By Vipula Wanigasekera –

Dr. Vipula Wanigasekera

Built on a slope, paid with lives:  This week’s devastation — floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah — laid bare a truth too long ignored: when we carve, concrete and crowd our hills without science, the hills fight back. The heavy rains exposed fragile slopes, toppled homes and killed neighbors in the central highlands and around Colombo. Experts have repeatedly warned that unregulated construction, tree clearing and excavations on steep terrain dramatically increase landslide risk. It is time the state stopped treating this as a local problem and treated it as a national emergency of regulation and enforcement. The Guardian+1

Sri Lanka already has the technical knowledge and institutions. The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) maintains landslide risk maps and issues technical advice on slope stability; the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) requires Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and provides clear EIA/IEE procedures for development projects. But advisory instruments have too often been bypassed, ignored or rendered toothless while commercial and other powerful interests press for rapid development on attractive hill-slopes. The result: homes, guesthouses, religious shrines and commercial structures built with little or no slope assessment, inadequate drainage design, and extensive vegetation removal — each a multiplier of disaster risk. National Building Research Organisation+1

Recent reporting and expert warnings make the connection plain. NBRO and independent geotechnical specialists have cautioned that landslides can be triggered “at any moment” in mountainous regions already weakened by human activity — excavation, deforestation and inappropriate terracing all feature in their lists of culprits. The government’s own disaster agencies documented numerous collapses clustered around modified slopes, not untouched forest. These are not acts of nature alone but of a landscape stressed by human choices. Ada Derana+1

What must change — and quickly — is enforcement. First, NBRO technical clearances must be mandatory and binding for any development on identified high-risk slopes; advisory status is no longer acceptable. The recent move to make NBRO technical advice central to approvals is a welcome start and must be implemented uniformly across ministries and local authorities. Second, every hillside development that lacked a proper EIA or IEE should be audited; illegal works must be red-flagged, stabilized or removed where they endanger lives. Third, local planning regulations should ban new construction on the most hazardous contours and impose strict setbacks, drainage standards and reforestation obligations where development is permitted. Daily Mirror+1

Nobody is calling for a halt to development. Sri Lanka needs homes, tourism and sacred places. But those developments must not be built at the cost of people’s lives and the integrity of ecosystems. International practice — from forest-based slope management to community-based early warning — shows that nature-based stabilization, enforced regulations and community stewardship reduce risk and save money in the long run. Development that respects slope science is possible; development that ignores it is suicidal. World Bank+1

Finally, the political will must match the rhetoric. The pressure to “develop fast” from commercial interests and to expand religious or celebratory constructions on sensitive hills cannot be allowed to trump basic public safety. The government should name and shame repeat offenders, revoke unlawful permits, and expedite legal pathways that allow swift removal or remediation of hazardous structures — with transparent, legally-sound procedures to avoid wrongful accusations. Above all, communities need accessible information: slope maps, EIA findings and NBRO notices must be public, local authorities accountable, and penalties real. The Morning+1

Sri Lanka’s hills are not blank canvases for quick profit or vanity projects. They are living systems that provide water, stabilize soil and sustain livelihoods. If we are sincere about protecting human life and the environment, we must stop the haphazard hill-building now — enforce the EIAs, empower the NBRO, and hold developers accountable. Lives depend on it.

Key sources and expert references: National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) landslide advisories and technical notes; Central Environmental Authority (EIA procedures and guidelines); recent reporting by The Guardian, AP, Daily Mirror, Ada Derana, The Morning and government Disaster Management Centre updates on Cyclone Ditwah impacts. The Morning+5National Building Research Organisation+5cea.lk+5

*Writer is former Diplomat, Head of Tourism and currently a lecturer, Business diversifier, Youtuber, Meditation and Reiki healer