Fisheries

As early as in the 1960s, South Indian fishermen were encouraged to use trawlers to increase fisheries exports. The use of trawlers have since boomed, resulting in the near complete extinction of fish in the Indian part of the sea. Due to the decline in catch in their own territorial zones, fishing boats from Tamil Nadu have for long coveted fishing zones in the Sri Lankan territorial waters.

Vehicular Air Pollution in Colombo

In Colombo vehicles are responsible for 60% of the air pollution load. The city is falling into the toxic grip of motorization. Colombo is in the grip of deadly dieselisation: the current level of diesel technology and fuel quality represents very special risk, as diesel vehicle fleet is expanding in a maniacal pace. Diesel vehicles are 45% of the total fleet that already use up more than 90% of the diesel fuel. The policy to under tax diesel fuel and maintain a wide gap with petrol prices is largely responsible for this trend in the region.

Agro-Chemical

The Government of Sri Lanka has introduced a number of policies and programs to increase paddy production since independence. The fertilizer subsidy program is one of the longest-lasting, most expensive, and most politically sensitive policies implemented to promote rice cultivation in Sri Lanka. It was initiated in 1962 (that is, at the onset of the Green Revolution) with the main objective of encouraging farmers to switch from traditional rice varieties to high-yielding varieties (HYVs) that are highly responsive to chemical fertilizers. Since then, however, the provision of the subsidy has become customary, and successive governments have been under tremendous pressure to continue the subsidy despite budgetary constraints.

Floods - Sri Lanka

The principal reason for floods in the country lies in the very nature of her natural ecological systems- the monsoon. Sedimentation of river beds is not considered a major factor contributing t o flooding in Sri Lanka . However, due to land use changes in the watersheds, sediment loads could increase in the future.

Coastal Erosion

Sri Lanka’s experience with coastal erosion dates back to 1920. Today coastal erosion is an acute problem, disrupting fishing navigation" recreation and many other coast-based activities.

Land Degradation

Land is the most vital and heavily threatened natural resource in Sri Lanka. Degradation of land due to soil erosion is of much concern because of its consequences on agriculture, which is a major contributor to the country's GDP. It is estimated that about 5-10 mm of topsoil is lost every year.

Privatization of Water

The World Bank initiated water sector reforms aim primarily at privatizing water utilities and commercializing water resources. The water privatization policy of the World Bank articulated in a 1992 paper entitled “Improving Water Resources Management” proceeds from the belief that water availability at low or no cost is uneconomical and inefficient.

Community Forestry - Nepal

The most significant regulatory development in support of community forestry was the enactment of the Forest Act in 1993 by the first elected parliament after the 1990 movement for democracy. The 1993 Forest Act guaranteed the rights of local people in forest management. Nepal became the world’s first country to enact such radical forest legislation, allowing local communities to take full control of government forest patches under a community forestry program.

Renewable Energy

The major energy resource base in Nepal consists of biomass, hydroelectricity, petroleum products, natural gas, and coal reserves. Among the entire energy resource base, it is evident that biomass is the dominant resource base of the country with respect to its utilization. Biomass provided 86% of the total energy consumption, petroleum 9%, which is mainly consumed by urban areas, electricity only 2% and renewable 1% of the total energy consumption.

Bagmati River

The Bagmati Action Plan is the latest attempt to heal the river system, from its origins in the Shivapuri hills to Chouva where it leaves the valley. It was launched in 2008 for the period 2009-14, and proposes a budget of close to 15 billion Nepalese rupees spread over five years (in comparison, in 2008 – 2009, the total allocated for the Bagmati and its tributaries was Rs. 1,394.24 million).