Saturday, June 18, 2005
Reconstruction of eco-systems hit by tsunami will cost Rs. 31.8b says Fowzie
By Damitha Hemachandra
Saturday, June 18, 2005
The cost for the reconstruction of the country’s eco-systems hit by tsunami is estimated to be Rs. 31.8 billion, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, A.H.M.Fowzie announced yesterday launching the Post-tsunami Environmental Assessment yesterday.
The Minister pointed out that the country could not afford to foot such a large ‘clean up and conservation bill’ and said that the Ministry would be seeking the assistance of the United Nations Environment Program during the representation to be made in Geneva in the near future.
The assessment conducted by local experts from Universities of Colombo, Eastern, Ruhuna, Jaffna, Moratuwa and Sri Jayawardhanapura concentrated in nine districts and involves sample sites at one km intervals along the tsunami affected coastline.
The assessment involves the evaluation of the damage done to the green environment including eco systems, bio diversity and protected areas and to the brown environment which involves pollution, debris and impacts of human settlement and infrastructure.
During the green assessment over 800 samples sites at one km intervals along the tsunami affected coastline had come into close inspection while the brown assessment had concentrated on potential contamination at over 750 sites where risks were thought to exist. During the assessment it has been found that more than 500 million Kg of rubble has been created by the tsunami, posing a great challenge to the attempts of solid waste management in the area.
There is also an acute threat risk of water logging and loss of agriculture land due to bad solid waste disposal while there is also an increased threat of mosquito borne diseases.
The tsunami has also unbalanced the clean water supply in the area affecting more than 15,000 and making them unusable by toxic and arsenic contamination.
The report pointed that over pumping of water out of usable wells for cleaning had increased salt-intrusion into the wells making them unusable while existing mobile water treatment units are found to be acidic. Coastal water bodies too have been contaminated by salt water, debris, faecal matter and black sediments and their immediate restoration is highly recommended to bring back the underground water balance to its proper stage.
The full clean up alone is estimated to cost nearly Rs.10 billion and is expected to take almost a decade.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
The cost for the reconstruction of the country’s eco-systems hit by tsunami is estimated to be Rs. 31.8 billion, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, A.H.M.Fowzie announced yesterday launching the Post-tsunami Environmental Assessment yesterday.
The Minister pointed out that the country could not afford to foot such a large ‘clean up and conservation bill’ and said that the Ministry would be seeking the assistance of the United Nations Environment Program during the representation to be made in Geneva in the near future.
The assessment conducted by local experts from Universities of Colombo, Eastern, Ruhuna, Jaffna, Moratuwa and Sri Jayawardhanapura concentrated in nine districts and involves sample sites at one km intervals along the tsunami affected coastline.
The assessment involves the evaluation of the damage done to the green environment including eco systems, bio diversity and protected areas and to the brown environment which involves pollution, debris and impacts of human settlement and infrastructure.
During the green assessment over 800 samples sites at one km intervals along the tsunami affected coastline had come into close inspection while the brown assessment had concentrated on potential contamination at over 750 sites where risks were thought to exist. During the assessment it has been found that more than 500 million Kg of rubble has been created by the tsunami, posing a great challenge to the attempts of solid waste management in the area.
There is also an acute threat risk of water logging and loss of agriculture land due to bad solid waste disposal while there is also an increased threat of mosquito borne diseases.
The tsunami has also unbalanced the clean water supply in the area affecting more than 15,000 and making them unusable by toxic and arsenic contamination.
The report pointed that over pumping of water out of usable wells for cleaning had increased salt-intrusion into the wells making them unusable while existing mobile water treatment units are found to be acidic. Coastal water bodies too have been contaminated by salt water, debris, faecal matter and black sediments and their immediate restoration is highly recommended to bring back the underground water balance to its proper stage.
The full clean up alone is estimated to cost nearly Rs.10 billion and is expected to take almost a decade.
