CEJ Executive Director Withanage elected chair of Friends of the Earth International

By Ifham Nizam

Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) Executive Director Hemantha Withanage has been elected the chair of Friends of the Earth International.

Withanage is the first South Asian to clinch the top post of the Netherlands based institution which has a membership of 75 countries.

The Lankan Environmental Scientist succeeds Karin Nansen of Uruguay, whose two terms as chair ended in June 2021.

Speaking to journalists, Withanage said, “I am honoured to be elected as the chair of the world’s largest grassroots environmental justice organisation which, for 50 years, has been leading the fight against polluters and natural resource exploiters for a just and equitable future.

My priority for the next two years is to strengthen the member groups and Friends of the Earth International’s work with communities around the world fighting for a just society in line with our vision and mission.”

He said the current global governance and patriarchal power systems hindered a move towards such a society. As the world continued to exceed sustainable levels of production and consumption, many were failing to match the urgency and level of commitment required. The global Covid-19 pandemic had further exposed the current systemic environmental, social-economic and gender injustices.

“Corporations are hijacking our food systems and natural resource governance, as well as pushing for false solutions and exacerbating the climate and biodiversity crises,” he stressed.

Greater meaningful effort was needed from global governance bodies and national governments. It won’t happen without a system change, he said.

Withanage added: “We will continue to work alongside the peoples and communities who are leading the way with solutions. We will continue to build our Internationalist Solidarity System partnership with allied movements and struggles.”

Withanage, a science graduate from the University of Kelaniya, joined the environmental justice movement in 1990 as an environmental officer for the Environmental Foundation Ltd. In 2004, he co-founded the CEJ.

From 2005-2008, he was Executive Director of the Philippines based NG0- a network of civil society organisations monitoring the Asian Development Bank – for which he has also been the elected International Convenor a number of times. Hemantha has held leadership positions in a number of other regional and international networks and is a leading environmental activist in the Asia Pacific region. Hemantha was an elected member of Friends of the Earth International’s Executive Committee from 2010-2018.