By Fr Chryso Pieris SJ –

Fr Chryso Pieris SJ

More and more it is in the news; the tragic slow-motion destruction of our beautiful environment. Elephants receive the most attention as they are big and conspicuous and cannot be hidden. In fact, they inhabited the hills during the British raj. Elephants were roaming the Horton Planes. Then the marauding British elephant killers and the tea gardens pushed them down to the present locations. Butterfly density, as reported by environmental studies, is gradually decreasing. Their habitat where they procreate and incubate is becoming smaller and smaller. I am an old man but I remember as a kid, even in Negombo, there were plenty of butterflies of various colors and sizes. Now there are hardly any. The pea fowl density has increased so much that it has become a pest. One reason given was that fox density has decreased drastically. Foxes eat peacock eggs. Monkeys have become problematic. These are the recent articles and news items I have come across. I suppose it is the same sad story about fresh water fish and many other big and small wild life.   

The basic problem for this nature degradation is loss of habitat. Due to loss of habitat, there is an imbalance among different species of the forest dwellers. The imbalance is destructive. The main culprit for this imbalance is WE. Humans have encroached and destroyed the forest dwellers’ habitat. Human density keeps increasing, their greed has no bounds, they have become enemies of the planet and its wealth of flora and fauna.

As a nation, we, all of us, will have to be aware of this problem, be sensitive to it and with great sympathy towards all living beings, which is said to be the core of our culture, take a national decision not only to stop encroaching into the forest but retreat more and more from the forest leaving it to the forest dwellers and even reforest it to bring back the ecological balance. This too is part of “Clean Sri Lanka” project, if it is not, it is imperative to put it there.

I can come forward with a proposal like this because of the current NPP government. It would have been insane to have proposed such a project to the previous governments whether they were UNP, SLFP or their bastard off shoots. It would have been like throwing pearls before swine. They abducted baby elephants after killing the mother elephants and sold them. They did not have a minimum of humanity in them. They would deliberately bring within our maritime borders a burning ship full of dangerous chemicals and sink it so that they can collect the enormous compensation for themselves and leave the western sea bord to be polluted. All fishing stopped, fishers lost their livelihood, the fish died, the turtles died, the beaches were polluted with tons of plastic pellets and other garbage. Their insatiable greed made them evil ogres without a shred of humanity. Aeroplan less airports and cricket less stadiums gobbled up the forest habitat of the elephants, deer, Sāmbhar, wild boar and other little forest dwellers. This is greed gone beyond all limits. This is betrayal of a whole nation; a nation comprises not only of humans but of all living beings in it; all together form the web of life in a country. It is a crime against the nation. The English language hasn’t a word ugly and dirty enough to describe these criminals.

A planned retreat from the forest is an enormously complex and sensitive issue. It is easier to say it than do it, I know. But if a government can do it, it is only this government can do it. They have the will, the selflessness, the integrity, the brains and the compassion for all living beings. It is quite a long-term project. First of all, a national policy for it must be drafted, debated and decided.

I am no planner of human habitats. Here, I am only throwing around some ideas about such a plan. People encroach into the forest not so much for housing but for cultivation. It is an economic matter. The future village is not going to be made of match box houses spread out all over taking up limited valuable land in a small island country. I envisage high rise condominiums for people with a park, a playground and a swimming pool. Modern intensive agriculture in small areas and in hot houses, manufacturing factories and IT industries will be available for the livelihood of people. Plenty of land is wasted on highways. Elevated highways will be constructed in future to save as much land as possible for other use. Small villages will be brought together, physically moved together, to form a mega village where all the amenities, like a primary hospital, a school, a theatre etc. will be available. They will be leaving behind more and more land for the forest and the wild life to take over. This exercise will clear up the elephant corridors which are absolutely necessary for their foraging. The engine drivers of trains must be monitored seriously as they are notorious for drink driving. The railway tracks cross a number of elephant corridors and the guards and engine drivers must take note to drive slowly and toot when they arrive at those crossings.

Is this impractical day dreaming? Our dear commentators will surely tell me I am in cloud-cuckoo-land or in something like a utopia. I am only trying to re-imagine the country and its ecological balance and its protection, so that we can be proud of our beautiful Sri Lanka.  The most difficult part will be selling the idea to the villagers especially of those villages bordering the forest cover. But as we spread and broadcast the good news of “Clean Sri Lanka”, these innovations will seep through to the people and when they see a model village or two built and thriving in this manner, they will be converted. As the Americans say, It’s the economy, stupid; the whole problem is an economic matter. When they see a thriving economy in the new villages, they will have no problems to gladly retreat from the forest.

Only the NPP government can re-imagine a better and a beautiful country. Only they can do a massive project like “Clean Sri Lanka” and retreat from the forest as much as feasible. Please allow the new government of AKD to get stabilized. You cannot undo all the misgoverning done for 77 years in 77 days as Rajan Philips says. Many of the NPP are new to politics; but they are mature intelligent people. They will learn fast. I do not believe any of the opposition politicians are capable of putting this country on the right track and develop it to a modern well-to-do country with beautiful living. They had 77 years to do it if they wanted to. But they deliberately did not do it and kept the people in poverty deceiving them with non-existent racial, religious and language issues antagonizing them with non-ending bloody conflicts. While on the one hand they deceived the people with those fake issues on the other hand they exploited the country and robbed it to bankruptcy. Finally, people have taken matters into their hands. The result is the overwhelming victory of the NPP. The recent rally in Jaffna to thank the people of the North for the victory, AKD has proven that the people are still behind him. Let us back this government to the hilt, for there is no other hope.