311 LAs at that time, 261 generated less than ten MTs a day. This may be increased upto additional 10 to 15 tons as of today. It should also be noted that the moisture content of the solid waste in Sri Lanka is relatively higher than that of developed countries. Therefore it is very important that the technologies have to be carefully selected as appropriate to the local conditions avoiding energy intensive technologies. At present many LAs are implementing composting as a strategy for reduction of the waste to be finally disposed of. However, many of these composting technologies have to be upgraded considering the occupational health impacts of the labourers who are handling waste, to reflect that their jobs are green as well as decent.

The Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) has taken steps to absorb this labour force in to its National and Vocational Qualification (NVQ) system which provides more recognition as well as opportunities for this green job category to improve the skills in the SWM sector.

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Similarly the technical and vocational education system can be scaled up to absorb unskilled human capital in the country and build their capacities to take up the contemporary challenges of economic development in Sri Lanka creating a skilled human resource base which eventually will promote and create green jobs.

It has been recommended by a study (unpublished) on “Evaluation of the Status of Environmental Education System in Sri Lanka” conducted by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that a National Environmental Centre is established in the University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) for Integration of Environmental Education in the Tertiary and Vocational Education Systems in Sri Lanka

The UNIVOTEC has been established in 2008 by Act of Parliament with a vision to be the leading University providing technical and vocational education for all with aspirations to achieve professional and Technological excellence.

Its Mission is:

to provide services in human resources, curriculum, learning resources development, research and consultancy

to achieve professional excellence with ethical rectitude and

to liaise with global TVET sector, academic community and industry

The main objective of the UNIVOTEC is to provide progressive upward movement to the students in the technical education and vocational training system, based on their aptitudes and abilities, to acquire university education.

The UNIVOTEC can be the lead body for the following functions:

Develop training material on environmental aspects in the TVET; Provide laboratory/workshop facilities for teaching/learning activities on environmental studies;

Research and development in the TVET sector;

Create different units of incubators for environmental studies in the TEVT where such incubators could serve to produce and support youth who are willing to become entrepreneurs in environmental management;

Train lecturers on environmental oriented TVET subjects at various levels; and

Form a network with the other government and private sector institutions including other universities with a view to periodically evaluate the performance of the human resource development in the Tertiary and Vocational Education Systems in Sri Lanka.

8. Conclusion

The present multiple global crises situation signals us the need for moving away from the economic development paths followed by the industrialized countries during their industrial revolution, as appropriate. The economists have not been successful in predicting the present crises situation in their economic models that encouraged exponential economic growth without consideration of the ecosystem limitations.

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The concepts of Green economy/Green growth are emerging as a solution to address the crises. However, developing countries are in a more vulnerable situation in facing contemporary challenges of development with limited access to appropriate technologies at affordable prices. Green development policies and strategies should be designed taking into account the need for economic and social development and poverty eradication as overriding priorities of developing countries within the framework of sustainable and equitable development.

In this process, developing countries can transform the challenges into opportunities if they are sufficiently empowered with skills and knowhow combining with ‘public, private and community partnerships’.

The key principles suggested by Schumacher in his publication “Small is Beautiful” are valid in the context of today more than ever. Schumacher emphasized the need to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow human beings, but also with nature and, above all, with Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us. For living in harmony with nature with extraordinary satisfaction, it is necessary to avoid both affluence and abject poverty in the process of economic development. “The Middle Path” is encouraged by our ancient culture and it is no way antagonistic to physical well being. Adhering to sustainable lifestyles focusing on simplicity and non-violence leading to credible satisfaction of results is the key to achieve sustainable development worldwide. Schumacher defined this type of way of life as “Buddisht Economy”, just as the modern materialist way of life has brought forth modern economics . He pointed out that from an economist’s point of view, the marvel of the Buddhist way of life is the utter rationality of its pattern – amazingly small means leading to extraordinary satisfaction of results.

There are ample policies available in Sri Lanka that promotes green economy. What is lacking is their effective implementation due to various challenges and obstacles. In order to make progress, it is necessary to integrate policies, legislation, incentives, technology, and knowhow. Process auditing on green growth and piloting selected interventions for learning are necessary steps towards to make policy outcomes effective. For a wider impact of policies and strategies, it is necessary to promote economic and social organizations at community level to effectively practice green growth strategies. As Schumacher emphasized ‘knowledge, organization and discipline’ are the three elements that make development interventions effective to produce desired outcomes. Community driven development experience with those three elements need to be utilized where reshaping attitudes with limits and disciplined consumption form part of the challenge to produce results on the ground.

In this process, it is necessary to be mindful of negative consequences of the energy intensive massive infrastructure in planning and executing national development progrmmes. External assistance is necessary to enhance the skills and capacities of the human capital to meet the challenges of this transformation. Financial and technical assistance is also necessary to bridge the incremental costs of some of the green infrastructure especially in the energy, industry and green human resource development sectors as the development has to be taken place within a shrinking environmental space as specified above in this paper. Sri Lanka should not delay in implementing of the policies and strategies available with effective monitoring and reporting systems and identifying the right mix of interventions, by mobilizing the stakeholders to take timely action to make progress in this endeavor.

References:

1. A Global Green New Deal, (2009) Towards a Green Economy: Report prepared for the Economic and Trade Branch, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics of the United Nations Environment Programme: Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming, Laramie: United Nations Environment Programme, (www.unep.org/greeneconomy).

2. Batuwitage, L.P. (2011) A Sustainable Production and Consumption Model for Sri Lanka: Developing Country Perspectives in Relation to Global Change, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

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3. GEO3 (2002) Global Environment Outlook: Past present and future perspectives, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi, Kenya.LO Annual Global Employment Trends Report (2009) International Labour office, Geneva.

4. Green Economy (2009) The New Big Deal, Our Planet: The magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme: UNEP.

5. Human Development Report (2007/2008) Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a dividing World, United Nations Development Programme.

6. ILO Annual Global Employment Trend Report (2009): International Labour Office, Geneva.

7. Kike the Habit (2008) A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality, UNEP.

8. Mahinda Chinthana-Vision for the Future (2010), The Development Policy Framework, Department of National Planning, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Government of Sri Lanka.

9. National Action Plan for Haritha Lanka (2009) National Council for Sustainable Development, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo 4; Ministry of Environment and natural Resources, Sri Lanka.

10. Schumaher E.F. (1993) Small is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People mattered, VINTAGE.

11. The Global Footprint Network (2011), www.footprintwrk.org.

12. Towards a Green Economy (2011) Pathways to Sustainable development and Poverty Eradication, A synthesis for Policy Makers, UNEP.

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