ENVIRONMENTAL issues ranked fifth among national problems in Sri Lanka, reports Nalaka Gunawardene from Colombo. Quoting a study by Survey Research Lanka Ltd, a market research firm, Gunawardene says cost of living, ethnic issues, unemployment and the high cost of housing take precedence over environment.

However, more than 50 per cent of the 4,000 respondents who identified environment as a serious issue felt that problems such as pollution had worsened over the last decade.