DECENTRALIZATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT IN SRI LANKA

1. DECENTRALIZATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT IN SRI LANKA UDAYA P GAMMANPILA CHAIRMAN CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY

2. Environmental Protection InSri Lanka • The need for environmental safeguards is enshrined in the constitution • Article 27 states that “the state shall protect, preserve and improve the environment for the benefit of the community” • Article 28f states that “the exercise and enjoyment of rights and freedoms is inseparable from the performance of duties and obligations and accordingly it is the duty of every person in Sri Lanka to protect nature and conserve its riches”.

3. Environmental Protection and Management in Sri Lanka • There are over eighty different laws which have some provisions on environmental protection and management in Sri Lanka. However the main objective of these laws are not environmental protection and management. • The first comprehensive law exclusively for environmental management and protection was enacted in 1980, in the form of the National Environmental Act no47 of 1980.

4. CENTRAL ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY • The Central Environmental Authority was set up in 1981 to implement the provisions in the National Environmental Act. • From 1981 to 1988 the Central Environmental Authority was a policy making and co ordinating body with no regulatory authority. • Amendments to the National Environmental Act in 1988 transformed the Central Environmental Authority into a regulatory authority.

5. Regulatory Procedures Under the National Environmental Act • Regulatory procedures to control pollution from industries was first commenced in 1990 with the implementation of the Environmental Protection Licence procedure for waste generating industries. • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for large scale projects was made mandatory in 1993. • All these regulatory procedures were implemented by the Central Environmental Authority headquarters situated in Colombo, the capital city until very recently, when almost all these enforcement activities have been decentralized to Provincial offices of the Central Environmental Authority as well as the Local Authorities.

6. ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT IN SRI LANKA • 1980 - National Environmental Act 1981 - established Central Environmental Authority • 1990 - National environmental (protection and quality) regulations: introduce provisions for industrial pollution control through environmental protection licensing scheme • 1993 – National Environmental (procedure for approval of projects) regulations introduce environmental impact assessment procedure

7. About Sri Lanka Administrative set up; • Central Government • Provincial Councils - 9 • Local Government Authorities – 320 -Municipal Council, Urban council, Pradeshiya Sabha

8. Powers decentralization • As per the 13th amendment tothe constitution subjects are divided into 3 lists; • National list Subjects come under national government Reserved (National) list • Provincial list Subjects come under provincial government • Concurrent list Subject come under both national and provincial governments ENVIRONMENT SUBJECT is included in the concurrent list

9. Provincial Offices of the CEA • The Central Environmental Authority has now established eight provincial offices to cover eight of the provincial councils in the country. • Almost all the activities relating to enforcement and compliance functions have now been delegated to these provincial offices by the CEA headquarters.

10. Provincial Environmental Statutes • One out of the nine provincial councils in the country has its own environmental statute. • The environmental statute of the North Western Provincial Council is identical to that being implemented by the Central Environmental Authority in the rest of the country. However, the North Western Provincial council has its own provincial Environmental Authority to implement the provisions in their Statute.

11. DECENTRALIZATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTIONS • The main regulatory activities of the Central Environmental Authority have been decentralized to the CEA provincial offices and Local Authorities. • CEA headquarters is presently only involved in administering the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure for National level projects.

12. Environmental Protection Licence for Industries. • All industries discharging waste into the environment are expected to obtain an annual Licence from the Central Environmental Authority. • The Environmental Protection Licence(EPL) stipulates the standards and criteria to be met by the industry in discharging solid/liquid/gaseous emissions and noise into the environment.

13. Decentralization of Regulatory procedures. • New regulations were gazetted in 2008 prescribing 138 industries which require to obtain a licence. • These industries have been classified into three lists A, B, and C. • List A consists of high polluting indutries which require a licence from the CEA head office. • List B consists of 33 activities which require a licnce from the relevant provincial office of the CEA. • List C consists of 25 activities which require a licence from the relevant Local Authority.

14. Delegation to Local Authorities • The central Environmental Authority has delegated powers under the National Environmental Act to issue licences to industries which are classified as being “low polluting”. • The local authorities are responsible for issuing licences to 25 types of such industries.

15. Divisional Environmental Officers • The Central Environmental Authority also has field officers attached to each of the three hundred and twenty Divisional Secretariat Offices in the country. • Divisional Environmental Offices assist the Provincial Offices and Headquarters of the Authority by reporting and resolving local level environmental problems and by providing advice on environmental issues to local level officials as and when required.

16. Decentralization-Pros and Cons • There are pros and cons of decentralization of enforcement and compliance functions. • It is important that total authority is delegated to Provincial/Local authorities in order to ensure that there will be no delays connected with getting the concurrance from the headquarters, as this would negate the purpose of decentralization.

17. Problems Associated with Decentralization • One of the problems associated with decentralization is the lack of sufficient technical expertise at the local level. Technical expertise is in most cases available in the more urbanized centres and therefore not readily accessible. • Political interests could also interfere in the ability to make independent decisions at the local level.

18. TRAINING • One other important requirement in decentralization is the provision of sufficient training of local level officials. • Training should be an ongoing process in order to ensure that local level officials are kept informed of new developments (both technical and legal) in the environmental field.

19. COMMUNICATION • Ready channels of communication between the National Agencie/s and Provincial and Local Authorities is a vital requirement in decentralization. • It is important not to let Provincial/Local agencies to feel “isolated” . There should be ready channels of communication between local level agencies with the central agencies at all times.