Comments on: Towards an Informed Water Vision: Part 1

By: P.L.J.B.Palipana

P.L.J.B.Palipana — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 03:35:51 +0000

Thanks Mr.Ranil Senanayake for the article and the valuable comments.Sri Lanka needs an urgent Social Revolution with the association of the valuable thinks tanks. At the same time a dynamic re-conciliation process should be incorporated to this peoples movement.An updated Law Machinery will save the aspirations of the entire NATION.

By: georgethebushpig

georgethebushpig — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:26:14 +0000

In reply to Ranil Senanayake.

You might want to take a look at what these guys are doing:
http://www.iah.org/recharge/

By: rita

rita — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 04:11:44 +0000

As SLA and SLN have a lot more decision-making power than the elected members or civil servants in the North and the East, the draft of NWRP will be hopefully studied by them.

By: Aqua

Aqua — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:27:26 +0000

There are a number of NGO’s and State Agencies involved in this field. IWMI, CEA, NWSDB, Mahaveli Authority, Irrigation Department, LLRDC, UDA, Water Resources Board, NARA etc. What seems to be lacking is a coordinated strategy and National Policy. No wonder with so many different players doing their bit.
Instead of creating yet another body it woud be better to bring all these players under one umbrella by creating a Water Secretariat where they could all contribute to this vital area. This be a good forum for exchange of ideas, information, R&D etc.
One needs to differentiate between the rights of ordinary citizens rights and those who use this resource for commercial gain. Here too one has to be reasonable as it is commercial enterprise that provides the jobs, income and foreign exchange for the country. It is not advisable to levy unreasonable taxes and charges which would discourage investment and industrial development.
This is why policy needs to be discussed and agreed by all stakeholders rather than politicians and ministers passing laws in an ad hoc manner.

By: Ranil Senanayake

Ranil Senanayake — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 23:55:03 +0000

In reply to georgethebushpig.

Dear George,

Thanks for the input. Exactly what I am hoping for. If we can generate a text though open consultation I think it could become a way to ensure public priorities are included in such critical issues as water. Lets wait a bit to see if there are other suggestions and put them all up for discussion. I think that most aquifer recharge should be managed in a manner to compensate for the decrease in recharge rate through our abuse of the land. However if there is any specific technology by that name it will be interesting to know of it.

Best,

Ranil

By: georgethebushpig

georgethebushpig — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:31:07 +0000

GV, pls post this version.

Dear Ranil,

Thanks for this. I would suggest amending the some of the principles as follows:
“1. All citizens of Sri Lanka are entitled to have access to [clean] water [free from pollution] for preservation of life as a basic human right.”

“2. All water resources, excluding rainwater, belong to the people, [and] may [subsequent to consultation and agreement with the people] be held and managed in trust by local and national bodies elected by [the people].”

I would also add a new principle:

All citizens have an obligation to conserve water, use it judiciously, avoid deliberate contamination and purify it at own cost if contaminated.

One of the issues that I have been battling with is Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR). I see that we may not have a choice but to go down this road despite all the pitfalls associated with it given that we are running out of space (globally) for water reservoirs. BTW, what are your thoughts on MAR?

Cheers
GTBP

By: georgethebushpig

georgethebushpig — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:29:28 +0000

Dear Ranil,

I would also add a new principle:

All citizens have an obligation to conserve water, use it judiciously, avoid deliberate contamination and purify it at own cost if inadvertently contaminated.

Cheers
GTBP