The Hon. (Dr.) Dammika Patabendi - Minister of Environment

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, I am pleased to join this committee stage debate on the Environment Ministry’s Vote in the first Budget of the National Peoples’ Power Government, which seeks a social, economic and political transformation under the policy “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life.” Our environmental policy envisions a sustainable biosphere and evergreen lives.

¶ 02 Despite many international conventions signed and over a hundred environmental laws enacted, Sri Lanka failed to create an environmentally friendly society. The Environment Ministry has faced strong public criticism, particularly from environmentalists. We accept the constructive nature of many criticisms and our duty to correct course.

¶ 03 A key step already taken is consolidating all relevant institutions under the Environment Ministry—something never done before. Previously, institutions were scattered under different ministries for various interests. For the first time, 12 institutions now come under us: the Central Environmental Authority; Geological Survey and Mines Bureau; GSMB Technical Services (Pvt) Ltd; Sri Lanka Climate Fund (Pvt) Ltd; Marine Environment Protection Authority; Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management Department; Forest Department; Department of Wildlife Conservation; Department of National Zoological Gardens; State Timber Corporation; Water Resources Board; and the Department of National Botanic Gardens. These operate under 11 laws to protect our environmental systems.

¶ 04 Historically, relations between the Ministry and environmentalists were adversarial, largely due to misuse of the Ministry for narrow political interests. We believe the Ministry and environmentalists share one goal. We have initiated structured dialogues and, for the first time, brought environmentalists into ten principal committees: Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services; Climate Change & Resilience; Pollution Control & Mitigation; Natural Resource Management & Sustainable Development; Urban Environment & Infrastructure; Disaster Risk Reduction & Environmental Emergency Response; Education, Awareness & Community Engagement; Policy, Legislation & International Conventions; Technology & Innovation; and Current Environmental Issues & Trends.

¶ 05 Our institutions do more than protect the environment; they contribute directly to the economy, including tourism via the DWC, Forest Department, National Zoological Gardens, and Botanic Gardens. Last year, the Department of National Zoological Gardens earned Rs. 1,512 million, and the Department of National Botanic Gardens earned Rs. 1,366 million.

¶ 06 Thus, the Environment Ministry directly supports the national economy, and our responsibilities will grow, especially with rising global demand for sustainable products and services and greater importance of environmental certifications for market access.

¶ 07 We have strong professional staff across institutions, long hampered by political culture. We intend to empower them. We recognize staffing shortages and have moved to fill them through the committee chaired by the Secretary to the Prime Minister; the Cabinet has approved 144 recruitments for the CEA.

¶ 08 On the multipurpose development officers attached to DWC: we have engaged with them, but a pending court case delayed action. With court proceedings concluding, the matter is now before the Public Service Commission for approval, and we are prepared to issue 3,530 appointments promptly once approval is received.

¶ 09 The 2025 Budget allocates Rs. 16,040 million to the Environment Ministry—the highest ever. We will modernize the Environment Act for the first time in 24 years, aligning management methods with domestic and global challenges and SDGs, and update regulations accordingly. We will introduce a national air quality monitoring and public information system and finalize and publish our Contingency Response Action Plan for high pollution episodes this year.

¶ 10 We will also launch an online system for Environmental Protection Licences and other CEA regulatory processes. For plastics, we will establish a dedicated Plastic Management Unit, build a data system covering import to end-of-life, and introduce needed legal and management frameworks with stakeholder participation.

¶ 11 Marine Environment Protection Authority’s role is crucial as Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone is about eight times the land area (~512,000 sq. km). We will amend the Marine Pollution Prevention Act, No. 35 of 2008, to align with international conventions to which Sri Lanka should accede and to create domestic legal instruments for ship-sourced pollution prevention and response. We also aim to strengthen human and material capacity for oil and chemical spill prevention and response.

¶ 12 We will hold the Presidential Environment Awards again this year to recognize contributions by industry, public institutions, NGOs and media.

¶ 13 Hon. Chairman, we are ready to correct the past trajectory and help make Sri Lanka prosperous with a beautiful, sustainable environment. The Environment Ministry stands committed to that revival.

¶ 14 Thank you.