Colombo Cardinal tackles Sri Lanka’s environmental destruction

Following the call of Laudato Si, protecting nature should
become part and parcel of pastoral activities

By Father Reid Shelton Fernando | 

At the start of this year,
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, the outspoken leader of the Sri Lankan
Church, addressed environmental issues in his archdiocese regarding
Muthurajawela, a wetland 30 kilometers north of Colombo.

This marshland is notable for
its unique and highly diverse ecosystem and is listed as one of the 12 priority
wetlands in Sri Lanka.

 Muthurajawela, which translates
as “Swamp of Royal Treasure,” has a long history of 700 years. It
covers 4,390 acres and while only 700 acres are earmarked for development, the
project will have a drastic effect.

Prominent environmentalist Ven.Pahiyangala
Ananda Sagara Thera joined the cardinal in speaking out against the
Muthurajawela development project.

 Ven. Sagara Thera has condemned
almost all destructive projects in the country, castigating rulers who make
promises during election campaigns but act differently once they are in power.

  The monk and the cardinal
conducted a joint press conference against the development of this prime land,
which was cultivated until the 1950s but later abandoned due to problems with
water resources.

Recently there have been ominous
signs in the area that is home to poor people. Earlier there were signboards to
protect the land but new signs declare the area is the property of a local
entrepreneur.

 Cardinal Ranjith discovered that
without any assessment the land had been handed over to private companies to
build a golf course and hotels for rich tourists.

Under the pretext of
development, without any consultation with the people, this project had been
approved in the latter stage of the Yahapalana government by President
Maithripala Sirisena.

 This same president was present
at the Paris Global Meeting of the UNFCC in December 2015 as a signatory to the
agreement. But as minister of the environment he assigned this land to
entrepreneurs who are not remotely concerned about environmental issues.

In earlier periods this land was
cultivated paddy and the very name Muthuragawela indicated that it produced the
paddy harvest bountifully until seawater seeped into this very fertile earth.

 Cardinal Ranjith said the
development would mean destruction of the environment and natural fauna and
flora. He also indicated that a major part of Gampaha district outside of the
capital would be inundated and the whole area would become uninhabitable.

 It is a good thing that Cardinal
Ranjith addresses environmental issues and he has been in touch with other
areas where people and politicians are involved in damaging the environment
through deforestation for timber, excavating the soil and dredging sand.

 This supports Laudato Si, the
encyclical on the environment that Pope Francis announced in May 2015.

The Vatican celebrated its fifth anniversary last year and will
continue for the next five years. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka’s church leaders
have not followed the call of the Vatican dicasteries for celebrations in Sri
Lanka.

Environmental activists note that these development projects are
geared toward tourists and entrepreneurs who invest in Port City now known as
“financial city,” which was approved by the Mahinda Rajapaksa
administration. It was implemented by the succeeding government of
Mathiree-Ranil, creating many hazards for the poor in the western province.

Construction of the financial city was handed over to Chinese
companies, causing disharmony with other Asian financial enterprises.

Cardinal Ranjith was silent about the menace that was created in
filling the new island with boulders and extracting sea sand to fill the
ground.

Instead of fighting for safeguards pertaining to the
construction, the cardinal sought financial and expert advice to repair the
roof of the Basilica at Tewatte, north Colombo.

However, Cardinal Ranjith must be congratulated for coming out
to protect the environment for the first time and he was given all the
information by the activists living around the land in question.

As the head of the Archdiocese of Colombo, he had come out
without any dealing with present government leaders.

So he took up the issue before it was too late and it is our
wish that he will not only speak on behalf of Catholics but also against common
anti-environmental projects initiated by the authorities as well as investors.

 In the mid and late 1990s, there were two major events in which
church leaders led protests.

 The first was against the Voice of America radio substation
installed in Iranawila in the Diocese of Chilaw.

The initiative was taken by Bishop Frank Marcus Fernando against
this invasion by communication media.

The present writer was also one of the prayer leaders when they
conducted a prayer service in public places. 

 Other leaders who are called shepherds also led boycotts without
supporting the individual bishop. By 2017 the US closed down this radio
station. I am not aware whether US authorities paid any compensation to the
government.

At the same time there was another campaign against a hotel in
Kandalama in Dambulla in the Diocese of Kandy. 

The protest was initiated by activists because this construction
was mooted in the irrigation area involved in agriculture.

However, the entrepreneur who invested in this hotel saw to it
that the hotel was built according to environmental specifications.

This construction won many accolades from environmental groups. There
are several groups within the Church and individual activists who have taken
steps to fight for environmental issues in their work for the betterment of the
people.

Fishermen and some activists took steps to protect Negombo
lagoon to safeguard fish breeding and prawn culture in this unique lagoon.

 So I would wish that Cardinal Ranjith takes up further the green
cause not limited to Catholic areas but beyond the limits of his archdiocese to
all over the country. In this, he would be following Pope Francis who
vociferously spoke of protecting nature in Laudato Si.

 He can make use of the existing structure in the diocese and at
the national level to have a proper mechanism to protect the forests and
waterways from pollution that is harming human habitation.

 Protection of flora and fauna should become part and parcel of
pastoral activities.

 Further, it is taking the leading role not only in the
protection of environment rights but also the rights of others who are
victimized through development projects.

It is indeed a true Christian prophetic role to follow the
example of recently canonized Salvadorean Saint Oscar Romero.

Father Reid Shelt

on Fernando is a prominent human rights defender in Sri Lanka.
He was a university lecturer and former chaplain of the Young Christian Workers
Movement. He is well known for his writings and commentaries on social and
political issues.