Industrial responsibilities towards the environment

The Kelani River has a total length of 145 km and 2,292 sq. km of river basin. It is the second largest watershed in Sri Lanka and also it is the most polluted river in Sri Lanka due to discharge of effluent from the rapidly increasing industries located in watershed of the river, agricultural runoff, and domestic and municipal effluents, including ad-hoc dumping of municipal solid waste as stated by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). The concentration of water pollution increases significantly as the river passes through the city of Colombo.

Board of Investment (BOI) administers 12 Industrial Parks across Sri Lanka, consisting of more than 60 industries and factories dedicated to industrial manufacturing and processing businesses. The Biyagama Industrial Zone is located in the Gampaha District and borders the Kelani River. Albeit all Industrial zones have to obtain an Environmental Protection Licence (EPL) for their operation (in addition to obtaining this Licence at industrial level), only the Biyagama Zone has obtained an EPL, many other Industrial Zones operate with out having an EPL.

Taking into account, the recent events involving Coca Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd, on 17th August 2015, Environmental Foundation Limited (EFL), in consultation with the CEA proposes the following Analysis, Recommendations and Method of Implementation.

To learn more on this topic, take a look at our report.

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