Regional Expert Workshop

on

Land Accounting for SDG

Monitoring and Reporting

Bangkok - Thailand

25-27 September 2017

Mrs. Niroshinie De Silva Assistant Director

Ministry of Mahaweli development & Environment

Mrs. Ranjani Gunawardana Statistician

Department of Census and Statistics

Outline

Main Environmental issues in Sri Lanka

Approaches of Land / Forest accounting

The role of the DCS

Results

Challenges while achieving objectives

Policy applications

Further work

Main Environmental Issues

Deforestation.

Mangrove degradation.

Coral reef destruction.

Soil degradation.

Air pollution.

Water pollution.

Waste management.

Climate change vulnerability.

Approach

The National Environmental Policy

The Constitution of Sri Lanka makes it "The duty of every person in Sri Lanka

to protect nature and conserve its riches". The National Environmental Policy

acknowledges this duty and seeks to provide the direction according to which

steps will be taken to conserve and manage Sri Lanka's environment in all its

aspects. The National Environmental Policy renews the commitment of

government, in partnership with the people, effectively to manage the

environment for the benefit of present and future generations.

The aim of this policy is to ensure sound environmental management within a

framework of sustainable development in Sri Lanka. This Policy is supported by

many other policies and strategies developed for other sectors. The National

Environmental Policy emphasizes that caring for the environment is the

bounded duty of any institution, government or non-government, and of any

individual that used, or otherwise carries out an activity that has an impact

on, the resources of the environment.

Approach

Objectives

1. To promote the sound management of Sri Lanka's environment in its entirety

without compromise, balancing the needs for social and economic

development and environmental integrity, to the maximum extent possible

while restricting inimical activities.

2. To manage the environment by linking together the activities, interests and

perspectives of all groups, including the people, non-government

organizations and government at both the central and the local levels.

3. To assure environmental accountability.

The role of the DCS What we have:

Statistics on;

Production, Consumption & Accumulation of goods & services (economic activities/products)

Environmental statistics on;

Energy,

Water,

Air,

Land,

Natural Mineral Resources,

Soil and sub-soil resources,

Forest and timber resources,

Aquatic resources,

Solid waste and emissions,

Ecosystems,

The role of the DCS

• Industries

• Corporations

• Government

• Households

Products

(Goods & Services

produced and

consumed in the

economy)

Economy

Environment

Natural Inputs (Natural

Resources … Mineral,

Timber, Forest, Aquatic,

Water etc… )

Residuals (Including Air

emission, Return flows of

water etc… )

SEEA accounts

(Environmentally

adjusted GDP, Green

GDP)

Sequence of SNA

Accounts,

GDP

The role of the DCS

SNA Sequence of accounts

SEEA sequence of accounts

(Depletion adjusted Value Added, Green GDP)

SUT

PSUT

Environmental Asset accounts

Green GDP= GDP - Environmental costs - social costs

While economies are exploding, its environment is imploding

The role of the DCS

Tables and accounts to be compile

Responsible agencies

Responsible person for each table and account

Country coordinator

Other contacts

Data sources

Primary data source agencies

Meeting with selected stakeholders or agencies

Time schedule

Trainings

Technical assistance from UN or other agencies

Lowland rain Forests

Montane

Forests

Savannah

Dry Monsoon Mangroves

Dense forest (Canopy Cover

over 40%) 22%

Sparse Forests (Canopy

Cover 10-40%) 7 %

Forest Type Extent-ha Percentage

Lowland Rain Forests 123,302 1.9

Moist Monsoon Forests 117,885 1.8

Dry Monsoon Forests 1,121,392 17.1

Montane Forests 44,758 0.7

Sub Montane Forests 28,513 0.4

Riverine Dry Forests 2,425 0.0

Mangrove Forest 15,669 0.2

Savannah Forest 68,043 1.0

Open and Sparse Forest 429,485* 6.5

Total 1,951,472 29.7

Extent of Forests by forest types in 2010

44%

27% 24%

23% 22%

8% 7% 7%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

1956 1983 1992 1999 2010

Dense Forests

Open Forests

Deforestation in Sri Lanka

Fore

st C

ove

r %

Declaration of Forests as protected areas.

Reserved Forests : 1,090,314 ha Conservation Forests : 133,802 ha

National Heritage Wilderness Area : 11,127 ha

44%

27% 24%

23% 22%

30% 32%

8% 7% 7%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

1956 1983 1992 1999 2010 2015 2020

Dense Forests

Open Forests

Forest Cover Enhancement

Fore

st C

over

Strategic Approach to Natural

Resource Management

The environmental strategies in the different sectors, if implemented, will go a

long way towards ensuring that environmental care and sound environmental

management are exercised. Nevertheless, matters of policy, planning, and

regulation and control relating to the natural resources, and issues relating to

natural resource management that cut across many sectors, cannot be fully

addressed through sector-based action alone.

The recommended strategic approach to dealing with the key environmental

resources is as follows.

• Land

• Water

• Atmosphere

• Biological Diversity

• Role of Civil Society

Outcomes to be achieved The National Environmental Policy provides the direction and framework for managing and caring for the environment. The implementation of the policy has to recognize the impact of human activity on the natural resources individually and on the environment as a whole in Sri Lanka at the present time. In relation to the four basic natural resources of land, water, atmosphere and biological diversity, the application of the National Environmental Policy should focus on achieving the outcomes set out below.

Land

Water

Atmosphere

Biological Diversity

Forestry and Wildlife Conservation

Agriculture, Plantations, Land development and Mining

Fisheries, and Coastal and Marine Area Management

Industry and Tourism

Energy and Transport

Health, Sanitation and Urban Development

Challenges in the ENV • Depreciation of Forest Cover (Deforestation)

• Land Degradation ( Soil Erosion, River Sedimentation; Desertification,)

• Scarcity of Drinking Water to the Community

• Environmental Pollution (Air, Water & Soil )

• Loss of Biodiversity ( Degradation and loss of Habitats )

• Ozone Layer Depletion

• Green House Gas Emission and Climate Change

• Environmental & Natural Disaster and Earth Slides

• Lack of Proper Recognition of Environmental Values in Environmental Accounting

• Unsustainable Management of Natural Resources

• Unsustainable Development Activities (Unsuitable Agriculture Expansion and Settlements)

• Uncontrolled Mining of Sand and other Minerals

• Introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms

• Solid, Hazardous and Industrial Waste generation

• Health Hazards Related to Environment Pollution.

• Wildlife Depletion

• Coastal Erosion

Development pressure

Population Pressure

Unsustainable agricultural practices

Cattle damages

Illegal felling and poaching

Natural causes (Invasive plants, die back, pest and diseases)

Elephant damages (Plantation)

Challenges in forest management

Challenges for collecting data

Data collection on type of asset and environmental related statistics

Economic & Political

Statistical mandate

Large geographical area - Mountainous region, Plains, with high degree of biodiversity.

Conflict on the ownership of resources

Data Related (existing)

Different organizations having different mandates involved in data collection.

Varying levels of specialization and technical capabilities.

specific purposes with specific set of indictors at specific time intervals.

data dissemination policies may vary from organizations to organizations

A Solution to this Problem – Mandate

Establishing correlation between the existing databases of heterogeneous entity and linking them together and building up a database for the use of national accounting purposes

Mechanisms need to be developed for the dissemination of necessary data on agreed principles

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Challenges for collecting data

Future Data Requirements

Selection of Indicators

Existing system supports the methodology based on the System of National Accounts (SNA).

Human welfare indicators are qualitative in nature and falls beyond the ambit of a market economy.

The environmental services are a complex set of interactions between the biotic and abiotic elements.

What are the specific indicators for which estimations / predictions are required and how will it be integrated with the overall system?

Existing Land-Use data not sufficient

Depletion of Land / Forest quality

Water Supply and Demand Analysis

Water use according to Industry, urban, rural & Agriculture – Total demand

Quantification of Water resources – Both surface and Ground water

Augmentation of water resources

Mineral resources

Quantification of resources

Rate of extraction

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Challenges for collecting data

Measurement issues

Efforts should be made to identify data gaps at country level and address it

Data on some indicators are already available. They are to be organized in time

series manner

Studies may be conducted to work out ratios

Some of the indicators may be interpolated and extrapolated with base year

value

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Policy applications

Resources such as land, water, air, minerals and biodiversity will be managed

in a manner consistent with the viability of ecological processes.

Environmental management will be through participatory, transparent,

predictable and accountable decision-making processes at all levels.

In addition to protecting the environment from abuse, management systems

will take into account the need to restore environments damaged in the past.

Environmental management systems will be encouraged to be flexible so as to

adapt to changing situations (e.g. climate change, invasive species and living

genetically-modified organisms) and adopt the Precautionary Principle.

The economic value of environmental services will be recognized so as to

assure the sustainability of such services for the benefit of the people. 6. The

state of the environmental will continuously be assessed and reported on

through an appropriate institutionalized monitoring framework based on a

comprehensive set of indicators.

Policy applications

• The institutional framework for sound environmental management will be

strengthened through capacity-building, legislative instruments and improved

inter-institutional coordination and linkages.

• "Life cycle" and 'cleaner production' principles will be applied to improve the

efficiency of natural resource use and to improve environmental quality.

• Responsible public-private and community partnerships and linkages will be

promoted at all levels of environmental management and conservation.

• Education at all levels, together with research, will be promoted in a manner

designed to increase the level of awareness of all aspects of the environment and

its care and management among all stakeholders.

• Socially responsible behaviors will be encouraged and further developed through

an effective framework of awareness building, incentives and enforcement.

• International commitments will be honored as part of our responsibility to the

national and global communities.

Further work

• The government of Sri Lanka has adopted the target to increase the size of land covered

by forests to 32% by 2030. In order to achieve this, the government intends

to reforest degraded forests, to increase urban forests, and to improve the forest

plantations.

• Sri Lanka’s government aims to address these problems by implementing waste

sorting systems in households, improved waste collection by municipalities and cities,

composting systems and systematic treatment of hazardous waste from the industry and

clinics.

• Forestry Sector Mater Plan

The first Forestry Sector Master Plan was prepared in 1986. Although this plan made a valuable contribution to improve the database needed for planning and to introduce a systematic approach to develop countries forest resources, it also had deficiencies due to its pioneering nature. The main drawback of the plan was having too narrow a scope and not addressing environmental aspects of forestry adequately while failing to get involved all the key stakeholders in the planning process. In order to address the deficiencies found in the first forestry master plan, an environmental review was carried out in 1989 by the government. Based on the recommendations of this review, the current master plan was prepared in 1995 covering bio-physical, environmental, socio-political, and economic aspects of the forestry sector. The plan covers the period 1995-2020.

The Forestry Sector Master Plan puts particular emphasis on:

Conserving the remaining natural forests to maintain biological resources (flora & fauna) as reservoirs of biodiversity.

Empowering people and rural communities to manage and protect multiple use forests mainly for their own benefit.

Building partnerships in forestry development activities.

Developing home garden and other agro forestry systems as well as forest plantations to meet peoples basic needs and to supply industrial wood.

Policy and legal reforms.

Developing and strengthening forestry institutions, both state and NGOs.

Thank You

For Your

Kind Attention

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