SC/FR/29/2020 On 31.12.2019, Circular No. 173/12/2019 was issued by the Director-General of Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) to amend the mining permit/license issuing procedure on the ground that there is a delay in the process. Circular No. 173/12/2019 repealed Circular No.118/05/2015 that provided environmental safeguards for mining activities. Under the 2015 Circular, applicants needed to obtain ‘Environmental Clearances/Recommendations’ from the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) before getting the mining permit/license for sand, gravel, clay, and soil.
Photography
Link to photos –https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19R3lS1vyRz7LZp4Urw3O43_wMKZs1sF8?usp=sharing
Open category
1st place – PC29A – Dhananjaya Dassanayake
2nd place – PC14B – Tilan Weerasinghe
3rd place – PC30B – Yohan Fernando
Honourable mentions
Sithika Kariawasam
Aaron Johnpillai
Art
Link to art – https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Pbe1BDKo6IB5GwKF41DDaCHlfys1-Y78?usp=sharing
Under 12
1st place – AA29B – Ravindi Jayathilaka
2nd place- AA14A – Thanumi de Silva
Kirillapone, Colombo – 05, March 11, 2020: Environmental Foundation (Guarantee) Limited (EFL), is one of the oldest public interest litigation firms in Sri Lanka. Established in 1981 as a non-profit Public Interest Litigation group with a mission to act on environmental injustices and help conserve the natural environment in Sri Lanka. In 2018, EFL filed a Writ action in the Court of Appeal against an illegal eco-tourism project under the name “Leisure and Pleasure Pristine Eco Culture”. Sallitivu, a pristine Islet
EFL conducted the first of a limited series of workshops titled, “Awareness on Sustainable Tourism” for the staff of the Columbus Tours (PVT) Ltd., on the 13th of February, 2020. The theme of the first workshop was the “Protected area network of Sri Lanka and responsible touristic practices”. The overview of the protected areas, locations of significant protected areas in Sri Lanka and their biodiversity value were presented by Dr. Chaturangi Wickramaratne, the Head of Science at EFL. Bhagya Wickremasinghe, the
The fifth edition of Green Conversations organized by EFL, was conducted on 18th of December 2019 at Hatch CoWorking Spaces, Colombo 01. The theme of the event was Marine Conservation. Green Conversations is a fast moving event format introduced by EFL, bringing together established environmentalists, organizations and the general public in one platform, to create a space to connect and exchange ideas and find solutions for current environmental issues. Continuing as a series from November 2018, starting with sustainable consumption, Green
EFL participated for the first time in Good Market Lanka on 16 April 2019 partnering with ‘Festival for our planet’, an event organised by NGage Goodvocacy in relation to climate strike actions happening around the world. This was EFL’s first presence at Good Market Lanka after becoming one of its members in late 2018. EFL sold its merchandise such as T-shirts, re-usable cloth bags and its latest publication on Sinharaja southern borders. EFL’s
EFL Head of Legal, Anushka Gunawardena, presented at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference (PIELC) on the 1st of March 2019 at the University of Oregon, USA. On the panel, Anushka spoke on ‘Recent Developments in Human Rights and the Environment.’ During her presentation, she focused on the South Asian judicial interpretation to environmental cases while discussing the Galle Face Green case from Sri Lanka and the Niyamgiri hills case from India. PIELC is the premier annual gathering for environmentalists worldwide and is considered
Climate change is one of the pressing environmental issues globally and it is already here among us. However, there is more to climate change than rising sea levels. It affects our livelihood and destroys precious biodiversity. The below presentation was delivered by the Chairperson and Director of EFL, Dr. Eric Wikramanayake on ‘Why biodiversity makes good business sense’. The presentation was delivered to the members of the Colombo Club which included leading business professionals in the country. [wonderplugin_pdf src=”https://efl.lk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Colombo-Club-Presentation.pdf” width=”100%” height=”600px” style=”border:0;”]
EFL Chairperson Dr. Eric Wikramanayake, also a Conservation Biologist, spoke in November 2018 at the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP14) as part of the UN Biodiversity Conference 2018. Dr. Wikramanayake presented a project by EFL on ‘Integrated Spatial Planning and Analysis to Prioritise Biodiversity Conservation in Sri Lanka’ funded by the Japan Biodiversity Fund (JBF) of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD). Access to the full project https://efl.lk/portfolio/integrated-spatial-planning-and-analysis-to-prioritize-biodiversity-conservation-in-sri-lanka/ One main objective of the conference was to create a platform
Colombo has been accredited a RAMSAR Wetland site during the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP13) in Dubai on 25 october 2018. The RAMSAR convention entered into force in Sri Lanka on 15 October 1990. At present, RAMSAR has accredited six sites in Sri Lanka as wetland sites such as Vankalai Sanctuary, Wilpattu Ramsar Wetland Cluster, Annaiwilundawa Tanks Sanctuary, Madu ganga, Bundala & Kumana Wetland Cluster. Its latest addition, Colombo, comprises the following wetlands. Baddagana wetland Diyasauru wetland Heen
