Sunday Times 2
Marine pollution around Sri Lanka and the inevitable environmental disaster
View(s):By Carmel Corea
The National Geographic Magazine April 2017 issue carries a satellite image showing the polluted waters around Sri Lanka. This irrefutable evidence indicates a possible environmental disaster for Sri Lanka’s coral reefs.
Coral reefs protect Sri Lanka from natural disasters and are essential for sustaining this country’s fishing industry. The tourism industry boldly advertises Sri Lanka’s pristine beaches and states, “Investors favour coastal belt tourism development’.
In view of recent research, environmentalists warn that unless urgent measures are taken to control marine pollution, the financial loss and income downturn to the country will be inevitable.
Corals: A battle for survival in Sri Lanka's waters
What is marine pollution?
Marine pollution occurs when harmful or potentially harmful chemicals, materials, pathogens or disruptive activities invade the oceans. Eighty percent of marine pollution comes from the land. Air, too, contributes by carrying pesticides, toxic gases, hot air and sound, all proven to be harmful to marine life and habitats.
Greenpeace UK’s senior ocean campaigner Louise Edge says more than 12 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year.
Sri Lanka is the world’s fifth worst ocean plastic polluter, with China topping the list. Fisherman say pollution is killing marine life and their livelihood.
The United Nations will hold an Ocean Conference from June 5 to 9 to reverse the decline in the health of oceans for the benefit of the people and the planet.
Global warming stresses the environment
Global warming — due to an increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide produced mainly by anthropogenic (human) activities — is causing climate change.
Records indicate atmospheric carbon levels increased from 280 to 400 parts per million from 1750 to 2015, resulting in atmospheric warming.
Researches state that our oceans absorb about 30 million tons of carbon dioxide every day changing the chemistry of the sea and increasing its acidification.
This reduces sea water’s carrying capacity for calcium carbonate needed by corals and other marine organisms to build their exoskeletons. Hence coral reefs are under survival threat and need careful management.
Sri Lanka formally ratified the Paris Agreement to limit GHG emissions on April 22 last year.
The importance of coral reefs to Sri Lanka
Coral reefs are vital for Sri Lanka’s economy. They are the ‘rain forest of the sea’ — the most bio-diverse and productive ecosystem on earth, occupying only 0.2% of the ocean, yet home to a quarter of all marine species. More than 4000 species of fish make coral reefs their home. Corals can only exist within a narrow band of environmental conditions found in tropical and subtropical waters. The water temperature must remain ideally between 23C and 29C (or 77F and 84F).
The conditions needed for coral survival are found in the seas surrounding Sri Lanka. This makes Sri Lanka a unique island, with potential for developing into a high foreign income generating eco-tourist resort.
Coral reef destruction and sewage pollution
Dr. Stephanie Wear, the Nature Conservancy (USA) lead scientist for coral conservation, has carried out extensive research on marine pollution. She says, “When you think of the top threats to coral reefs sewage isn’t usually at the top of the list. Climate change and over fishing are the more familiar hazards, but pollution from untreated sewage is a serious threat to reefs and the services they provide for marine life and people.”
Dr.Wear elaborates that some of the greatest sewage pollution in the world occurs in developing countries, where most coral reefs exist. It appears that the infrastructure in sewage waste management in these countries may be old, and poorly maintained – and that causes untreated sewage to be pumped into the sea.
A similar situation exists in Sri Lanka. Nihal Fernando, Project Director (Colombo Port City) and Urban Development Authority Director, in an article published in this newspaper on June 19 last year states, “… thousands of metric tonnes of raw sewage are annually discharged to sea.”
He says this situation may continue for the next five to seven years.
Sri Lanka is a densely populated island, with 21 million people living in a 65,610 sq km area. (Its population is almost that of Australia which is one hundred times larger.)
Thus large volumes of raw sewage from Colombo and its suburbs are pumped into the sea daily through two 1.2 km long pipes at Modera and Wellawatta. This includes untreated sewage from National and private hospitals.
Dr. Wear says. “When stacked up against the value of coral reefs, the threat of sewage pollution is immense.”
Value of coral reefs to Sri Lanka
For Sri Lanka, coral reefs are of immense importance. They provide several critical services to this country and its people:
- Reefs protect the shoreline, providing a natural barrier along the coastline by breaking up waves, thus reducing wave force and making coastal waters safer for recreation. This also protects coastal communities from natural hazards.
- Reefs also provide protection against coastal erosion and even tsunamis, by acting as a buffer.
- Coral reefs are the spawning, breeding and feeding grounds of small and big fish of economic importance.
- Coral reefs are the main source of supply for the ornamental fish industry.
- Centuries old fishing communities have developed their various livelihoods in coastal areas associated with coral reefs.
- Medicines for various ailments have been extracted from marine organisms associated with coral reefs.
Sewage: a toxic cocktail for corals
Dr. Wear, in her recent research, says the most widely recognised pollutant in sewage is excessive nutrients.
She says: “On the reef, there is a battle between coral and sea weed for space and light. Corals typically maintain the upper hand but excess nutrients can tip the battle in favour of sea weeds. Even with the help of herbivorous fish which act like lawn mowers, corals can lose the battle and be overgrown by sea weed — e.g. Algae currently smothering parts of the Bar Reef in Sri Lanka.”
Dr. Wear’s research makes the case that sewage pollution is a far more complex issue than just nutrient overload. Sewage is a toxic cocktail where the different pollutants in sewage can interact with each other and increase toxicity.
What is sewage and how does it affect coral reefs?
The components of sewage:
Fresh water, the primary component of sewage, can stress and even kill corals. It is well documented that influxes of fresh water from storms increases reef mortality.
Endocrine disruptors: These chemicals disrupt the hormone systems in both humans and other living organisms. They are found in many household products that end up in sewage water.
Heavy metals: Sewage water is known to carry heavy metals such as mercury, lead and copper, and these can lead to decreased productivity, bleaching and death in corals. Heavy metals also accumulate in the skeletons of corals, just as they do in people. They increase the strength of pathogens on the corals’ surface, making corals more susceptible to infections.
Toxins: A dangerous class of toxins is pharmaceuticals. All drugs that people take end up in sewage. Antibiotics are especially problematic for corals, which have a protective layer of mucus that is home to a diverse community of bacteria, which function in much the same way as the microbes in human guts. Scientists suspect that antibiotics in sewage may adversely impact bacterial communities and make corals more susceptible to disease.
Pathogens: Sewage is teaming with virus and bacteria – and faecal contamination is a major cause of illness around the world. For instance, in the Caribbean, researchers have discovered that Serratia marcescens, a bacterium associated with hospital acquired infection in humans, was causing ‘white pox disease’ in threatened Elkhorn corals. Outbreaks of this disease killed more than 70 percent of corals in the Florida Keys. “A human pathogen caused a disease in a marine animal, and the source was sewage,” says Dr. Wear.
Coral Diseases: During the past 10 years, the frequency of coral diseases appears to have increased dramatically, contributing to the deterioration of coral reefs globally. Most diseases occur in response to the onset of bacteria, fungi and viruses. Human-caused activities may exacerbate reef-forming coral’s susceptibility to water borne pathogens. (Sewage Pollution A Significant Threat To Coral Reefs by Justinee E Hausheer, June 8, 2015.)
Sewage disposal: Immediate action urged
The recent research mentioned above demands an urgent ecologically safe disposal of Sri Lanka’s sewage.
We trust that Nihal Fernando will use his position in the UDA to urgently implement measures to stop raw sewage dumping in the sea.
This will not only benefit coral reefs but also human health. People in coastal areas will benefit from healthier water and from improved sanitation facilities.
The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) could provide data on faecal pollution levels for the safety of tourists and residents.
Efficient sewage treatment helps water conservation
Improving sewage treatment will help conserve water — a much needed commodity now in this country due to frequent droughts caused by climate change. It is now publicised that the levels of water in the Kelani River are decidedly less than in previous years. This river has to provide drinking water to more than 4 million people and supply water to some 10,000 business establishments.
Gampha is the major water catchment area for the Kelani River.
It was also publicised recently, that granite is being mined using explosives in the Gampha district to construct the Colombo Port City or the International Financial City. We, the public, wish to know if this mining activity using explosives has destabilised this important water catchment area.
We understand that a detailed study of this area for water management purposes was carried out by Prof N.T. Sohan Wijesekera of the University of Moratuwa in March 2011.
Does this research approve the use of explosives for granite mining in this area? There is a water shortage now in this area. Has the water catchment area been destabilised by the use of explosives?
Could the Ministry of the Environment request Prof. Wijesekera to investigate this area again, as it is now an important national health and water sustenance issue?
Sewage a source of energy and fertilizer
Sewage is a renewable energy source. Sewage could be turned into biogas — a much needed energy source for this country — and its byproducts could be used as fertilizer. Many developing countries have implemented this method. International research and funding could be available for such environmental friendly, cost-effective projects. We trust the UDA will consider such eco-friendly projects for the benefit of all citizens.
Coastal sand mining
Sand dredging in massive volumes exceeding 65 million cubic metres and dumping of the sand in the ocean causes cloud particles that smother coral reefs and cut essential light for their survival.
Research indicates this could cause destruction to corals, the breeding and feeding ground of commercial fish, adversely affecting our fishing and tourism Industries.
The adverse effects of sand dredging have been monitored and documented in the southern coast of Sri Lanka by the government-funded organization National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA). We trust its findings on sand dredging would be made available to the Ministry of Environment as a matter of urgency to ensure Sri Lanka’s environmental security.
Marine environments when destroyed or destabilised would take many years to regenerate and become productive. NARA would confirm this.
To safeguard coastal fishing and fish breeding grounds, priests and politicians have given assurances that sand dredging will take place only at places more than 10Km away from the coast. But little or no action has been taken, say fisherman whose livelihoods have been lost due to Port City sand mining activities. NARA has the equipment and facilities to monitor sea mining activities, if requested to do so by the Government.
Is Sri Lanka’s coast eroded by large scale sand mining?
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was the opposition leader in 2015 said, “The Colombo Port City project is unsustainable and the coastal belt from Hikkaduwa to Kalpitiya would be destroyed due to erosion and must be abandoned.” Erosion is taking place now due to sand mining and this could be proven from mapped evidence.
About 10 years ago, a Norwegian-funded project ‘Instcom’ carried out a research on Sri Lanka’s coastal waters and even mapped the coast. Its reports are with the Marine Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA) and the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD), according to members who took part in this project.
The MEPA and the CCD should provide these reports to the President as he is also the Environment Minister. The reports would tell whether the predictions of Mr. Wickremesinghe have come true.
If erosion has taken place then this project is unsustainable and not in the interests of our country and must be abandoned.
Safeguard the interests of all stakeholders
To satisfy all stakeholders: An environmentally safer 269 hectare plot of land on the mainland could be allocated for the proposed Financial City and connect it by speed rail to the expanding transshipment port of Colombo.
This would benefit the Coastal Fishing and Tourist Industries by not destabilising the environment as detailed above.
It is an established fact that a high density city next to a transshipment port is a health and safety hazard to the employees.
The current reclaimed land could be converted into an attractive park, an essential air lung and recreation centre for the densely populated Colombo.
We believe that stopping this land reclamation from the sea as suggested by the Prime Minister will be a positive step, to save our essential coral reefs and protect our environment which supports our very existence.
Our actions will speak louder than words to the international community: that our cultural heritage of Theravada Buddhism, firmly advocates the wellbeing and preservation of life and the environment. This has resulted in Sri Lanka having the highest biodiversity in Southeast Asia — and, therefore, it is Sri Lanka’s sacred duty to preserve it for future generations.
(The writer is an environmental researcher.)