Book on “Managing natural resources to meet needs of the poor”
View(s):Veteran administrator and international civil servant Nanda Abeywickrama has addressed the above issues through a selection of papers presented at national and international forums in the last two decades of the 20th century and is presenting them in a publication titled ‘Natural Resources and Environment Management (NREM)Policy’
The 12 policy related essays on land, irrigation development, irrigation management, the competition between irrigation and forestry (development versus environment), the vision for Mahaweli settlers, the vision for water and the environment into the 21st century (2025) and how they impact on communities both rural and urban but especially the poor and the underprivileged have been discussed by Mr. Abeywickrama, the legendary administrator late M. Rajendra, late Minister Gamini Dissanayake and renowned Indian agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan. The papers present the perspectives of policy makers and administrators based on their observations of the ground situation and visualizing events into the future in sync with national and global trends.
Part I of the book deals with the “Sri Lanka Experience in Pro-Poor Development Policy since the 1930s”, starting with a message from Emeritus Prof. Roberto Lenton while Part II addresses the “Future Directions for a Sustainable Society in Sri Lanka” starting with a message from Prof. Mohan Munasinghe.
The Foreword by another veteran administrator Tissa Devendra traces the evolution of approaches to development policy over a period of seven decades.
The essays have been arranged logically and sequentially to make a synthesized whole and to feed into the “Vision exercises – Vision 2025” and the “Sustainable Sri Lanka Vision 2030” and “Strategic Path” initiated by the government recently. The compiler has also highlighted the need for a research culture to address the NREM issues and the role that international agencies could play.
The book concludes with a presentation of the Sri Lanka Water Vision 2000- 2025 and presents some pointers for a “Way Forward” to bring the 25 per cent of the population who live below the US$2.50 (Rs. 400-500) benchmark, mostly in rural areas out of their predicament through modern enterprises that could meet the emerging needs of our society and the export market. The volume is considered invaluable for policy makers, planners and practitioners to analyze the emerging scenarios and to stimulate dialogues on emerging issues, according to the author.