18 May 2010: Colombo, Sri Lanka: The unusually heavy rain and storm activity over Sri Lanka during the past few days could be the result of another international conspiracy against the resurgent island, a citizens’ science group says.

“The timing and intensity of the inclement weather is too much of a coincidence, just when we were preparing to celebrate our armed forces’ great victory over the LTTE exactly one year ago,” said the Vidyartha Patriots’ Institute for Science and Society (VPISS).

They added: “We suspect that a foreign hand, possibly a western country, may have tampered with our seasonal rainfall patterns. We ask the government to investigate if this could be the case.”

While the south-west Monsoon rains are typically expected to commence in mid May over the western and southern areas of Sri Lanka, the intensity of the rain has surprised even experienced meteorologists. The Department of Meteorology said on 17 May that a storm was developing over Sri Lanka.

The Victory Day celebration scheduled to be held at Galle Face Colombo on 20 May has been postponed owing to the unfavourable weather conditions, the Media Centre for National Security announced on the same day.

Pre monsoon rain, triggered by a stormy conditions in the Bay of Bengal, wrought havoc yesterday in Colombo, Gampaha, Panadura,  Ratnapura and Galle. The news media reported it has displaced over 30,000 families while two people were reported dead and three others missing.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said that around 50,000 families in Colombo, 15,000 in Gampaha and 14,000 families in Kalutara were affected by the torrential rains that lashed through these areas for several hours on May 17.

A number of main streets in and around Colombo were flooded by accumulated rain waters, which overwhelmed the drainage systems. Parts of northern Colombo have been without electricity due to power distribution sub-stations being flooded.

Dr Anura Punchi-darshana, convenor of VPISS, urged all patriotic Sri Lankans to be alert and vigilant over sinister attempts to undermine the country’s attempts to rebuild the nation after the long-drawn conflict.

“We remember very well how so many vested interests and geopolitical agendas prolonged our anti-terrorist struggle,” Dr Punchi-darshana said. “These foreign elements don’t want to see Sri Lanka emerge as the next wonder of Asia. They will continue their unholy attempts to destabilize our island using whatever means. This could include unleashing rain-making forces that are long suspected to have been secretly developed by powerful western nations.”

Dr Susan Agunathilaka, a co-founder of VPISS, questioned the wisdom of relying on two annual monsoons for most of Sri Lanka’s rainfall and water resources.

In her view, the origins of the very word ‘monsoon’ should be grounds for concern. Monsoon comes from the Portuguese word monção, which was derived from Arabic mawsim (meaning “season”). Some say this was perhaps partly via early modern Dutch word monsun.

“From our history we know how the Arabs, Portuguese and Dutch have all interfered in the peaceful affairs of our island nation,” Dr Agunathilaka opined. “We should know better than to trust anything like the Monsoon that comes with so much of historical baggage!”

Dr Anura Punchi-darshana goes even further, and proposes that the government should decline the foreign interventionist weather forces called the Monsoon.

“We must stop relying on this foreign rain, and aspire to generate all the rain ourselves,” he urged. “We who hail from a long and proud hydraulic civilization can surely manage this much in the 21st Century!”

VPISS is a little known group that established a decade ago by a group of expatriate Sri Lankan scientists and engineers in New York. Some of its co-founders have since returned to Sri Lanka and offered their services to the government to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.

In June 2009, Banyan News exclusively reported how genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes may have been released in the Greater Colombo by an irate multinational pharmaceutical company that failed to win a health supply contract.

• Satellite View
• First images: The flooding in Menik Camp and the increasingly dire situation for IDPs
• Breaking news: Flooding and unrest again at Menik Farm?
• Hand Washing
• A-Z of Sri Lankan English: C is for cousin brother

Renton de Alwis was one time Chairman for Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. As noted on this website, he has over 35 years experience in marketing, communications and tourism related areas, having worked in an international environment covering over 30 countries.

In this interview we talk about the future of tourism in Sri Lanka. Renton comes out strongly in favour of the greening of Sri Lanka and eco-tourism in line with our traditions and culture. I asked him about the Akon incident, but he said he didn’t know enough to comment. After speaking at length about the environment, Renton in the last minutes of the interview went on to ardently support the commercial use of land in Kalpitiya, owned by the State, for tourism purposes. He noted that the best use for this land would be to turn it into a gambling centre, modelled on the lines of Macau. Details about the proposed developments in Kalpitiya can be found on the web fairly easily. What cannot be found as readily are very serious concerns that environmentalists and conservationists have about this development in the region, and the resulting impact on ecosystems and livelihoods.

Deshan Tennekoon is one of Sri Lanka’s best photographers. Titled The Lagoon, the Islands and the Sea, a recent lecture of his at the Fulbright Commission in Colombo, along with Devaka Seneviratne, was on Kalpitiya. As Deshan notes on his blog,

The lives centered on the lagoon and the many marine species of the area are special to the Kalpitiya peninsula. The advent of the Kalpitiya development plan, the impending construction of countless hotels, an airstrip and underwater parks will change irrevocably, these unique natural spaces. This is an attempt to document the rare beauty of an environment and a way of life, while they still exist.

Readers are invited to engage with Renton’s vision for the development of tourism in Sri Lanka, and the controversial notes he ends this conversation on.

• Images from a flooded capital
• Minister of what?????
• A first hand perspective of Sri Lanka’s largest IDP camp: Are they really ‘our people’?
• In conversation with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
• Colombo goes under water, and not for the first time

The venomous response of Devendra in the Island of 16^th March does not merit a reply but I need to set the record straight. As I said in my original entry, “The primary fault is with neither the visitors nor the locals” which is very different to what Devendra seeks to imply. He takes offence over my citing the critical observations of a very distinguished Sinhalese. Rebuilding Sri Lanka requires self-critical acknowledgement of the damage done to the Sri Lankan nation over the decades by the racist policies of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim leaders and by insensitive conduct and practices. It also requires a willingness to engage in corrective action. The corrective action includes not only political reforms but also sensitizing the population and lowering the barriers to inter ethnic communication. The barriers erected by the LTTE to prevent other citizens from traveling to areas controlled by them have disappeared together with the LTTE; several of the barriers erected by the state remain, and new barriers have been erected. Citizens cannot now freely travel to certain areas. New High Security Zones have been created. Tens of thousands of citizens, mostly Tamils and Muslims, cannot even visit their own homes or their own lands in the old or new no go areas.

A week ago I had an opportunity to visit, along with some others, Jaffna and Chavakachcheri. We took the opportunity to call on Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious and community leaders, as well as the Government Agent. We found time to visit the markets in those two cities. This visit gave me an opportunity to make first hand observations.

As expected, I found that the reaction of the local population to the surge of Southern visitors was mixed. The scale of the flow of visitors to Jaffna was in excess of the local capacity to accommodate it. That capacity is gradually increasing through new construction work and through expansion of the markets and production. In the long run this development will bring socio-economic gains to Jaffna, but in the meantime there are ill effects such as those referred to by the person I cited. Moreover the prices of many essential items in the market have escalated. Accommodation is in short supply and often prohibitively expensive. These impact negatively on the local consumers, and on IDPs   visiting Jaffna to look at their property or returning to resettle. Some of the reactions are not very different to those of the locals in tourist locations elsewhere in response to any surge of tourists not sensitive to the local culture. They may feel marginalized by the tourists and priced out of the local markets. On the other hand those running guest houses and the traders are delighted. These reactions too are similar to those running guest houses and shops in centres of tourism.

Devendra’s reference to the local Tamil population as “subjects” is indicative of the problem, as also his cynical dismissal of earlier peace making efforts. We need to promote more in – tourism but in such a way that it promotes inter – ethnic harmony. If this is done in sensitive manner Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in the private sectors will extend their operations to every part of the Island, and every district in the island will become ethnically and culturally more plural. As Devendra should have learnt from the reaction of his Tamil and Muslim “subjects” in Trincomalee, state imposed colonization could be counter productive but if population movements occur without state imposition they would be welcome by the locals. In particular, those evicted earlier from a locality or who left on account of insecurity would be most warmly accepted back. The flow of Sinhalese visitors to Jaffna needs to be sustained but in such a manner that their interaction with the locals is harmonious. This was one of the messages underlined by all the religious and other civil society leaders we met in Jaffna a week ago.

• Rebuilding Sri Lanka
• The Tamil Population and the Politics of Boycotts and Non Participation
• Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) on whether the LTTE is really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka
• Articulating the Concerns of Ethnic Minorities in Relation to Constitutional Proposals
• Analysis of how Jaffna voted and why the EPDP feels defeated in Sri Lanka’s first post-war elections

Piyal Parakrama on Sri Lanka 2048 TV show

Piyal Parakrama’s smile was regular and genuine, but it could be also be a bit misleading. Those who engaged him found that there was a keen mind, passionate heart and a sharp (yet always courteous) tongue behind that disarming smile. Opponents dismissed him lightly at their peril.

In public and media debates, Piyal could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. That flutter and buzz are now abruptly silenced with his sudden death on March 3 at age 49. Another public spirited player has left the stage all too soon.

Piyal combined the roles of environmentalist, educator, researcher and media personality. He wasn’t part of the Colombo elite dabbling in a bit of green activism (mostly concerning wildlife or garbage) in their spare time. Instead, he straddled the parallel worlds of grassroots reality and the often ephemeral preoccupations of Colombo.

Not many knew him in formal capacities as the Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental and Nature Studies, or as founder president of the Nature Conservation Group, or as a consultant to various state and academic institutions. Some might remember his work at the now-defunct Sri Lanka Environment Congress (SLEC) that networked the country’s green groups. These various labels and ‘hats’ don’t really matter when assessing his overall contribution to the conservation movement. Piyal Parakrama was his own distinctive brand — admired, trusted or feared by different sections of society.

Piyal had emerged as a prominent member of what the late Ajith Samaranayake called Sri Lanka’s post-1956 generation: Sinhala-educated, with a high degree of political consciousness and deeply immersed in the art and culture of their times. How tragic, then, that Piyal should depart hastily – just like Ajith himself did, three years ago – when the children of 1956 are consolidating themselves in our politics, arts and commerce.

Given our common interests in development issues and the media, Piyal and I moved in partly overlapping circles. Our paths crossed frequently, and we shared public platforms, newspaper space and broadcast airtime. We even worked together for a few months in the late 1990s at the Sri Lanka Environmental Television Project. His communications skills were invaluable in rendering a number of international environmental films into Sinhala. More than a dozen years later, some are still in circulation.

We didn’t always agree. Sometimes we argued furiously over issues that we both cared deeply about but analysed differently. I felt he was too idealistic in his visions of reviving natural resource management practices of the past. Everyone is entitled to their bit of romanticism, for sure, but when advocating policy reforms or behaviour change, we need to root our positions on more realistic ground.

L to R – Nalaka Gunawardene, Mark Harvey (Internews) & Piyal Parakrama in Nepal, Oct 1996

Biodiversity

For example, Piyal passionately believed that Sri Lanka must go back to being an agriculture-dominated economy. (In 2008, agriculture’s contribution to the national GDP was a mere 12.1 per cent.) But unlike those who look back at 25 centuries of history in wistful nostalgia and try to revive times irretrievably lost, he rationalised his position. In a media interview given days after Sri Lanka’s long-drawn civil war ended, he explained his vision based on a ‘natural resource account’ for the country: “This is just like running a private company where it operates within the available resources, unlike the government which lives beyond its means.”
In that same interview, he underlined the need to develop agriculture in the North which was once very productive and grew a fifth of Sri Lanka’s food. He added: “We need to promote agro-eco tourism. We need to promote a tourism that will not ruin the environment and take away the little resources we have.”

Piyal’s forte was biodiversity – the collective term for all plants, animals (wild and domesticated) and their various habitats from forests and mountains to the coasts and oceans. His interest and knowledge were nurtured first at the Young Zoologists Association – where he remained a volunteer for 30 years – and later at the Lumumba Friendship University in Russia, where he studied biology from 1983 to 1986.

During the past three decades, Piyal and fellow activists have taken up the formidable challenges of conserving Sri Lanka’s biodiversity, long under multiple pressures such as growing human numbers, rising human aspirations, and gaps in law enforcement. Adding to the sense of urgency was the 1999 designation of Sri Lanka as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, where high levels of endemic species (found nowhere else in the wild) were threatened with extinction. Public and media attention is disproportionately focused on a few charismatic mega-fauna like elephants and leopards; in reality, dozens of other animal and plant species are being edged out.

In search of viable solutions for entrenched conservation problems, Piyal collaborated with scientists, educators, journalists and grassroots activists. Some industrialists and investors hated his guts, but he was much sought after by schools, universities and community groups across the country. Concerned researchers and government officials sometimes gave him sensitive information which he could make public in ways they couldn’t.

Some eco-protests grew into sustained campaigns. Among them were the call to save the Buona-Vista reef at Rumassala and struggles against large scale sugarcane plantations in Bibile. A current campaign focuses on the Iran-funded Uma Oya multipurpose project, which involves damming a river for irrigation and power generation purposes.

While environmentalists ultimately haven’t block development projects, their agitations helped increase environmental and public health safeguards. Occasionally, projects were moved to less damaging locations – as happened in mid 2008, when Sri Lanka’s second international airport was moved away from Weerawila, next to the Bundala National Park.

Political flirtations

The hard truth, however, is that our green activists have lost more struggles than they have won since the economy was liberalized in 1977. They have not been able to stand up to the all-powerful executive presidency, ruling the country since 1978 — most of that time under Emergency regulations. In that period, we have had ‘green’ and ‘blue’ parties in office, sometimes in coalitions with the ‘reds’. But their environmental record is, at best, patchy. In many cases, local or foreign investors — acting with the backing of local politicians and officials — have bulldozed their way on promises of more jobs and incomes. Environmentalists have sometimes been maligned as anti-development or anti-people. In contemporary Sri Lanka, that’s just one step away from being labeled anti-national or anti-government.

Piyal was astute enough to know the limits of knowledge-based advocacy and grassroots agitation in Sri Lanka. Maybe that’s why he also flirted with party politics. He was the founding president of the Green Party of Sri Lanka, a duly registered (even if little known) political party.

It was started to address systemic and structural reforms needed to place Sri Lanka on a more sustainable and equitable path of economic development. The founders wanted to promote concepts such as the ecological footprint and environmental justice. But in our tribal political culture, issue-based political advocacy can only go so far. I have no idea where the Green Party stands on key issues of the day, or whether it retains its original green character today.

While Piyal’s loyalty to the larger environmental or social causes was never in question, I sometimes wondered about the company he kept. A case in point was the Patriotic National Movement, a motley collection of Sinhala nationalists, west-bashers and conspiracy theorists. I’m not sure if that was due to simple pragmatism or deep conviction – we chose not to debate politics in our encounters.

One point where we had total agreement was on the power of mass media to inform and influence public opinion. He tapped every kind of mass media to reach as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. He was a regular contributor to newspapers and a popular guest on radio and TV talk shows.

He was also a trusted source of news and opinions for many journalists.

The last time we collaborated was in such a media venture. In mid 2008, Piyal joined an hour-long TV debate we produced as part of the Sri Lanka 2048 series. The show discussed the various choices and trade-offs that had to be made today to create a more sustainable Sri Lanka over the next 40 years. Piyal could speak authoritatively on several topics we covered in the 10-part series, but I invited him to the debate on managing freshwater. With his deep knowledge of traditional water and soil conservation systems, he was truly in his element there.

High and low shrill

I was always impressed (and even envious) of his command of Sinhala: his was a friendly style, informed and idiomatic without being excessively technocratic or legalistic. Piyal could deliver a coherent ‘sound bite’ to be used by a broadcast journalist, and also speak at length on the same topic. Not many activists or academics can manage this feat.

Another of his skills was what I call the variable shrill: ability to increase or tone down the amount of rhetoric to suit the occasion. Whenever he joined a public event or TV debate that I moderated, Piyal heeded my request for a low-shrill, high-substance contribution. (I’m all for plurality of views, but believe that rhetoric – like spices – is best taken in moderate quantities.)

Activism is not an easy path anywhere, anytime, and especially so in modern day Sri Lanka. All activists – whether working on democracy, governance, social justice or environment – are struggling to reorient themselves in the post-conflict, middle-income country they suddenly find themselves in. Their old rhetoric and strategies no longer seem to motivate the people or influence either the polity or policy. Many of them haven’t yet crossed the Other Digital Divide, and risk being left behind by the march of technology.

Don’t get me wrong. I salute every activist who comes forward to champion the public interest on behalf of a (mostly) passive and apathetic public. Most Lankans are either contented with the status quo, or just too preoccupied with their daily survival, to worry about the bigger picture. Activists work like the proverbial elves while the rest of us take it easy.

As indeed Piyal did, all his adult life, with few material rewards. He had no illusions about the hardships of his chosen career path. He also walked the talk, living frugally and treading very lightly on the earth. To his credit, he never abandoned the good struggle or sacrificed it all to become yet another presidential advisor…

Piyal heeded Anita Roddick’s advice to fellow activists worldwide: take it personally. Perhaps he took it too personally. Sitting next to Piyal’s silent body last week, his mother told me that he had no major worries or regrets in his life, and I want to believe her. But I also know there is little respite for those who care too deeply about the public commons and the common good.

We have been warned.

~

Science writer Nalaka Gunawardene dreams of becoming an activist one day, but for now, he remains a ‘critical cheer-leader’ of those who are more courageous. He blogs on media, society and development at http://movingimages.wordpress.com

• Falling from grace: On Sripathi’s demise and using terror against terror
• GM Mosquitoes Unleashed in Sri Lanka? Multinational Company’s Involvement Suspected
• On Lasantha Wickremetunge, media freedom and human rights in Sri Lanka: Interview with Dilrukshi Handunnetti
• Let’s stop corruption in Sri Lanka!
• Yellow Banana

“It is reported that the people of the North, especially in the Jaffna district, have developed a feeling of dissatisfaction, disaffection and contempt towards the people of the South, who post the end of the war are now engaging in pilgrimage and sightseeing related visits to the North in large numbers, and in the process totally disregarding the need for privacy, encroaching on meagre infrastructure resources and services of the district, causing significant negative impact on the environment/cleanliness and pollution in the area, and behaving in a manner unacceptable by the cultural and religious values of the Northerners.

These negative feelings are expressed in relation to the following issues highlighted in support of the claim;

1. Large and unrestricted numbers of pilgrims are traveling from the South to the Jaffna District especially to visit Naghadhipa, Nallur Kovil, Madhu Church and other places of religious worship and there are no adequate infrastructure facilities for this level of inflow

2. Following the pilgrimage these visitors engage in sightseeing and visit war damaged areas, IDP resettlement areas and places of religious and cultural heritage of the Northerners

3. During the sightseeing tours visitors do not effectively engage with the people of the area, do not respect their need for privacy nor empathise with their present status and enquire and try to extend any help or even express feelings of solidarity as citizens of one nation in brotherhood. They state and look at them in a manner that they feel that they were once captives of the Terror groups, then displaced persons and now destitute looked on by their southern citizens as animals in a cage or helpless people in a hopeless state. These feelings are heightened as the people in the North do not see their plight, lifestyles and challenges of life and livelihoods are shared by the southern brothers and sisters.

4. Large numbers use Duraiappa Stadium and areas in the vicinity and these areas are not capable of providing the necessary housing, waste, sanitation, garbage clearance facilities to the present level of visitors and therefore they use open areas and their resting areas for washing, toilets, cooking and leave the areas totally polluted with garbage, polythene, waste and toilet waste causing great inconvenience to residents

5. These pilgrims indiscriminately use the water and other resources of nearby temples, kovils and Churches and use water for washing, cleaning after toilet use etc without consideration of the cultural and religious values and use of these premises and the state they leave behind after use with no concern for residents who use the same facilities thereafter

6. Visitors who are not actual worshipers crowd temples/kovils during poojah time and crowd out actual users and disturb the sanctity and value of the poojahs

7. These pilgrims use religious places and culturally significant places like the Jaffna Library disrespectfully ( in shoes) and use it for lying down, relaxing and entertainment including some times for consumption of alcohol

8. High Ace Vans are sometimes parked in front of Kovils and other places of cultural significance and visitors have food and at times alcohol and dancing with blaring music disrespecting the places of worship and cultural values

9. Ladies and Young Girls on bicycles are subjected to harassment, whistling, hooting and negative comments by visitors

10. Insensitive behaviours all round by not recognizing and aligning with the the socio-cultural values of Northerners.”

I have not been to the North post war, but vividly remember my post cease fire (2002) visits to Jaffna, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee where I encountered scenes and reactions very different to those described above. Those scenes were of the joyful mingling on equal terms of thousands of visitors and locals. Now, it appears, the meetings are of the victims and the vanquished. The primary fault is with neither the visitors nor the locals but with the manner in which the end of the war was treated by the national leadership and the media. The atmosphere of triumphalism, yet prevailing, is deeply damaging to inter ethnic harmony and to the prospects of healing wounds and reconstructing the Sri Lankan nation. There is much physical construction work but the locals remain disempowered and marginalized.

Under Apartheid, South Africa had been burdened with incomparably greater inter-ethnic hostilities and institutionalized racism and oppression than Sri Lanka ever was. But with the inspired leadership of Mandela, Tutu, and the others, they successfully dislodged those burdens in a manner that few predicted, and achieved a level of success that seemed impossible. Leadership of that quality may not appear anywhere on our planet for decades to come, but can we in Sri Lanka not find ways to bridge our much more modest but yet widening ethnic divides? We surely can, though, sadly, we see very little of even acknowledgement of the problem, still less of meaningful steps to address it. Our problems today are of our own creation and not of meddlesome foreigners or of the Diaspora or of the LTTE, dead since mid May 2009.

• A Reply to Tissa Devendra on Rebuilding Sri Lanka
• Daily Security Report from UN – The plight of the North & East
• Cutting off telecoms in Sri Lanka redux…
• Jaffna after the war: Observations by a visitor
• Interview with a leading Buddhist priest on whether the LTTE is really finished and the war over in Sri Lanka

The real blame should be accepted by the authorities who manage these prisons. Who collect innocent animals from around the country, and from around the world and who keep these animals in small cages for life. The only escape for the animals is through death. Death would be a really welcome relief for them.

These animals and birds are captured, separated from their parents and siblings and separated from their habitat, their food, their playgrounds, their hunting grounds. We bring animals who live in very cold climates and also from tropical rain forests and deserts. We bring animals who are used to changing seasons, who migrate from one place to another with the seasons, who hibernate. Then we also send our own animals to live in arid climates or permanently cold regions.

We try to train some of these animals to perform circus acts. The animals would never on their own, perform these tricks. They would have liked to play with their own friends and siblings or their parents, but would never want to perform in front of beasts who claim they are humans.

It is time to question if we really do need these concentration camps for animals. Man is always curious to see other exotic countries, animals and birds. But should it not be in their natural habitat?

But visiting them in their natural habitat by all these millions of people would not be the answer, because that would ruin the habitat and the eco-system leading to the extinction of the fauna and flora in these sanctuaries.

We really do not need to cage the animals, or visit them in their home grounds. We can still see them, perhaps study them under better conditions, see them close up, see them as they live their lives, spend hours and hours watching them. We can do this without disturbing the animals or their environment, without harming them, and we can also do this in comfort, and at very little cost.

This is possible with the available audio-visual technology. Then only a very few people have to invade the lives of these creatures, and they can bring these images to our living room, our desk or even our phone. Children can learn more about these birds and animals at their desk, than they could do by glancing at a suffering animal in a cage for a few minutes.

Let us close down all our Nazi type concentrations camps for animals. Let us give them their freedom, which is their absolute right. Let us show them loving kindness. Let us show them that we can be humane if we really want to.

• For Mr K with love
• Sri Lanka’s IDP camp Manik Farm is what it is (but what is that?)
• Forgotten IDPs from the North
• The divide between Muslims and Tamils: Perspective of an IDP
• Christmas 2008 in Sri Lanka

Nalaka Gunawardene (left) and President Mohamed Nasheed in Male, Aug 2009

The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives is the smallest country in Asia – it packs 325,000 people into a land area just under 300 square kilometres. With an average ground level of 1.5 metres (5 feet) above sea level, it is also the lowest country on the planet, and now on the frontline of climate change impact. As the polar ice melts and sea levels rise, these and other low-lying islands will be the first to go under water. Coastal erosion, salt intrusion and extreme weather events will make many islands uninhabitable much sooner.

Since he became the first democratically elected head of state of the Maldives in November 2008, President Mohamed Nasheed has been an outspoken and pragmatic voice speaking on behalf of his and other small island states, grouped under the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). President Nasheed sees climate change both as a human rights issue and a national security threat.

During the current run-up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009, he has been urging the world to defend the ‘frontline states’. He made this call at the 64th United Nations General Assembly, the UN Summit on Climate Change and other high level gatherings around the world.

In late August 2009, President Nasheed filmed an exclusive interview with TVE Asia Pacific‘s Director Nalaka Gunawardene. In this wide-ranging interview, recorded in the Maldivian capital Malé before he headed out to New York for the UN meetings, he shared his concerns and visions for his island nation. He emphasized how democracy and good governance are vital for countries adapting to climate change. His message to the world leaders: Don’t be stupid! The deed is done, so instead of finger pointing, let’s see how we can cope with impacts.

TVE Asia Pacific has produced a short film based on the interview, titled Small Islands – Big Impact (6 mins). Being released in time for the International Day of Climate Action, 24 October 2009, it is directed by Nalaka Gunawardene, who as a science writer has been covering the Maldives and climate change for 20 years.

This exchange is derived from the TV interview you can watch in full above.

Nalaka Gunawardene: How would you describe your country’s vulnerability to climate change impacts, current and anticipated?

President Mohamed Nasheed: We live on 200 islands, and the highest point on any of these islands is just 1.5 metres (five feet) above sea level. If you run any of these scenarios of sea level rise, you will very much realise that within no time, we would be under water. This is a very real threat to us. Even now, some islanders are having to move homes from where they lived to elsewhere. There are serious coastal erosion problems. So that’s all very real — and it’s happening now!

Also, during the last four or five years, our fish catch has really come down quite substantially. Part of the reason, I am told, is that the oceans are warmer, and therefore, the tuna is not surfacing enough. We fish one by one. To do that, the school of fish has to come up. Because we do not pursine (net fishing): our fishermen are at a loss for maintaining the level of catch that they have had in the past. Fisheries is our main livelihood and the islands are where we live on…if the islands are under threat, and if fisheries are going down, we will have so many difficulties.

And tourism is our other main economic activity. If climate change affects the coral reef, it is going to impact and pose many challenges for the tourism industry as well. So basically, we have challenges all throughout…

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives

Nalaka: Yours is the smallest independent state in Asia, and your contribution to the (global warming) problem has been miniscule. How do the Maldivian people feel about being on the frontline of impact?

President Nasheed: Of course, the injustice of it all is very much felt…and specially when people know more about why these climate changes are happening, they understand that it has nothing to do with them…that they didn’t do any of these things.

But then again, what we have always maintained is that there is no point in pointing fingers (now). The deed is done, it’s going to happen — so let’s move on and see how we may be able to not only mitigate, but also adapt to the changing situation.

Nalaka: Is that the kind of pragmatic approach that you adopt?

President Nasheed: Well, there is no good that we can achieve now by saying that this was someone else’s doing. The deed is done, whoever who did it! So however much we go on talking about it, it cannot change the situation. But then, those who can assist others should be assisting others, in mitigation, adaptation, financially, technical assistance or any other form of other assistance…if we can all get together and see how we may be able to overcome these issues, that’s where the solutions lie.

Nalaka: You have argued that climate change is not just an environmental problem but also a global human rights issue. Can you elaborate?

President Nasheed: It definitely is. In our minds, it is the right to life. We will die if this goes on, and therefore, we have a fundamental right for life. If that is challenged, we have to link it be a human rights issue, and not just an environmental issue. Also, this not only a human rights issue but also a security issue. There will be many further challenges because of climate change affecting the relationship between nations. If we are going to have our resources coming down, or if the resource levels we use are disrupted, that it is bound to bring differences between people. So this can very easily become a security issue.
We are one of the frontline states of a security threat, and we feel that countries should be defending frontline states. If you cannot defend the Maldives today, you will not be able to defend yourself tomorrow.

Nalaka: You have drawn a parallel with Poland during World War Two?

President Nasheed: For me, it’s very obvious. If Europeans thought it was important to defend Poland in the 1930s, then it is important to defend the Maldives now. If it was important to defend Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s, then it is important to defend the Maldives now. Here is an issue that is growing, and we would be much, much better off if we can nip it in the bud.

Nalaka: You have also made an important link between consolidating democracy and adapting to climate change. I find it a refreshingly new perspective. Can you expand on that?

President Nasheed: Traditionally, we’ve always thought that adaptation (living with climate change) represents physical structures – revetments, embankments, breakwaters, etc. But we feel that the most important adaptation issue is good governance and, therefore, consolidating democracy is very important for adaptation. When climate changes, and when you start feeling the actual impacts of it, you will be wasting all the resources without a proper governance system.

We have examples to this. The previous government started adaptation programmes in some 160 islands and out of that, more than 60 – 70 per cent of the projects are not moving, simply because of governance issues. Either you gave the contract to the wrong person, or you started doing a whole variety of works without proper consultations with the people, and then we’re finding difficulties. So we feel that democracy and good governance is very, very important for adaptation. If you are to make good use of the resources you have, you have to be able to have a proper governance system.

Nalaka: But in democracies, politicians are constantly under public pressure and generally think more in terms of the next election than the next generation. How do you balance these two?

President Nasheed: The people have to be informed well, that what they want for the next election is proper mitigation and adaptation and so that is where the balance comes. The benevolent dictator is not there. And to assume that a benevolent dictator would save you from climate change…I’m sorry, that hasn’t really quite happened since Plato — or even while he was around. I don’t think your benevolent dictator would be able to come up with adaptation measures. Rather, it’s the people who decide that they have to be saved and they pressure or they raise their points with the rulers and the politicians. Then, if competitive politics decide issues, you’re bound to come out with what the people want.

Nalaka: You announced in March 2009 that the Maldives would become carbon-neutral in 10 years’ time. What is your vision for achieving this?

President Nasheed: Most importantly, because it makes economic sense. Renewable energy costs a little bit more in terms of capital expenditure but in terms of recurrent expenditure, it’s far, far more economical. So we feel that while we have all these resources – the sun, the ocean currents and the wind – we shouldn’t be importing energy or producing electricity and energy through imported fossil fuels. If we can make use of our own resources — the sun, streams and the ocean currents — we would be much better off. These economic models are more feasible than the fossil fuels based electricity-generating models.

Yes, we understand that our becoming carbon-neutral will not save the world, but at least we would have the comfort of knowing that we did the right thing. We hope to be an example to others, and we hope that others also realise that here is a viable scenario and a viable framework of economics to have renewable energy.

Nalaka: Speaking of scenarios, when you assumed office (in November 2008) you launched a “sovereign wealth fund” for relocating your people in another country. Where is it now?

President Nasheed: The fund is now formulated. We will have to save for a rainy day. And during the worst case scenarios, as responsible politicians, we should be able to tap funds and money set aside for a rainy day. So the fund is going on, and hopefully we will have something when the going gets very bad….

Nalaka: Finally, what is your key message to Copenhagen Climate Summit?

President Nasheed: Well, in a nutshell, I’d like to say what has already been said: ‘Don’t be stupid!‘. Going on and on about who did it is not going to save us. This is the time to realise that the deed is done. So let’s see how we may be able to proceed from here. If you have some money, please give it to someone who doesn’t have. If you have technology, please give it to someone who doesn’t have that technology. There is no point pointing fingers.

Note: ‘Small Islands, Big Impact’ was produced by TVE Asia Pacific in collaboration with COM+ Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development. It is available free for broadcast, educational and online use without copyright restrictions – please contact: films@tveap.org. More on the making of this film is found on Nalaka’s personal blog, http://movingimages.wordpress.com

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The excerpt:

The second exciting and panic-inducing event was the botched Tsunami Early Warning Test last Thursday, the 10^th.  The papers had announced that the new warning towers would be tested on the 19^th, so you can see the first problem.  Second, no one I talked to knew where these towers were.  Turns out that there are three in the District: one in Kallady, about a mile or so from my house, one in Kalmuai (technically in Ampara District but on the border), about 35km (20 miles) to the south, and at Passakudah, about the same distance north.

(For reference on the date, please see the following article. Note the last sentence.)

I have to tell you that almost no one lives in the Passakudah area; just a couple hamlets. So why did they put the tower there, instead of in a densely populated coastal region like Kattankudy?  I’ll tell you.  Before the war Passakudah was famous as a beach for swimming.  I’ve written about it in the past, and it is one of the most beautiful beaches in Sri Lanka.  Now the war is over, there are plans to develop Passakudah with five star tourist hotels.  In fact, they’ve already started fencing off parts of it, which is crime in my mind. So THAT’S why there is a tower there, rather than where local people live. It’s a matter of priorities.

So of course, my first though was “if you don’t live within earshot of the siren, which is the majority of folks, how are you going too know?” Then “are they gonna put up more towers?”  I hope so, otherwise the majority of people here are truly… well, you know.

So last Thursday morning I was on the roof, hanging my laundry on the line.  Suddenly, from a distance, I faintly hear “Beep. Beep. Beep,” and then an announcement in garbled Tamil.  More beeping, then another announcement in Sinhala.  Repeat again, but this time in English; a very proper English lady’s voice telling me in a pleasant conversational tone that there is a tsunami warning.

I was a bit confused, having read the article in the paper.  It wasn’t the 19^th.  So I went down to my floor, and got my camera.  You never know.

I might add here that my house is about a mile from the beach; during the 2004 tsunami, the wave was only three feet deep by the time it got here.  But it did roll a van off the bridge at the far end (seaward) of the lagoon across the street, depositing it in front of my house, and killing an entire family, except on little girl.

Needless to say, the entire neighborhood was out on the street, confused in that stunned inactive sort of way people have when something shocking happens.  Most people do not read newspapers, so I was the only one who knew about the testing on the 19^th. I couldn’t tell you if any of this was announced on radio or TV.

After 15 minutes or so, there was a new set of sirens and announcements.  Straining to hear, I could just barely make out “This has been a test.  There is no tsunami threat…”

So if your question is if the tower worked, then yes, it did.  Did the test work?  No. Few people knew about the testing and it was done on a different day than was publicized.  Those that could hear it were largely either confused or panicked. The vast majority of folks within the tsunami zone had no idea there was even a test, or towers even, and in the event of a real tsunami last week they would have been taken without warning.  Clearly many more towers are needed along with a better education and publicity effort.

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Recently Sri Lanka has shown increased interest in using nuclear energy for future power generation. The Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) of Sri Lanka is in the process of seeking cabinet approval to initiate a programme for ‘Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Use’.

Initial explorations in Sri Lanka have shown that some areas of the Southern and Western coastline have thorium deposits, which can be used as a nuclear fuel. India, which utilizes thorium for large-scale energy production has entered discussions on how it could assist Sri Lanka to develop thorium based energy.

This article argues that nuclear energy is not a viable option for energy generation in Sri Lanka as it is not safe, cost effective or emission free as proponents of nuclear energy suggest. The article advocates that the Sri Lankan Government should explore and invest in renewable energy sources to manage Sri Lanka’s energy needs in the future.

The ugly truth about nuclear energy

Nuclear energy is not cost effective – initial costs of installing a nuclear power plant are exorbitant and this will be passed through to the taxpayers over the years. In addition nuclear power is one of the most protected and subsidized industries globally, “In the mid-1990s, governments worldwide were subsidising fossil fuels and nuclear power to the tune of US$250-300 billion per annum. Global subsidies for conventional (fossil fuel and nuclear) energy remain many magnitudes higher than those for more benign alternatives such as efficiency and renewables” (Medical Association for Prevention of War- Australia).

The Government will also incur additional costs for exploration, extraction and transportation of material, maintainance of plant, and providing high-end security to the material and the plant.  These costs too will be passed on to the people.

In addition if a nuclear accident occurs in the island the people will be burdened with the cost of decontamination and health care.

Therefore generating electricity from nuclear power is an expensive process and not a one-time investment.

Nuclear energy is not safe – A report by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War highlights the large-scale irreversible damage caused by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 (Pflugbeil, Paulitz, and Claußen, 2006). According to Russian authorities about 90% (540,000 to 775,000) of the young men sent out to clean the nuclear accident have become invalids, falling sick and dying prematurely.  Infant mortality (perinatal mortality) has significantly risen in several European countries and Genetic and teratogenic damage (malformations) have also significantly risen in many European countries (Pflugbeil, Paulitz, and Claußen, 2006).  In Bavaria alone, between 1000 and 3000 additional birth deformities have been found since Chernobyl.  The overall extent of the genetic damage caused by the Chernobyl catastrophe can only be vaguely estimated since only 10% of the overall excepted damage can be seen in the first generation (Pflugbeil, Paulitz, and Claußen, 2006).

Although scientists argue that all modern nuclear power plants take every necessary precaution to avoid nuclear disasters like the Chernobyl tragedy there have been strings of accidents that have occurred right up to 2009 (Nuclearfiles.org). Accidents can generally be classified as loss of coolant accident, criticality accident, decay heat accident, transport accident, equipment failure accident, human error accident, and lost source accident.

In 2004 August in Mihama, Japan, non-radioactive steam leaked from a nuclear power plant, killing four workers and severely burning seven others (Nuclearfiles.org). It was considered Japan’s worst nuclear accident. In 2006 at the Kjeller reactor in Norway, there was a leak in a pump used with the recombination circuit (Nuclearfiles.org). The Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology said radiation seeped out for about 15 minutes. This was not the first time that there was an accident at the Kjeller reactor; there were 3 serious accidents from 2001 to 2006 (Nuclearfiles.org). On the 2 September 2008 the German government confirmed that the Asse II facility, a nuclear waste storage that held 126,000 barrels of waste, has a leak, and has been leaking for over twenty years (Nuclearfiles.org). After this confirmation, Germany was forced to think about another place for storing all the waste (Nuclearfiles.org).

It is evident that accidents occur at nuclear sites and that the most sophisticated security measures are not infallible. A nuclear accident in Sri Lanka, which has a landmass of 65,610 km², could threaten the entire island and create a nuclear wasteland.

Nuclear energy is not climate friendly – nuclear power generation has a high dependence on fossil fuels. A study conducted by the Oko Institute highlights that the entire nuclear fuel cycle emits Co₂ indirectly thereby contributing to the process of climate change (Fritsche, 2006). In comparison to renewable energy, energy generated from nuclear power releases 4-5 times more Co₂ per unit of energy produced, taking into account the entire nuclear fuel cycle (Fritsche, 2006).

In November 2000 the world recognised nuclear power as a dangerous and unnecessary technology by refusing to give it greenhouse gas credits during the UN Climate Change talks in The Hague (Greenpeace). Nuclear power was dealt a further blow when a UN Sustainable Development Conference refused to label nuclear a sustainable technology in April 2001 (Greenpeace).

Nuclear energy will degrade the environment– Sri Lanka is a bio-diversity hot spot with unique flora and fauna species. The generation of electricity through nuclear power will seriously degrade the environment and threaten the fragile eco-systems on the island. Mining for nuclear material causes serious environmental degradation that cannot be repaired (Mudd).

The Atomic Energy Authority has proposed to set up a nuclear installation in a small island off the main coast and have suggested the islands of Mannar or Delft as potential sites. Mannar district is around 2,002 sq. km² and hosts around 104,000 people. It has a coastline of 163 km was a major fishing port before the conflict and the fishing restrictions. In addition over 60% of Mannar’s population are involved in paddy cultivation. Delft Island is also a major fishing port.

Setting up nuclear facilities in these islands off the West and North of Sri Lanka will undoubtedly create health hazards for the people living in the islands, degrade the environment and seriously hinder agriculture and fishing which are the livelihoods of the people. The impacts will not be confined to the locality of the installation and will also affect agriculture, marine life, local fauna and flora across Sri Lanka.

Radiation emitted in the nuclear industry will harm local employees – The health impacts of exposure to radiation, and fissile material are being researched across the world. Although not conclusively proven research indicates that exposure to thorium could increase birth defects and liver diseases (Najem, and Voyce, 1990). Research carried out in the US suggests that low-level radiation exposure on workers exposed in the nuclear industry increase their health risks. Therefore a proliferation of nuclear power plants inevitably means more nuclear workers and more residents exposed to low-level ionizing radiation, with increased health risks attendant to this exposure (Clapp, 2005).

Nuclear waste is a health hazard – disposing of nuclear material would be a major challenge for Sri Lanka which is grappling with a serious solid waste disposal problem. Every nuclear power station converts uranium fuel rods through nuclear fission into highly radioactive nuclear waste. Nuclear waste constitutes a life-threatening hazard because of its radioactive emissions. A typical power reactor produces 25-30 tonnes of spent fuel annually (Green, 2005). Annually, about 12,000 to 14,000 tonnes of spent fuel are produced by power reactors worldwide (Green, 2005). People, animals and plants need to therefore be shielded from it for several hundreds of thousands of years. Nuclear power stations have been in operation for some 50 years but to date no one knows how nuclear waste can ultimately be stored. Worldwide there is not one safe and secure disposal option for the highly radioactive waste produced by nuclear power stations.

Nuclear power could pose a regional security threat – The volatility of the South Asian region dictates that nuclear power plants pose a major security risk for the entire region. Terrorism, sabotage and 9/11 style attacks on nuclear reactors would create massive destruction. Therefore it is irresponsible to construct new nuclear power plants rather than phase out and close existing plants.

Nuclear resources are finite – Like fossil fuels, nuclear power depends on non-renewable and finite resources (Green, 2005). The world’s resources of Uranium will not last more than a few decades, especially now that the US is building new plants, China is expanding rapidly and countries like India are also talking about increasing their nuclear energy production.

Energy conservation and renewable energy

In the 1980 and 1990 Sri Lanka invested heavily on large-scale hydro-power schemes. However currently these hydro-power schemes do not generate the estimated mega watts of power due to a multitude of reasons including cracks in dams, and siltation in the catchment areas. It is critical that existing sources of power generation are maintained and improved to maximize power generation to meet future energy needs.

In addition it is critical that Sri Lankans conserve energy. Currently many communities across the globe are experimenting with clean energy lifestyles, which use energy efficiently. In UK, US and Canada new healthy sustainable communities are being built based on the premise that an ordinary resident will be able to live sustainably with little extra effort.

Sri Lanka has a responsibility to explore and invest in energy sources, which are renewable, and emission free. It is of critical importance that wind, solar, and bioenergy sources are given prominence and that electricity generation from these renewable sources are increased. Although Europe and the United States have invested in nuclear power there is active debate and mounting pressure to phase out these installations in favour of clean, renewable sources. Europe is planning to get 22% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2010, creating nearly a million additional jobs. The trend of rapid rise in nuclear energy is only seen in India and China, which expect an exponential rise in energy demand by 2050.

Raising awareness against using nuclear power

Unfortunately the public debate on nuclear energy in Sri Lanka is almost non-existent. Proponents of nuclear energy allege that nuclear energy has been unfairly demonized. The Atomic Energy Authority of Sri Lanka has initiated the Young Nuclear Scientists’ Society (YNSS) with the aim of attracting the younger generation to using nuclear power. In this situation there is an urgent need to generate public debate on nuclear energy generation so that Sri Lanka can make informed energy polices. Nuclear energy is not an energy option for Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans must take a stand now.

Bibliography

Fritsche, U. R., 2006. Comparison of Greenhouse-Gas Emissions and Abatement Cost of Nuclear and Alternative Energy Options from a Life-Cycle Perspective. [Online] Available at: Comparison of Greenhouse-Gas Emissions and Abatement Cost of Nuclear and Alternative Energy Options from a Life-Cycle Perspective [Accessed 3 September 2009].

Green, Jim., 2005. Greenpeace. Nuclear Power: No Solution to Climate Change.  [Online] Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/resources/reports/climate-change/nuclear-power-no-solution-to [Accessed 5 September 2009].

Greenpeace. End the nuclear age. [Online]

Available at: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/nuclear [Accessed 4 September 2008].

Medical Association for Prevention of War- Australia. Nuclear Power.  [Online] Available at: http://www.mapw.org.au/nuclear-chain/nuclear-power [Accessed 3 September 2009].

Mudd, G. M., Uranium Mining: Australia and Globally. [Online] Available at: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:-rBxdQy0AusJ:www.energyscience.org.au/FS06%2520Uranium%2520Mining.pdf+uranium+as+a+finite+resource&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=lk&client=firefox-a [Accessed 3 September 2009].

Najem, G. R., and Voyce, L. K., 1990. Health Effects of a Thorium Waste Disposal Site. [Online] Available at: www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/80/4/478.pdf [Accessed 3 September 2009].

Clapp, R. W., 2005. Nuclear Power and Public Health. Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 113, Number 11. [Online] Available at: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2005/113-11/editorial.html [Accessed 4 September 2009].

Nuclearfiles.org. Accidents 2000. [Online] Available at: http://www.nuclearfiles.org/ menu/ key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/accidents/accidents-2000s.htm [Accessed 3 September 2009].

Pflugbeil, S., Paulitz, H., and Claußen, A., 2006. Health Effects of Chernobyl

20 years after the reactor catastrophe. [Online] Available at: http://www.ippnw-students.org/chernobyl/research.html [Accessed 5 December 2009].

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I was eager to learn about the current science of climate change and how well nations around the world are responding to it.  To my dismay, I found that global carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 70% in the last 20 years.  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that the evidence is even stronger that human factors have exacerbated the climate change process.   In fact, we are knocking on the doors of a Climate Catastrophe, if our planet’s temperature rises more than 2 degrees Celsius and the atmospheric carbon levels move towards 400 parts per million (ppm), when it should remain below 350.

Almost every country had not met their promised commitment to the 1992 UN Framework Convention in their national economic interest, except the European Union coming close.  I was really disappointed that Canada, a country that is normally socially and environmental conscious had dropped their commitment in favor of squeezing oil from the Alberta Tar Sands.  Japan and Australia were also way behind and of course US did not commit at all.

Then there is India and China moving into carbon regime like a freight train out of control. They are going to win the prize for the highest rate of increase of carbon emissions as they post 10% plus annual economic growth rates and displace the US as highest emitters in the next few decades.  According to Asoka Abeygunawardana, Executive Director of the Energy Forum, even Sri Lanka has increased its rate of carbon emissions by 230%  from 1990 with all the new thermal energy generation and will take it over the top when the first coal power plant comes on line in 2010.

As developing nations, the argument goes that we have to play catch up and the only way to do so is through oil and coal technologies. With lower standards in emission controls in the developing world and the use of cheaper high sulfur coal, there is going to be huge adverse impacts on the local population, agriculture and the ecology, let alone the globe.

The end result for humanity is  –  we may all suffer together when the climate change curve hits the point of no return.

How ironic I thought as I sat through session after session in Kathmandu feeling helpless and musing at the contradiction, that we live in a world of high technology doing things beyond the wildest imaginations of science fiction writers of yore, yet we are primitive and selfish when it comes to sharing and caring for our planet and humanity.

When I was asked to facilitate the last session to plan CANSA’s activities for the future, I felt the urge to do something innovative to get everyone’s attention at a different level.  One of the challenges we face is that we externalize and compartmentalize all the negative evidence as a survival mechanism.   So we tend not to act as long as we feel a semblance of normalcy and balance in our personal lives.   As such, we do not inquire and reflect on how we act and contribute to the status quo, even though intellectually we know about all this and talk a good game. Therefore, we need to put a mirror on our selves first.

At the same time, we are selfish in thinking in relative terms – we feel owed in relation to others who may seem to have more materially than us. This is the problem we face in the developing world as we shirk our responsibility to act in the greater interest of this planet and its future generations.   So, I needed an activity to provoke people to become mindful about individual and collective responsibility – both the haves and have nots –  if we were to avert a Climate Catastrophe as it is described now.

At the spur of the moment, I thought of a game my friend and business partner Robert Vanderwall of Sage Training introduced me to that brought out our true selfish and competitive natures.  It is called the Winning Game.

Playing the Winning Game

The Winning Game is designed to play between four teams where the objective is to win as much money as possible.  I named the four teams with the areas identified for strategic focus in taking CANSA forward.

I played five rounds with them where each team had to make a choice of selecting  X or Y on  a piece of paper per round.  If all four teams scored X, they all lost $ 1000 a piece and if they all scored Y, they all won $ 1000 a piece.  However, in the combinations, if one or more teams scored X they won while the teams who scored Y lost.

In the initial two rounds the four teams were not allowed to talk to each other.  On the third round where I offered a two times bonus they were given an opportunity to communicate with each other and a chance to collaborate. There was one team which was committed to scoring Y throughout the game as they realized Y was the only way to win in the long run. When they all met to negotiate, they tried to convince the others that scoring Y was for the common good. Everyone made a commitment to do so, just like they did at the UN Convention back in 1992. However, two teams decided to deceive the others in the interest of a short term gain by scoring X while they knew for sure at least one team will score Y.  They got well ahead as they sextupled their earnings.   As a result of them breaking their promise by being selfish, everyone lost trust in each other and became competitive and even vindictive.

Round four, was a five times bonus round and again offered an opportunity for the four teams to speak to each other.  They all refused to talk as they said the trust is lost and three teams ended up scoring X.  Round five was the same as everyone decided to be silent and the end result was a collective loss of $ 24,000 for everyone.

Taming the Reptile within us

Some realized that the game was about cooperation, open communications and trust as there was an interdependency.  What one team decided impacted on all the other teams.  Yet, it was interesting how everyone got competitive, emotional and even vengeful when it was about protecting one’s self interest and winning. Our reptilian nature was coming out. Finally, breaking the promise made most of them angry and irrational. Even when they knew scoring X meant a potential loss for everyone, all scored X and everyone went down together. How interesting that our minds act to destruction when the chips are down.

There was rich learning in playing the game in revealing our psyche when it comes to protecting our turf, building fences and then acting irrationally when emotions are hurt. This is a result of centuries of left brain driven linear and reductive thinking protected by the ego – an ego that deceives us with its self talk.  IQ in terms of logic, reductive and rational thinking linking economic profit to power alone is dominant, but makes us reptilian – eating our own for our survival.  We do not need to do this as there is enough to go around if we let our limbic brains tame the reptilian fears. In the process, we ignore both our emotional (EQ) and spiritual intelligence (SQ).  We demean the common good, let alone sacrificing for it.

If we were emotionally and spiritually intelligent, we would care about our planet as a living system and realize our own sustenance is dependent on its bounty. Instead, we have created a system where a tree, the very tree which gives our breath of Oxygen, has its economic value when its cut.  How much farther should we look to our own stupidity ?.

To stop the Climate Change Catastrophe, we all need to sacrifice.  The west will have to sacrifice on its high per capita use of energy and the east will have to find a way to short cut the bell curve by moving boldly towards more environmentally friendly technologies immediately.  Therefore, India, China and even small Sri Lanka saying we have to catch up and not care about the environment is like all four teams scoring X in the hope of winning, but everyone losing together, eventually.

The Folly of the International Responses

Finally, having learned and dealt with various mechanisms that were concocted over the years since 1992 in the name of reversing climate change, seems to me nothing but a big game for some to make money when others lose where the status quo never changes.   If you say CDM, only the rich, whether in the developed or the developing world, can play the game with all its sophistication and costs.  So, money changes hands at the top and nothing much moves at the lower end, so the reptilian response continues. It also absolves the polluters to continue unabated, the same way a sinner goes to confession to redeem self, but continue to commit the sin, as long as there is a way to redeem, but the sin continues to be committed.

EQ and SQ

Therefore, if we are to win this game of climate change for survival we need to put a mirror on ourselves first through our own emotions and spirituality to complement our intelligence.  If we acknowledge our spirituality we will think twice about destroying the earth and its beings as we will have compassion.   Spirituality is about integrity, generosity, graciousness and dignity.  We have to awaken and nourish our limbic mind to control our reptilian fears and desires.  These attribute do not sit well with the values that stand for the oil and coal industries.  They are aligned with nature and if we need its energy for us to live comfortably and in dignity we have an abundance to harness it from.  Surely, having been to the moon and mars, we can use the sun to power our needs.

Change takes time but I wonder whether we have the time. We need to ask ourselves, is it short term, logic and rational thinking, reductive, highly analytical  – winning arguments by manipulating information, like we justify our current power generation expansion plan which calls for 3370 MW more of coal power by 2020, increasing our carbon footprint by 820% or will it be high touch through the understanding of the subtleties of human interaction; high concept to combine unrelated ideas by seeking a balance through renewable energy technologies – the mix of the two will give us energy security and democratize the energy sector.

So, as Asoka Abeygunawardana asserts in many of his writing, we need to urge the government to revisit the generation expansion plan and be open, creative and innovative in exploring a mix of both thermal and renewable energy to generate and provide services in Sri Lanka.  This way, we can forge ahead and be an early adopter to show the world the way to win the climate change game together.

Lalith Gunaratne

Colombo

September 2009

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