One Day on Earth- The World's Story is Yours to Tell

When the UN convened the first Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, technology played a minor role in the task of   setting global development agendas. Twenty years later, the situation is completely different. Digital and social media have proved that they have a potentially crucial role to play in sustainable global development.  On the 22nd of April which was the United Nations designated International Mother Earth Day, the United Nations Information Center (UNIC) - Colombo in collaboration with the youth group “Youth for Greener Sri Lanka Platform”, organized a workshop on “using digital and social media to address sustainable development”. The workshops highlighted how today, modern technology and social media have the power to transform the world and use technology as a force.

Youth as a powerful tool

 Attending Earth Day celebrations, the Secretary to the Ministry of Environment said that the youth are a powerful tool in creating awareness on risk issues and that the Ministry believes in mobilizing the youth in these efforts. UNIC, Colombo, supported by UNDP Energy & Environment, promotes Youth efforts in “National Road to Rio+20 campaigns in Sri Lanka. 

One Day on Earth

Following the successful conclusion of the workshop, the documentary film “One Day on the Earth” was screened followed by the music video, ‘Make it Green Again’. This was a historic feat as the film was screened in over 160 countries around the world, on the same day. One Day on Earth is a grassroots film project that, once a year, captures the human experience in every country on earth on the same day. This feature-length documentary film premiers on Earth Day, April 22, 2012 and -- screened in over 160 countries around the world. It showcases the work of many UN partners and over 19,000 volunteer filmmakers– novice and professional –and sets a world record: the first movie to feature footage from every country in the world on the same day. The movie starts with the birth of a newborn in UK and encapsulates rare footage from all over the world giving a unique opportunity to see our world and the issues we face through a new lens. The footage links the crises, which confront the world today; from increasing population, consumption, waste production, environmental degradation and water shortage faced every day.  The documentary visualizes diminishing resources and the message that it's is, after all a shared planet. (The video is available for public distribution at UNIC. Tel: 2580791).  

Rio+20

The Global Community will meet in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 to define a plan for the “ future we want “ in terms of sustainable development. Rio+20 is a part of a process of global awareness that led to calls for action. The 3 main objectives of the Rio+20 Conference are: securing renewed political commitment to sustainable development, assessing the progress and implementation gaps in meeting already agreed commitments, and addressing new and emerging challenges. The ocean is one of seven critical issues identified, with jobs, energy, cities, food, water, and disasters.

The preparation for Rio+20 is an on-going country-led process coordinated by the United Nations over two years, including 3 rounds of Preparatory Committee Meetings, Intercessional Meetings and ‘Informal-informal’ Consultations. The resulting inputs were compiled to serve as a basis for the zero draft of the Rio+20 outcome document.  

We cannot afford failure. The security and sustainability of life on Earth depends on our success.  As Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said, “Rio+20 is a once-in-a generation opportunity that all of us must seize, driving at the interrelations such that solutions to one problem translate into progress on all.”.  If our actions at Rio+20 are too little, it will surely be too late.

Managing Waste, the Sri Lankan Perspective

Biogas

With the seven billionth Earthling seeing the light of day on the 31^st of October last year the world now has waste created by 7 billion people to dispose of.  Can humanity handle the unprecedented rise in the sum of waste created? Improper solid waste management mechanisms mean that 7 billion people are exposed to the threat of climate change. Is the world on course to meet its waste targets? These are questions are faced by countries the world over. Sri Lanka, the tiny teardrop shaped island in South Asia, too is faced with such questions. Being a tiny island in South Asia, Sri Lanka falls into the UNFCCC and IPCC’s category of ‘vulnerable’ small island nations under serious threat from various climate change impacts. Sri Lanka’s Energy Policy seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels- which are 100% imported- by promoting renewable energy.

Managing urban waste

HelpO: an NGO committed to conducting Grass root level social welfare programs with the assistance of UNDP Sri Lanka, under the auspices of the Galle Municipal Council, constructed a bio gas plant to dump market waste of the city. Following this project, which was a roaring success, a mechanism was developed whereby, in the grassroots, the villagers themselves got-together and made a small financial contribution for the maintenance of a biogas tank. UNDP simply made the initial investment and allowed the beneficiaries to invest in the maintenance of the plant. Of course Biogas helped minimize the effects of climate change, but for the hapless villagers it saved their land and waterways from harmful waste; provided an excellent organic fertilizer and best of all, produced a cost efficient and profitable fuel. UNDP initiated projects are underway in various parts of the island, addressing solid waste management concerns while also generating an extra income through the bi-products of waste management such as bio fuel and compost manure. Simple composting systems were an effective, low-tech solution to reduce large quantities of waste and generate manure for agriculture. With approximately 60% - 70% of waste being bio-degradable, composting has now become an important component of an integrated waste management process.

According to Dr. Ananda Mallawathanthri, who is UNDP’s Assistant Resident Representative cum Team Leader: Environment, Energy and Disaster Management, the UNDP supported the biogasification of waste at two different levels: i.e. at the community level, and the institutional level. In community the

level, one bio gas plant was constructed for five to eight neighboring houses, while in the institutional level, biogas plants were constructed in hotels, hospitals, military bases, schools and even prisons. Financial and technical support for some of these community level projects was channeled in directly to NGOs and CBOs by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Program.

Solid Waste: a tool for reconciliation

For over three decades, the Northern and North Eastern areas of the island were ravaged by a barbaric war. Following its conclusion, Dr. Mallawathanthri elaborated how, solid waste management became a tool for the promotion of national harmony and reconciliation. Recently, the United Nations Development Program – Disaster Risk Management team partnered with the Transition Recovery Program to organize an exposure visit for a group of environment officers, public health officers, local government council secretaries and field engineers from former war torn areas, to southern Sri Lanka where they could observe successful projects and meet their implementers.  Solid waste management created a platform for reconciliation and North-South interpersonal dialogue. 

With the exponential industrial growth predicted for the newly liberated Northern and Eastern provinces and with many post-conflict initiatives to fast track development, already underway, the UNDP field office in Jaffna awarded a grant to the Nallur local government council to implement a compost system to manage the doubling amounts of solid waste collected. The UNDP and the Central Environmental Authority are also formulating a system to provide further support and help make the Northern Province waste free.

Financial support of the UNDP was also utilized for the implementation of a waste management project to convert banana waste into value added products such as handicraft, paper and fabrics, as a cottage industry among the rural community. Banana, a popular tree that grows freely in tropical climates is valued only for the soft nutritious fruit concealed in its slippery peel. It is widely grown in Sri Lanka as a garden tree and commercially in plantations. Banana waste is now used to create handicrafts and other products such as wall hangings, table mats, handbags, key tags, and even fabrics.  Again, solid waste which was once a menace has metamorphosed to a profit generating cottage industry.

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Dr. Mallawathanthri concluded by adding that UNDP Sri Lanka will continue to draw inspirations from countries in the region, and from around the world and replicate success strategies in one country, in another. He added that UNDP welcomes experimentation and that it is ready to make an initial investment to construct a model based on a new idea to convince governments and authorities the world over that the idea is worth the investment of their funds.

Sri Lanka: Disaster Management and Recovery: : Predicting the unpredictable and escaping the wrath of nature

                                 
















































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                ‘When a disaster strikes a country, it’s the poor that is predominantly affected: at least in most cases.’ says Dr. Ananda Mallawathanthri, who is UNDP’s Assistant Resident Representative in Sri Lanka. “This is partly because the poor reside in areas which are more vulnerable and prone to disasters, such as the coastal belt” he added. In Sri Lanka, poverty and disasters form a vicious cycle. Following the killer waves of the 2004 Tsunami, a roadmap was designed towards a safer Sri Lanka: articulating the vision highlighted in President Mahinda Rajapaksha's action plan, the ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’.

  

                                 UNDP- Sri Lanka supported the architecting of the institutional structures necessary to bring this vision to the light of day. The UNDP supported the establishment of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) as a focal point for disaster management in Sri Lanka. The DMC is an around the clock emergency operations center, acting in liaison with ministries, authorities and agencies, private sector agencies, NGOs and the military. It also facilitates the issuing of warnings, and conducts evacuations.

                              

Prepare, Mitigate, Manage     

   UNDP also provided training at National, district and community levels so as to streamline warning and evacuation systems in the event of a disaster occurring. The training curriculum included first aid to victims, rescue strategies, managing the elderly and the differently-abled and identifying safe evacuation pathways.

                                

A disaster could occur in a split second making you lose not only your hard-earned investments and property but also your friends, family and loved ones. In the blink of an eye, everything and everyone could be taken away from you. Sri Lanka: though not frequently affected by the wrath of nature, is no stranger to natural disasters.   The tsunami which hit the island on Boxing Day in 2004 swept around 30,000 people away, and displaced at least one and a half million persons, taught Sri Lanka a lesson: it brought about a collective conscience among the government, civil society organizations and international agencies of the need for a comprehensive disaster risk management mechanism

The Disaster Management Centre of the Ministry of Disaster Management, with technical and financial support from the Disaster Risk Management program of the UNDP and the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok also initiated the formation of a database on past disaster incidents from 1974. The Disaster Information Management System is a tool that helps to analyze disaster trends and their impacts in a systematic manner. With increased understanding of the disaster trends and their impacts, better prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures can be planned to reduce the impact of disasters on the communities. These databases could be accessed on 'http://www.desinventar.lk'. In order to facilitate this, UNDP also funded a detailed mapping exercise that covers over eight districts. 

Risk and Disaster Management

The process of developing hazard vulnerability and risk profiles was led by Sri Lankan stakeholder agencies. For example, the Coast Conservation Department developed a coastal risk profile in collaboration with the University of Peradeniya while the Department of Meteorology developed a cyclone profile in consultation with several experts.

The United Nations continues to support the Government to meet the urgent needs caused by various natural disasters. For example, it assisted the government in securing shelter, food and drinking water for one million people affected by the second wave of floods last year. According to Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Colombo, the World Food Program has distributed food for six days in support of around 192,000 persons in flood affected areas. Meanwhile, UNICEF has dispatched around 4,600 tarpaulins; the International Organization for Migration has supplied 9,000 plastic sheets and tarpaulins while the United Nations Refugee Agency has provided 400 tents, in aid of the victims of the second wave of floods.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

In another initiative the UNDP began to develop integrated strategic environmental assessments (ISEA) starting with the conflict affected Northern Province, where the process involves a large number of agencies related to land use, conservation, infrastructural development, service delivery and urban planning. The ISEA–North is aimed at better understanding the natural resource base in the Northern Province following the conflict and to provide strategic information support to facilitate rapid development. A key outcome of the process is that assessments are carried out early to identify potentially adverse effects on the environment.

                                 Over 25 agencies worked together in this venture and the ISEA-North process capitalized on the technical strengths of Government agencies. UNDP provided technical, coordination and financial assistance in new data generation including mapping of water resources, mineral resources, archeological resources and boundaries of forests and wild life to facilitate the process. In addition, UNDP also partnered with the UNEP Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch to obtain specific technical assistance for ISEA-North.

                                

Queue for disaster relief

At the Global Meeting of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group, the Government of Sri Lanka expressed interest in enhancing national search and rescue capacity. In July 2011, representatives from the OCHA Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific visited Sri Lanka, accompanied by an expert in search and rescue, in preparation for the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination, or UNDAC’s disaster response preparedness mission. The terms of reference for the mission were developed in consultation with the Government, the donors and the humanitarian community met by the group during their visit.

                                 In August 2011, the Government of Sri Lanka conveyed its agreement to the proposed terms of reference and formally requested the Emergency Relief Coordinator and the United Nations Under-
Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs for the deployment of an UNDAC mission through the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Sri Lanka.  The UNDAC mission was soon deployed to Sri Lanka.

The need to prepare is real. Disasters hit the most unexpected of regions at the most unexpected of times.  Implementing disaster management plans may not completely guarantee the safety of all people and their possessions. However, it reduces the risk posed by a disaster.