Making our needs match international legal developments

Two recent developments at international level, which should concern us, are the “UN Law of the Sea Convention” and “The Carbon Credits Scheme”.  Both of these initiatives promise much that matches our own priority needs and plans. It is imperative that we evolve ways to profit maximally, by integrating our needs with the opportunities on offer. To achieve this, it is justifiable to even create a separate body, charged solely with evolving means of profiting from these initiatives.

The UN Law of the Sea Convention was designed to pre-empt conflicts between States, by defining ocean areas, with explicit boundaries for activities to be conducted by neighboring littoral states. These were designated Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ’s). These were to be 200 km from the shoreline. Sri Lanka is advantageously located, with no land masses to the South, and distant Indonesia to the East. Where there is an intervening State, (India in our case), to the North, economic rights are shared equally.

It is reckoned that the area of the Indian Ocean that qualifies as our Exclusive Economic Zone, is about seventeen times Sri Lanka’s land area. The law interestingly provides for the rights to cover marine, subterranean and aerial resources, within the designated zone. Thus, fish resources, mineral deposits and Solar and Wind Energy installations, are all covered.

 With a view to identifying areas with explorative value for petroleum, the Soviet Union and Norway have done resource surveys in significant locations within our Zone, the results of which should have been shared with us (?). The Mannar basin is said to hold promise for petroleum (Oil/gas) reserves.

India is said to be already tapping oil and gas reserves from wells in the nearby Cauvery Basin. It is held that the initial costs of development (prospecting and drilling) of marine oil wells, is beyond our financial capacity. Thus, foreign participation is necessary.

We should be in possession of the findings of the detailed Soviet and Norwegian surveys. Analyses of the pre-project drillings are said to indicate good prospects. There is a massive ocean area yet to be surveyed.

Incidentally, the recent “Ocean Pearl Disaster,” which compelled us to seek help from India and other states to help in assessing the damage, might also be an additional source of information. It is up to us to secure the survey information from the relief crafts. With all this, there remains an enormous extent of our EEZ, which yet remains unexplored. A treasure may await us in our attempts to tap these hitherto unknown potentials.

The “Carbon Credits Scheme” could also be a treasure trove. Our forest resources have been brutally decimated from over 60% cover at the turn of the last century, to about 17% today.

The best efforts of the Forest Department have failed to reduce the erosion of our tree cover. Tea Plantations have scorned the Law prohibiting forest felling above the 4,000-foot contour elevation. If the authorities are keen and bold enough, they could even now, compel the observance of the law. This would be mainly tea land, which cries out for alternative land uses. The wisest option, is to leave tea within this trespassed area, to be allowed to remain in tea, but not plucked or pruned, to grow to their modest height of about fifteen to twenty feet, on a temporary tenancy, until the natural forest takes over. If forest planting is needed, bamboo plantations would be aesthetically attractive and also utilized for fencing and scaffolding. Bamboo is also excellent for erosion control.

Will these and similar options qualify under the “Carbon Credits” program? Also, do forest and fruit trees, grasslands and even new plantings of rubber, cocoa, coconuts qualify?Some innovative approaches may open up a fresh opportunity to translate our needs into profits.

Dr.  Upatissa Pethiyagoda