EPPAWALA – Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the name of Development
D.L.O. Mendis
SRI LANKA PUGWASH GROUP 16/1, George E. de silva Mawatha Kandy, Sri Lanka Tel/Fax: ++ 94 8 223597 16, Amerasekera Mawatha, #2/9, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka Tel/Fax: ++ 94 1 593210 email: [email protected]
1 First Edition May 1999
Copyright Reserved ©D.L.O. Mendis
ISBN 955-647-001-8
Printed in Sri Lanks by
Vishva Lekha Printers 41, Lumbini Mawatha Ratmalana
2 Acknowledgements
It is a pleasure and privilege to acknowledge the encourage-ment and unstinting support given by numerous friends who knew about this book. I shall only mention a select few because it is not possible to mention all of them by name. Ivan Amerasinghe’s inspiring messages from London, kept me busy in the wee hours of the night - when email functions best; Nihal Fernando not only gave me the Studio Times photographs for use in the book, but also kept encouraging me; and he introduced me to Jonathan Walters, whose Preface and Chapter 12 show a concern for the people of Eppawala which puts to shame the attitudes of some local persons in high places; Phil Smith contributed some interesting information on discounting, in the Foreword; Brendon Gooneratne wrote a note on Project Jonah; Antony Anghie wrote on the Nauru case and sustainable development; and, Laksiri Mendis informed me about the Gabcikovo - Nagymaros case in the World Court, and lent me his copy of the UNEP/UNDP report which carries Vice President Christopher Weeramantry’s Separate Opinion, Excerpts from which have been included in the preliminary pages; and Asoka Dissanayake read the drafts and offered friendly criticism that was meant to help me focus on the real issues, and stop wandering around; however it goes without saying that, any shortcomings in the book are my responsibility alone. Last but not least, I have to thank the staff of Sarvodaya Vishva Lekha who went out of their way, making time in the midst of busy schedules, to complete this publication in time for the ceremonial release on June 9, 1999. The Minister of Science and Techonology unhesitatingly agreed to be the Chief Guest on this occasion, and the President of the Sarvodaya Movement graciously accepted my invitation to be the Guest of Honour. Finally, a last minute message of congratulations from Vice President of the World Court, Christoper Weeramantry, is gratefully acknowledged.
i Dedication
The idea for this book was conceived when I was in North America in September/October 1998 to attend several conferences as described in Chapters 7 and 8. About half the book was written on my lap-top before I returned to Sri Lanka. Although the Minister of Science and Technology had himself spoken up against this ill-conceived project, the National Science Foundation (that comes under his purview) had decided that my Pugwash paper did not fall within their criteria for a travel grant. The reason I suspect was because my paper was critical of the government’s stand on Eppawala. Thus do some scientists demonstrate their “loyalty” to the powers that be. Despite this lack of support from the NSF, I was able to participate in the 48'” Pugwash conference on The Long Roads to Peace, in Mexico, and in the World Bank conference on Culture in Sustainable Development, in Washington D.C. as described in this book. This was possible only because of the sacrifice and support of my wife and children, who have always understood and shared my joys and sorrows, and in this case, my anguish. They have always been closely associated with me in my work in Sri Lanka. This has given me the confidence to laugh in the collective face of the privileged few in important places who try to split hairs and pontificate on the “merits” of ill-conceived projects, from time to time. In the 1970s and 1980s it was Lunugamvehera, which I had predicted, when it was being promoted by interested persons, long ago, would turn out to be a Colossal Monument to Technocratic Folly1, which is just what it has, sadly, proved to be. Now it is Eppawala, which seems to be an even greater monument to ignorance and folly, if nothing else. My family, like many of my friends, appreciate our cultural heritage and instinctively understand the dangers of the Eppawala project. This book is dedicated to them with all my love.
Reference 1. Sun, Newspaper, April 2, 1983.
ii Contents
Acknowledgements and Dedication i
List of Figures, List of Illustrations and Tables iv
Preface by Jonathan Walters vii Foreword by Philip B. Smith xi
Project Jonah by Brendon Gooneratne xv
The Nauru Case and Sustainable Development by Antony Anghie xvii Excerpts from the Separate Opinion of Vice President Christopher Weeramantry of the International Court of Justice, The Hague, in the Gabcikovo-Nagymams case xxi
Introduction 1
1. Eppawala - Heart of the Ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Rajarata 28 2. Appropriate technology for developing the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit 49
3. The Technology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Technology 74
4. The Conventional Wisdom and the Counter Culture of Alternative Development 106
5. Proposal to mine the Eppawala deposit to exhaustion in 30 years 130
6. Technical, Economic and Political perspectives for and against the proposal 137 7. Ecosystems and Cultural Heritage perspectives against the proposal 153
8. 1998 UNESCO/World Bank meeting on Culture in Sustainable Development 195
9. World Commission on Dams 229
10. The Conventional Wisdom as a Cause of Conflict over water 249
11. Eppawala and Nauru: Comparison and Contrast 273
12. Conclusion - Americans Share the Anguish of Eppawala 282 POSTSCRIPT 292
ANNEX - Draft World Heritage Convention Application to UNESCO 306
References 323
iii List of Figures
Figure Page
1.1 Brohier’s Hypothesis reproduced by Needham (1971) 9
1.2 Location of Eppawala phosphate rock deposit 30 1.3 Ancient large reservoirs and channels in western seaboard of Rajarata 36
1.4 Ancient large reservoirs and channels in eastern seaboard of Rajarata 37
1.5 Ancient Irrigation system of Rajarata 38 1.6 Inter-relation of Irrigation Works 39
1.7 Small tank cascades of Anuradhapura district 42
1.8 Mahakanumulla, Thirappane and Ulagalla cascades 43
3.1 The Development of Underdevelopment 77
3.2 The Vicious Circle of Poverty (after Nurkse, 1953) 79
3.3 A New Map of the World 89 3.4 The Social Basis of Science and Technology Policy 90
3.5 The Science-Technology-Production system of Sri Lanka 95
3.6 The Vicious Spirals of Over-Development 101 3.7 The Stages of Economic Growth - Revised 103
4.1 Diagrammatic representation of Rail-Bus proposal 120
7.1 Inter-connected large reservoirs and channels in western Rajarata 156 7.2 Ancient Irrigation System of Rajarata showing Eppawala 157
7.3 Cascades of small tanks in Anuradhapura and Eppawala buffer zone 162
7.4 Climatological zones of Sri Lanka 167
7.5 Earth deflection bunds in the dry zone - Vetiyas 168
7.6 Ancient large reservoirs and channels in eastern seaboard of Rajarata 170
8.1 Ceylon in the Anuradhapura period and in the Polonnaruwa period 199 Map of Accelerated Mahaweli Development Programme 297
iv List of Illustrations
Page The magnificent ancient Kalaweva spillway vii Religious edifices built from the surplus of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems ix The beautiful Thuparama dagaba where the sacred collarbone relic of the Buddha is enshrined xxviii ‘Technology on this scale was accomapnied by a due concern for the environment” xix Minister of Agriculture, D.S. Senanayake, accompanied by the Governor of Ceylon, at Kalaweva, 1940 xxxix Ceremonial inauguration of Kalaweva-Jayaganga after rehabilitation, 1940 xxxix Minister of Agriculture, D. S. Senanayake, addressing the gathering of people at the ceremony at Kalaweva, 1940 in the presence of the Governor xl ***
The Role of the World Bank as seen by the common man 4 The source of the Jayaganga, downstream view from Kalaweva sluice 7 Protests against proposed Eppawela sell-out 17 Ancient Kalaweva sluice unearthed during Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project 31 Kalaweva-Jayaganga head-sluice with Kalaweva at full supply level 31 Gal vihare - ‘Those who built those statues were not ordinary men” 45 The Watadage at Polonnaruwa 46 Quarrying phosphate at Eppawala - early stages 63 The World Bank is with us 113 Rail-bus in operation on Polgahawela-Maho route 121 Cultural heritage monuments of Anuradhapura period - Brazen palace and Ruvanweliseya 200 Cultural heritage monuments of Polonnaruwa period - Gal Vihare 200 Kaiaweva spilling - an awesome sight 232
v Kalaweva - magnificent monument to sustainable development 247 D.S. Senanayake, Minister of Agriculture at Kalaweva in 1940 250 Children of Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape - their future at stake? 251 View from Pospet Kanda - Sacred Bodhi tree at Anuradhapura, oldest historical tree in the world 284 Another view from Phosphate hill - the highest brick structures ever built on earth, the dagabas of Anuradhapura 286 The leader of peoples resistance in Eppawala, Rev. Piyarathana 290 Sigiriya rock and frescoes - recognized as World Heritage Monuments 303
****
List of Tables
Page Chapter 1 Table 1: Hydraulic Engineering vs. Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems .. 34 Chapter 3 Table 3.1: Some terms describing the Two Cultures (on a global basis) .. 81 Chapter 3 Table 3.2: The Two Cultures inside Sri Lanka .. 81 Chapter 3 Table 3.3: Gross External Liabilities Outstanding (in Rs. Million) .. 93 Chapter 8 The Hague Convention - List of 92 States Parties as at 15 July 1998 .. 213 Chapter 8 UNESCO Convention on Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property - List of 88 States Parties as at October 1997 .. 218 Chapter 8 World Heritage Convention - List of 154 States Parties as at 28 July 1998 .. 224 Chapter 8 The World Heritage Committee 1997-1999 . . 225 Chapter 8 The World Heritage List - Sri Lanka .. 225
vi Preface
Mr. Mendis' book is a significant contribution to the growing international awareness of the tragedy now threatening the people and environment in a 800 square kilometer region around Eppawala in Sri Lanka. Mr. Mendis carefully and critically examines the Eppawala situation, as a professional engineer who had been associated with the original project to extract the phosphate rock at Eppawala without damage to the environment, as described in Chapter 2. He has had much experience in the region, as well as being a leading scholar of Sri Lanka's ancient irrigation systems which he describes as water and soil conservation ecosystems. He is able to present a sound scientific and historical basis for his arguments, which makes this an especially informed and persuasive case against the proposed mining agreement. I know of no other work on Eppawala which even comes close to the comprehensive and multi-dimensional treatment presented here. But this is not only a contribution to scholarship, conceived as some archival record of dusty facts. This book's heartfelt appeal that this priceless ecosystem should not be squandered for some short-term fix of American currency is a contribution to global humanity in the here-and-now, and a gift to future generations for all time to come. It is significant that Mr Mendis' personal Odyssey to bring this impending tragedy to the attention of a global audience began with a presentation at the International League of Humanists meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in May 1998, as stated in Chapter 7. The authors of the ancient Mahavamsa commentary, Vamsatthappakasini, conceived of Sri Lanka as a beautiful woman (Lankangana) whose face is Anuradhapura. By extension, her neck is the Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape - slated to be destroyed by American and Japanese businessmen in our own lifetimes - through which still flows the water and grows the rice that has sustained Sri Lanka for more than 2000 years. Mr. Mendis' important book makes this metaphor all the more poignant today, for he proves that in vandalising the Jayaganga and its local catchment on the eastern side, which is earmarked as a Buffer zone of
vii 800 sq. kms. for the Eppawala project, this multinational conglomerate would literally be slitting "Lady Lanka's" jugular vein. Mr. Mendis' singularly significant work documents the form and function of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the Rajarata that had generated enormous economic surpluses seen to this day in the systems themselves, and in the magnificent religious edifices in Anuradhapura. His insight into how the KalawewaJayaganga ecosystem was originally designed is supplemented by his keen sensitivity to the social and ecological realities of the region today, and to the political and economic forces which make others insensitive to those realities. Moreover, he looks beyond the seemingly insurmountable power of elected officials and wealthy corporations in favor of the global agencies, such as UNESCO, whose intervention could prevent this terrible tragedy before it is too late. And it will be too late very soon. I have been studying the history and culture of the Eppawala region for more than 15 years. I am one of few American scholars who knows where Eppawala is, and I believe I am the only one who has ever conducted concerted fieldwork in the region now threatened by the proposed mining agreement. From the moment I learned of this impending disaster I have been working to raise
viii
American consciousness of it. I have spent many sleepless nights worrying about the schemes of my own countrymen to destroy this beautiful region, writing articles for the U.S. press, making appeals to U.S. officials, posting a web site about the issue called "Americans for Eppawala", producing a documentary video about the local protest movement entitled, "Not in My Back Yard, Either", and giving formal and informal talks about Eppawala and the historic civilization whose center it represents. I will sleep better knowing that this book is in print. Anyone who reads this book with an open mind will be convinced that Eppawala's phosphate deposit should not be rapidly "exploited". Perhaps if enough of us read it, we will collectively be able to prevent this short-sighted destruction of a pristine ecosystem and inevitable infliction of suffering upon the estimated 500,000 people who depend on it. Perhaps we will be able to preserve this proud heritage of Sri Lanka's ancient civilization, still thriving and growing today. Before it is too late. Jonathan S. Waiters, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Asian Studies Chair, Department of Religion Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.A.
ix x Foreword
This carefully documented book was written with the intention of convincing the public, and who knows, maybe even the powers that be, that mining the Eppawala deposits of igneous phosphate rock to exhaustion in only a few decades would have disastrous effects on the region. As far as I am concerned the most important question is not why this mining must take place at all, but why it must be done with such "indecent haste"? After all, the rock is already being quarried at a rate and using technology (see Chapter 2) which leaves natural systems intact, and is bringing profit to the region. Not only that, but these profits could continue to flow in for a thousand years. That is certainly long enough to permit the adoption of use and reinvestment policies which satisfy the criterion prescribed by Daly and Cobb (1989, p. 73)' 2 , if the political will to do so were to be present. But if the present proposal to exhaust the entire Eppawala deposit in such a short time is followed there will be no future income, and the region will be lost to the people and to the world, as far as sustainability is concerned. Why then would anyone want to do this, especially the government of the country itself?
Discounting The reason is to be found in the misplaced use of discounting. Discounting the value of a man-made object, such as a house, a lathe, or a factory, is a perfectly respectable financial procedure. As time goes by, such an object wears out and/or becomes obsolete for the purpose for which it was made. Its real value goes down with time, and it would be foolish to pretend that it does not. A widelyused value for discounting durable goods or buildings is 3% per year, meaning that the present value will be reduced to zero after some thirty odd years. But what we see happening all over the world is the misplaced application of this procedure to natural wealth.
xi Why misplaced? Because a forest does not become less valuable as time goes by. In most cases, it actually becomes more valuable. The apatite deposit of Eppawala does not diminish in value in the course of time. But economic theory reasons differently. Economic theory says that if I can purchase a forest for a million dollars I should only do that if I clear-fell it in about thirty years, otherwise I should invest my money elsewhere. The way the economic system works, this is correct, since if I invest the money elsewhere I will receive more money (the verb earn is usually used here, but I believe that that verb should be reserved for income from honest work). The fallacy in this reasoning is that it assumes that there is an infinite amount of natural wealth which can be tapped, and that the earth can support an infinite amount of waste generation. A child knows that this is manifest nonsense, but mainstream economists are unfortunately not children. They do not realize (or allow themselves to realize) that this is a "dead-end" way of thinking, since eventually all of the other wealth will be exhausted, and/or all life will be poisoned by endless economic growth. We will return in our conclusion to what we believe to be the origin of this apparently ineradicable fallacy in the thinking of the economists who advise governments all over the world.
Private Property A second fallacy in conventional wisdom is that ideal protection of the future (the environment and our descendants in it) can only be guaranteed by entrusting all natural wealth to private ownership. It is hard to imagine any belief that is farther from observed facts. It is impossible for anyone who is compos mentis to imagine that if Norwegian and Japanese whaling companies were allowed to freely pursue whale hunting there would be one whale alive in thirty years. To not whale-hunt the oceans empty at a rate which would just keep the price at a good profit level would simply be bad business. Support for this statement has been frankly stated by the Japanese whaling industry -seen through the eyes of this industry, as stated themselves, the destruction of the last whale is a totally uninteresting event. The whale hunting sailors would be fired and the accrued profits would be invested in something else.
xii This is called sound business practice. The destruction of forests all over the world by private owners (and companies who have bribed government officials to allow it) is known to all. The same is true of wealth below the soil. When immense gas fields were discovered in the north of the Netherlands, the state gave the rights of exploitation to the NAM, a (private) oil company, with another, linked, private concern, the Gasunie, receiving a concession on the distribution. The Gasunie announced that the fields would be exhausted in thirty years, even before the full extent of the fields was even known. This is because, as shown above, it doesn't matter what it is, or how big it is, conventional economic wisdom says that it has to be used up in about thirty years. And so also the Eppawala deposits. There was enough gas in the fields to warm our houses for three hundred years, which would have given us time to develop renewable sources of energy. But good business practice dictated that it had to be gone in thirty years so 90% of the gas had to be exported. And so it was. In another ten years the gas will be gone. Incidentally the rapid extraction of the gas is already resulting in costly instability of the land above the gas fields. The gigantic costs (except to the amount of a small guarantee fund deposited by the Gasunie) incurred by the replacement of all sewage and water piping as well as tens of thousands of foundations of houses and buildings will be borne by the inhabitants, not the Gasunie or the NAM. The future costs which will have to be borne by the peoples of the Eppawala region will be proportionately enormously greater.
Conclusion It is indeed hard to understand why, despite the obvious fallaciousness of these dogmas, conventional wisdom continues to hold to the idea that discounting natural wealth is perfectly legitimate and that privatizing the whole planet will protect the environment. I believe that it is because these ideas suit the predilections of those who possess wealth. Still, the naive reader might ask, how is it possible that business leaders who mostly have children and must be assumed to be concerned about the living conditions in the world
xiii in which their descendants will live, are busily destroying this future world. I suggest that examining the belief structures of religions will reveal the same insensitivity to obvious facts. All religions are built on rationally impossible stories, and economy fits well into this picture. The possessors wish to be told that they may be just as selfish as they wish and it will come out for the best. In all of history there has always been a priesthood which provides the powerful with the stories they want to hear. Today that priesthood is trained in theological seminaries bearing prestigious names such as the Harvard School of Business and the London School of Economics.
Philip B. Smith, Ph.D. IVEM, Centre for Energy and Environmental Studies University of Groningen 25 February 1999
References 1 Daly, H.E. and J.B. Cobb Jr., "For the Common Good", London: The Merlin Press, 1989. 2 El Serafy, S. "The Proper Calculation of Income from Depletable Natural Resources", in Environmental and Resource Accounting and their Relevance to the Measurement of Sustainable Income, edited by Lutz, E. and El Sarafy, S., Washington D.C.: World Bank, 1988.
xiv PROJECT JONAH
Save the Whale Campaign
In the 1970s the battle to save the whale became the biggest world-wide ecological issue up to that date. The dwindling numbers of great whales brought to the brink of extinction by the ferocious whaling nations created shock and dismay all over the world. Norway, the US, Britain, Australia, Germany, Holland, Spain and Denmark in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the Norwegians, Icelanders, Japanese, Australians and Americans, together with other nations, newcomers to whaling, (such as Peru, Korea and Argentina), had relentlessly hunted these mammals who have inhabited the oceans for 50 million years, till the Blue whales, Humpbacks, Fin whales, and Sperm whales, had dropped to less than 5% of their original numbers; in some species to less than 1%. The warning signs were very clear: unless commercial whaling was banned indefinitely, these whales would vanish from the oceans. Since we do not really know the impact of their ecological significance involving plankton, other fish-eating mammals and plankton-eating fish, nor do we possess accurate information regarding oxygen production of the plankton and its consumption in this cycle, extinction became a frightening reality. A world without whales became an unthinkable idea to most people, and the campaign to save the whale took on immense momentum. This campaign finally achieved results with the moratorium on whaling being set in place by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in the early 1980s.
PROJECT JONAH AUSTRALIA was in the forefront of this battle, and was largely instrumental in forcing the Australian government of the day to set in place an Inquiry into Whaling. A former Chief Justice of Australia, Sir Sydney Frost, headed this
xv inquiry which, after two years of intensive investigation, produced two large volumes of documentation supporting its conclusion that whaling ought to be banned in Australia (there was still some whaling of humpback whales in the much-depleted oceans of Western Australia, even in 1978), this ban to be communicated internationally with the intention of halting any destruction of whale populations world-wide. This was a landmark decision in the ecological history of the world, and set the standard for many more battles to come, if the conservation of the world's resources was to be achieved, and ecological disasters were to be avoided. Mankind -the world's ordinary folk - were now taking part in the preservation of their own future.
Brendon Gooneratne, Ph.D. President, Project Jonah Australia.
xvi The Nauru Case and Sustainable Development
Mr Mendis's extensively researched book points to some of the serious dangers that could accompany the whole project of phosphate mining at Eppawala. Phosphate mining has an extraordinarily damaging impact on the environment, and the consequences that could follow are graphically and tragically demonstrated by the experience of the people of Nauru, an experience which has been extensively documented in connection with the litigation before the World Court to which Mr Mendis refers in his book. Once known as `Pleasant Isle' on account of its beauty and fertility and the contentedness of its people, Nauru, a small island in the Pacific, contained large quantities of phosphate. Mining commenced on the island in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Extensive mining took place following the First World War, when Nauru was placed under the authority of Australia which administered the island first, on behalf of the League of Nations, as part of the League's Mandate System, and then as a Trusteeship territory of the United Nations. Mining caused massive damage to the island which was only 8 square miles in area; in addition, the people of Nauru received only the most minimal compensation for the phosphates. These factors led to the government of Nauru commencing litigation against Australia in the International Court of Justice. The case was the first in which, in effect, a claim was made for compensation for colonial exploitation. Nauru succeeded in pressing its claim at the first stage of the Court's proceedings, subsequent to which Australia settled the matter by paying the amount that Nauru had requested. The issue most tellingly illustrated by the Nauru case is that the environment, inevitably and ineluctably, is a part of an entire way of life. For the people of Nauru, their whole lifestyle - their leisure activities, their religious beliefs - were interwoven inextricably with the land. Thus Nauruans rejected with contempt the view that land was merely property, a commodity to be bought and sold. Instead, as embodied in the customary law of Nauru, land was regarded as integral to the
xvii continuation of the Nauruan way of life; land was to be held in trust for succeeding generations as it constituted the bond which linked all who had come before and those who were to come afterwards. The traumatic effect of mining on the island is poignantly captured in a prescient Nauruan song which was composed shortly after mining commenced: By chance they discovered the heart of my home and gave it the name phosphate If they were to ship all phosphate from my home, there will be no place for me to go
Land and the environment, are fundamental to the very being identity of a people. This was understood by all peoples who maintain some connections with traditional ways of life. This proposition is equally applicable to the people of Sri Lanka; and, as Mr Mendis' research suggests, the Eppawala area is a central part of the heritage of Sri Lanka's ancient island civilization. The relationship between environmental protection and development is a complex matter which has been the subject of extensive, if inconclusive research by lawyers, economists and planners alike. In the field of international law, jurists, diplomats and scholars have articulated the concept of 'sustainable development' in efforts to promote a form of development which is not permanently damaging to the environment. While this concept has been included in many international treaties, the foremost judicial statement on the scope and content of this concept has been made by Vice-President Weeramantry of the International Court of Justice. In pointing to practices which have embodied this concept, Judge Weeramantry has focused, precisely, on the ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka. Having conducted an extensive survey of the ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka, Vice-President Weeramantry concludes[1]: `This reference to the practice and philosophy of a major irrigation system of the pre-modern world illustrates that when technology on this scale was attempted,
xviii it was accompanied by a due concern for the environment. Moreover, when so attempted, the necessary response from the traditional legal system, as indicated above, was one of affirmative steps for environmental protection, often taking the form of royal decrees, apart from the practices of a sophisticated system of customary law which regulated the manner in which the irrigation facilities were to be used and protected by individual members of the public.' Judge Weeramantry's judgment has been the subject of much scholarly commentary and has been extensively cited in leading textbooks. His statement suggests that the wisdom practiced by the ancient Kings of Sri Lanka is something from which the modern world has much to learn. How tragically ironic then, that it is precisely the heart of this system which will be endangered by the proposed mining in the Eppawala region.
xix The commencement of phosphate mining in Eppawala has a number of economic, political and social ramifications which require study in the greatest detail. The suffering and dislocation experienced, to give but one example, by the Ogoni people of Nigeria as a result of the exploitation of mineral resources found in their lands remind us of the very grave and far-reaching consequences that could follow from mining operations which have been inadequately planned. Mr Mendis's book raises disturbing issues. It can only be hoped that it is given the attention it deserves.
Antony Anghie, L.L.M. Hons. (Monash), S.J.D. (Harvard) Associate Professor College of Law University of Utah Salt Lake City U.S.A.
Reference 1. Weeramantry C.G. "The Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Case" Intemational Court of Justice, The Hague, 1997.
xx The Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Case, in the International Court of Justice, The Hague
Excerpts from Vice President Christopher Weeramantry's Separate Opinion
The Concept of Sustainable Development ...The Court must hold the balance even between the environmental considerations and the developmental considerations raised by the respective Parties. The principle that enables the Court to do so is the principle of sustainable development. The Court referred to it as a concept in paragraph 140 of its Judgement. However, I consider it to be more than a mere concept, but as a principle with normative value which is crucial to the determination of this case. Without the benefits of its insights, the issues involved in this case would have been difficult to resolve. Since sustainable development is a principle fundamental to a determination of the competing considerations in this case, and since, although it has attracted attention only recently in the literature of international law, it is likely to play a major role in determining important environmental disputes in the future, it calls for consideration in some detail. Moreover, this is the first occasion on which it has received attention in the jurisprudence of this Court. When a major scheme, such as that under consideration in the present case, is planned and implemented, there is always the need to weigh considerations of development against environmental considerations, as their underlying juristic bases - the right to development and the right to environmental protection - are important principles of current international law .... It is clear that a principle must be followed which pays due regard to both considerations. Is there such a principle, and does it command recognition in international law? I believe the answer to
xxi both questions is in the affirmative. The principle is the principle of sustainable development and, in my view, it is an integral part of modern international law. It is clearly of the utmost importance, both in this case and more generally .... The problem of steering a course between the needs of development and the necessity to protect the environment is a problem alike of the law of development and of the law of the environment. Both these vital and developing areas of the law require, and, indeed assume, the existence of a principle which harmonizes both needs... To hold that no such principle exists in the law is to hold that current law recognizes the juxtaposition of two principles which could operate in collision with each other, without providing the necessary basis of principle for their reconciliation. The untenability of the supposition that the law sanctions such a state of normative anarchy suffices to condemn a hypothesis that leads to so unsatisfactory a result. Each principle cannot be given free rein, regardless of the other. The law necessarily contains within itself, the principle of reconciliation. That principle is the principle of sustainable development...
(a) Development as a Principle of International Law Article 1 of the Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986, asserted that "The right to development is an inalienable right". This Declaration had the overwhelming support of the international community[1] and has been gathering strength since then[2]. Principle 3 of the Rio Declaration, 1992, reaffirmed the need for the right to development to be fulfilled. "Development" means, of course, development not merely for the sake of development and the economic gain it produces, but for its value in increasing the sum total of human happiness and welfare[3]. That could perhaps be called the first principle of the law relating to development.
xxii To the end of increasing the sum total of human happiness and welfare, it is important and inevitable that development projects of various descriptions, both minor and major will be launched from time to time in all parts of the world.
(b) Environmental Protection as a Principle of International Law The protection of the environment is likewise a vital part of contemporary human rights doctrine, for it is a sine qua non for numerous human rights such as the right to health and the right to life itself. It is scarcely necessary to elaborate on this, as damage to the environment can impair and undermine all the human rights spoken of in the Universal Declaration and other human rights instruments. While, therefore, all people have the right to initiate development projects and enjoy their benefits, there is likewise a duty to ensure that those projects do not significantly damage the environment.
(c) Sustainable Development as a Principle of International Law After the early formulations of the concept of development, it has been recognized that development cannot be pursued to such a point as to result in substantial damage to the environment within which it is to occur. Therefore development can only be prosecuted in harmony with the reasonable demands of environmental protection. Whether development is sustainable by reason of its impact on the environment, will of course, be a question to be answered in the context of the particular situation involved. It is thus the correct formulation of the right to development that that right does not exist in the absolute sense, but is relative always to its tolerance by the environment. The right to development as thus refined is clearly part of modern international law. It is compendiously referred to as sustainable development. The concept of sustainable development can be traced back, beyond the Stockholm Conference of 1972, to such events as the Founex meeting of experts in Switzerland in June 1971[4]; the conference on environment and development in Canberra in 1971; and
xxiii United Nations General Assembly resolution 2849 (XXVI). It received a powerful impetus from the Stockholm Declaration which, by Principle II, stressed the essentiality of development as well as the essentiality of bearing environmental considerations in mind in the developmental process. Moreover, many other Principles of that Declaration provided a setting for the development of the concept of sustainable development[6] and more than onethird of the Stockholm Declaration'[5] related to the harmonization of environment and development[7]. The Stockholm Conference also produced an Action Plan for the Human Environments[8] .... The concept of sustainable development is thus a principle accepted not merely by the developing countries, but one which rests on a basis of world-wide acceptance. In 1987, the Bruntland report brought the concept of sustainable development to the forefront of international attention. In 1992, the Rio Conference made it a central feature of its Declaration, and it has been a focus of attention in all questions relating to development in the developing countries. The principle of sustainable development is thus a part of modern international law by reason not only of its inescapable logical necessity, but also by reason of its wide and general acceptance by the global community...
(d) The Need for International Law to Draw upon the World's Diversity of Cultures in Harmonizing Development and Environmental Protection This case which deals with a major hydraulic project, is an opportunity to tap the wisdom of the past and draw from it some principles which can strengthen the concept of sustainable development, for every development project clearly produces an effect upon the environment, and humanity has lived with this problem for generations. This is a legitimate source for the enrichment of international law, which source is perhaps not used to the extent which its importance warrants.
xxiv In drawing into international law the benefits of the insights available from other cultures, and in looking to the past for inspiration, international environmental law would not be departing from the traditional methods of international law, but would, in fact be following in the path charted out by Grotius. Rather than laying down a set of principles a priori for the new discipline of international law, he sought them also a posteriori from the experience of the past, searching through the whole range of cultures available to him for this purpose[9]. From them, he drew the durable principles which had weathered the ages, on which to build the new international order of the future. Environmental law is now in a formative stage, not unlike international law in its early stages. A wealth of past experience from a variety of cultures is available to it. It would be pity indeed if it were left untapped merely because of attitudes of formalism which see such approaches as not being entirely de rigeur... Moreover, especially at the frontiers of the discipline of international law, it needs to be multi-disciplinary, drawing from other disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, and psychology such wisdom as may be relevant for its purpose. On the need for the international law of the future to be inter-disciplinary, I refer to another recent extra-judicial observation of that distinguished former President of the Court that:
"there should be a much greater, and a practical, recognition by international lawyers that the rule of law in international affairs, and the establishment of international justice, are inter-disciplinary subjects”[10] .
...I see the Court as being charged with a duty to draw upon the wisdom of the world's several civilizations, where such course can enrich its insights into the matter before it. The Court cannot afford to be monocultural, especially where it is entering newly developing areas of law. This case touches an area where many such insights can be drawn to the enrichment of the developing principles of environmental law and to a clarification of the principles the Court should apply.
xxv It is in this spirit that I approach the principle which, for the first time in its jurisprudence, the Court is called upon to apply - a principle which will assist in the delicate task of balancing two considerations of enormous importance to the contemporary international scene and, potentially, of even greater importance to the future.
(e) Some Wisdom from the Past Relating to Sustainable Development There are some principles of traditional legal systems that can be woven into the fabric of modern environmental law. They are specially pertinent to the concept of sustainable development which was well recognized in those systems. Moreover, several of those systems have particular relevance to this case, in that they relate to the harnessing of streams and rivers and show a concern that these acts of human interference with the course of nature should always be conducted with due regard to the protection of the environment. In the context of environmental wisdom generally, there is much to be derived from ancient civilizations and traditional legal systems in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas, the Pacific and Australia - in fact, the whole world. This is a rich source which modern environmental law has left largely untapped. As the Court has observed, "Throughout the ages mankind has, for economic and other reasons, constantly interfered with nature" (Para 140). The concept of reconciling the needs of development with the protection of the environment is thus not new. Millenia ago these concerns were noted and their twin demands well reconciled in a manner so meaningful as to carry a message to our age. I shall start with a system with which I am specially familiar, which also happens to have specifically articulated these two needs - development, and environmental protection - in its ancient literature. I refer to the ancient irrigation-based civilization of Sri Lanka[11]. It is a system which, while recognizing the need for development and vigorously implementing schemes to this end, at the
xxvi same time specifically articulated the need for environmental protection and ensured that the technology it employed paid due regard to environmental considerations. This concern for the environment was reflected not only in its literature and its technology, but also in its legal system, for the felling of certain forests was prohibited, game sanctuaries were established, and royal edicts decreed that the natural resource of water was to be used to the last drop without any wastage. This system, some details of which I shall touch on[12], is described by Arnold Toynbee in his panoramic survey of civilizations. Referring to it as "an amazing system of waterworks[13]” , Toynbee describes[14] how hill streams were tapped and their water guided into giant storage tanks, some of them four thousand acres in extent[15], from which channels ran on to other larger tanks[16].. Below each great tank and each great channel were hundreds of little tanks, each the nucleus of a village... This system of tanks and channels, some of them two thousand years old, constitute several multiples of the irrigation works involved in the present scheme. They constituted development as it was understood at the time, for they achieved in Toynbee's words, "the arduous feat of conquering the parched plains of Ceylon for agriculture”[17] . Yet they were executed with meticulous regard for environmental concerns, and showed that the concept of sustainable development was consciously practised over two millennia ago with much success. Under this irrigation system, major rivers were dammed and reservoirs created, on a scale and in a manner reminiscent of the damming which the Court saw on its inspection of the dams in this case. This ancient concept of development was carried out on such a scale that, apart from the major reservoirs[18], of which there were several dozen, between 25,000 and 30,000 minor reservoirs were fed from these reservoirs through an intricate network of canals[19]. The philosophy underlying this gigantic system[20], which for upwards of two thousand years served the needs of man and nature alike, was articulated in a famous principle laid down by an outstanding
xxvii monarch[21], that "not even a little water that comes from the rain is to flow into the ocean without being made useful to man[22]. According to the ancient chronicles[23], these works were undertaken "for the benefit of the country" and "out of compassion for all living creatures[24]. This complex of irrigation works was aimed at making the entire country a granary. They embodied the concept of development, par excellence. Just as development was the aim of this system, it was accompanied by a systematic philosophy of conservation dating back to at least the third century, B.C. The ancient chronicles record that when the King (Devanampiya Tissa, 247-207 B.C.) was on a hunting trip (around 223 B.C.) the Arahat[25] Mahinda, son of the Emperor Asoka of India, preached to him a sermon on Buddhism, which converted the king. Here are excerpts from that sermon: "O Great King, the birds of the air and the beasts have as equal a right to live and move about in any part of the land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all living beings; thou art only the guardian of it"[26].
xxviii This sermon, which indeed contained the first principle of modern environmental law - the principle of trusteeship of earth resources - caused the king to start sanctuaries for wild animals - a concept which continued to be respected for over twenty centuries. The traditional legal systems protection of fauna and flora, based on this Buddhist teaching, extended well into the 18th century[27]. The sermon also pointed out that even birds and beasts have a right to freedom from fear[28]. The notion of not causing harm to others, and hence sicutere tuo ut alienum non laedas was a central notion of Buddhism. It translated well into conventional attitudes. "Alienum" in this context would be extended by Buddhism to future generations as well, and to other component elements of the natural order beyond man himself, for the Buddhist concept of duty had an enormously long reach. This marked concern with environmental needs was reflected also in royal edicts, dating back to the third century B.C., which ordained that certain primeval forests should on no account be felled. This was because adequate forest cover in the highlands was known to be crucial to the irrigation system as the mountain jungles intercepted and stored the monsoon rains[29]. They attracted the rain which fed the river and irrigation systems of the country, and were therefore considered vital. Environmental considerations were reflected also in the actual work of construction and engineering. The ancient engineers devised an answer to the problem of silting (which has assumed much importance in the present case) and they invented a device (the bisokotuwa or valve pit) the counterpart of the sluice, for dealing with this environmental problem[30] by controlling the pressure and the quantity of the outflow of water when it was released from the reservoir[31]. Weirs were also built, as in the case of the construction involved in this case, for raising the levels of river water and regulating its flow[32]. The juxtaposition in this ancient heritage of the concepts of development and environmental protection invites comment
xxix immediately from those familiar with it. Anyone interested in the human future would see the connection between the two concepts and the manner of their reconciliation. Not merely from the legal perspective does this become apparent, but even from the approaches of other disciplines. Thus, Arthur C. Clarke, the noted futurist, with that vision which has enabled him to bring high science to the service of humanity, put his finger on the precise legal problem we are considering when he observed: "the small Indian Ocean island... provides text book examples of many modern dilemmas: development versus environment”[33] , and proceeds immediately to recapitulate the famous sermon, already referred to, relating to the trusteeship of land, observing: "For as the King Devanampiya Tissa was told three centuries before the birth of Christ, we are its guardians - not its owners"[34]. The task of the law is to convert such wisdom into practical terms - and the law has often lagged behind other disciplines in so doing. Happily for international law, there are plentiful indications, as recited earlier in this opinion, of that degree of "general recognition among states of a certain practice as obligatory"[35] to give the principle of sustainable development the nature of customary law. This reference to the practice and philosophy of a major irrigation civilization of the pre-modern world illustrates that when technology on this scale was attempted it was accompanied by a due concern for the environment. Moreover, when so attempted, the necessary response from the traditional legal system, as indicated above, was one of affirmative steps for environmental protection, often taking the form of royal decrees, apart from the practices of a sophisticated system of customary law which regulated the manner in which the irrigation facilities were to be used and protected by individual members of the public... Many more instances can be cited of irrigation cultures which accorded due importance to environmental considerations and reconciled the rights of present and future generations. I have referred to some of the more outstanding. Among them, I have examined
xxx one at greater length, because it combined vast hydraulic development projects with a meticulous regard for environmental considerations, and partly because both development and environmental protection are mentioned in its ancient records. That is sustainable development par excellence; and the principles on which it was based must surely have a message for modern law. Traditional wisdom which inspired these ancient legal systems was able to handle such problems. Modern legal systems can do no less, achieving a blend of the concepts of development and of conservation of the environment,- which alone does justice to humanity's obligation to itself and to the planet which is its home. Another way of viewing the problem is to look upon it as involving the imperative of balancing the needs of the present generation with those of posterity... (f) Traditional Principles that can assist in the Development of Modern Environmental Law As modern environmental law develops, it can, with profit to itself, take account of the perspectives and principles of traditional systems, not merely in a general way, but with reference to specific principles, concepts, and aspirational standards. Among those that could be extracted from the systems already referred to are such far reaching principles as the principle of trusteeship of earth resources, the principle of intergenerational rights, and the principle that development and environmental conservation must go hand in hand. Land is to be respected as having a vitality of its own and being integrally linked to the welfare of the community. When it is used by humans, every opportunity should be afforded to it to replenish itself. Since flora and fauna have a niche in the ecological system, they must be expressly protected. There is a duty lying upon all members of the community to preserve the integrity and purity of the environment. Natural resources are not individually, but collectively, owned, and a principle of their use is that they should be used for the maximum service of people. There should be no waste, and
xxxi there should be a maximization of the use of plant and animal species, while preserving their regenerative powers. The purpose of development is the betterment of the condition of the people. Most of them have relevance to the present case, and all of them can greatly enhance the ability of international environmental law to cope with problems such as these if and when they arise in the future. There are many routes of entry by which they can be assimilated into the international legal system, and modern international law would only diminish itself it were to lose sight of them - embodying as they do the wisdom which enabled the works of man to function for centuries and millennia in a stable relationship with the principles of the environment. This approach assumes increasing importance at a time when such a harmony between humanity and the planetary inheritance is a prerequisite for human survival.
***
Sustainable development is thus not merely a principle of modern international law. It is one of the most ancient of ideas in the human heritage. Fortified by the rich insights that can be gained from millennia of human experience, it has an important part to play in the service of international law.
B. The Principle of Continuing Environmental Impact Assessment
(a) The Principle of Continuing Environmental Impact Assessment Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has assumed an important role in this case. In a previous opinion I have had occasion to observe that this principle was gathering strength and international acceptance, and had reached the level of general recognition at which this Court should take notice of it[36].
xxxii I wish in this opinion to clarify further the scope and extent of the environmental impact principle in the sense that environmental impact assessment means not merely an assessment prior to the commencement of the project, but a continuing assessment and evaluation as long as the project is in operation. This follows from the fact that EIA is a dynamic principle and is not confined to a pre-project evaluation of possible environmental consequences. As long as a project of some magnitude is in operation, EIA must continue, for every such project can have unexpected consequences; and considerations of prudence would point to the need for continuous monitoring. The greater the size and scope of the project, the greater is the need for a continuous monitoring of its effects, for EIA before the scheme can never be expected, in a matter so complex as the environment, to anticipate every possible environmental danger. EIA, being a specific application of the larger general principle of caution, embodies the obligation of continuing watchfulness and anticipation. (b) The Principle of Contemporaneity in the Application of Environmental Norms This is a principle which supplements the observations just made regarding continuing assessments. It provides the standard by which the continuing assessment is to be made... Environmental concerns are live and continuing concerns whenever the project under which they arise may be inaugurated. It matters little that an undertaking has been commenced under a treaty of 1950, if in fact that undertaking continues in operation in the year 2000. The relevant environmental standards that will be applicable will be those of, the year 2000... Environmental rights are human rights. Treaties that affect human rights cannot be applied in such a manner as to constitute a denial of human rights as understood at the time of their application. A Court cannot endorse actions which are a violation of human rights by the standards of their time merely because they
xxxiii are taken under a treaty which dates back to a period when such action was not a violation of human rights.
***
Environmental law is one of the most rapidly developing areas of international law and I have thought it fit to make these observations on a few aspects which have presented themselves for consideration in this case. As this vital branch of law proceeds to develop, it will need all the insights available from the human experience, crossing cultural and disciplinary boundaries which have traditionally hemmed in the discipline of international law.
(Signed) Christopher Gregory WEERAMANTRY
Source: UNEP/UNDP/Dutch Government Joint Project on Environmental Law and Institutions in Africa Compendium of Judicial Decisions on Matters Related to Environment International Decisions Volume 1, pages 296-312
xxxiv References 1 146 votes in favour, with one against
2 Many years prior to the Declaration of 1986, this right had received strong support in the field of human rights. As early as 1972, at the Third Session of the Institut international de Droits de l'Homme, Judge Keba Mbaye, President of the Supreme Court of Senegal and later to be a Vice President of this Court, argued strongly that such a right existed. He adduced detailed argument in support of his contention from economic, political and moral standpoints (See K.Mbaye, "Le droit au developpment comme au droit de ''homme", 5 Revue des Droits de l'homme (1972), p. 503.
Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, who from 1946 to 1952 served as Chief United States representative to Committee III, Humanitarian, Social and Cultural Affairs, and was the first Chairperson, from 1946-1951, of the United. Nations Human Rights Commission, had observed in 1947, "We will have to bear in mind that we are writing a bill of rights for the world and that one of the most important rights is the opportunity for development". (M. Glen Johnson, "The Contribution of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt to the Development of the International Protection for Human Rights", 9 Human Rights Quarterly (1987,), p. 19, quoting Mrs Roosevelt's column "My Day", 6 Feb. 1947).
General Assembly resolution 642 (VII) of 1952, likewise, referred expressly to "integrated economic and social development".
3 The Preamble to the Declaration on the Right to Development (1986) recites that development is a comprehensive, economic, social and cultural process which aims at the constant improvement and well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting therefrom. 4 See Sustainable Development in International Law, Wilfred Lang (Ed.) 1995, p. 143 5For example, Principles 2,3,4,5,8,9,12,13 and 14.
6 These principles are thought to be based to a large extent on the Founex Report - see Sustainable Development and International Law, Wilfred Lang (ed.) supra. P 144
7. Ibid 8 Action Plan for the Human Environment, UN Doc. A/CONF.48/14/Rev.l. See especially Chapter II which devoted its final section to development and the environment. 9 Julius Stone Human Law and Human Justice, 1965, p. 66: "It was for this reason that Grotius added to his theoretical deductions such a mass of concrete examples from histo ry". 10. "International Lawyers and the Progressive Development of International Law". Theory of International Law at the Threshold of the 21st Century. Jerry Makarczyk (ed.) 1996, p. 423 11. This was not an isolated civilization, but one which maintained international relations with China, on the one hand, and with Rome (Ist C.), on the other. The presence of its Ambassadors at the Court of Rome is recorded by Pliny (lib. Vi c. 24), and is noted by Grotius - De Jure Praedae Commentarius, G.L. Williams and W H. Zeydol (eds.), Classics of International Law, James B. Scott (ed.), 1950. pp. 240-241. This diplomatic representation also receivres mention in world literature (e.g. Milton, Paradise Regained, Book IV). See also Grotius reference to the detailed
xxxv knowledge of Ceylon possessed by the Romans - Grotius, Mare Librum (Freedom of the Seas), tr. R. Van Deman Magoffin, p. 12. The island was known as Taprobane to the Greeks, Serendib to the Arabs, Lanka to the Indians, Ceilao to the Portuguese, and Zeylan to the Dutch. Its trade with the Roman Empire and the Far East was noted by Gibbon.
12. It is an aid to the recapitulation of the matters mentioned that the edicts and works I shall refer to have been the subject of written records, maintained contemporaneously and over the centuries. See note 23 below.
13. Arnold J. Toynbee. A Study of History. Somervell's Abridgement, 1960, Vol. 1. p. 257 14 ibid. p. 61, citing John Still, The Jungle Tide.
15 Several of these are still in use, eg. the Tissaweva (3rd c. B.C.); the Nuwera weva (3rd c, B.C.); the Minneriya weva (275 A.D.); the Kalaweva (5th c. A.D.); and the Parakrama Samudra ( sea of Parakrama) 11th c. A.D.).
16 The technical sophistication of this irrigation system has been noted also in Joseph Needham's monumental work on Science and Civilization in China. Needham, in describing the ancient irrigation works of China, makes numerous references to the contemporary irrigation works of Ceylon, which he discusses at some length. See especially, Vol 4, Physics and Physical Technology, 1971, pp. 368 et seq. Also p. 215: "We shall see how skilled the ancient Ceylonese were in this art".
17 Toynbee, supra. P. 81. Andrew Carnegie, the donor of the Peace Palace, the seat of this Court, has described this ancient work of development in the following terms: "The position held by Ceylon in ancient days as the great granary of Southern Asia explains the precedence accorded to agricultural pursuits. Under native rule the whole island was brought under irrigation by means of artificial lakes, constructed by dams across ravines, many of them of great extent - one still existing is twenty miles in circumference - but the system has been allowed to fall into decay". (Andrew Carnegie, Round the World, 1879, (1933 ed.) pp. 155-160.
18 The first of these major tanks was thought to have been constructed in 504 B.C. (Sir James Emmerson Tennant, Ceylon. 1859, Vol. 1, p. 367). A few examples, straddling 15 centuries, were: - the Vavunikulam (3rd c. B.C.) (1975 acres water surface, 596 million cubic feet capacity);
- the Pavatkulam (3rd or 2nd c. B.C. ) (2029 acres water surface, 770 million cubic feet water capacity) - Parker, Ancient Ceylon, 1909, pp. 363, 373)
- the Tissaweva and the Nuwera weva (3rd c. B.C.), both still in service and still sup plying water to the ancient capital Anuradhapura, which is now a provincial capital. - the Minneriya tank (275 A.D.) ["The reservoir upwards of twenty miles in circumferenceO the great embankment remains nearly perfect" - Tennant, .supra, Vol. II, p. 600] - the Topaweva (4th c. A.D.), area considerably in excess of 1000 acres.
- the Kalaweva (5th c. A.D.), embankment 3.25 miles long, rising to a height of 40feet, tapping the river Kala oya and supplying water to the capital Anuradhapura through a canal 50 miles in length.
- the Yodaweva (5th c. A.D.), Needham describes this as "A most grandiose conception... the culmination of Ceylonese hydraulics... an artificial lake with a six-and-a half mile
xxxvi embankment on three sides of a square, sited on a sloping plain and not in a river valley at all". It was fed by a 50-mile canal from the river Malwatu-oya. - the Parakrama Sanutdra (Sea of Parakrama) (11th c. A.D.), embankment 9 miles long, up to 40 feet high, enclosing 6000 acres of water area. (Brohier, Ancient Irrigation Works of Ceylon, 1934, p. 9). 19 On the irrigation systems, generally, see H.Parker, Ancient Ceylon, supra; R.L. Brohier, Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon, 1934; Edward Goldsmith and Nicholas Hildeyard, The Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams, pp. 291-304. Needham, describing the ancient canal system of China, observes that "it was comparable only with the irrigation contour channels of Ceylon, not with any work in Europe". (op. cit. Vol. 4, p. 359)
20 "So vast were the dimensions of some of these gigantic tanks that many still in existence cover an area from fifteen to twenty miles in circumference". (Tennant .supra, Vol. I, p. 364)
21 King Parakrama Bahu (1153-1186 A.D.). This monarch constructed or restored 163 major tanks, 2376 minor tanks, 3910 canals, and 165 dams. His masterpiece was the Sea of Parakrama referred to in note 18. All this was conceived within the environmental philosophy of avoiding any wastage of natural resources.
22 See Toynbee's reference to this. The idea underlying the system was very great. It was intended by the tank building kings that none of the rain which fell in such abundance in the mountains should reach the sea without paying tribute to man on the way". (Toynbee, op. cit. p. 81)
23 The Mahavamsa, Turnour's translation. Chap. xxxvii, p. 242. The Mahavamsa was the ancient historical chronicle of Sri Lanka, maintained contemporaneously by Buddhist monks, and an important source of dating for South Asian history. Commencing at the close of the 4th century, A.D. and incorporating earlier chronicles and oral traditions dating back a further eight centuries, this constitutes a continuous record for over 15 centuries - see the Mahavamsa or The Great Chronicle, translated into English by Wilhelm Geiger, 1912, Introduction, pp. ix-xii. The King's statement earlier referred to is recorded in the Mahavamsa as follows: "In the realm that is subject to me are... but few fields which are dependent on rivers with permanent flow... Also by many mountains, thick jungles and by widespread swamps my kingdom is straitened. Truly, in such a country not even a little water that comes from the rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man". (ibid. Chap. LXVIII, verses 8-12).
24 See also in this matter, Emerson Tennent, .supra, Vol. 1, p. 311. 25 A person who has attained a very high state of enlightenment. For its more technical meaning, see Walpola Rahula, History of Buddhism in Ceylon, 1956, pp. 217-221. 26 This sermon is recorded in the Mahavamsa, Chap. 14.
27 See K.N. Jayatilleke, "The Principles of International Law in Budhism", 120 Recueil des Cours (1961-1), 28 For this idea in the scriptures of Buddhism, see Digha Nikaya, III, Pali Text Society, p. 850
29 Goldsmith and Hildeyard, .supra, p. 299. See, also, R.L. Brohier, "The Inter-relation of Groups of Ancient Reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), Vol. 34, No 90, 1937, p. 65. Brohier's study is one of the foremost authorities on the subject.
xxxvii 30 H. Parker, Ancient Ceylon, 1909, .supra. P. 379: "Since about the middle of the last century, open wells, called 'valve towers' when they stand clear of the embankment or 'valve pits' when they are in it, have been built in numerous reservoirs in Europe. Their duty is to hold the valves, and the lifting-gear for working them, by means of which the outward flow of water is regulated or totally stopped. Such also was the function of the bisokotuwa of the Sinhalese engineers; they were the first inventors of the valve-pit more than 2100 years ago".
31 H.Parker, op. cit. Needham observes: "Already in the first century, A.D. they [the Sinhalese engineers] understood the principle of the oblique weir ... But, perhaps the most striking invention was the intake-towers or valve towers (Bisokotuwa), which were fitted in the reservoirs perhaps from the 2nd century B.C.. onwards, certainly from the 2nd Century A.D... In this way silt and scum-free water could be obtained and at the same time the pressure-head was so reduced as to make the outflow controllable". (Joseph Needham, Science and Civilization in China, op. cit. Vol. 4, p. 372) 32 K.M de Silva, A History of Ceylon. 1981, p. 30
33 National Geographic magazine, Aug. 1983, No. 2, p. 254; emphasis added. 34 Arthur C. Clarke has also written:
"Of all Ceylon's architectural wonders, however, the most remarkable - and certainly the most useful - is the enormous irrigation system which, for over two thousand years, has brought prosperity to the rice farmers in regions where it may not rain for six months at a time. Frequently ruined, abandoned and rebuilt, this legacy of the ancient engineers is one of the island's most precious possessions. Some of its artificial lakes are ten or twenty kilometres in circumference, and abound with birds and wildlife". (The View from Serendip, 1977, p. 121) 35 J. Brierly, The Law of Nations, .supra. p. 61.
36 Major international documents recognizing this principle (first established in domestic law under the 1972 National Environmental Protection Act of the United States) are the 1992 Rio Declaration (Principle 17); United Nations General Assembly resolution 2995 (XXXVII), 1972; the 1978 UNEP Draft Principles of Conduct (Principle 5); Agenda 21 (paras 7.41 (b) and 8.4); the 1974 Nordic Environmental Protection Convention (Art 6); the 1985 EC Environmental Assessment Directive (Art. 3); and the 1991 Espoo Convention. The status of the principle in actual practice is indicated also by the fact that multilateral development banks have adopted it as an essential precaution (World Bank Operational Directive 4.00).
xxxviii
xxxix
xl INTRODUCTION
Eppawala - Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the Name of Development
This Introduction is essentially an overview of the contents of this book in the order in which the material appears, prepared for the convenience of the busy or impatient reader. Since this is mainly a collection of papers and articles presented at various forums, there is a repetition of ideas and arguments in this book, which may even become tedious. I seek forebearance where such repetitions occur, and plead the need for added emphasis on account of the importance of the message. A very special example is R.L. Brohier's description of the Kalaweva Jayaganga, a classic statement, which is repeated in every article, and also in this Introduction. The Eppawala phosphate rock, apatite, deposit was "discovered" by the Geological and Mineralogical Survey department in the early 1970s. (see Box: Personal communication from Dr C.R. Panabokke page 50). Extraction of the apatite by a local group to meet local requirements of phosphate fertilizer began in 1974, and has been going on steadily since, with minimum adverse impact on the environment. At the present slow rate of extraction the deposit will last for more than a millennium. Apparently, a proposal for large scale mining, which will exhaust the deposit in about 30 years, had first been made in 1991. It was given publicity only when taken up in earnest towards the end of 1997, despite a change of government in between. The former Minister of Industries in 1991, who is now the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, has declared his opposition to the proposal, while the new Minister of Industries is its chief proponent.
1 The Eppawala deposit happens to lie at the heart of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the ancient Rajarata, (commonly but incorrectly described as ancient irrigation systems), near Anuradhapura, in northcentral Sri Lanka, as shown on the front cover. These ancient systems conserved the excess rainfall of the northeast monsoon season in surface reservoirs or tanks, and also in the soil itself, especially the reddishbrownearths, or RBE soils. The latter was achieved by means of small earth embankments called vetiyas, also built in ancient times, and well known to traditional farmers, but not. usually recognized by modern engineers. In fact, many of them have been mistaken for abandoned small tank bunds, and shown as such on the topographical survey sheets. By preventing rapid runoff of the heavy monsoon rainfall in this manner, fragile top-soil was also conserved, and, as a direct consequence natural vegetation as well as seasonal crops benefited; hence the term water and soil conservation ecosystems has been used. Irrigation was a function, but not the only function of these ancient systems, unlike in modern irrigation systems, where conservation in this manner is not intended, and is often not achieved. Despite lack of information about the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate deposit to exhaustion in about 30 years (or perhaps because of this), there has been a great deal of discussion and criticism of the proposal at different levels in recent times. This book seeks to focus attention on the adverse impact of the proposal on the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Rajarata. Focus on the ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape, the heart of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the Rajarata, brings UNESCO into the picture. UNESCO's International Council for Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS, is concerned with the preservation of cultural heritage landscapes that are in danger of damage or destruction, as is manifest in this case. A contributory cause for such damage to cultural sites and monuments in Sri Lanka has been the lack of a proper understanding
2 of these ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems by modern engineers. This problem has been presented and discussed on numerous occasions in scientific and technical forums, as well as in the media, but without much satisfactory result. Recently, however, there has been a surprising and serendipitous positive development from an unexpected quarter, namely a Separate Opinion in a case at the International Court of Justice (the World Court), The Hague, by Vice President Christopher Weeramantry, in 1997. The distinguished Sri Lankan jurist has described the so-called ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka as examples of sustainable systems, that demonstrate the compatibility of development with environmental conservation, over a long period of more than two millennia. This is rare confirmation of the true purpose and function of the ancient systems, as water and soil conservation ecosystems, not just irrigation systems, from an unusual but nevertheless important legal perspective. Coincidentally, on an earlier occasion, Professor Weeramantry had been responsible for presenting at the World Court the case of exploitation to exhaustion of a precious nonrenewable phosphate deposit in the Pacific island of Nauru. The Australian government, the defendants in that case, agreed to a settlement with payment of substantial damages after just one hearing in the World Court. There are frightening similarities between the Nauru case and the Eppawala project, including the destruction of traditional knowledge and life styles, against the protestations of local people. Moreover, the very same multinational corporation involved in the Eppawala proposal has a very bad track record in other countries, especially Indonesia, where their activities have led to civil commotion and unrest that even contributed to the resignation of President Soeharto, about a year ago. The Eppawala proposal is set in the context of the general situation of Sri Lanka, in the modern world. We are a typical, poor, developing country, with a long history of colonial domination, at the mercy of neo-colonial exploitation through the mechanism of the multinational or transnational corporation. Such exploitation
3 is facilitated by globalization and privatization preached by the international monetary agencies, the World Bank, the IMF, and the ADB, and implemented by local political and executive authorities with or without either arm-twisting or inducements. Examples are given, other than Eppawala, of projects supported or inspired by the World Bank, as well as projects that are contrary to their conventional wisdom. An alternative philosophy of development under which these later projects may be classified, is also presented and discussed. Some suggested strategies to resist and escape such exploitation as at Eppawala include supporting local people by raising mass consciousness in other areas of Sri Lanka, and spreading the message around the world. In the rich countries, Universities and learned societies are good channels, and so too are the international scientific organizations like the prestigious Pugwash
4 Conferences on Science and World Affairs. This book documents my personal endeavours to bring this impending tragedy to the attention of concerned persons at home and abroad, including Pugwash scientists, to solicit their support and avert this disaster, a sort of personal Odyssey. The Preface to this book was written by an American academic, Jonathan Walters, who has been studying the Eppawala region for the past 15 years. He says that the ancient historical chronicle Mahavamsa has a commentary, Vamsatthappakasini, in which Sri Lanka is described as a beautiful woman (Lankangana) whose face is Anuradhapura, and by extension, her neck is the Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape. Professor Walters sees the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit to exhaustion, as an attack on the beautiful Lady Lanka's jugular vein. He relates some of the steps he has been taking ever since he heard about this impending tragedy, to bring it to the attention of concerned people in his own country, and try to avert the disaster. This includes an Americans for Eppawala campaign that is gathering momentum. In the Foreword, a Pugwash scientist Philip Smith says that extracting the phosphate at Eppawala is not a bad thing in itself, so long as the process of extraction brings profit to the inhabitants of the region and the country, and does not harm the environment. If done by local people it will enrich the country and provide income for other development activities, and this in fact is what is being done at present. Professor Smith points out that the crucial issue is the rate at which the phosphate is extracted. In the modern global market there are strong pressures to apply the rules of discounting to natural resources, especially by transnational corporations. But natural wealth cannot in fact be sensibly discounted at all. If the socalled "standard" rule of discounting in some thirty odd years is applied in the case of the Eppawala deposit, the results will be disastrous to local people and to the nation. A message titled Save the Whale Campaign, by Dr Brendon Gooneratne, President of Project Jonah Australia, since 1989, is also published as a separate item. As a concerned Sri Lankan,
5 Dr Gooneratne sees the need for a global Save Eppawala Campaign, on similar lines to the successful Save the Whale campaign run by Project Jonah Australia, which organization has representation on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Reverend Piyaratana of Eppawala, the founder and leader of the Committee to Protect the Eppawala Phosphate Deposit, which staged four mass demonstrations around the Island during 1998 alone, and two more in 1999, could gain from the experience of Project Jonah. There is, however, as Dr Gooneratne has pointed out to me, a distinct difference between the two issues: Eppawala phosphate could be extracted at a rate of about 40,000 tons a year (as is being done), or more, to meet local requirements of phosphate fertilizer, without causing major upheavals to the environment in the area, which is rich in the cultural treasure of our ancient land. Whaling, on the other hand, needed and still needs a permanent and total ban to enable the whale populations to recover, and adjust themselves. Another message by Antony Anghie, is on "Nauru and Sustainable Development". Professor Anghie is a legal academic from the University of Utah, one of a few US Universities to have a Department of Environmental Law. He had the privilege of being associated with Professor Christopher Weeramantry in the case concerning the Nauru island phosphate deposit, at the International Court of Justice (the World Court) in The Hague. The Nauru islanders had suffered untold hardship and destruction of their traditional life styles, on account of the extraction to exhaustion of their precious non-renewable natural resource by multinational organizations. We hope and pray that it will not be necessary for the people of Eppawala and concerned Sri Lanka citizens to ever have to seek international legal redress. Prevention is better than cure. In this message, Dr Anghie also refers to the Case of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dam Project before the World Court, in which a Separate Opinion was given by Vice President Christopher Weeramantry as mentioned. Extensive excerpts from this now oft cited judicial statement follow, in which the ancient
6 irrigation systems of Sri Lanka are described as an example of sustainable development, related to the new field of Environmental Law. As discussed in Chapter 1, the ancient irrigation systems in Rajarata had been studied by R.L. Brohier and others in the 1930s. The Kalaweva Jayaganga passes through the Eppawala area, where the phosphate rock deposit is located. Brohier was the first to document the fact that the 54 1 /2 mile long channel, Jayaganga, had a gradient of only six inches to the mile, in its first 17 miles from the sluice in the massive earth embankment of the Kalaweva reservoir. He had described the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem in the following words[1]: "The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation, which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined irrigation and water supply canal, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir, Kalaweva, for the water it carried. The length of the bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high ground to the east which otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each
7 subsidiary valley which lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain". The proposed mining to exhaustion of this deposit in about 30 years by a US multi-national corporation will result in the destruction of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem, a cultural landscape unique in many ways. Unlike many other cultural heritage sites, monuments, and landscapes, it is a living system, which has been functioning and in use for at least 15 centuries, perhaps more. Its economic value has never been properly appraised. Its socio-cultural value can never be quantified. Its attempted destruction will result in unprecedented civil commotion on account of the resistance of local people[2], with resultant loss of life, damage to priceless artifacts, and further damage to our image in the international world. Important cultural landscapes are recognized by UNESCO's International Council on Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS, as part of the cultural heritage of all humankind, that has to be conserved[3]. At an ICOMOS meeting in Ottawa, Canada, in September 1994, the Kalaweva-Jayaganga canal corridor, as it was then described, was identified for such recognition and conservation[4]. Unfortunately, follow up to this important recommendation had not been done, and this unique ecosystem has now become threatened with destruction by the proposal to mine the phosphate rock deposit to exhaustion. As is shown in Chapter 1 of this book, what is most amazing about the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is that it still functions as originally intended despite the totally incorrect understanding of its design and purpose by modern Irrigation engineers[5]. It has been shown that this wrong understanding stems from a hydraulic engineering perspective of the ancient systems, rather than from an ecosystems perspective. This incorrect perspective is embodied in a map described as the Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon published in 1959[6]. The underlying principle for the location of large reservoirs on this map has been shown to be the third
8 stage of a four stage hypothesis for the evolution and development of the ancient irrigation works[7], as described in Chapter 1, and shown in Figure 1.1. Dr Joseph Needham who published this hypothesis in his monumental work Science and Civilization in China, said that it "could be improved upon"[8], and in fact he did accept an alternative seven stage hypothesis described in Chapter 1.
Figure 1.1: Brohier’s Hypothesis reproduced by Needham (1971)
9 The ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems or irrigation systems in Sri Lanka have not been recognized as a resource on which a stable agricultural sector in a modern economy could be built and sustained. Instead, a number of new projects have been built described as "irrigation and multi-purpose development projects", like Gal oya, Uda Walawe, Lunugamvehera, Inginimitiya, and the Mahaweli development project in its entirety. Most of these new projects are based on new large reservoirs identified from the "Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon, 1959". Among a plethora of environmental problems on these new projects, seasonal shortage of water for cultivation is also quite a common occurrence. Occasionally, excessive water flows cause water-logging, and there always is the possibility of salinization of soil. Local people, other than political sychophants and fellow travellers, are never consulted when planning these projects. Similarly, their views concerning solutions to the problems that invariably arise are rarely if ever solicited. Instead, the predictable sequence of events is that Colombo based bureaucrats and technocrats, after blaming farmers for "wasting water", propose the diversion of another river to "augment" the newly built reservoir. In this manner more large "projects" can be formulated and money borrowed from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, or under bilateral credit lines, with fanfare and publicity about the generosity of "aid" givers. "Justification" for this is also seen in the fourth stage of the 4 stage hypothesis given above. Obvious examples are the proposed diversion of Menik ganga to augment Lunugamvehera reservoir in Kirindi oya basin[9]; and the more recent proposal, proudly announced by the President, to augment Inginimitiya reservoir by first diverting Maha oya to Deduru oya. In Chapter 2, the origins of the Eppawala phosphate rock project are described. The youth insurrection of 1971, less that a year after the sweeping electoral victory of the United Left Front in May 1970, had brought home to politicians the need to meet the problems of youth unemployment and under-employment with something more than mere election promises. The message was conveyed to the national planners by the Prime Minister, as Minister of Planning and
10 Economic Affairs, and the Secretary to the Ministry, the late Professor H.A. de S. Gunasekera, instructed his staff to set up employment oriented projects in the Regional Development Division of the Ministry. This was the beginning of the Divisional Development Council (DDC) Cooperatives in the Regional Development Division at the time. And that was how the Eppawala Phosphate rock project was started as another DDC Production Cooperative. It was obviously necessary to use labour-intensive methods in planning the project, and I was able to make a contribution in this regard. This was later presented to the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, at the Annual Sessions in 1974[10], and that paper is reproduced as Chapter 2 in this book. The annual production of the Eppawala DDC project was to be 50,000 tons, and at that rate of extraction the deposit would last maybe for a thousand years. It should be noted that the project was designed to quarry the phosphate rock and not to mine it. Quarrying operations were far from the course of the ancient Jayaganga. The question of environmental impact assessment studies of large projects had not come into vogue at that time, but even if it had, the Eppawala DDC project would have passed an EIA test. (As a matter of fact the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs had promoted other projects, funded under foreign aid, that could not have passed an EIA test, for example the extraction of timber from the Singharaja rain forest for the plywood factory at Kosgama, against the better judgement of local experts[11]). The quarried rock at Eppawala was crushed in hand fed crushers and ground to powder in ball mills. At that early stage the project was designed to be labour intensive. What should have been done in later years, but was not, was to gradually change the technology making it less labour intensive (and more productive in conventional economic terms). This is well within the abilities of local engineers and entrepreneurs, to this day, given the proviso that any item, including any expertise not available locally, could be purchased in the world market[12]. The excuse given for inviting a multinational corporation to exploit this non-renewable resource, that the technology is beyond us, is therefore not tenable.
11 Although it has not been documented, the Eppawala DDC project was backed up by ad hoc scientific research in the University of Peradeniya. The objective was to convert the slowacting powdered apatite phosphate rock to a water soluble phosphate fertilizer. Some trials were even done to convert the phosphate rock by reaction with peat found in the Muturajawela marshes. After the change of government in 1977, this type of experimentation has been done on a more systematic basis, by scientists in the University of Peradeniya and at the Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy[13]. In Chapter 3, my Presidential address in 1975 to Section C: Engineering, Architecture and Surveying, of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, titled The Technology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Technology in Sri Lanka, is reproduced in full. This address presented the philosophy behind the DDC program, the then popular attitude of self-reliance in development, which almost necessarily implied a guided or controlled economy, if not a closed economy. That philosophy, which at the time had strong acceptance in many former colonial countries, aimed at achieving a measure of economic non-dependence compared to the dependence that had prevailed previously. Third world countries had clamoured for a New International Economic Order in the wake of the first "oil crisis" in the early 1970s. The Sixth Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1974, had been something of a triumph for the poor developing countries when the UN Resolution for a NIEO was passed without a division. The 5`" Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held in Colombo in 1976, with much euphoria among participating nations, a high point for developing countries. The host nation, Sri Lanka, had an unique tradition of parliamentary democracy - the incumbent government had been defeated in five out of six successive free and fair general elections held since independence in 1948. This was maintained once again at the very next general elections in 1977, which brought into office a government that opted to do away with controls and open up the economy. This
12 proved to be very popular after the closed economic policies of the previous regime. The "Open Economy" anticipated similar political decisions in other third world countries by at least a decade, and pioneered many trends that are well established today. In Chapter 4, the philosophical basis underlying the DDC program is discussed. The roots of this philosophical basis go back to the 19" century in Europe, as represented by Ruskin and Morris, and to the early 20th century in Sri Lanka, as represented by Ananda Coomaraswamy. Trends similar to those mentioned in my 1975 Presidential Address, that had begun in the developed world in the 1960's and 1970's, but were not too well known in Sri Lanka at that time, are mentioned in this chapter. These trends represent a counter culture of development philosophy, opposed to the conventional wisdom as dictated by World Bank and IMF policies. The award of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics to Amartya Sen has been seen by some as recognition of an alternative development economics, but this is not the view of some proponents of the counter culture of development[14]. Passing reference is also made to the militarization of society in the west, and the need for economic conversion planning as part of an alternative system of policy, especially in the USA[15]. The conventional wisdom is now seen in the increasingly antagonistic role of the World Bank, IMF, and Asian Development Bank, through the processes called globalization, liberalization and privatization. This is discussed using the example of water supply and distribution for domestic consumption. In Chapter 5, an article prepared in December 1997 by the chief proponent of the proposal, the Minister of Industries, justifying the proposal for mining the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit to exhaustion, is given. There is no indication in this article of any awareness or recognition of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga as a cultural heritage landscape. The background to all this may be seen in the following. Though a new government took office in 1994, after hard fought general elections, there was no going back after some seventeen
13 years of the open economy. Meanwhile, civil commotion and riot had become endemic, and after 1983, a burgeoning ethnic conflict was also firmly established. This became complicated when an Indian intervention in 1987, was followed by a so-called Peace Accord, brokered by India. This was described at the time, in the foreign media, as an intervention even worse than the Munich agreement following German intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1938 (see Annex pp.24--27). Shortly thereafter, a second attempted insurrection, not related to the ethnic conflict, was brutally suppressed in the late 1980s. Today, the ethnic conflict has blossomed into a full scale war, that is given wide publicity around the world. Although the ethnic war is largely restricted to certain locations in the north and east of the island, terrorist attacks have reached the ancient capital city, Anuradhapura, near Eppawala; the modern capital city on the west coast, Colombo; the sacred city in the deep south venerated by followers of all religions, Kataragama; and the 'hill capital' in the heart of the country, Kandy[16]. Government has responded with progressive militarization, so that it may be said that the Sri Lanka economy is now on a war footing, if it's not altogether a war economy[17]. The government today has little choice but to follow the dictates of the IMF, the World Bank and other money lending agencies; and currency exchange remains relatively free, even after the currency crises in Southeast-Asian countries. The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated steadily in recent times, but it has not taken a plunge like the Indonesian ruppiah, the Thai baht, the Philipine peso, the Malayasian ringit, and even the Singapore dollar. Nevertheless, the need for foreign exchange for development makes the Sri Lanka economy vulnerable to project promoters and commission agents. It is perhaps in this context that the proposed Eppawala phosphate rock project should be viewed. In Chapter 6, arguments for and against the proposal, from socio-economic and technical perspectives, are presented. This is a summary of proceedings at a Seminar on Eppawala held during the 92nd Annual Sessions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, on October 21, 1998, prepared by Dr Gamini Kulatunga, Chairman
14 of the Agricultural and Plantation Engineering Section of the Institution. In Chapter 7, arguments against the proposal from a water and soil conservation ecosystems perspective are presented, in the form of representations made by me in local and foreign forums in the recent past. This includes the International League of Humanists meeting in Sarajevo, Bosnia, in May 1998, the 48' international Pugwash conference in Mexico, in September/October 1998, and the Institution of Engineers, annual sessions Seminar on Eppawala at which my paper was distributed in absentia. In my presentation at the Sarajevo meeting, I drew attention to the conference organized by the UNESCO International Commission on Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS, in Ottawa, Canada in 1994, on "Heritage Conservation Canal Corridors"[18]. This was an extension of their well established program for recognizing Cultural Monuments and Sites that may be considered as part of the universal cultural heritage of all humankind. Examples of canals and channels from various countries around the world were presented and discussed, as candidates for recognition under the World Heritage Convention. The Director of the Cultural Triangle, archaeologist Professor Leelananda Prematilake presented the case for recognition of the Kalaweva Jayaganga[19]. After stimulating discussions, the Chairman of the Conference had stated in his closing remarks that there were two outstanding candidates for recognition as cultural monuments, namely the Grand Canal in China and the Jayaganga in Sri Lanka[20]. For various reasons, the necessary follow-up to this recommendation has been delayed from being put into effect. Though no announcement has been made, it is understood at the time of this writing that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge has recently given her approval to the Director General of Archaeology for action in this regard. There is now a tremendous urgency for completing the submission to UNESCO, so that the disastrous proposal for mining the cultural landscape which is the heartland of
15 the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the Rajarata, through which the Kalaweva-Jayaganga flows, may be abandoned even at the eleventh hour. If this is not done, Sri Lanka will add yet another item to its recent list of barbarities: destruction of a cultural landscape seen by UNESCO as a universal cultural heritage of all humankind, that should be conserved and used, even as it had been conserved and used by our forefathers down the ages, to generate enormous economic surpluses. Apart from the tragedy of the deep-seated adverse impacts that will necessarily follow, as seen in the examples of Nauru, the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, and Ogoni land in Nigeria, (all mentioned elsewhere in this book), we will become the laughing stock of the world community if this proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is implemented without giving heed to protestations. For these reasons, a draft of the proposed submission to UNESCO is given as an Annex in this book. As described in Chapter 7, I met Mr Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO, at the 48th international Pugwash conference in Queretaro, Mexico, September 29, 1998, and presented to him a copy of R. L. Brohier's classic Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon. At this Pugwash conference, the following recommendation was embodied in the report of Working Group 2, on Non-nuclear threats to Security: A very interesting case study of the concession of a phosphate mine in north central Sri Lanka to a US multinational corporation lays out the complicated interactions of the international economic order, and the impact on local populations and cultural heritage of large-scale, short-term economic development projects. The case involves the imminent destruction of an ancient water and soil conservation ecosys- tem in the pursuit of short-term financial benefit, desired by the state on account of the Asian financial crisis and its impact on the Sri Lanka currency. The displacement of population will likely increase tensions within Sri Lankan society and perhaps contribute to the sectarian violence. In an effort
16 to head off the mining project, an appeal is being made to UNESCO, through its International Council for Cultural Monuments and Sites, to recognize the irrigation system as a cultural heritage site. An appeal was also made for help by Pugwash in lobbying UNESCO to add the Sri Lanka waterway (called the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem) to the list of its protected sites. This approach - involving concerned citizens and conservation scientists in an effort to head off destruction of the environment and cultural heritage - may be an area where Pugwash could make a contribution.
This has since been followed up by the Pugwash office. A news item will appear in the June 1999 Pugwash Newsletter announcing the publication of this book. Also, at the 20th Anniversary meeting of Student Pugwash USA (SPUSA) on June 28th-July 04th 1999, in San Diego, California, an opportunity will be available to give further publicity to Eppawala. Among the distinguished guests will be Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, to whom I had addressed a letter previously (see pages 177 to 179). It may be possible for me to discuss Eppawala with him personally at the SPUSA meeting.
17 Those who understand it, recognize the need to save and conserve this unique cultural landscape as truly part of the universal cultural heritage of all humankind. Independent of the Pugwash Working Group discussions and recommendation, this issue has been taken up by concerned and knowledgeable persons in the USA, as described in the Preface. As discussed in Chapter 8, concern for cultural heritage was also the raison d'être of a World Bank/UNESCO conference on the general theme "Culture in Sustainable Development", held in September/October 1998, in Washington D.C. A galaxy of distinguished speakers from many countries and organizations presented papers. The full programme of the conference is given in Chapter 8. Also given are notes made available at the conference on International Agreements: the Convention and Protocol for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property; and, the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; together with lists of the countries, called States Parties, who have signed the respective Conventions. Even a cursory reading of these Convention and Protocol documents will show how important it is for the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem to be recognized as a cultural heritage landscape comprising a series of cultural heritage sites and monuments. It was virtually by chance that I was informed about this most important World Bank/UNESCO Conference, in Washington, DC, and a succession of small and not so small miracles enabled me to attend on the opening day, September 28, 1998, while on my way to the Pugwash conference in Mexico. I met the President of the World Bank, Mr James Wolfensohn, and the Director of UNESCO's Cultural Heritage Division, Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, to each of whom I also presented a copy of R.L. Brohier's classic Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon. Given an opportunity to speak from the floor during discussions, I told the audience about the UNESCO/ICOMOS meeting in Ottawa in September 1994, where archaeologists meeting to discuss Heritage Transportation Canal
18 Corridors in Cultural Landscapes, had recognized the Kalaweva-Jayaganga as such an item[21]. I described the significance of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka as unique cultural heritage monuments, which are still functioning. I explained how these living sites and monuments are now threatened on account of the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit to destruction in a very short period of time. Chapter 9 is about the World Commission on Dams, consisting of twelve members, with Professor Kader Asmal, Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa as Chairman. A meeting of the Commission was held in Sri Lanka, December 9-13, 1998 as described in this chapter. At the request of Shrimathi Medha Patkar, a member of the Commission, I made a presentation on the Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems of Sri Lanka, to a gathering of NGO from Sri Lanka and abroad. Professor Kader Asmal gave a lecture at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies which is reproduced in full from a newspaper report, as an Annex in this chapter. He referred to the historic Separate Opinion of Vice President Christopher Weeramantry in the World Court case mentioned above. There seems to be a glimmer of hope that the incorrect basis for planning new projects in the Irrigation department in Sri Lanka, namely the false authority of the Water Resources Development Plan, 1959, may at last be abandoned, if the WCD supports us on this. Before and after this meeting Shrimathi Medhar Patkar has been keeping me informed about various action groups in India that are involved in activities to save the environment, threatened people, and threatened species. Their activities are an inspiration to those of us who are concerned with opposing the draconian tactics of the authorities in regard to Eppawala. Chapter 10 presents a paper reproduced from the proceedings of the 45th international Pugwash conference, 1995, together with a local critique of that paper which may be seen from two different and opposite perspectives. On the one hand, it may be seen to reflect the "conventional wisdom" of decision makers in water resources development planning in Sri Lanka today. As such, it is
19 a good example of the cumulative tragedy of the neo-colonial legacy in our times: western educated and westernized elites who are ignorant of our own history and cultural heritage, wittingly or unwittingly undermine and devalue that heritage[22]. The tragedy is that this type of attitude forecloses the possibility of recognizing the water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka as an asset, rather than as a liability, which is how they have been treated by decision makers for too long in the past. On the other hand, this critique draws attention to the fact that my presentation of the case for using the ancient systems as a resource on which to build a stable and sustainable foundation for irrigated agriculture in Sri Lanka, may not be convincing, at least to some non-technically informed readers. There is an urgent need to set this right. Professor Weeramantry's Separate Opinion referred to previously, is the obvious answer to skeptics who ridicule the ancient systems in this manner, and I am grateful to Professor Kader Asmal for having brought it to our attention, and to the UNEP, New York, authorities for giving me permission to quote from it in this book. In Chapter 11, some comparative aspects of Nauru and Eppawala are discussed. The case of the Nauru phosphate deposits is presented in a message as mentioned above, written by an academic lawyer, Dr Anthony Anghie, who was associated with Professor Weeramantry in this celebrated case. The Pacific island of Nauru which was rich in phosphate deposits was devastated by mining this precious resource to exhaustion over a period of more than sixty years[23]. After independence in 1968 the Nauru government filed a case at the World Court in The Hague, which they won. The inference is that the people of Eppawala have an equally strong case, but it is hoped that they will never have to go before an international tribunal to seek redress. Prevention is better than cure. The concluding Chapter 12, is by Professor Jonathan Walters who also contributed the Preface, at the commencement of the book. Thus, this book begins and ends with the contributions of a concerned US citizen, who has committed himself to the cause of the innocent people of Eppawala. He fears that they face
20 brutalization at the hands of an US trans-national corporation, hand in glove with some of their own flesh and blood, agents of the Sri Lanka government. He has been inspired to take this action on account of his personal experience with the people of Eppawala for the past 15 years. He has studied the case of the Grasburg mine in Indonesia, and warns of the dangers of a repetition of that tragedy, in Eppawala. At the time of writing, the brutalization of innocent people in two areas of former Yugoslavia is in the global news. As the Yugoslav army ravishes Kosovo, NATO air strikes are destroying Belgrade, Pristina, and other cities in former Yugoslavia. To me, this is a chilling reminder of what Eppawala may finally turn out to be. For, whereas LTTE terrorists seek to achieve ethnic cleansing in the so-called "traditional homelands" under their control, the sell out at Eppawala has the potential to create a comparable tragedy where local people will become refugees in their own traditional homelands. Jonathan Walters understands this better than most Sri Lankans themselves. A new chapter titled Postscript was added to deal with three news items, namely the recent Provincial Council elections, a report from Indonesia concerning the activities of the same corporation that is involved in the Eppawala proposal, and the forthcoming election of a new Secretary General of UNESCO. Also included is an ANNEX (pp. 300-316) which is the draft of a submission to UNESCO, prepared by me, for recognition of the KalawevaJayaganga ecosystem as a cultural heritage landscape, in order to prevent vandalism of this historic cultural monument and site. It has to be submitted by a government agency to ICOMOS, the International Council for Monuments and Sites, in UNESCO, whose Director at the present time is the former Director General of Archaeology in Sri Lanka, Dr Roland Silva.
21 References 1 Brohier, R.L. "Inter-relation of Groups of Large reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch, 1937 2 Risky Business. Independent Annual Report on P.T. Freeport Indonesia. Project Underground, Berkley, CA. USA, May 1998. p. 23. Also see Chapter 7, Endnote 30, p. 196 in this book.
3 See ANNEX pp. 300-316 4 Cleere, Henry. ICOMOS. "Canals and the World Heritage Convention". Proceedings of UNESCO. International Meeting of Experts on Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors. Ottawa, Canada, 15-19 September, 1994. p. 56 5 Mendis, D.L.O. "Lessons from Sri Lanka's Ancient Irrigation Ecosystems". Transactions, Vol. IA, 14th Congress of the International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage, (ICID) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ICID, New Delhi, 1990 6 Mendis, D.L.O. "The Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon, 1959" Engineer, Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, June 1992 7 Needham, Joseph, Wang Ling, and Lu Gwei Djin. Science and Civilization in China. Vol. 4, Part 3, p. 369
8 Needham, Joseph, Personal Communication, May 12, 1989 9 In fact at a meeting in the President's office on March 17, 1997, it was stated that since Menik ganga is also short of water when Kirindi oya runs low, it may be necessary to divert Kumbukkan oya to Menik ganga in the future. I had sent a FAX message to the President saying that trying to divert rivers in this fashion is akin to "Playing God". I doubt that Her Excellency ever saw that message. (see chapter 4. pp 122-123)
10 Mendis, D.L.O. "Planning the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Project using Appropriate Technology". Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1974 (Chapter 2 in this volume)
11 Even today World Bank funded projects are destroying rain forests all over the world. 'The Bank is pushing the notions of sustainable logging by transnational corporations, but it has yet to produce evidence that such a thing can even exist in primary tropical rainforests', said Randall Hayes, President of the Rainforest Action Network (RAN). Aslam, Abid. "World Bank to let axe fall on rainforests?". Daily News, Tuesday, March 23, 1999. p. 53 12 See for example, Discussions in Chapter 2, pp. 69-73
13 Ileperuma, O.A. "Eppawala Apatite Deposit: A National Asset of Immense Economic Importance". Sunday Island, Features. 14 December 1997. Illeperuma, O.A. "Eppawala: Myths and Realities". Philip Gunawardena Commemoration Lecture, Colombo, February 1998
14 Agarwal, Anil The Poverty of Amartya Sen. CSF/Down to Earth Features, re-published in Daily News, February 8, 1999, p. 8
15 Melman, Seymour, The Demilitarized Society. Harvest House, Montreal. 1988. Ch. 2, pp. 7-35, specially p. 34, and Ch. 4, pp. 90-100. 16 Religious and economic targets have been hit. Religious targets include the historic 'bo' tree at
22 Anuradhapura, where more than a hundred pilgrims were killed; a similar number massacred in an attack inside a mosque in the east coast; in Kandy, the sacred Temple of the Tooth, venerated by Buddhists the world over, was attacked. Economic targets in Colombo included the Central Bank which was fire-bombed killing more than a hundred; tourist hotels, the central thermal power station, and an oil installation that was virtually destroyed. 17 Melmman, Seymour. The Permanent War Economy. Quoted in reference 12 above, p. 42.
18 Proceedings. World Heritage Convention, UNESCO. International Meeting of Experts on Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors. Ottawa, Canada, 15-19 September, 1994 19 Prematilleke, Leelananda, "Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors of Sri Lanka". Proceedings, World Heritage Convention, International Meeting of Experts, 15-19 September 1994, Ottawa, Canada. Pp.. 33-36 20 Cleere, Henry. ICOMOS. "Canals and the World Heritage Convention". Proceedings of UNESCO. International Meeting of Experts on Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors. Ottawa, Canada, 15-19 September, 1994. p. 56 21 Ibid.
22 Mendis D.L.O. "The Value of Traditional Knowledge: Lessons from Sri Lanka's Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems", in The World at the Crossroads, a Report to the Pugwash Council. Phil Smith et al. (Ed.). Earthscan, London, 1994
23 Weeramantry, C.G. NAURU: Environmental Destruction Under International Supervision. Cambridge. 1996
23 ANNEX – 1
Guardian Third World Review
THIRD COLUMN INDIA'S PACT with Sri Lanka is the most infamous contract imposed on a small country - short of military occupation -since the Munich Agreement of 1938. The island's ethnic conflict and her relations with India have drawn comparisons with many post-war situations. There are no more striking parallels, however, than those which preceded the SudetenGerman crisis of the 1930s. A special correspondent argues that India has gained much more than Sri Lanka from the recent Tamil cease-fire
The infamous contract that is Sri Lanka's Munich
In 1938, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain described the situation in Czechoslovakia as "a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing". Those who did know the country - like Churchill - admired her "virile democracy" and her "will to live unmolested". So it is with Sri Lanka. Those who do know the country recognize that she is the only Third World nation to have exercised universal adult suffrage in free elections for an uninterrupted period of 55 years; that she has the highest literacy rate and the lowest infant mortality rate among the poorer countries, and an average life expectancy among her people (68 years) exceeded by few richer nations. Yet Sri Lanka has been in the news the past four years - as Czechoslovakia in the late thirties - because of an ethnic conflict exacerbated by a larger neighbour. There are real minority grievances in Sri Lanka - as there were in Czechoslovakia - but as Churchill said, on behalf of the Czechs, they were "magnified and exploited" by the bigger power.
24 The charge of discrimination hangs oddly on a government which has appointed its Chief Justice, Attorney General, and Police Chief from a minority numbering less than 13 per cent of the population; or in a country where, as with the Sudeten-Germans, that minority holds a proportionally larger share of jobs in the public and private sectors than the majority or other minorities. Accusations of "genocide" against the Tamils in the Indian press matched the stridency of Goebbel's charges of "Czech terror in the Sudetenland" and these lies were disseminated - as they were then - by partisan propaganda machines abroad. It passed unnoticed that in a country considered unsafe for Tamils more of them continued to live in the Sinhalese-speaking south than in their traditional "homelands". Terrorist atrocities were dismissed as airily as the German press treated the excesses of the Sudeten-German uprising. The Sudetens, at least, had spared civilians; they did not engage in the premeditated butchery of priests, women and children. By contrast, many Sinhalese households, at great personal risk, sheltered Tamil families who were dispossessed when hooligan mobs went on the rampage in July 1983; a far cry from the German reaction when Jews were attacked in 1938 during the Nazis' bloody "Kristallnacht". Yet the violence of 1983 was compared to that infamous episode in an orchestrated campaign to discredit the Sri Lankan government. Konrad Henlein and his Sudeten Germans received arms and training from Himmler's SS. Those Tamil terrorists who were not trained in PLO camps ("What does Sri Lanka have against Israel?" asked Menachen Begin when told of their presence in the Shatilla camps) had their training in South India from where flowed the arms and explosives for their operations. India did not turn a blind eye to such training, as is commonly supposed. The Research Analysis Wing (RAW) of India's Foreign Ministry directed it with the same enthusiasm as the CIA organized the training of Nicaraguan contras.
25 Indian pressures for major concessions from Sri Lanka were not unlike those which forced the Czechs to go cap in hand to Berlin. In the past three years, Sri Lanka presented proposals for Tamil regional autonomy which the Indian government would scarcely consider for its own Sikh minority. Senior officials would journey to India to be questioned ("grilled" in the words of one veteran Indian correspondent) about them. Not once were they told what the Tamil separatists were prepared to concede. Then as it became clear that Sri Lankan forces had begun to make inroads into terrorist strongholds, there began the series of "messages" - the term Premier Gandhi himself used to describe the pressures exerted on Sri Lanka. The abortive landing of unwanted supplies was followed by violation of Sri Lanka's air space and a personal warning to President Jayewardene that India's patience was wearing thin. Like Czechoslovakia, Sri Lanka was under no illusions as to what that meant. Indian military plans for the occupation of Sri Lanka had a much longer shelf life than "Case Green" - Hitler's plan for the invasion of Czechoslovakia. It is known that in 1984 - shortly before her assassination - Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had ordered Indian troops to invade Sri Lanka. The operation was called off at the last moment only because of a resurgence of Sikh militancy. The speed with which concessions were extracted from Sri Lanka, following Rajiv Gandhi's "messages", matched the rate at with President Benes of Czechoslovakia capitulated to Nazi demands. The domestic-political agreement could have been negotiated much earlier had India disavowed the Tamil militants and insisted on direct negotiations between the elected leader of the Tamils - A. Amirthalingam of the Tamil United Liberation Front -and President Jayewardene. The Sri Lanka government had made it clear that everything was negotiable - short of a separate Tamil state. The compromise
26 would also have satisfied the Tamil moderates who wanted nothing more than the responsibility for law enforcement, land allocation, and education in the areas where Tamil-speaking people predominate. But it would not have satisfied India. India wanted more than a political settlement of Sri Lanka's ethnic problems. Her sponsorship of the Tamil militants was designed, like Hitler's support of Henlein, to advance interests in other areas. What she really wanted was the right to control Sri Lanka's foreign policy so that her regional geo-political aims could be realized. The Annex to the Agreement does precisely that. By insisting on prior consultation in Sri Lanka's future foreign relationships, India has effectively reduced Sri Lanka to the status of Sikkim and Bhutan whose external relations are controlled by New Delhi. By forcing what are, in effect, veto powers on the island's use of Trincomalee harbour, she has secured her long-standing aim to safeguard her southern flank from unfriendly penetration. Rajiv Gandhi's diplomatic coup is even more spectacular than Hitler's in Munich. He told a rally in Madras: "We have gained for the Tamils more than they had ever wanted". He might justifiably have added that the world applauds his role as "peacemaker". Hitler never had it that good; it was Chamberlain who was hailed as such in Munich.
August 21, 1987
27 CHAPTER 1 Eppawala - Heart of the Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems of Rajarata
Since about the middle of the last century, open wells, called `valve towers’ when they stand clear of the embankment and `valve pits’ when they are on it, have been built at numerous reservoirs in Europe. Their duty is to hold the valves, and the lifting gear for working them, by means of which the outward flow of water is regulated or totally stopped. Such also was the function of the bisokotuwa of the Sinhalese engineers; they were the first inventors of the valve-pit more than 2100 years ago[1]. The ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, of Rajarata, commonly called irrigation systems, are described in this chapter. These ancient irrigation works have been studied and documented by R.L. Brohier, C.W. Nicholas, and Professor S. Paranavitana. The Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is located at the very heart of the KalawevaJayaganga ecosystem or cultural landscape (Figure 1.2). Mining the Eppawala deposit to exhaustion will mean the inevitable degradation of this cultural landscape, and the destruction of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga water and soil conservation ecosystem. The term irrigation ecosystems was first used in the course of research into the origin, sustainability, and decline of the ancient irrigation systems in Sri Lanka [2]. It has been found that these ancient systems had been built, mainly in the dry zone, over a period of about 15 centuries starting in the mid first millenium BC, to conserve excess precipitation from the northeast monsoon rain season. They also conserved the top soil that would otherwise have
28 been eroded due to rapid runoff. It was also found that conservation of water took place both in surface reservoirs and in the soil itself, by diversion of surface runoff by means of small earth embankments called vetiyas[3], in all parts of the dry zone. The term water and soil conservation ecosystems was adopted to describe the systems, and this term describes a new perspective in understanding the ancient irrigation systems in Sri Lanka, different from the earlier hydraulic engineering perspective. The word irrigation is commonly used to describe the supply of water for crop production. Many studies of ancient societies have established that irrigation was one of the primary causes of emerging cultural complexity[4]. The monumental work of scholarship, Science and Civilization in China, by Joseph Needham and his associates at the Needham Research Institute in Cambridge, England, devotes a section in Volume 4, Part 3, to Hydraulics[5]. It has about twelve pages dealing with the ancient irrigation works in Sri Lanka. The title of that section conveys the popular association between hydraulics, irrigation, and ancient civilizations, which may be called a hydraulic engineering perspective. From such a hydraulic engineering perspective, evolution and development of irrigation systems in Sri Lanka took place in the following four stages, according to R.L. Brohier[6]. This hypothesis was later republished by Needham[7]. (Figure 1.1). 1. Rain fed tanks from which water was baled out at leisure 2. Small village tanks from which water was let out by cutting a temporary outlet at one or both ends of the earth embankments 3. Large storage reservoirs (built after the invention of the sluice) each of which submerged a number of small village tanks 4. A river diversion weir and a diversion channel that brought water from a flowing river to augment the large reservoir The emphasis in this four stage hypothesis is on size or scale of storage reservoirs. Small tanks were assumed to be an earlier development, that were replaced by submergence under large
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31 reservoirs built later. This is vividly illustrated in the following extract from a Reconnaissance Report (PreFeasibility Study) in the Irrigation department’s Designs and Research Branch in 1950[8]: The development of Heda oya is recommended as it compares very favourably, from technical and financial viewpoints, with other major schemes already undertaken by government. There does not exist any doubt as to the need to achieve selfsufficiency in food. This is an achievement that cannot be realized by spending large sums of money on tiny village tanks which do not have the staying power in a drought nor can a better standard of living be taken to a people depending on them. Vagaries of the monsoons and resulting destitution can be fought only by spending public funds on large schemes and not by creating little evaporating pans and relief works. The age of the village pond has passed away and the time has come to embark on large projects like the scheme under review. The conceptual error in the 4 stage hypothesis that escaped notice for a very long time, was the assumption that storage reservoirs were built earlier than river diversion systems. This implies, in terminology now current, that water management in time (storage) was achieved earlier than water management in space (river diversion). This is unacceptable since it is not established in history. Moreover, after unprecedented rainfall in December 1957, when many of the ancient large reservoirs including Kalaweva had breached[9], and their beds stood exposed to view, there was no visible evidence whatsoever of submerged small tanks. Unfortunately, this irrefutable proof of the fundamental conceptual error in the 4 stage hypothesis went unremarked at the time. However, Professor Needham agreed later that the hypothesis needed revision[10]. Meanwhile, the hydraulic engineering perspective was used to prepare a map, called the Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon, 1959[11]. This plan has since been used to identify new major reservoir projects for construction. Uda Walawe and Lunugamvehera in the southern area are the first and most glaring
32 examples of reservoirs already constructed. Moragahakande is the next big reservoir to be selected for construction in the future. These issues are discussed in Chapter 10 in this book. From an ecosystems perspective the evolution and development of irrigation systems is seen to have taken place in 7 stages as follows[12]: 1. Rain fed agriculture 2. Seasonal or temporary river diversion and flood or inundation irrigation of river banks 3. Construction and development of permanent diversion structures on rivers, and channel systems on river banks 4. Construction and operation of weirs and spillways on river diversion channels 5. Invention of the sorowwa (sluice) with its bisokotuwa (access tower) 6. Construction of storage reservoirs equipped with sluices 7. Damming a perennial river, using the sluice for temporaryriver diversion during river closure, or the twin-tank method In the ecosystems or soft technology approach, water is seen as the vehicle for conveyance of nutrients in nature’s bio-geochemical cycles. In the hydraulic engineering or hard technology approach water is seen as the principal agent or active factor in land preparation and crop production under irrigated agriculture. In the former, water is seen as an animate agent in a biological process, and in the latter water is seen as an inanimate agent in an engineering function. Some consequences arising from these two opposing perceptions of water are listed in Table 1.
33 HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING VS. WATER AND SOIL CONSERVATION ECOSYSTEMS
Hydraulic engineering Ecosystems perspective perspective (Soft technology) (Hard technology) 1 Water Inamimate, active Animate, passive 2. Small tank “inefficient” stage in Micro-irrigation ecosystem – evolution and essential part of total complex and development – to be of man – made ecosystems replaced by large reservoir 2. large reservoir “efficient” system in macro-irrigation ecosystem combination with channel with micro irrigation distribution irrigation system ecosystems in its command area 4. Diversion Channel built to augment a large Earliest stage in irrigated reservoir – last stage in agriculture and evolution of irrigated agriculture system ecosystems 5. Vetya “abandoned small tank” Deflection structure – micro water and soil conversation ecosystem 6. Downstream development Must be cleared of all Designed as a series of micro areas vegetation to lay out channel water and soil conservation distribution irrigation systems ecosystems 7. Forest areas limited to catchment areas Not only in catchments – interspersed with fields in development areas for better nutrient flows Table 1
Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems in the Rajarata The evolution and development of the vast and intricate system of inter-connected irrigation works in the ancient Rajarata can be best explained through the water and soil conservation ecosystems perspective. Conversely, the irrigation works in the ancient Rajarata best illustrates the concept of water and soil conservation ecosystems. In the dry zone of the Rajarata, Anuradhapura and its environs had been developing steadily from very early times. Recent excavations
34 in the Citadel area by Deraniyagala[13] has shown that there are buildings in the area that date back to a period even earlier than the 9’“ century B.C. One may surmise that the peoples in ancient Rajarata survived, and later flourished, on the surplus from agricultural production based on seasonal or temporary river diversion irrigation ecosystems, just like the ancients in the river valleys of India, Egypt and China, who had created the fabulous ancient civilizations of those lands. In the ancient Rajarata they had later built permanent river diversion ecosystems, with the aid of iron and steel tools and implements. The earliest pre-iron age civilizations arose in arid or neararid regions. In contrast, in the so-called dry zone of Sri Lanka lying in the humid tropics, there was tropical precipitation during one monsoon, which encouraged vegetation. Jungle clearing, and systematic agricultural production with the aid of permanent river diversion ecosystems, became possible only with the use of wrought iron or woortz steel tools and implements. Seneviratne[14] has opined that this took place as early as around the 8th century BC. The recent discovery of the Samanala wind-powered furnaces by the British archaeologist Gill Juleff [15] gives a clue as to how this was achieved. Deposits of slag indicate that with the use of steel tools and implements, a distinctive evolution and development through all the stages of irrigation ecosystems had taken place, around ancient Anuradhapura. R.L. Brohier[16], in a brilliant presentation the Royal Asiatic Society in 1935 had described how three rivers on the northwestern seaboard, Malwatu oya (called Aruvi aru in its lower reaches), Moderagam ara, and Kala oya, were inter-connected by a system of channels and major reservoirs constructed in ancient times (Figure 1.2). He also described a similar system of inter-connected large reservoirs and channels on the northeastern seaboard, principally in the basins of the Mahaweli ganga and its main tributary, Amban ganga (Figure 1.3). He showed also that the western and eastern systems were themselves connected by means of a diversion from the Demada oya (present Nalanda oya) through the Ebbawala cut.
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39 C.W. Nicholas[17] has described the development of major irrigation schemes in ancient Sri Lanka from the preChristian era to the 11th century. He has prepared a diagram illustrating the interconnections of major reservoirs and channels in the Kala oya, Malwatu oya, Mahaweli ganga and Amban ganga basins. Nicholas and Paranavitana[18] presented two useful diagrams showing irrigation works in a somewhat larger area in the ancient Rajarata. (Figures 1.4 and 1.5) Kalaweva-Balaluweva was built by Dhatusena in the 5th century, but there is uncertainty about the time of construction of the Jayaganga which carries water from Kalaweva to the Anuradhapura city tanks. A feature of the Kalaweva Jayaganga that Brohier has documented is that its gradient in the first 17 miles of its course from Kalaweva head sluice is only 6 inches to the mile, or less than 1 in 10,000. This is an incredible achievement of the ancients, which Brohier[19] well understood when he described it as follows: The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined irrigation and water supply channel, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir the Kalaweva for the water it carried. The length of bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high ground to the east which otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each subsidiary valley which lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain. There is apparently no special reference to the small village tanks in the sources of history, apart from references to villages or settlements which as we know were synonymous with village tanks[20]. When the Mahaweli Development project was first designed, the small village tanks in the Rajarata had been considered to be “inefficient” and were to be wiped off. During implementation
40 however, protestations of local villagers were heeded to some extent, and many of the small tanks were saved[21]. The cascades of small tanks described by Brohier have come in for a great deal of attention recently. Panabokke[22] has (somewhat belatedly) demonstrate-&-that there was a scientific basis for their location and construction from a soil sciences perspective (Figures 1.6, 1.7). The complex of interconnected large reservoirs and channels on the eastern seaboard of ancient Rajarata, which Brohier documented in his RAS lecture, will now be discussed (Figure 1.3). The Elahera channel takes pride of place in any discussion of ancient works on the eastern side of the divide. It is an interesting coincidence that the length of the Jayaganga from Kalaweva to Basawakkulama is said to be 54 1/2 miles, which is also the full distance along the Elahera-Minneriya yodi ela from Elahera to Kantalai. Nicholas[23] describes Vasabha (67-111) as `the first of the great tank building kings’, and says that he is credited with construction of I 1 or 12 large tanks whose names are mentioned, and 12 canals, of which only the Alisara canal is mentioned by name in the chronicles. We see again the bias of observers, in this case the authors of the chronicles, towards the large tanks, at the cost of the diversion channels! The Elahera channel supplying Minneriya and Giritale reservoirs is an excellent example of the water and soil conservation ecosystems principle in practice, about which the facts are agreed upon by historians. The Elahera channel taking off from the Elahera anicut, functioned as a permanent river diversion irrigation ecosystem for nearly two centuries before Minneriya weva and Giritale weva were built at the tail end by King Mahasen in the 3rd century. Even today, the Elahera channel feeds a large extent of land along its 25 1/2 mile long course from the Elahera anicut to Minneriya weva, and it also picks up the cross drainage from all the streams it intercepts in its course, just like the Kalaweva Jayaganga. After Minneriya and Giritale schemes had functioned for
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43 about a hundred and fifty years, the Minneriya-Kantalai yodi ela was built by King Agga Bodhi I towards the end of the 5th century, once again as a trans-basin contour channel. It picked up water from a number of cross drainage streams along the way, notably Gal oya, Kaudulu oya and Kitulutu oya. His successor Agga Bodhi II then built the Kantalai weva at the tail end of the channel which was now about 54 miles away from the Elahera anicut on the Amban ganga. By the time of Parakrama Bahu the Great, (1153-86), many of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems in the Rajarata had fallen into disrepair. This king not only put them all back into operation again, but he also set about building some new large reservoirs [24]. There is reference in the sources, particularly the chronicles, to three `seas of Parakrama’, of which only the Parakrama Samudra has been conclusively identified as the large reservoir at Polonnaruwa. Among other famous archaeological monuments in Polonnaruwa, the imposing Gal vihare stone statues[25] , and the beautiful Watadage were built at this time. Restoration of ancient irrigation works in the ancient Rajarata in recent times has been done on a piece-meal basis, one large reservoir at a time. Even when parts of the inter-connections have been restored, they have been disguised by new descriptions so that, to the uninitiated, the grand leitmotif of the inter-connected large reservoirs and channels is not readily evident. For example, the Kantalai reservoir had been restored in British times in the 1880s. In the mid-1950s, the ancient Minneriya-Kantalai yoda ela was restored, not from Minneriya, but from Gal oya a few miles below Minneriya spill, and the project was described as the Kantalai Augmentation Scheme. This of course was technically correct, but the fact is that the ancient Minneriya-Kantalai channel was actually built before the Kantalai tank, as we have seen above. In other words when the system was first built in ancient times, Kantalai reservoir was built at the tail end of an existing permanent river diversion irrigation ecosystem. In modern times, in the language of hydraulic engineering, Kantalai reservoir has been augmented by restoring the ancient Gal oya-Kantalai yoda ela. This of course is
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45
46 also in keeping with the fourth stage in Brohier’s 4 stage hypothesis for the evolution and development of irrigation systems in Sri Lanka. And it may be used to “justify” proposals for river diversion to “augment” unsuccessful large reservoir projects like Lunuganvehera and Inginimitiya, as we have seen in the recent past. The Allai scheme which consists of the ancient Kallar inlet channel taking off from the Verugal anicut but also supplied by the Kandakadu ela coming from the main Mahaweli ganga, with the Allai tank at its tail end, (Figure 1.2), was described as the modem Allai Extension Scheme. This ancient system has not been conclusively identified, but according to the irrigation ecosystems hypothesis, it is most likely that both the Kandakadu ela and the Kallar channel were built first, and the Allai tank was built later, at the tail end of the Kallar channel. Brohier has referred to a ‘local tradition’ that the Verugal aru is man-made, but it is far more likely that the Kandakadu ela taking off from the main Mahaweli ganga upstream of its natural distributary, Verugal am is the man-made diversion. It would not have made sense to create a new man-made diversion below an existing natural one, when both supplied the same system of irrigated fields below.
References 1 Parker, H.W. (1909) Ancient Ceylon. Lusacs, London. 2 Mendis, D.L.O. “Evolution and Development of Irrigation Ecosystems and Social Formations in Ancient Sri Lanka”. Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1986 3 Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the Augmentation of Malala oya from Mau ara. Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, 1994 4 Wenke, Robert J. Patterns in Pre-history - Mankind’s First Three Million Years. Oxford University Press. 1980 5 Needham, Joseph , Wang Ling, and Lu Gwei Djin. Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 4, Part 3, Cambridge University press. 197, pp. 209-378 6 Brohier, R.L. “Some Structural Features of the Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon”. Presidential Address, Engineering Association of Ceylon, 1956. 7 Needham et al, Op. Cit. p. 369 8 Kahawita, D.W.R. Reconnaisance Report on Heda oya Reservoir. Irrigation department. Mimeo. 1950.
9 Arumugam, S. “The Floods of December 1957” Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Ceylon, 1958 10 Needham, Joseph. Personal Communication: “My treatment of the subject can be improved upon, and I am depending on you to do it”. May 12, 1989
47 11 Mendis, D.L.O. “The Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon”. Engineer Quarterly Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, June 1992 12 Mendis, D.L.O. “Evolution and Development of Irrigation Ecosystems and Social Formations in Ancient Sri Lanka”. Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1986 13 Deraniyagala, Siran. “The prehistoric chronology of Sri Lanka”. Professor Leelananda Prematilleke Felicitation volume, Colombo. 1990. pp. 1-23
14 Seneviratne, Sudarshana “A life after death: continuity and change in the religious symbolism of the early iron age”. Professor Leelananda Prematilleke Felicitation volume. Colombo, 1990. pp. 143-152 15 Juleff, Gill, Nature, January 1996 16 Brohier, R.L. (1937) “The Inter-relation of Groups of Ancient Reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon’, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch, Volume XXXIV, No 90, 64-85.
17 Nicholas, C.W. A Short Account of the History of Irrigation Works up to the 11th century, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch, New Series, Volume VII, Part 1, 43-69. 1961. 18 Nicholas, C.W. and Senarath Paranavitana. A Concise History of Ceylon. University of Ceylon press, Colombo. 1960 19 Brohier, R.L. (1937), Op. cit. 70. 20 It may be noted however that there is reference to Aththasahasakadesa and Dvadahassakarata, in ancient Ruhuna, which has been rendered by Geiger as the region of 8000 tank (villages) and 12,000 tank (villages), respectively. 21 Mendis, D.L.O. “Some Notes on Ancient and Modern Irrigation Systems in Sri Lanka from an Ecological Perspective”. Commonwealth Engineering Council Seminar. Institution of Engineers, Colombo, 1985 22 Panabokke, C.R. “The Small Tank Cascades of the Rajarata, their Settings, Distribution Patterns and Hydrography.” IWMI/MASL, Colombo. (Forthcoming). 23 Nicholas, C.W. (1960), Op. cit. 47 24 Arumugam, S. Water Resources of Ceylon. Water Resources Board, Colombo, 1968
25 Merton, Thomas. The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (Father Louie of Gethsamanie, Kentucky). Edited by Naomi Burtun, Brother Patrick Hart and James Laughlin. New Directions, 1975, p. 250: “Polonnaruwa was such an experience that I could not write hastily of it and cannot write now, or not at all adequately .... Yet when 1 spoke to [Rev] Walpola Rahula at the Buddhist University, I think the idea got across and he said: ‘Those statues were not carved by ordinary men ‘”.
48 CHAPTER 2
Appropriate technology for developing the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit
[A paper presented at the Annual Sessions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, and published in the Transactions for 1974, is re-produced in full below, with acknowledgement. The youth insurrection of 1971, less that a year after the sweeping electoral victory of the United Left Front in May 1970, had brought home to politicians the need to meet the problems of youth unemployment and under-employment with something more than mere election promises. The message was conveyed to the national planners, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs, the late Professor H. A. de S. Gunasekera, instructed his staff to set up employment oriented projects in the Regional Development Division of the Ministry. This was the beginning of the Divisional Development Council (DDC) Cooperatives in the Regional Development Division. The Director of the Division at the time, R. H. P (Harold) Fernando, ably supported by Deputy Director W. A. Jayasinghe, of Kotmale Light Engineering Industrial Co-operative fame, set up the Eppawala project as another DDC project. The project was later taken over by the Ministry of Industries, which set up a company Lanka Phosphate Ltd. The project was planned so that the technology could be progressively improved to increase productivity, and to improve the product, the finely ground apatite rock. Improving productivity was a task for production engineers, and involved mechanization in stages. Improving the product, which was a slow acting insoluble fine powder, was a task for scientists and chemical engineers. The Ministry of Planning promoted some ad hoc research in the University of Peradeniya for conversion of the apatite to a
49 water soluble phosphate fertilizer, but this work was not systematically documented. This research included experiments to react the apatite with acidic peat from Muturajawela to produce a soluble phosphate product. Similar research was done on a more systematic basis after 1977, in the Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, and the University of Peradeniya.
Personal communication. Our soil survey team consisting of Drs. De Alwis, Sivarajasingham, Somasiri, and myself, and Joshua, had selected the location of KIRIWELHENA as a prototype site of "dry zone", high elevation, laterite", after several field visits made from Maha Illuppalama in 1962 and 1963. We also informed Mr. Pattiaratchchi, Director of the Geological Survey about some peculiar specific weathered rock type we found. He said that the Geological Survey department will be shortly commencing the Geological Survey of the Anuradhapura one inch topographical survey sheet. In 1970-71 he informed us that what we had earlier inferred as "high level fossil laterite" was really a igneous carbonatite apatite. He was highly elated about this new discovery. We therefore set foot on the "new world" without knowning it, while Christopher Columbus who went in search of it found it! Ha! Ha! Christopher Panabokke.
50 Planning the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Project using Appropriate Technology
(Reproduced from the Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1974)
Introduction The Central Bank Annual Report 1973 has drawn attention to the recent increase in the number of public sector Corporations, and also to the general comparative inefficiency of this type of organization[1]. This form of organization in the public sector was created in the post-independence era especially to undertake development work on a scale that was beyond the scope of the traditional indigenous private sector, and at a pace that was outside the tradition of the public sector. Until about 1956, the objective was to initiate new development through these public sector Corporations, and then hand them over to the private sector for further development on commercial lines.[2] In the post-1956 era this objective was abandoned, and the public corporation in spite of its many known shortcomings and failures was henceforth considered to be the ultimate organization form for national development within the political framework of parliamentary democracy. Meanwhile, the co-operative form of organization had been introduced in the country and popularized through the Multipurpose Consumer Co-operative Societies and Unions. These had proved their worth during the unsettled war years, and were therefore continued with much hope for their effectiveness in the Postwar era. These organizations were set up for the distribution of consumer goods (generally imported), especially items of food that were on ration.
D.D.C. Programme After 1970 the concept of the Divisional Development Council was introduced as an organization form for harnessing resources at so called grass-roots level. D.D.C. projects were intended to be production co-operatives utilizing locally available
51 resources, and providing maximum employment opportunities. Although not spelled out in so many words, the intention was obviously to use appropriate technology in Development. If successful, the D.D.C. concept would even provide the long-awaited alternative to the public sector Corporation, as a form of organization for development. The D.D.C. programme has had its share of failures during the three years of its existence, but these have generally been in the Agricultural sector. In the Industrial sector however, it has had some notable success in the organization of what are called Dispersed Production Co-operatives. The success of these D.D.C. projects has led to the organization of a Union of D.D.C. Light Engineering Industrial Co-operatives and a proposal for setting up a Technology Development Centre. Unions of Industrial Co-operatives in other sectors such as Mineral-based industries will also be set up in the future, and ultimately a Federation of Unions of D.D.C. Production co-operatives will be set up. Existing public Corporations will also be affiliated to the Unions in their respective sectors, thus achieving the concept of the unification of Small, Medium and Large production projects in the national development effort[3]. This unification has to be achieved firstly in the Light Engineering sector. In the context of the present global economic crisis that has affected all countries (with the possible exception of the Peoples Republic of China), Sri Lanka's development effort has received an unexpected setback on account of unimaginable escalation in the prices of essential imports. One of the critical imported items is fertilizer. The State Fertilizer Manufacturing Corporation imports about 50,000 tons of phosphate annually. The cost of the imported phosphate was over Rs 10 million in 1972. It will now cost nearly Rs 20 million in 1974, if imported.
Eppawala Phosphate Rock The deposit of phosphate rock at Eppawala in Anuradhapura district was discovered by the Department of Geological Survey
52 the systematic survey of Anuradhapura district early in 1971. The phosphate occurs in the form of the mineral apatite. The outcrop is estimated to be about 30 million tons an is c to be one of the most extensive natural deposits so far discovered anywhere in the world. In the normal course of events the exploitation of this deposit would have been handled by a public sector Corporation, with a foreign consultant and also perhaps a foreign contractor. In fact the S.F.M.C. had engaged a foreign consultant to advise them on the project. However, the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs proposed that this project should be undertaken as a D.D.C. project, and this proposal was accepted by the S.F.M.C. at a meeting held at the Ministry of Industries and Scientific Affairs on January 24 1974 at which a trial order for the supply of 500 tons size 6" to 9" was placed. Shortly afterwards, the first blast was done on January 26 using traditional drilling techniques, and gun powder for blasting. The trial order was fulfilled by mid-April after an air-compressor and two rock drills had been purchased, and high explosives used for shot-firing, with safety fuse. However, handling of the blasted material was done manually, and secondary blasting was kept to a minimum by doing a great deal of sledging. It was only after the trial order for 500 tons was undertaken that the registration of the D.D.C. project with the Commissioner of Co-operative Development was done, this being a statutory requirement. The planning of the D.D.C. project using appropriate technology that is presented in this paper, was done after the trial order was completed, and was based on the experience gained in the execution of that order.
Project Evaluation The former Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs had published a handbook of Guidelines for Project Formulation and Evaluation in 1969 which was discussed at a Seminar on Project Planning organized by this Institution in 1970[4]. A similar handbook
53 was published by the UN in 1972-Acampprehensive-guide called the Little-Mirlees-hdndbaol is also available. Generally all these techniques of project formulation and evaluation are based on the principle of assessing in financial terms the commercial viability or profitability of a project including the cost of its technology, from the point of view of the investor. As a concession to non-commercial criteria, the so-called national economic profitability of a project is evaluated by giving shadow prices to the variables involved. For example, shadow price for unskilled labour is taken as zero in order to maximize employment benefits. Likewise the shadow price for the foreign exchange component of (say) plant and equipment is made higher than even the FEEL rate, to reflect the scarcity of valuable foreign exchange. However, such elaborate project evaluation is generally reserved for larger projects, and especially for projects undertaken by foreign organizations with part or total foreign financing, for example by the World Bank. The evaluation is therefore an aid to making an investment decision. In the case of smaller projects financed and executed entirely with local resources, such mechanistic evaluations are generally not done. Simple Benefit Cost calculations are used instead and the decision to invest on a project does not depend to such an extent on the evaluation. Moreover, the evaluation of Benefits and Costs are quite often, debatable. The D.D.C. programme has also been criticized on the grounds that D.D.C. projects have not been subjected to proper evaluation. A suggestion has been made recently that UNDP guidelines should be used for the evaluation of these projects. This is a dangerous suggestion. The UNDP and other such guidelines for project formulation and evaluation are inherently oriented towards dependence on foreign finance, technology and expertise. The attitude of the D.D.C. programme on the other hand, is one of selfhelp and self-reliance. A successful D.D.C. project undertaken by people of the area, using locally available resources, including local enterprise, as far as possible, nurtures and fosters the selfreliant attitude which is the prime pre-requisite for the achievement of national economic independence. UNDP type project evaluation
54 is best done post-hoc on D.D.C. projects (if at all). The decision to undertake these projects, should be left to local leaders such as the newly-appointed Political Authorities, however heretical this may appear to be, to traditional Development Planners. As an example of such a 'heretical' approach, the Eppawala Phosphate rock D.D.C. Project has been formulated using a commonsense approach with a built-in system of evaluation. The former has been described as the use of 'appropriate technology', and will be evaluated further. The latter merely describes the financing of the project with money borrowed locally at commercial bank rates of interest, with a break-even point on the investment to be achieved within a given (reasonable) period of time, and the prospect of a self-financing project thereafter. All the benefits such as new employment opportunities and progressive development of technology are direct local benefits, and the possibility of exploitation, or transfer of benefits or profits outside the area is therefore minimized.
Planning the project The general characteristics of an appropriate technology have been described as follows[5]: (1) It stimulates economic progress by making use of locally available resources including manpower, and meeting local needs. (2) It promotes social progress by enabling mass participation in the new development as well as wide sharing of attendant benefits. (3) It should spread in the local environment and constitute a technical improvement compared to what existed previously. (4) It should be progressive over time and improve in response to the developing economy's requirements. (5) It should create employment where people already live and not in new distant work places.
55 (6) It should aim as far as possible to make its own capital equipment locally.
The D.D.C. project that has been formulated and evaluated according to these criteria consists of an initial construction project involving the development of quarries, followed by a production project for the processing of the quarried material. Initial processing will be for reduction to 3" size using jaw crushers, to facilitate transport. Subsequently, grinding to 200 mesh which is the ultimate finished product, will also be undertaken at site using ball mills. The construction project is labour-intensive in an obvious sense, while the production project uses appropriate technology in the form of small hand-fed jaw crushers. The ball mills that will be used at the final processing stage will also be fabricated locally by Industrial Co-operatives in the Light Engineering sector. The material produced at Eppawala has to be transported to the rail-head at Talawa. At present tractor-trailers are being used on existing roads, these being a VC. road 3 miles long from the quarry to Eppawala, and the B52 highway 8 miles from Eppawala to Talawa railway station. It is considered necessary to construct a railway line from the quarry site to Talawa, sooner rather than later, as considerable economies in transport will result[6]. Construction of an 8 mile railway is therefore being planned also using a non-traditional appropriate technology.
The Main Project: Extracting the Rock This project has been planned using air compressors and rock drills for drilling the rock, and electric shot-firing techniques for blasting. The out-crops rise to a maximum of about 100 ft. above the level of the surrounding plain. However, the physical configuration of the out-crops is such that quarrying with a face greater than 15-20 ft. is not considered feasible. The decision to limit the quarry faces in this fashion was also influenced by the manual handling of blasted material.
56 Date sheets 1 and 2, and Cost Schedule annexed, summarize the basis for planning - essentially, this consists of proposed production targets in units of 50 tons a day increasing from scratch to 250 tons per day. This will be the ultimate steady level of production, because, at Eppawala the number of working days is reckoned as 200, and this level of production will give the required annual output of 50,000 tons. Each production target of 50 tons per day represents a drilling output of 100 ft per day which in turn represents (for example) 10 drill holes, each 10 feet in depth. A single quarry face could conveniently give the equivalent of an output of 50 to 100 tons per day with blasting done once a week. The actual performance at site showed that one rock drill could give 100 feet of drilling in one shift and that a 250 CFM air compressor could work 2 rock drills. The Cost Schedule gives the costs of drilling, blasting, sledging, loading and transport of 6" - 9" rubble from the Eppawala quarry to the Talawa railway station. It also gives additional site costs and site preparation costs including jungle clearing, earth work, preparation of roads etc. cost of supplying electricity, cost of maintaining outside haul roads, and cost of site vehicles and administrative overheads. Derived from this Cost Schedule is a Cash-flow statement which assumes an output of 50 tons of rock per day every 2 weeks, until 250 tons per day is achieved. This means the development of a new face every 2 weeks, during the first 2 months. The Cash-flow statement tabulates the cost of (1) Labour (2) Materials (3) Tractor-trailer hire charge for transport to Talawa railway station (4) Site preparation charges (5) Haul road maintenance costs (6) Site sundries, and (7) Infrastructure cost to be incurred as work proceeds. These infrastructure costs are for setting up of crushing plant, for construction of site buildings, for construction of explosive magazine, for construction of railway ramp at Talawa, and for construction of camp buildings. Against all these cost items (1) to (7) actual costs will be incurred weekly and records maintained as work proceeds. On the other hand a Bank
57 loan is necessary for initial capital investment to be made for purchase of plant and equipment and vehicles. Against these initial capital investments, repayments have to be made in suitable installments. Similarly, cost of construction of a power-line has to be paid for in installments to the Electricity Board. These are tabulated against Item 8 - Plant and equipment hire charges, Item 9 Installment for vehicles, and Item 10 - Installments for power-line. The sum total of expenditure against Items 1 - 10 amounts to the Cash Out-flow. Value of production is based on unit price of material paid by the S.F.M.C.. This is Rs 50 per ton for 6" - 9" material and Rs 100 per ton for 3" minus material ex Talawa railway station. Cash inflow is estimated on the basis of 60% of the value of target production, and the cumulative cash flow arrived at on this basis. It is thus seen that 40% of the value of target production is not taken into account. This means that such a shortfall is assumed for purposes of financial planning of the project. However, it has to be emphasized that the effect of such a shortfall from the point of view of the availability of phosphate fertilizer would be serious indeed. In other words, the physical targets as planned must be achieved.
Sub-project 1 - Crushing To crush 200 tons of material to 3 inch minus size per day may, at first glance, indicate a large jaw crusher with a rated capacity of 40 to 60 tons per hour. Such a plant would have a primary jaw of about 36 ins x 24 ins. and would be fed with boulders hauled by heavy dump trucks which in turn would be loaded using mechanical shovels or heavy duty front end loaders or traxcavators. Such a combination of equipment will represent a capitalintensive technology which is considered inappropriate for the initial stage of the Eppawala project. It was therefore decided that the crushers to be used on this project will be the hand-fed type taking 9" - 12" rubble and giving an actual output of about 25 tons per day of 3 in. minus material, compared to a maximum rated output of about 50 tons per day.
58 These crushers will have a jaw size of about 16" x 9". About 8 - 10 such crushers will have to be set up at site. At the initial stages of the project the material after blasting was man-handled for loading into tractor-trailers for the supply of the initial 500 tons. Therefore the man-handling of rock and hand feeding of the small crushers can be taken as a proven technique. (It may even be possible to dispense with mechanical screening of the product, oversize material being hand-picked). On the other hand, the laying out of the site and the location of the crushers will have to be very carefully done to ensure that there will not be unnecessary movement of material within the site, thereby adding to cost without adding to the value of the material. One Chain Engineering Survey sheets with 2 ft. contours are being used for planning site lay-out. Internal transport will be done using both wheel-barrows and tractor-trailers which will be manually loaded. After crushing however, the material will be chuted into stockpiles and gravity loaded thereafter without manhandling. It will be seen from the Cash-flow table that 12 weeks have been allowed for setting up the crushers, and the first crusher will be commissioned after 8 weeks.
Sub-project 2 - Construction of the Railway line It will be seen that road transport by tractor-trailer is based on a cost of approximately Re. 1 per ton mile. On the other hand rail transport should cost less than half this amount. In any case since the transport from Talawa is by rail, a branch railway line to Eppawala is considered a necessity. Construction of a railway line by traditional methods will cost about Rs 1.25 million per mile, at 1971 prices. Today the estimate for the Eppawala branch line may be of the order of Rs 15 million. Construction of this railway line is planned using appropriate technology, as follows. The project consists of the following components: (1) Survey, jungle clearing and laying out trace (2) Designs
59 (3) Setting out and construction of earth platform (4) Structures (5) Permanent way consisting of ballast metal, sleepers and rails (6) Siding and yard at Talawa and at Eppawala (7) Control facilities including signaling and building Some land acquisition may also be necessary. The work on this project will be undertaken as follows. Items (1) and (2) by students from the Faculty of Engineering under the direction of the Chief Engineer, CGR. The final year students Survey Camp will be held at Eppawala in June 1974 for this purpose. Item (3) will be undertaken by the people of the locality commencing in October this year. Items (4), (5), and (6), rubble and metal will be supplied by people of the locality, wooden sleepers either from the Forest department or supplied locally, or concrete sleepers made by the Railway department, while rails will be imported. Item (7) will be handled by the CGR.
Project Time Schedule It will be observed that the Cash-flow Statement has not been dated, but merely presents a time scale in weeks. The reason for this is that certain preliminary steps such as the re-constitution of the Board of Directors of the D.D.C. Co-operative and the appointment of an Engineer-Manager has to be done before work according to the present programme could be started. It is expected that this will be around mid-June 1974. Approximately 135 working days are expected to be available from this date till the end of 1974 during which a total production of approximately 25,000 tons is expected. Earthwork on the railway line is expected to commence after the first rains in October and will be paid for from the returns on the project.
60 Discussion What are the chances of success for this project as planned? It would appear that there are three aspects to any answer to this question, namely Technical Financial People This paper sets out the purely Technical aspect in adequate detail for a technical audience. The bare bones of the Financial aspect are also presented through the expedient of the Cash-flow chart. The most important aspect of the project, indeed of any worthwhile project, remain to be discussed - the People who will make the project a success. The organization of D.D.C. Light Engineering Industrial Cooperatives proved that it was possible to organize the vast reservoir of skills and talents available in the rural hinterland to make a substantial contribution to development. It has also proved that the success of such an organization unfortunately still depends to a large extent on the imagination, initiative, and mental flexibility of the public official who takes the lead in such a scheme. However, the recent appointment of Political Authorities in all the administrative districts is a step in the correct direction, to take the initiative for development closer to the people themselves, rather than vest it in officialdom. The Engineering profession has rightly supported this progressive step. However, it may be mentioned here, that support given to the Political Authority merely in order to score a point over a non-technical administrator is not going to help either the engineer or the development effort. Such inter-professional rivalry will do no more than aggravate the gap between the people and the bureaucracy (including technocrats). It is in this light that the role of the People in the successful organization of the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Manufacturing Cooperative has to be seen. The project has been planned with an absolute minimum of "overheads" in the organization. In implementing
61 the project, all members are expected to take an active interest in the progress of the work. For this purpose the Data sheets used in planning the project have been made available to all members for their study, criticism, and amendment. It is hoped that the results of this experience will be available for further discussion at the Annual Sessions.
Conclusion The project as planned is unique in two respects - firstly, as a major construction and production project, planned on an appropriate technology basis, with maximum benefits to the locality and minimum use of foreign or imported expertise, techniques and technology. Secondly, it is planned as a D.D.C. project on a Cooperative basis. Other D.D.C. projects have been very successful and demonstrated the type of self-reliance that is urgently needed for the economic rehabilitation of our country which has been led into an attitude of dependence by local and foreign planners who had no faith in indigenous abilities. If this project succeeds, it will be a standard bearer in a new type of construction engineering. If it fails it will be handed back to the exponents of transplanted - foreign technology and the D.D.C. concept will be condemned as inappropriate for this type of construction work.
Acknowledgments I have to thank Prof. H.A.de S. Gunasekera, Secretary, Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs for his support for the D.D.C. Programme and for permission to present this paper. It is also my privilege to acknowledge the untiring efforts of my colleagues Mr W.A. Jayasinghe, Deputy Director, and Mr R.H.P Fernando, Director, Regional Development Division, to make the D.D.C. programme a success, and to offer the people of Sri Lanka an opportunity to fulfil themselves and restore the economy of our country through this programme.
62 References 1 Annual Report Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1973 2 Karunaratne, Neil. A Summary of Industrial Potential in Sri Lanka. IDB Publication, 1972 3 Mendis, D.L.O. "Planning the Industrial Revolution in Sri Lanka." Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1973, page 66 et seq. 4 Mendis, D.L.O. Project Planning. Seminar on Development Planning, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1970 5 Reference 3, page 70 6 De Silva, L.S. "Modernization Works on the Ceylon Railway." Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Ceylon, 1970
63 ANNEX 1
Data Sheet - Assumptions 1 cube Apatite (solid) = 6 tons For Drilling ``````````````````````````` Face Burden o o o o o o 1st Row of holes o o o o o o 2nd Row of holes <-x—><—x—x-x-x-x——> Spacing
PLAN
1. Assume Burden = 3ft Spacing = 4ft For 100 ft face, holes h ft deep: For 1 row, volume = 100x3xh Total drilling feet = 26h Therefore, drilling feet per cube = 26h/3h = 8.7 For 2 rows, volume = 100x6xh Total drilling feet52h Therefore drilling ft. per cube = 52h/6h = 8.7 Etc. Assume drilling feet per cube = 12ft. Therefore drilling ft. per ton = 2ft.
Drill can do a 2ft. 7 in. hole in 5 minutes (observed at site) i.e. approximately 1 ft. in 2 mins. Assume 100 ft. in 360 mins. (6 hour shift, total time) i.e. Actual drilling time 200 mins. In 360 mins. Or 33 mins. per hour
For blasting Prilled ammonium nitrate (approximately 8 ft. = 2 lbs) Delay detonators - 1 per hole High explosive - Approximately 1 ft. = 12 in.= 2 sticks of H.E.= 1/2 Ib.
64 ANNEX II
Data Sheet - Costs
Cost is made up of Labour + Materials + Machines
Labour is charged at Rs. 7 per day all round. Materials are charged at actual site cost. Machines are charged according to the Hire Charges below.
Hire Charges Air compressor Purchase price = Rs 40,000 Assumed life = 4000 hours @ 10 hours per day x 200 days per year In 2 years, Rs 40,000 will appreciate at 12% (Bank rate) = toRs. 50,176 Operating costs, fuel and lubricants (1 1/2 gals. per hour) = Rs 7.50 per hour Rs 30,000 (total) Rs 6,000 Spare parts @ 15 % Therefore, Total cost = Rs 50,176+30,000+6000 Rs 86,176 (for 4000 hours) = Rs 21.50 per hr. Similarly for Rock Drill, Purchase price = Rs 4,750 Hire charge per hour = Rs 9.50
Materials include Drill steels. Explosives, Fuels and lubricants (except those charged with machines). These costs have been estimated.
Drilling Hire charges per hour: 1 Air compressor = 21.50 1 Rock drill = 9.50 1 Rock drill and 1 air compressor = 31.00 2 Rock drills and 1 air compressor = 40.50 3 Rock drills and I air compressor = 50.00 3 Rock drills and 2 air compressors = 71.50 4 Rock drills and 2 air compressors = 81.00 5 Rock drills and 2 air compressors = 90.50
65 ANNEX III
EPPAWALA PHOSPHATE ROCK PROJECT
Proposed Production Programme Target in tons per day 50 100 150 200 250
Daily Drilling 100 200 300 400 500
No. of 10 ft. holes 10 20 30 40 50 No. of rock drills at 100 ft. per drill per shift 1 2 3 4 5 Vol. of air required at 80 c.f.m. per drill l80 160 240 320 400 No. of 250 c.f.m air compressors required 1 1 1 2 2 2 Weekly blasting (Say every 7th day) No. of Drills feet per blast 600 1200 1800 2400 3000 Weight of each blast 300 600 900 1200 1500 No. of holes at average 10ft. per hole 60 120 180 240 300 No. of Detonators 60 120 180 240 300 Total pounds of high explosive (gelatine) at l/21b per hole 120 240 360 480 600 Total pounds of Ammonium Nitrate at 2 Ibs per hole 1cwt 2cwt 3cwt 4cwt 5cwt Alternative - Only high explosive Total pounds of H.E. at 1 Ib. Per ton (including secondary blasting) 300 600 900 1200 1500
Daily Loading and Transport No. of tractor trailers trips per dayat 3 tons per trip 17 33 50 67 83 No of tractor trailers 4+ 8+ 13 17 21 No. of Railway wagons per day ex. Talawa Railway station 3 6 9 12 15
ANNEX IV Costs Schedule Drilling - Labour, Materials and Machinery Costs
Targets in tons per day 50 100 150 200 250
Machinery Hire charge per hour Rs. 31.50 40.50 50.0 (see cost Data sheets - ANNEX II) 71.50 81.0 90.50
Machinery Hire charge per 8 hour shift` 248 324 400 572 648 724 Labour at 2 men per rock drill at 12.50&15.00, 40.0 67.50 95.0 1 man per air compressor at 12.50 107.50 135.0 162.50 Materials cost per shift (estimated) 125.0 150.0 175.0 200.0 225.0 Total drilling cost per shift 413.0 541.50 470.0 983.0 1111.5
Total drilling cost per week (6 shifts) 2478 3249 4020 5127 5898 6669
66 Blasting - Labour and Materials Costs
High explosive at1 Ib. per ton, and rs. 3 per Ib. 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 Detonators and wire per ton .60 .60 .60 .60 .60 Total cost per ton 3.60 3.60 3.60 3.60 3.60 Total blasting cost per week 1080.0 2160.0 3240.0 4320.0 5400.0
Loading and Transport by Tractor-trailer to Talawa Railway Station
Per 3 ton tractor trailer 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 30.0 Total cost per week 3000 3000 3000 3000 3000
Total cost vs Income and expected surplus
Target tons per day 50 100 150 200 250 Target tons per week 300 600 900 1200 1500 Total primary cost per week. Drilling 2178 3247 4020 5127 5898 6669 Total primary cost per week. Blasting 1080 2160 3240 4320 5400 Total primary cost per week. Transport 3400 6800 10200 13600 17000 Total priamry cost per week 6958 12209 17460 18687 23818 29069 Add for extra site labour for handling, sledging etc. at 2100 4200 6300 8400 10500 Rs. 7x50 men x 6days for every 50 tons Add for internal hauling 250 500 750 1000 1250 Add for site work, jungle clearing, earthwork etc. 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 Add for haul road maintenance 250 250 250 250 250 Add for eletricity including CEB instalment 5000 5000 5000 5000 5000 Add for vehicles instalment 500 500 500 500 500 Add for site-sundries 250 250 250 250 250 Total cost per week 17308 24909 31510 33737 41218 48819 Total income per week at Rs. 50 per ton 15000 30000 45000 60000 75000 Maximum weekly surplus [2308] 5091 12490 11273 18782 26181
67 ANNEX -V Cash Flow Statement Cost Per Week for Production of
CASH OUTFLOW 50 100 150 200 250tons/ 250 250 250 250 250 tons/ tons/ tons/ tons/ day 9th tons/ tons/ tons/ tons/ tons/ day, day, day, day &10th day, day, day, day, day, 1th & 3rd& 5th & 7 th & weeks llth& 13th& 15th& 17th& 19th & 2nd 4th 6 th 8 th (50 tons 12 th 14 th 16 th 18th 20th weeks weeks weeks weeks (3- size) weeks weeks weeks weeks weeks Manager’s salary 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 Asst. Manager 190 190 190 190 340 340 340 340 340 340 Drilling and 240 405 645 810 810 810 810 810 810 810 Blasting team Extra site labour 2100 4200 6300 8400 10500 10500 10500 10500 10500 10500 Drilling materials 750 900 1050 1050 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 1350 Blasting materials 1080 2160 3240 4320 5400 5400 5400 5400 5400 5400 Tractor-trailer 3000 6000 9000 12000 15000 15000 15000 15000 15000 15000 hire Site Preparation 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 Haul road outside 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 250 site maintenance Site sundries and 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 internal transport Allow for Setting 2000 2000 2000 2000 1500 1500 - - - - up crushing plant For site buildings 2500 2500 2500 ------For explosives 5000 5000 2500 ------magazine For loading ramp 5000 5000 5000 ------at Talawa Riy Stn. For camp building 12500 12500 12500 12500 12500 12500 12500 12500 12500 12500 Sub-Total 37610 44355 47675 45330 51650 51150 50150 50150 50150 50150 Hire Charges: Drilling 1488 1944 2400 3888 4344 4344 4344 4344 4344 4344 Equipment - - - - 3235 6450 12900 12900 12900 12900 Crushing Plant Vehicle loan 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 500 instalment Power supply ------3500 Sub-Total 37610 44355 47675 45330 51650 51150 50150 50150 50150 50150 WEEKLY CASH 39598 46799 48675 45220 51650 51150 50150 50150 50150 50150 OUTFLOW Production per 15000 30000 45000 60000 69000 78000 96000 96000 96000 96000 week-Value 60% Billed every - - 9000 18000 27000 36000 41400 57600 57600 57600 2 weeks Nett WEEKLY ------+ + + CASH FLOW 39598 46799 39675 27220 24650 15150 8650 7450 8450 7450 Nett 2 weekly ------+ + + CASH FLOW 79106 93598 79350 54440 19300 30300 17300 14900 16900 14900 CUMULATIVE ------CASH FLOW 79196 17294 252144 306584 355884 386184 403484 388584 381134 373684
68 DISCUSSION
Mr D.L.O. Mendis Thanked the Institution for having published his paper. He said that Annex I was about the patterning of holes for drilling and blasting out the phosphate rock. He said that Annexes II and III were complete data for finding the cost of extracting the phosphate. He gave a short history of the project. He said he was sorry that when the work was proceeding very smoothly the production of this fertilizer had been stopped. Ht said that this project started by the District Development Council was a co-operative effort and hence full production was assured. He said that last night he had read Dr Sriananda's paper fully and found it to be very interesting. The paper had referred to organization for mass production, but he said that the District Development Councils concentrated on production by the masses and he said that the response from the masses was very encouraging.
Mr B.R.P. Goonewardena Thanked Mr Mendis for his paper and raised the question of mechanizing this project for he thought that the cost of crushing this phosphate rock by manual process would be very expensive. He said that there were spare crushers available on the Mahaweli Diversion Project and the Maskeliya dam which could be utilized to crush the phosphate rock. He wanted to know who had wanted the production of this phosphate rock stopped. He said that this was an ideal way of providing employment where our excess manpower could be utilized to produce fertilizer which was being imported from abroad.
Mr PM. Sittamparapillai Also thanked Mr Mendis for his paper and said it was always a pleasure to listen to Mr Mendis. He wanted to know whether the paper referred to 50,000 tons of phosphate or phosphate rock. He thought it should be 50,000 tons of phosphate annually and not phosphate rock as envisaged by Mr Mendis. Mr Sittamparapillai
69 said that in previous years Mr Mendis had been speaking about "Intermediate Technology" and now he was speaking about "Appropriate Technology". He said that we must start immediately on production to replace imports of fertilizer and not wait, say for another 50 years for appropriate technology.
Mr L. Sydney de Silva Thanked Mr Mendis for his interesting paper and was glad of the great interest taken by Mr Mendis in this development project. He said it was a good thing to have got the assistance of the Faculty of Engineering, Peradeniya, to do the preliminary survey for the railway line. He said the Railway was always ready to assist Mr Mendis on this project but told Mr Mendis that the laying of a railway line was a specialized job which could not be done by shramadana as a certain amount of expertise was required to do so. Mr de Silva said that at the moment they were short of rails and could not spare rails for this purpose but that next year some rails were expected and the Railway may be able to spare some rails to lay a line to Eppawala. He said that there was no harm in Mr Mendis organizing earth work etc. to be done under the supervision of the Railway officers. Mr de Silva said that they had about 90 hopper wagons which were constantly in use for transport of clinker etc. and that the Railway could not spare these wagons for the transport of phosphate rock to a crushing plant. He however said that there are some high side wagons which had been used to transport coal which could be modified and used to transport the phosphate rock. Mr de Silva said that the Railway had the capacity to transport these wagon loads of phosphate rock to a crushing plant.
Mr W.T.I. Alagaratnam Said that if there was sufficient phosphate rock to last for a 100 years or so, why the feasibility of siting a factory to produce phosphate fertilizer at or near about Eppawala was not considered rather than transporting the phosphate rock to distant places such as KKS or Galle,
70 Dr S.M.A. Perera While thanking Mr Mendis for his paper said that he was very interested in this project of manufacturing phosphate fertilizer. He said that if however crushers are used this becomes a mechanized operation as distinct from a labour intensive project. He said that he was sorry to learn that the work on this project had come to a halt. Dr Perera said that it was projects like these, which would stop migration of people from their villages and keep them in their own environment. He wanted to know what sort of Committee ran this project and what the site organization was like.
Mr N.J.B. Kotagama While thanking Mr Mendis, said that it was a mystery as to who had given instructions to stop the production of phosphate rock at Eppawala. He said that he had phoned the Ministry and they had denied that any such instructions have been sent out to stop the production of phosphate rock at Eppawala.
Mr S. Kodikkara Mr Kodikkara said that he wished to thank Mr Mendis and congratulate him for the challenge he had accepted to go out to the field and do things for this country. He said that he was sorry that many of his colleagues were leaving the country because of socioeconomic reasons. Mr Kodikkara said that he was willing to assist the District Development Councils in whatever way it was possible to do so as he thought this was a method to solve many of the problems confronting this country. However, he said that in the actual operation of these Councils there were bottlenecks to the smooth operation of the D.D.C. He said that he had gone to Kalaweva to get some bricks for his departmental work. He had met the D.R.O. who was the Chairman of the D.D.C. in that area and had been unable to get his requirements. He thought that if the control of the District Development Councils was given to the young people in the Councils they might be able to organize things better and not create bottlenecks.
71 Mr Chandrasinghe Said that there had been much discussion about Mr Mendis' paper. He had to confess that he had not seen or read this paper but from the discussions that had taken place it was obvious that Mr Mendis was disappointed with the progress on this very valuable project. He asked Mr Mendis not to give up but to persevere. Mr Chandrasinghe said that the Americans had developed a system called "Management by Group Dynamics". He said that if individuals from Sri Lanka who go to America could follow a course of Management by Group Dynamics it would assist the District Development Councils projects.
Mr D.L.O. Mendis In reply to the various questions raised Mr Mendis thanked the members for the keen interest shown in his paper. He said that he would try his best to answer or comment on the questions raised. He told Mr Sittamparapillai that he had gone wrong somewhere about the quantity of phosphate rock required annually. He then explained what he meant by Appropriate Technology as distinct from the Intermediate Technology he had spoken of in earlier years. Replying Mr Alagaratnam he said that foreign consultants had recommended the setting up of a factory in or around Colombo and that already a mixing plant had been commissioned at Hunupitiya. He said that the people at Eppawala had wanted the crushing plant set up at Eppawala, but that the Ministry of Industries had decided that as there was surplus crushing capacity at KKS and Galle Cement factories, to utilize the capacity at KKS to do the crushing of the phosphate rock. He thanked Dr S.M.A. Perera for the questions he raised, and said that the answers were in Annex IV. He said that the village lads who had got through their ordinary and advanced levels were working with their hands on this project. He said that majority rule prevails at the work site and that all work as a team. Mr Mendis suggested to the President that an early visit be arranged to the CEATO factory at Piliyandala where a co-operative organization was functioning very satisfactorily.
72 Replying Mr Kotagama, Mr Mendis said that it was not a question of the Ministry of Industries stopping the project but that it had amounted to a virtual order to stop as the Ministry had not given them instructions to produce any more phosphate rock after they completed the original order for the supply of phosphate rock from Eppawala. He said that if the phosphate rock was not bought by the Fertilizer Corporation it was not possible for the District Development Council to finance the production of phosphate rock and keep the workers employed; in spite of many reminders a fresh order has not been placed on this D.D.C. for more phosphate rock. Mr Mendis also said that production could be stepped up to 50,000 tons per annum by opening up five quarries each producing 10,000 tons annually.
73 CHAPTER 3
The Technology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Technology in Sri Lanka
(Reproduced from the Proceedings of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, 1975. This paper describes the thinking about development strategies in some countries of the third world during the period of Sri Lanka's closed economy in the 1970s, when the Eppawala project was started as described in the previous chapter) In presenting this address I wish to take the opportunity to thank the members of Section C: Engineering, Architecture and Surveying, of this Association, for the honour they have done me in electing me President for 1975, and the Sectional Committee for their encouragement and support throughout the year. This year, the Committee introduced a scheme whereby the general membership of this Section could participate in development projects on an adhocratic basis, and a Seminar on these "Special Projects" is being held during the Sessions. We have also started a scheme to provide opportunities for students in the Faculties of Engineering at Katubadde and at Peradeniya to participate in development work, and a Symposium on these student projects is being held during this Session. The author of the best student paper will receive a prize awarded in memory of the late General PresidentElect Mr H de S Manamperi.
INTRODUCTION In accordance with custom I have chosen for this address a subject that is within the ambit of my professional experience. I have titled it The Technology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Technology in Sri Lanka. This is also of topical
74 interest, but I must preface my remarks with the usual qualification that what I say here is my own responsibility and does not in any way commit the organization for which I work. The current global economic crisis has given rise to a demand for a New International Economic Order. The United Nations General Assembly made two historic decisions in 1974, the Declaration and Programme of Action on the establishment of a New International Economic Order at the 6" Special Sessions of the General Assembly in June, and the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States adopted at the' 29" regular Sessions of the General Assembly in August. The principal impetus for these historic decisions has been an increasing militancy on the part of the so-called third world countries in the face of deteriorating terms of trade for their economies. The inspiration for the concerted action has no doubt been the success of the oil-producing countries in achieving a fair price for their products starting from late 1973. Sri Lanka has been given the doubtful honour of being included in the category called the most seriously affected countries in the global economic crisis. We therefore have a particular interest in the efforts of the poorer countries to get a fair deal at the hands of the rich. It is in this context that I present this paper to this distinguished audience.
The Centre-Periphery Theory In the early 1950s, Raul Prebisch, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, brought to the attention of the international world the deterioration in the terms of trade of the Latin American countries over a long period of time from about the 1870s, which he said was the fundamental reason for the distortion and underdevelopment of their economies. Prebisch and his staff developed a Centre-Periphery theory to explain this situation. At the Centre were the developed industrial countries which produced manufactured goods, while the Periphery was engaged in agriculture and mining for the production of primary products. Such an international distribution of labour would have benefited the whole world community if the
75 benefits of technical progress were distributed to the whole community either by lowering prices or raising incomes. This could have resulted according to classical economic theory if there was unconstrained competition in the product and factor markets at the Centre. In actual fact a declining terms of trade for the Periphery with respect to the Centre had occurred over a long historical period. According to Prebisch[1] the root of the problem is the difference in the income elasticity of demand for imports at the Centre and at the Periphery. This is low at the Centre, generally less than one, and higher at the Periphery, always greater than one. The reason for this is that the Centre imports mainly food and other primary products. The growth of demand for food products is slow because of "the operation of Engels law, and agricultural protective measures practiced by many countries at the Centre"[2]. The demand for primary materials increases slowly on account of improvements of technology at the Centre which results in more efficient use of inputs, and also on account of synthetic substitutes. On the other hand output from the Periphery increases due to increases in productivity, and hence the price of imports to the Centre from the Periphery decline. Thus export prices at the Periphery decline over the years. In regard to imports at the Periphery however, the higher income elasticity of demand keeps these prices from declining. In actual fact the Centre had soon learned to control prices of their exports to the Periphery by monopolistic and oligopolistic measures, so that prices of imports at the Periphery actually increased rapidly over the years. Substantial increases in productivity at the Centre, due to technological development, further aggravated the situation of exploitation of the Periphery by the Centre through terms of trade. The ultimate result was that there were substantial transfers of income from the Periphery to the Centre! This in fact was the "development of underdevelopment" a phrase coined some years later by GunderFrank[3].
76
Sri Lanka has a mixed economy with a traditional sector and a plantation sector. The Prebisch argument can be applied to Sri Lanka as depicted in the model shown in Figure 3.1. The export sector of our economy is here represented by the plantation industry producing tea, rubber, and coconut. Research Institutes, the TRI, the RRI, and the CRI, support this sector of the economy. This investment in research and development results in increased productivity which should give increasing income. However, on account of price fixing, transfer pricing, protective tariffs, and other such devices, the terms are manipulated to the disadvantage of the Periphery, so that there is a net transfer of income from the Periphery (Sri Lanka) to the Centre. Thus at the Periphery there is virtually a fixed income generated by the plantation industry. At the Centre, increased income results from the transfer of income and this leads to increased wages and in time, to increased prices of their manufactured products, some of which of course are
77 exported to the Periphery. Added to this, due to the non-elastic marginal demands for imports of primary products, the outflow of capital is controlled to maintain a favourable balance of trade for the Centre with respect to the Periphery. Thus we have twin circles which demonstrate the control over the terms of trade of the plantation economy according to the Prebisch theory. Although there was considerable research on this theory which led to the development of what was later called the LatinAmerican Structuralist school, the discussion was somehow not heard in this country. In fact it is possible that the Centre-Periphery relationship in which both the Latin-American and Asian countries were caught up enabled the Centre to screen information, and there was no direct information channel between different parts of the Periphery. Although the Prebisch theory was well known in the west, it was by no means universally accepted. Ellsworth' and others argued that manufactured goods exported from the Centre increased in price due to improvement in product quality, while primary products exported from the Periphery remained constant in quality. The first development decade 1960-70, launched by the United Nations also paid more attention to the Anglo-Saxon view of the world rather than the Latin-American. This was perhaps because "the teaching of economics in the developing countries themselves has so far been based firmly on orthodox Anglo-Saxon economics. Western economists in fact use the term economics as though they possess a general set of analytical tools which can be used in all economic situations This belief in the generality of economics has been helped by the carry-over of western economics into socialist economics. The competitive model appears politically neutral because it is the theoretical optimum which would be reached either with a perfectly wise socialist planning committee or under a system of free competition with all its assumptions of perfect knowledge, free entry, and so on"[4]. Arising from Anglo-Saxon economics is the concept of the Vicious Circle of Poverty. According to Nurkse[5] "A situation of this sort, a vicious circle of poverty, relating to a country as a whole
78 may be summed up in the trite proposition: `A country is poor because it is poor"'. This theory is shown in Figure 3.2 where low income gives rise to low savings which means that there is low capital formation so that, with little capital for development, there is low productivity and hence low income. Western economists promoting their own brand of development have expressed the view that a forced savings breakthrough and a foreign aid breakthrough are necessary to free a country from this vicious circle.
79 This thinking has also been evident in the planning process in our country. Significantly, the concept of a technological breakthrough between little capital and low productivity has never entered the cognition of national planners. On the other hand reference is often made to the achievements in China, without recognition of the fact that these achievements were based on just this type of technological breakthrough, where increasing productivity and production has been achieved with little monetary capital on account of systematic research and the application of Science and Technology to development, and where, though domestic savings may have been forced, foreign aid has been non-existent for the last fifteen years or so. It is also self-evident that this concept of the Vicious Circle of Poverty cannot be applied to the plantation sector of our economy. It has relevance only to the so-called traditional sector. The characteristics of underdevelopment have been described by Sagasti[6] in the following terms: "The main characteristics of an underdeveloped country are that it is dominated, disarticulated, and incapable of covering the costs of a human status for the majority of its population. Domination implies that the UDC does not have an autonomous capacity for decision and that it has little control over its own destiny. External environmental factors beyond the control of the underdeveloped country, are the main determinants of the direction taken by its economic, social and even political structures". The concept of a global division into a Centre and a Periphery, or dominant and dependent countries, or just rich and poor, calls to mind C.P Snow's description of the two cultures'. Indeed it is significant that Snow himself in a later comment on his famous essay said: "Before I wrote the lecture I thought of calling it `The Rich and the Poor' and I rather wish that I hadn't changed my mind'. One can list the alternative terminology for the two cultures in the global context as shown in Table 3.1.
80
Source 1. Centre Periphery Prebisch 2. Dominant Dependent Sagasti 3. Rich Poor C.P. Show 4. “Rich, civilized “Poor, backward J. Leite Lopes (reference people conquerors and peoples, those who do to division a few years builders of empires not have or could not ago -196) develop means of effective defence against conquest – the political or economic colonies 5. Developed Developing U.N. (Economic) 6. Modern Traditional U.N. 7. Advanced countries Developing countries Amilcar Herrera 8. Developed Backward 9. Developed Less-Developed I.D.S. Sussex 10. Over-developed Under-developed Malcolm Caldwell 11. First and second Third World U.N.(Political) worlds 12. Imperialist Colonial Some terms describing the Two Cultures (on a global basis) Table 3.1 Inside a country a similar dichotomy is apparent and this has been documented by Ananda Coomaraswamy[8] amongst others in Sri Lanka, who drew attention to the traditional sector of our country and incidentally warned of the evils of so-called modernization, 70 years ago. In Sri Lanka we thus have two cultures of a traditional sector and a modern sector of the economy. This has also been described as formal and informal, urban and rural, and so on. These terms are shown in Table 3.2.
Modern Sector Traditional Sector Formal Seector Informal Sector Urban Sector Rural Sector Privileged Minority Under-privileged Majority The Two Cultures inside Sri Lanka Table 3.2
81 Of special interest at the present moment is the attempt to integrate the Plantation sector with the rural indigenous sector following the Land Reform programme. In this exercise it is necessary to bear in mind that the plantation sector is subject to a Prebisch-type exploitation by the metropolitan Centre overseas, whilst the traditional sector is subject to a Nurkse-type Vicious Circle of Poverty. It is also worth noting that de Silva[9] has drawn attention to a Prebisch-type Centre-peripheral exploitation of the rural hinterland in our country by our own urban sector.
The Sri Lanka Economy With this background we may now examine the influence of the Centre on our economy, with special attention paid to technology, because "technology is the cornerstone of economic independence". The empire-building western powers visited our country from the 15th century onwards at a time when our ancient agricultural civilization based on an intricate irrigation system, was on the wane. They were able to over-power us with their energy and virility of outlook. They gave us an inferiority complex that has lasted to the present day. Our minds were turned to the metropolitan centres of power and we soon lost faith in our own abilities. The development of the plantation economy for the benefit of the metropolitan power resulted in the first transfer of technology from the Centre to the Periphery. There was no pretense but that local markets had to be captured and local resources transferred to the Centre[10]. In this process there was a neglect that amounted to suppression of the traditional industries. These in time came to be described as cottage industries or mere crafts. The same neglect of the traditional sector in agriculture was evident. The expanding plantation industry over-ran the traditional village. Agricultural tools and implements imported for the plantation sector infiltrated into markets in the traditional sector. The colonization schemes that were enthusiastically promoted in the years immediately prior to world war II were conceived in a manner similar to the development of the plantation sector.
82 The only real difference was that these schemes were promoted by the state and not by private enterprise. They were based on piecemeal restoration of major ancient irrigation works, the irrigable areas below the headworks being blocked out afresh. The planning of these irrigation projects was done with little reference to the social organization of the existing traditional sector in these areas. These people together with others from more distant areas were physically relocated in these irrigation colonies (appropriately called colonies) with an allocation of resources from the State including a house, and such agricultural equipment as a mammoty, an axe and so on, all of which were imported. Roads, railways, harbours and communication systems together with workshops in both the public sector and the private sector, constituted the investment in infrastructure for the plantation sector. In the irrigation colonization schemes, all the infrastructure was State owned but the individual allotments, one an irrigated allotment for paddy cultivation, and the other a highland allotment, were the property of the individual colonist. Without a social organization of the colonists themselves to look after the project, predictably every colonization scheme sooner or later ran into massive difficulties. The inevitable sequel in such a situation is of course a state committee or commission of inquiry[11]. Nevertheless, the source of the mistakes has hardly even been identified, far from being corrected. It is a safe bet that there will be new and greater problems in the Mahaweli development project unless radical changes of attitude are seen in the implementation of this project. An example of the inherent pitfalls is the so-called problem of water management. Whilst the cultivator is the only person whose very survival depends on the water, he is the only one excluded from the operation of the so-called water management system. At the moment there is discussion about getting down experts from abroad to advice us on water management problems in colonization schemes. In passing it may be mentioned that a real technological breakthrough in agriculture may be achieved if we could move rain bearing clouds from the wet zone to the dry zone, a distance
83 of between 50 and 100 miles. It is ironical to note that the United States has probably developed such technologies during the course of the war in Vietnam, but we would rather have them send us water management experts and PL 480 flour than clouds-seeding and rain-making technology. In British times the remains of the ancient irrigation systems had excited the admiration of many colonial administrators who devoted much time to their investigation. Of these, the engineer Henry Parker[12] has provided a pioneering study of the technological achievements of the ancients. In more recent times Brohier[13] has used the excellent topographical survey of the whole island to document the available information on these ancient irrigation works. Needham et al [14] have presented an analysis of the evolution of the ancient irrigation systems in Sri Lanka. Kennedy[15] has studied the maintenance and operation of the village irrigation works which are the earliest of the ancient works, and Arumugam[16] has continued this work on the same lines. Nevertheless, a comprehensive study of the ancient irrigation systems has not yet been made by a modern engineer. Trans-basin diversion as a concept has been given publicity in recent times on account of the Mahaweli diversion project. It is not widely known that the ancient irrigation systems included many trans-basin diversions and in fact had been planned on a mufti-purpose basis of irrigation, drainage, flood control and conservation, over very long periods of time[17]. The best example is the Anuradhapura city tanks - Kalaweva - Malwatu oya basin complex. Anuradhapura became the capital of Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. It was first supplied by small city tanks like the Basawakkulama and the Tissaweva. In due course as the city expanded the Nuwera weva was constructed and this was later augmented by a canal that took off from a diversion anicut. The Nachchaduwa weva built later impounded more water and consolidated the supply to Nuwera weva. Still later, Nachchaduwa itself was augmented from the adjacent basin of the Kala oya by a diversion anicut and canal. But the major achievement in supplying the capital city with water was the augmentation of all the city tanks in the 5th century
84 AD, by a trans-basin diversion from the Kala weva via the 5411 mile long Jaya ganga. This canal had a fantastic gradient of 6 inches per mile for the first 17 miles and an average of 1 foot per mile throughout its length. Finally, the Kala weva itself was augmented, probably in the 8°' century AD by a diversion from the Mahaweli ganga basin[18]. In contrast to this remarkable water resources planning over several centuries in ancient and medieval times, a recent school of thought exists of a single basin balance of water and land[19]. This appears to be an example of a transfer of technology that has been accepted by local specialists without an appreciation of the superior techniques already available from our ancient heritage, for multi-purpose all island development. One example of an error resulting from this concept is the location of the Uda Walawe reservoir. If a single basin water-land balance was not being sought in this valley, this reservoir would have been located several miles upstream of the present location, with provision for later augmentation from the adjacent wet zone basins[20]. Another such project recently proposed is the Lunugamvehera across the Kirindi oya. The location of this proposed reservoir can only be justified from the standpoint of a single basin balance of water and land, a ludicrous concept indeed. The piece-meal restoration of the major works started by the British has been continued up to recent times; (at the present moment the restoration of the Wahalkada weva is going on). At the same time a modern version of multipurpose development has been introduced. This can be traced to the Tennessee Valley A uthority project started in the USA, in the depression years of the mid 1930s, and carefully followed in the planning of our own Gal oya valley multi-purpose project in the late 1940s[21]. After world war II the spotlight was on the Gal oya project. Here, under a brand new TVA type Gal oya Development Board, American consultants, contractors, and some local counterparts had a field day. On a costplus profits contract, the latest construction technology was used to build the largest earth dam in this country, and two main channels, in record time[22]. This magnificent
85 achievement inspired many Ceylonese personnel with the modern approach to construction, complete with airconditioned cabins, a Juke box in the club house, individual jeeps for all construction personnel, and a refrigeration van that ran daily between Colombo and Inginiyagala bringing in such essential supplies as beer. Strangely enough, in the Irrigation department at the same time, construction work was going on using all manner of other techniques. Several Indian engineers in Kantalai, Allai, Mee oya etc. were promoting so-called labour- intensive construction methods. At the same time war displaced engineers of various nationalities were making some remarkable contributions to our development in Kantalai, Elahera and other schemes using the inherent genius of local people for irrigation development work. All this feverish activity in the early post-war years led to something of an anti-climax in the late 1950s. At this stage a foreign exchange problem was emerging, the American image in the construction world was being challenged by new comers from the Socialist countries, and labour-intensive construction techniques that were once taken for granted, were now loaded with political overtones and undertones. The situation in the industrial sector at this time should also be mentioned. The government had pioneered the establishment of several factories: Coir - 1937; Steel re-rolling - 1937; Plywood 1941; Leather - 1941; Acetic acid -1942; Drugs - 1943; Paper 1942; Glass - 1944 and Ceramics - 1944. These early State projects had served their purpose during the war years. However, after 1948, new concepts of modernization were introduced, and some of these State projects were scrapped. "The influence of the IBRD on industrial policies and development pursued by government in the early 1950s is clearly discernible"2'. After the political changes in 1956, a plan for industrialization was drawn up and the State Industrial Corporations Act No 48 of 1957 was promulgated. The CISIR was set up under this act. Seven industries, steel, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, salt-based industries, mineral sands, and sugaralcohol-rayon were to be the exclusive preserve of the state. Another 23 light consumer goods industries were earmarked for
86 joint enterprises between the state and the private sector. Finally, a long list of 82 small scale industries was identified for exclusive prospecting by the private sector. It has been remarked that this "scheduling of Ceylon's industries turns out to be an ad hoc and pragmatic listing of existing industries at that time in their respective centres"[23].
The Development of Underdevelopment The influence of the Centre is very evident in our strategies for development, even after the so-called social revolution of 1956. The best manifestation of this influence is the 10 year Plan which highlighted "Ceylon's relative advantages vis-a-vis many other countries of Asia", and identified these alleged advantages as due to "the prevalence of plantation agriculture producing Tea, Rubber and Coconut for exports to the world market". It further stated that the "problem of growth is in large measure one of establishing and expanding industries". Perhaps anticipating changes in emphasis from the public sector to the private sector and vice versa, from time to time for political reasons, the plan also stated that its development strategy was "independent of the institutional forms that are to be established", on the basis that it would "not depend very closely on institutional systems and forms of ownership"[24]. The adverse terms of trade in the plantation sector and the Gunder Frank phenomenon of the development of underdevelopment were to be discussed later. The influence of the Centre could be traced to the preparatory work for the 10 year plan 1959 which had commenced shortly after the change of government in 1956, when the Planning Secretariat was headed by the new Prime Minister as Chairman and the Finance Minister as Deputy Chairman. The following quotation is relevant[25]: "In November 1957, the Government of Ceylon invited a number of distinguished economists from abroad to visit Ceylon, for the purpose of advising the National Planning Council on broad questions of planning and economic development.
87 Mr Gunnar Myrdal and two associates Mr Morgens Boserup and Mrs Esther Boserup, Mr Nicholas Kaldor, Mrs Joan Robinson, Mr Oskar Lange and Mr JK Galbraith were able to accept this invitation and visit Ceylon at different periods between March 1958 and May 1959. These visits were of relatively short duration ranging from. 4 to 6 weeks. Much of the time of the visitors was spent in consultations and discussion with the National Planning Council, the Planning Secretariat, and other authorities in Ceylon. The papers and memoranda prepared by them are in the nature of additional contributions. They are being published in view of their interest to a wider public - particularly in the context of the 10 Year Plan. On account of their relevance to the general discussion, the volume also includes two papers prepared earlier by Mr JR Hicks and Mrs Ursula Hicks who visited Ceylon in early 1957 on the invitation of the Central Bank. In presenting this volume the National Planning Council wishes to express its thanks to the visiting experts for their valuable contributions to planning in Ceylon". The 10 year plan was hailed as a masterpiece, and although it was not systematically implemented, the setting up of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs in 1965 was due to the efforts of the Planning Secretariat that had prepared the Plan in 1959. To explain these events it is necessary to use two models described as a New Map of the World (Figure 3.3) and the Social Basis of Science and Technology Policy (Figure 3.4). Using a Prebisch-type analysis the world is depicted in the New Map of the World in Fig. 3.3, as being divided into two parts described as the Periphery and the Centre, with an overlap to allow for the OPEC countries. Outside these two worlds is the United Nations system. Sri Lanka is located in the Periphery and inside Sri Lanka are two groups - the smaller described as the privileged minority, and the larger as the underprivileged majority, (again with an overlap for conscientious objectors). The privileged minority are subject to socio-economic forces drawing them to the UN
88 agencies, the Centre, and to developed centres in the Periphery. The well-known brain-drain phenomenon is of course part of this situation. The under-privileged majority are subjected to ideological forces drawing them to countries where rapid socio-economic changes have been achieved through political action.
The social basis of science policy making as shown in Figure 3.4 is based on the analysis of global society by Amilcar O. Herrera" who recognizes two broad categories of advanced countries and developing countries corresponding to the Centre and the Periphery. The developing countries or Periphery are themselves divided internally into a modern sector and a traditional sector. The correspondence to the Sri Lanka situation in the New Map of the World is self-evident. 98% of the expenditure on Research and Development is spent in the advanced countries (or Centre) and only 2% sustains R & D in the modern sectors of the poor countries (or Periphery) whilst their traditional sectors are supported by what we call traditional Science and Technology.
89 Of interest to us are the three circles described as the areas of activity of people. Circle A represents people in the traditional sector, circle B those in the modern sector and circle C those in the Centre. In Sri Lanka, a person born and educated in a rural village would be in circle A during his school days; on entering an urban school he would have entered the area common to circles A and B, and on entering the University he would have moved into the areas common to circles A, B, and C. By far the large majority of our executives are in that area common to circles B and C. Sadly, the movement from A to C is largely irreversible; also, the situation between circles B and C is one of domination of B by C.
90 Herrera points out that the influence of the Centre in this fashion can be implicit or explicit. Explicit influence is by definition amenable to analysis. It may even be quantified. Implicit influence on the other hand is intangible and elusive. Nevertheless it is real. The role of the Planning Ministry from 1965 to 1970 illustrates this. Quite explicitly there was dependence on foreign expertise in the form of the UNDP team, whilst the mechanics of the planning process was implicitly inspired by external Centres such as the Institute of Development Studies in Sussex. The increasing dependence on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund during this period has been analyzed by Hevawitharana[27] The general situation has been described by Cheryl Payer[28]. This trend culminated in the proposals that either originated or were inspired in Washington DC such as the 25 MW Gas Turbine Project and the Highways Project for the modernization of the highways system in this country. In 1969, these issues were taken up by the scientists and technologists in this country who presented an unprecedented united front against the Planners on these issues. Nevertheless there was no change until the Government itself changed, when both these projects were thrown out. At the same time the UNDP team was considerably reduced, but, contrary to the expectations of local scientists and technologists, they were not replaced by local personnel. Finally the ILO Employment Mission that visited the country in the pre-election period continued their activities after the change of government and published a report which was accepted in the old tradition of relations between the Periphery and the Centre. The influence of the Centre is also seen in an obvious way in the education system. Attempts to reform and restructure this system have met with no more than the usual difficulties confronting any reform programme. Curiously, even our radical politics has all the signs of influence from a metropolitan centre. It is perhaps a reaction against this subtle remote control influence in the spheres of education and politics that inspired men like the Anagarika Dharmapala. More recently the upheavals in 1971 could be traced to a similar reaction against the Centre, mainly amongst the youth of our country.
91 It is thus evident that in the past, the national planners and higher level decision-makers all belonged to the privileged minority who collaborated with counterparts (experts) from the Centre (advanced countries, UN etc) without reference to indigenous potential outside their own charmed circle. They consciously or unconsciously accepted the Rostowian view of economic growth in stages, used impersonal criteria such as per capita income and gross national product as yardsticks for development, and watched these indicators hopefully for signs of progress towards the magic point of take-off. Their jargon which included expressions like "spin-off' and "trickling down" (of benefits from planning) indicated their state of mind. That their methods have failed is evident from a glance at the increasing foreign debt during the 10 year period from 1964 to 1974 (see Table 3.3). However, Fr. Balasuriya[29] has expressed the view that according to International law we do not have a problem of foreign debt, because of appropriation without compensation in colonial times by the metropolitan powers. Vimalananda[30] and PHDH de Silva[31] have actually listed a number of priceless documents removed from our country in colonial times and now lying in Archives and Museums at the Centre. One can go on in this strain to point out that western civilization itself has been built on misappropriated "black gold" resources, from slave traffic to petroleum, but what will it avail us? For example, can Egypt's priceless treasures that today lie in European museums be used to redeem her recent debt to the Soviet Union? We should remember that when the Arab states increased the price of oil, President Ford said that the United States was prepared to take direct action if the American way of life was threatened. Obviously the message was that when it suits the mighty, might is right.
92 Table 3.3 Gross Exteral Liabilities Outstanding* (in Rs. Million) Official Short- Central Suppliers Loans term IMF Bank Totals credits Including Trade Borrowings Credit 1664 412 37 108 557 1965 489 60 181 730 1966 549 31 271 851 1967 739 17 108 376 57 1297 1968 1074 66 95 636 29 1900 1969 1376 192 130 626 256 2580 1970 1596 197 273 490 412 2968 1971 1919 190 317 448 334 3208 1972 2336 158 340 466 352 3653 1973 2687 303 477 464 245 4176
Science, Technology and Economic Independance The 5-Year Plan 1971-76, published in November 1971 had the advantage of some hind sight resulting from the 1971 blood bath. This plan made an attempt to liberate the economy from over dependence on the external Centre. For this purpose it proposed mobilizing local savings at an average of 17% compared to an actual achievement of about 12% during the previous decade. It also focused on development of indigenous technology and presented a scheme for development at grass-roots level through the Divisional Development Councils programme. It also stressed the small scale sector and identified the urgent need to diversify the export sector. The DDC program has been hailed in some quarters as the new hope for Sri Lanka especially as it has attempted to harness the productive capacities of traditional technologies in development. But this programme will make only marginal impact on the economic situation, unless a strategy for upgrading the traditional technology of the rural areas with an infusion of modern science and technology is prepared and rigorously implemented. One
93 cannot see this happening in the present context where inspiration for institutional reform still comes from the Centre -the National Institute of Management, the Academy of Administrative Studies, and the Mini-Kachcheri system, are examples. Nevertheless it can be shown analytically, that the DDC programme does offer some hope for the achievement of economic independence within the existing political framework. Sagasti[32] has analyzed the nation- system into various component systems of Science, Technology, Education, Production, etc. He says: "Economic development, taking the point of view ' of the underdeveloped country, is considered a dynamic process of structural change characterized by three factors: (1) absolute and sustained economic growth (2) scientific and technological progress, and (3) social propagation of the effects of (1) and (2) to all sectors of the population. The first factor, economic growth, traditionally has been considered as synonymous with economic development. Although a necessary condition, it is not sufficient by itself, for economic growth without technological progress and the propagation of their effects, does not lead to overcoming the conditions of domination and disarticulation which characterize underdevelopment. The second factor, technological progress, refers to the autonomous capacity on the part of the country to generate, diffuse, and utilize scientific and technological knowledge, incorporating it in its productive process. However, this autonomous capacity does not imply autarchy and rejection of technology imported from abroad, it rather implies the capacity for importing, absorbing and modifying foreign know-how, adapting it to local conditions, and even re- exporting it after further elaboration. Only through a process of creating its own scientific and technological capacity, the underdeveloped country will be in a position to counteract the effects of technological domination, establishing relations of interdependence with other countries which would not become asymmetrical and unbalanced.
94 The third and last factor refers to the social propagation of the effects of economic growth and technological progress to all sectors of the population. This would be equivalent to breaking down the disarticulation which characterizes underdeveloped countries, making the benefits derived from the two preceding factors of a development process available to the various regions of the country and to all segments and sectors of its society". Using a Sagasti-type analysis, the Science-Technology-Production system of Sri Lanka is shown in Figure 3.5. Here a modern science system leads into a modern technology system which feeds modern technology into the production system. Likewise the traditional science and technology system feeds local technology into the production system. Foreign technology comes
95 into the local production system via the modern sector or directly from outside, this being the well-known Transfer of Technology. The production system itself has been defined in terms of several areas such as primary goods, intermediate goods, capital goods, construction, agriculture, health and transport. In each of these areas or sectors there can be a local investment or a foreign investment. In each investment there can be a component of local technology either modern or traditional, and a component of foreign technology. The DDC programme represents local investment in the production system, organized on a co-operative basis. DDC dispersed production co-operatives have made an impact in three areas in which apex organizations or Unions have been established. Firstly, village blacksmiths were organized into Light Engineering Industrial Co-operatives, followed by the organization of Mediumscale Industrial Co-operatives of small workshops in provincial towns. Together they have an apex organization, the Light Engineering Industrial Co-operatives Union. Secondly, village potters were organized into dispersed production co-operatives which today have their apex organization, the Sri Lanka Geological Resources Industrial Cooperatives Union. Finally, the Ayurvedic physicians organized into dispersed production co-operatives for the systematic manufacture of their drugs, now have an Union of Medical and Chemical Industries Manufacturing Co-operatives. DDC projects using local technology have also been organized in other sectors, including Agriculture and Construction. However imperfect, the DDC programme remains the only effort to resurrect and restructure traditional technology. This development of an indigenous technology is often impeded by uncontrolled influx of foreign technology. It is therefore stressed that foreign technology should be effectively screened to prevent it from suppressing indigenous technology. In 1971 a proposal for the establishment of a National Engineering Research and Development Centre had been made and one of the proposed functions of NERDC was the screening of
96 foreign technology. The long-drawn out preliminary work in setting up NERDC which took 3 years, was also typical of the underdeveloped attitude to technology in this country. Highlights of this history were, the application made by the Secretary to the Ministry of Industries for UNIDO assistance in setting up this project while local engineers were stressing at every available forum that we had the resources to set up the NERD Centre without such external assistance; and the setting up of a "Steering Committee" by the Minister of Industries with a member of the once hallowed Civil Service as its Chairman! Ultimately, the NERD Centre was set up with an engineer as Chairman although the present acting incumbent is also a non-technical man, an ex-civil servant.
Transfer of Technology Today the topic of the hour in development planning is the Transfer of Technology. This is the subject named as the Topic of the Year for 1976 at the Colombo Plan Conference held very recently in Colombo. It has been discussed at a special ESCAP meeting in Malaysia a few months ago. It is also one of the front line subjects for discussion at the 4th UNCTAD at Nairobi next year. This association also lent its patronage to a joint Seminar in Colombo last month financed by UNCTAD as a preparatory discussion for UNCTAD 4, and a preliminary meeting at Singapore will follow, later this month. It is well known that the very expression "Transfer of Technology" was coined at the Centre, although it is now part of the vocabulary of international jargon. It is therefore well to remember that" "developed world countries have been continually shifting their modes of domination over underdeveloped ones in response to changing conditions and to pressures from them. From the control of raw materials extracted from, and manufactured goods supplied to the UDCs through export-import trading measures, they moved to the control of industrial production facilities through direct investment, and are now shifting to the control of technological know-how required in manufacturing industries. This last form is often exercised through direct investment and also
97 through licensing agreements, sales of patents etc. The primary vehicle through which these various forms of domination have been and are exerted has been and is the international or multinational corporation". The multinational corporations have not come into our country on the same scale as they have invaded India, for example, for obvious reasons such as the size of the market. Nevertheless, there are signs today that some decision makers believe that we should open our doors still wider to the multinationals because this is the road to development. We should therefore remind ourselves that many multinationals today have larger budgets than many developing countries. The activities of some of these monster organizations in Latin American countries have been proved to be subversive. Yet they appear to be beyond the reach of International Law even when they participate in political activity aimed at overthrowing lawfully elected governments. It is therefore not difficult to imagine that concepts such as the transfer of technology that are now part and parcel of UN jargon have in fact been introduced by vested interests into the International organizations. Sri Lanka is well represented in almost every UN organization. In fact it is fast becoming the done thing for the privileged elite to aspire to UN employment in the later years of their working lives. But are all these representatives really serving the interests of Sri Lanka? Are not some of them actually doing the home country a dis-service? Some clues may be found by a scrutiny of their activities here, prior to acceptance of employment in the international circuit. Similar remarks would apply to our representation at international Conferences, Seminars, and so on. Independent scientific and technical organizations like the SLAAS should take steps to examine these issues, and advice the government. One is reminded of the first UNCTAD conference held in Geneva in 1964, when as a result of pressures from the 3rd world led by the Latin Americans, Raul Prebisch was elected first Secretary-General. At this conference, the representatives of the
98 Centre successfully withstood effective unification of the various portions of the Periphery; whereupon, a significant warning was given by the representative from Cuba, the Minister for Planning, Major Ernesto (Che) Guevara, who said[34]: "If the groups of underdeveloped countries, lured by the siren-song of the vested interests of the developed powers which exploit their backwardness, contend futilely among themselves for the crumbs from the table of the world's mighty and break the ranks of numerically superior forces the world will remain as it is". Recently, the UN Environmental Programme has selected Sri Lanka as the location for a Regional Solar, Wind and Bio-gas (SWB) project for Asia. We can expect a massive transfer of technology on account of this project in the future. It is therefore of interest to note that all three energy sources had been developed at the Centre, but the technology had not been transferred to the Periphery, in colonial times. In Paris, a solar-powered printing press had operated daily (on sunny days of course) as far back as 1882, but this technology had not been transferred to French colonies in the sunny equatorial belt in Africa, for example[35]. In the Netherlands, windmill technology was highly developed but only for local consumption. In their colonies, the Royal Dutch Shell Company expropriated the black gold of the poor countries and promoted more and more consumption of oil-based technology. (Similarly, bicycles were used extensively at home but were not manufactured in Dutch colonial territories). Finally, in Britain during world war II, bio-gas generation was very common in urban sewerage plants with a useful by-product of fertilizer[36], but this technology too was not transferred to British colonies.
Appropriate Technology The British however demonstrated appropriate technology for power in the form of small hydro-plants in the plantation sector in our country. However, once the planning process got started, a development project was financed by a loan from the Asian Development Bank, for the electrification of the plantation sector.
99 This resulted in the scrapping of many small-scale hydro-power plants that were working very well up to that time. Now a SLAAS special project has taken this up. A similar project is the rural electrification project financed by the Electricity Board out of its own revenue. This is a concept that originated in USA after the depression as part of Roosevelt's New Deal. That is how it has been adopted here, while other proposals such as the electrification of railways and the establishment of a fertilizer plant at one of the hydro-power projects, have not been accepted, because these latter projects not only originated in this country, but were not in the interests of the Centre to finance[37]. Many more such examples of our disadvantaged bargaining position may be given. But it would be better to conclude this discussion with a glance at the other side, namely, the overdeveloped world of the Centre, which has been and continues to be such a source of inspiration to our modern development planners. The Club of Rome had highlighted the rapid exhaustion of nature's non-renewable resources. The Limits to Growth study[38] has shown that in the developed world the environment is being polluted, and the ecological balance with nature is being disturbed, perhaps to an extent that can never be repaired. Many mineral resources are being consumed so fast that there does not appear to be any prospect of finding suitable substitutes in time. This situation in the overdeveloped world at the Centre is due to waste-making economic systems. This is shown in Figure 3.6, called the Vicious Spirals of Over-development[39]. "This model shows that the situation prevailing in many areas of the so-called developed world is far more urgent and dangerous than that in many areas of the developing world. This could be described as the problem of unbalanced developed or euphemistically, over-development. The overdeveloped system can be represented by twin spirals representing broadly production and consumption, respectively. The common front is High Productivity closely linked with High Pressure Salesmanship. In the production spiral, High Pressure
100 Salesmanship produces High Profits, and High Profits means High Capital Accumulation. With plenty of capital, the tendency is to use High Cost Technology which gives High Productivity, and so the cycle is complete. On the consumption side, High Pressure Salesmanship results in High Consumption which gives rise to a high degree of Waste, which in turn means High Exploitation of Natural Resources. Unfortunately most of these resources are nonrenewable, the outstanding example being oil. Each of these cycles is in effect a spiral because inevitably there is an accompanying inflation.
Every single feature of the twin spirals of the overdeveloped economy gives rise to one of more specific problems. High capital formation is at the root of problems of Monopoly and Oligopoly Multinationals and Cartels. High Cost Technology gives rise to
101 various problems of employment and leisure. High Exploitation of Nature's precious resources by the use of High Technology results in ecological problems. High Pressure Salesmanship and High Consumption are responsible for many of the psychiatric and psychological problems, and all the social problems of the rat-race. All these are materialistic, non-ideological problems, although their ultimate solution may require ideological as well as materialistic treatment. However, by the mere fact of their colossal scale their impact is global, and the need for solutions is therefore of the utmost urgency. If a fraction of the time, energy and other resources now spent on studying the nature of appropriate technology for the developing countries, is transferred in good faith to a study of the requisite appropriate technologies to reverse the vicious spirals of over-development in the developed countries, such solutions will surely be found very early - and the world will be a safer and healthier place for developing and developed countries alike. What would be the characteristics of such appropriate technologies for the developed world? Firstly there must be an immediate substantial and dramatic increase in the prices paid for primary products of developing countries. This will be to restrain the high exploitation of scarce natural resources. To reduce high consumption and waste there must be an easing off of high pressure salesmanship. To achieve this objective in practice there must be a deliberate effort to reduce the quantum of overheads and establish shorter links between producers and consumers. Whether this can be achieved without centralized planning, at least in different sectors of the economy, is questionable. Centralized planning of the indicative type practiced in France where the major producers are called in as Advisers to the central planning authority may be possible. In the United States the Constitution permits business interests to lobby their points of view on political issues. A similar lobby system may be institutionalized to assist a central planning authority. However, all these are mere speculations far removed from the monstrous reality which is the gross distortion of the production
102 process that we have labeled over-development. The immediate good that come from a discussion of the need for appropriate technology in the developed world, will be to restrain the overenthusiastic efforts to "transfer technology" to the developing countries, on account of the realization that such a cure can be patently worse than any disease of under-development. Furthermore, the aggravation of underdevelopment by continued extraction of resources from the poor countries in the form of primary production will be checked, if the insatiable hunger of the high-technology production machine of the overdeveloped world can be curbed".
103 Conclusion It would appear that the over-developed economies must be curbed. This means that a point on the Rostowian growth curve similar to the famous point of "take-off' has to be identified, at which point growth must be planned to ease-off. The point of easeoff has already been passed in the case of many western economies (Figure 3.7). Sriananda[38] has demonstrated this by an analytical method. How the miracle of ease-off can be achieved is another question. Certainly many societal changes such as bringing the means of production closer to the point of consumption are implied. A number of different mechanisms of social organization are possible to achieve this. For example we may talk of the Chinese Commune or the Israeli Kibbutz; but whether the overdeveloping world is going to willingly change its institutional structures is rather hard to imagine. Nevertheless, the very future of humankind may depend on just such an unthinkable situation.
References 1 Bear W "The Economics of Prebisch and the ECLAT" in Economic Development and Cultural Change. Vol. 10, No 2, 1961/62 2 Ibid 3 Gunder-Frank, Andre. The Development of Underdevelopment. Monthly Review 1969 4 Livingstone 1. Ed.Economic Policy for Development. Penguin books, 1971 5 Nurkse, R. Problems of Capital Formation in Underdeveloped Countries. Blackwell, 1953 6 Sagasti, Francisco, Towards a Methodology for the Application of Science and technology for Development. PhD Thesis (unpublished). Wharton School of Development, University of Pennsylvania, 1971 7 Snow, C.P. The Two Cultures and a Second Look. 1964 8 Coomaraswamy, Ananda. Medieval Sinhalese Art. Pantheon books, London, 1909 9 De Silva, G.V.S. A Heretical View of Economic Development. 1973 10 Bennet, J.W. Ceylon and its Capabilities. London, 1839 11 Sessional paper No.l, 1970, Report of the Gal oya Project Evaluation Committee. Government press, 1970 12 Parker, H.W. Ancient Ceylon. Lusacs, London. 1909 13 Brohier, R.L. The Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon. (3 vols.) Government press. Colombo, 1933/34 14 Needham, Joseph, Wang Ling, and Lu Gwei Djin. Science and Civilization in Ancient China. Vol 3, part 4. Cambridge, 1971 15 Kennedy, J.S. "The Evolution of Scientific Development of Village Irrigation Works". Proceedings of the Engineering Association of Ceylon, 1934. 16 Arumugam, S. "Minor Irrigation Works. Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Ceylon, 1956
104 17 Nicholas, C.W. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch. New Series, Vol. VI, Special number 18 Nicholas, C.W. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch. New Series, Vol. 7, Part 1, pp 43-64. and 19 Water Resources Development Plan, 1959. A Map prepared by the Hydrology Division of the Irrigation department and printed by the Survey department. 20 Mendis, D.L.O. "Some Observations on the Designs for Uda Walawe Headworks. Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Ceylon, 1968 21 Farmer, B.H. Pioneer Peasant Colonization in Ceylon. Cambridge, 1957 22 Reference 11, p. 9 23 Dias Karunaratne, Neil. Techno-economic Survey of Industrial Potential in Sri Lanka. IDB, Colombo, 1973 24 The Ten Year Plan. The Planning Secretariat, Colombo, 1959 25 Papers by Visiting Economists. Planning Secretariat, Colombo, 1959. P 41 26 Herrera, Amilcar O. A Contribution to a New Approach to Development. Institute of Development studies, Sussex, 1974 27 Hewavitharana, 1974 28 Payer, Cheryl The Debt Trap. Penguin. 1974 29 Balasuriya, Tissa 1975 30 Vimalananda, Tennekoon. 1965 31 De Silva, P.H.D.H. 1975 32 Sagasti, Francisco, 1971, see reference 7. 33 Ibid. 34. From a Speech delivered on March 25th 1964, at the Plenary Session of the first UNCTAD, Geneva, Switzerland. Official Cuban translation quoted in: Venceremos - The Speeches and Writings of Che Guevera. (Ed. John Gerassi). Panther, 1969. P. 446 35. Yellot, John 1. "Solar Energy in Arizona - some Historical Notes", in Arizona Highways. 1975, p. 8 36. Reported in Penguin Science News 11. 1949. "For example in Mogden, Middlesex, a sewage treatment plant serving a population of 1.25 million persons, was reported to have saved 13 million gallons of fuel over a I 1 year period by the use of bio-gas. 37. For example, the IBRD Mission in 1952 did not favour the setting up of a Fertilizer Plant at that time. The 10 Year Plan in 1959 proposed to "modernize" the railways by "replacement of steam traction by more modem means of motive power". But electrification was ruled out. Instead the "development of the Colombo and suburban areas by the introduction of diesel trains and colour light signaling" was proposed. These proposals were subsequently implemented, and in the name of "modernization" the existing steam locomotives were scrapped and replaced with diesel-hydraulic traction. Today when desperate efforts are being made to achieve the long-awaited electrification of the Government Railways, first proposed by Wimalasurendra as far back as 1917, these diesel-hydraulic locomotives and power-coaches are assuming the proportions of a massive liability. 38. Meadows D.H. et al. The Limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind, Washington D.C., Potomac Association, 1972 39. Mendis, D.L.O. "Technology, Under-development and Over-development". Economic Review. May 1974.
105
CHAPTER 4
The Conventional Wisdom and the Counter Culture of Alternative Development
The poverty in the world today is a man-made phenomenon. Its "relief" can therefore only be effectuated by radically reforming the institutional structures that are causing it ... We will therefore devote most of our attention to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, since the aid crisis is largely due to the policy they have followed during the last twenty-five years, that of debt generation in the name of development, superbly practised by McNamara[1], and logically followed by the policy of Structural Adjustment (SA), so much in vogue during the last ten to fifteen years[2].
In 1960, the World Bank's President Eugene Black "christened the post-war era the age of economic development"[3]. The economist John Kenneth Galbraith who once served as US Ambassador in India, has described the World Bank's policies as the "conventional wisdom", which takes economic growth, as an indicator of `development'. Another economist ET Mishan, known as "the father of modern antigrowth-men", as early as 1960, questioned "the basic unwritten premise of economic science... that economic development is a good thing". In his book The Costs of Economic Growth, Mishan[4] had said among other things that "the precondition of sustained growth is sustained discontent". Andre Gunder-Frank[5] has described growth and development as the "process of accumulation" and related it to the growth of capitalism and the development of imperialism. Nevertheless, foreign investment in developing countries, usually called aid or Aid (or Aids), continues to follow World Bank and IMF policy directions today, including Structural Adjustment programmes referred to above.
106 The recent award of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics to Amartya Sen has been hailed in some quarters as recognition of a counter culture in the form of an alternative development economics, opposed to the conventional wisdom of the IMF/World bank, although dissenting voices have also been heard[6]. In this chapter, a brief historical review of aspects of the so-called conventional wisdom of development, and of the counter culture of alternative development, as seen from a Sri Lanka perspective, are presented, in order that the proposed sell out of the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit may be better understood. The previous chapter presented development thinking that had a short period of acceptance in Sri Lanka in the 1970's, perhaps out of necessity, during the time of the closed economy. The District Development Councils (DDC) program in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs could be described as a non-conventional approach to development which falls into the category of Alternative Development models. The program was subjected to a great deal of criticism, some of it justified, some of it not, that began before the 1977 general elections, and gathered much momentum after the change of government following the elections.[7] The DDC program was abandoned with the abolition of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs at the end of 1978. The counter culture in the approach to development which the DDC program represented was shown in graphical models, given in Chapter 3. They were conceived in the early 1970's to analytically underpin the self-reliance on which the DDC program was based, in the 1970-77 period. However, the actual achievements of the DDC program were perhaps more symbolic than significant. Nevertheless, the DDC Eppawala phosphate rock project[8], together with the DDC Light Engineering Industrial Co-operatives based on the Kotmale model[9], stand out in the DDC program. Although we did not know it at the time, the philosophy of non-dependence of the DDC program was in consonance with another important critique of the conventional wisdom, the LatinAmerican structuralist school. Radnor Nurkse's well known
107 Vicious Circle of Poverty (Figure 3.2) is typical of the conventional wisdom, that is used to explain the situation of poor developing countries, as seen from the developed world, and summarized in the uncharitable statement "You're poor because you're poor". The other five models in Chapter 3, (Figures 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and 3.6) in general terms represent a counter culture of alternative development philosophy opposed to the conventional wisdom of World Bank/IMF inspired development models. The Development of Under-development (Figure 3.1) shows the Centre-Periphery theory of the Latin American dependency theory economics; the general situation of Sri Lanka and other developing countries in a world dominated by the so-called developed countries is given in A New Map of the World (Figure 3.3); a LatinAmerican social scientist's concept called the Social Basis of Science and Technology Policy (Figure 3.4) explains how decision-makers may lose their roots (if not their heads); the ScienceTechnology-Production system in Sri Lanka (Figure 3.5) had been adapted from a model developed at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex. Finally, the Vicious Spirals of Over-development (Figure 3.6) was devised to show the other side of the coin, the situation in the so-called developed countries as seen from the developing countries, without blinkers or brainwashing. Interestingly, a western economist discussed an alternative development philosophy in a book titled The Overdeveloped Nations: The Diseconomies of Scale, three years later[10]. Although not too well known in this country, Gunder-Frank has traced the roots of successive global economic crises to "the 1873-1895 crisis, which witnessed the birth of imperialism"[11]. Not surprisingly, the philosophical roots of the counter culture in development go back to the 19th century, both in the west and in Sri Lanka itself. The Gandhian ideal of self-reliance springs from these roots. Gandhi is known to have been inspired by the writings of 1911 century western philosophers John Ruskin[12] and William Morris[13]. Our own Ananda Coomaraswamy was similarly inspired, for example when he wrote about:
108 "the conviction of the absolute superiority of our Kultur, and consequent contempt and hatred for whatever else we have not understood (all those for whom the economic motive is not desirable), but grounded in an unconscious and deep-rooted envy of the serenity and leisure that we cannot help but recognize in people whom we call `unspoilt'. It irks us that these others, who are neither, as we are, industrialized nor, as we are, `democratic, 'should nevertheless be contented; we feel bound to discontent them, and especially to discontent their women, who might learn from us to work in factories or find careers"[14]. There was much in common between Coomaraswamy and Morris, especially in their attitude to mercantilism and industrial capitalism, which they both saw as causing a soul-destroying mechanization of the traditional craftsman's means of livelihood. But, whereas Morris inspired later activists in Britain and elsewhere in the west, Coomaraswamy's prescience was lost on his fellow Sri Lankans of a later generation, his warnings being largely unheeded. The Sarvodaya movement, based on the Gandhian ideals applied to the Khaddar movement and village revival in India, which has grown into a very big organization in Sri Lanka, is perhaps the notable exception. Sarvodaya's founder, A.T. Ariyaratne, has said that foreign `aid' (which he once called `Aids') has tended to weaken rather than strengthen his movement in certain aspects, like self-reliance, which is an essential feature of the counter culture. More recent roots of counter culture can be traced to the 1960's and even earlier, in the developed world. However, such views remained largely the province of the unconventional, sometimes even eccentric, minority, mainly in the private sector in those countries, without making significant impact on public policy. One reason for this was the arms race, which had led to the militarized society[15], but Michael Caldwell, even though he was at onetime Chairman of the "Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament" in Britain, identified food and over population as the biggest problems facing humanity in the 1960's[16]. The two issues are inter-related in subtle
109 and complex ways. So-called aid programs following the conventional wisdom, ostensibly seek to increase food supply in poor countries through new agricultural projects, and to check and reduce the rate of increase of population. But, World Bank projects have in many instances succeeded in achieving the exact opposite, for example in sub-Saharan Africa. There, village communities that were once self-sufficient in food are now producing fresh vegetables for European markets, while their own nutrition levels have fallen well below minimum levels. Even famines are not unknown. Economically, the majority of people now exist below the poverty line, which was not the case earlier. Economic growth on the World bank model also created the prospect of rapidly dwindling non-renewable raw material resources, of which the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is a textbook example. This is illustrated, with another such example from the Netherlands, in the Foreword to this book, while the Preface describes the destruction of the Nauru phosphate deposits. The critique of the conventional wisdom of development also includes concern for the environment. The conservation movement that came into existence in the west, alerted the world to the inevitable disasters that would follow so-called development based on World Bank/IMF type economic growth models. The chairman of the former Conservation Society in Britain, John Davoll, also warned against[17] "continuous growth in either field [demographic or economic]" and came out squarely against the conventional wisdom. The publication in 1962 of Rachel Carson's popular classic Silent Spring[18] brought to the attention of a wider audience in USA and the west, the dangers to the natural environment inherent in chemical agriculture. In 1966, Barbara Ward, an economist, made a similar impact with her book Spaceship Earth[19] which signalled the arrival of the "green movement" in Britain. Thereafter a number of studies and publications set the stage for the landmark United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972.
110 Examples include the well known Club of Rome study Limits to Growth[20] published in 1971; the not quite so well known Blueprint for Survival[21] originally published as a special issue of the Ecologist in January 1972, by Edward Goldsmith and others; Only One Earth[22] by Barbara Ward and Rene DuBois, also published in 1972, which introduced the term "ecologically sustainable development". E.F. Schumacher's best-seller, Small is Beautiful[23] was first published in 1973. This then, in the early 1970's, was the beginning of "eco-activism", which as its name suggests, succeeded the more passive "conservation movement" in Britain. Movements for conservation and eco-activism are now broadly described internationally as the "Green movement", of which "Greenpeace" is well known today. Greenpeace members are known to intervene directly in whatever they see as environmentally destructive activities, like whaling, and testing of nuclear weapons. In Sri Lanka, Ruk Rekaganno[24] and the Environmental Foundation are conservation organizations which also take steps to intervene in environmentally dangerous projects. The latter particularly has been involved in creating public opinion against the Eppawala project. After the Stockholm conference, the leading eco-activist organization in Britain in the 1970's and the 1980's was Friends of the Earth, or FoE. One of FoE's successful endeavours was to stop a proposed copper mining project in the mid 1970's in Snowdonia National Park, by the multinational corporation Rio Tinto Zinc. We in Sri Lanka should take heart from FoE's success, and also seek their support to stop the proposed Eppawala project. Of many books published in the 1970's Schumacher's Small is Beautiful proved to be the most influential. E.F. Schumacher was an economist in the National Coal Board, for a long time, during which he had been seconded for a while to the Burma government in 1955, as Economic adviser. He returned from Burma declaring that he was a Buddhist, but later converted to Roman Catholicism. Small is Beautiful has a chapter on Buddhist economics. His interest in counter culture development had also found expression in
111 activities of the Soil Association in Britain, of which he became President in 1970. I had met Schumacher at the Intermediate Technology Development Group in London, in 1971, and he visited Sri Lanka in 1973, at my personal invitation. The Appropriate Technology Group was set up in Sri Lanka after his visit, and a number of fellow travellers joined in at the time, who were really believers in the conventional wisdom. Subsequently, when foreign trips dried up, their interest in the Group also waned. It may still be in existence, but its activities are not widely publicized. Another personality with close connections with Sri Lanka at one time is Edward Goldsmith, Editor of the Ecologist, founded in 1970. As mentioned, he produced A Blueprint for Survival in 1972, described as "a manifesto that in its demands for social, political, and economic change articulated the ideals of eco-activism". The Blueprint was given advance publicity in Britain and had an immediate impact, leading to the growth of eco-activism, rather than the more passive previous activity of the Conservation Society. Goldsmith has visited Sri Lanka and written about the ancient irrigation works. Unfortunately, he has chosen to repeat statements made without foundation previously, when all he had to do was to verify the veracity of such statements before committing himself in print. For example, he has said that all the large ancient reservoirs have "silted up"![25] [26] It has been shown that he is repeating what E.R. Leach had said in his oft cited essay "Hydraulic Society in Ceylon" that had long gone unchallenged[27]. These statements are reproduced and discussed in Chapter 9 in this book. A rare development effort of a distinctly counter culture type, once existed in the field of R&D based engineering in Sri Lanka. This was in the State Engineering Corporation (SEC), which was set up in 1960 and had a tremendous decade of achievement until 1970. Thereafter the change of government in 1970 saw a politically motivated attempt to destroy this development effort[28]. It is my personal conviction that the achievements of the SEC had sounded
112 alarm bells in Washington and Manila, which could not, or would not, tolerate independent local engineering R&D based development on the scale that had been seen in the SEC throughout the decade of the 1960's. In fact, this had actually started in the Port Commission in the 1940's and had reached a stupendous plateau of activity in the 1950's, after which the SEC had been set up by an appreciative and far-seeing Cabinet Minister[29]. Discrediting the achievements of the SEC was a sleight of hand job, managed by some willing sychophants who no doubt were suitably rewarded for their services, assisted by others who perhaps believed in what they were doing, and by yet others who joined the bandwagon merely to pursue their own personal ambitions. The DDC program was very small beer compared to the champagne of the SEC's engineering counter culture in the development effort, while it lasted. Monday 26th April, 1999 THE ISLAND
113 It should also be stated here that, the remarkable achievements of the SEC in the decade of the 1960s, were matched in the private sector by the hundred percent local company, Ceylon Development Engineering Company (CDE), in the field of water resources development. This company declined after 1977, with the arrival of the robber barons and the new emphasis on foreign aid projects. There are not many real examples of the counter culture in the production sector, after the SEC was emasculated, and the DDC program was thrown out lock, stock and barrel, with the changes of government in 1970 and 1977, respectively. The conventional wisdom has reigned virtually unchallenged, while politically motivated welfare programs like the Gam Udhawa program of yester-year, and the current Samurdhi program, steal the limelight. Every new stage in the IMF/World bank managed program for control of the global economy is accepted in this country, if not with feined or real enthusiasm, at least with every sign of dutiful, even humble acquiescence. The Structural Adjustment programs are a good example, and so too are projects like the proposed Eppawala project. Terms like "donor countries" and "donor agencies" used by bureaucrats and technocrats strengthen the sense of dependency, in these projects. Not much effective critical discussion of these vitally important issues takes place on popular platforms in Sri Lanka, (outside strictly academic study circles), although such discussions are common in foreign forums. A recent example of such discussion followed a judgement given by the Supreme Court in India on a major construction contract, which affects the rights of poor people whose voice is not usually heard. However, there are a few recent examples of an incipient counter culture in development from both the private sector and the pub sector in Sri Lanka, that merit mention here. The first such example is a study project by the Sri Lanka Institute of Architects (SLIA) titled "A Vision for an Integrated Development of the Built Environment for the 21st Century Sri Lanka". The other examples are some practical applications of self-reliance in development from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Railway, and a
114 new technology in domestic water supply. The SLIA project was launched two years ago, on 6 February 1997. During the past two years a series of meetings and provincial seminars have been held, including a 4 day Forum held at the BMICH in Colombo in March 1998. An Interim Report was prepared and discussed during the Annual Sessions of the SLIA, February 25-28, 1999, at the BMICH, followed by a Recommendation to government.
The Contents of the Interim Report indicate the scope of the study: 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Present conditions of Development in Sri Lanka 3.0 Need for a Planned Development in Sri Lanka 4.0 The Goal for the Vision 5.0 Development Strategy 6.0 Approaches to Integrated Physical Development Planning 6.1 Physical Planning and Economic Planning 6.2 Systems Approach to Integrated Development Planning 7.0 SLIA Action Programme for a Vision for an Integrated Development Programme for the 21st Century 8.0 Integrated Development Proposals 8.1 National Transportation Network 8.1.1 National Network of Rapid-Transit Vehicular ways 8.1.2 .National Network of Railways 8.1.3 National Marine Transportation System 8.1.4 National Air transportation System 8.7 Need for Industries for an Integrated Development 8.8 Need for Integrated Development of Local and Foreign Tourism 8.8.1 Problems related to Foreign Tourism 8.8.2 Areas to be developed for Foreign Tourism 8.8.3 Importance of Local Tourism 8.8.4 Problems faced by Local Tourists 8.8.5 Proposals for Integrated Tourism Development 8.9 Need for Integrated Development of Sports and Recreational Facilities
115 8.10 Need for Integrated Development of National Security System 8.10.1 Recent Conditions of Security in the Country 8.11 Need for Integrated Development of the Energy Needs of the Country 8.11.1 Wind as a source of Energy 8.11.2 Solar as a source of Energy 8.11.1 Bio-gas as a source of Energy 8.11.2 Flowing water as a source of Energy 8.12 Need for an Integrated Development of every District and Province 8.13 Need for an Integrated Physical Development Master Plan and policy for Sri Lanka 9.0 Course of Action to be taken 10.0 Conclusion
Under 4.0, The Goal for the Vision, the Interim Report says: "The following infrastructure facilities should be developed on the basis of a nationally acceptable Master Plan for physical development of the entire country: (a) Rapid transportation systems between identified cities (b) Properly planned National network of cities, towns (major and minor), service centres, village centres, etc. (c) Other infrastructure facilities such as electricity, telecommunications, and water supply, health and education facilities". The glaring omission in this list of infrastructure facilities that should be added is: (d) Water and soil conservation ecosystems, especially in the dry zone of the ancient Rajarata and Ruhunurata.
116 Again, under 7.0, SLIA Action Programme for a Vision for an Integrated Development Programme for the 21st Century, the Interim report says that under this theme the following Working Committees were appointed in March 1997: "(a) Nine Provincial Working Committees to study the provincial development proposals (b) Working Committee on National Level Townships and Transportation proposals (c) Working Committee on National Level Industrial Cities and Economic development areas (d) Working Committee on National Level environmental protection and Bio Diversity proposals (e) Working Committee on Urban Design and Townscape proposals (f) Working Committee on development of Architectural Heritage and Monuments (g) Working Committee to develop proposals on maintenance of buildings and Built Environment".
This list should have included: (h) Working Committee to study Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems The reason for this is that these ancient systems that had organized land, water and people for production, represent a vast imperfectly tapped resource for development. The function of this Working Committee should have been to study three aspects of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, namely: - their evolution and development over a period of about 15 centuries beginning in the mid first millenium B.C. - their stability and sustainability over an even longer period of time, and - their final apparently irreversible decline after the Parakkama Bahu era (1153-86) The commendable initiative of the SLIA, urgently needs this additional input. The ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems
117 have to be recognized as a substantial asset for development. The Separate Opinion of Vice President Christopher Weeramantry in the World Court Case of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam, quoted previously in this book, establishes this. Morover, as Kossambi has said[30]: "To learn about the past in the light of the present is to learn about the present in the light of the past". If this is not done, the SLIA endeavour which has been given attention by government, instead of being an example of the counter culture of alternative development, could easily end up as just another half-baked product of the conventional wisdom. The next examples are initiatives of the Minister of Science and Technology which he informed an audience of invited scientists about, at a recent 4 day Symposium organized by the Marga Institute, to give publicity to the award of the 1998 Nobel prize in Economics to Amartya San'[31]. The Minister in his keynote speech said that his Ministry had taken steps to harness the productive potential of the rural masses in different ways. One project involved the use of locally assembled computers. The Institute for Computer Technology (ICT) had assembled a computer at a cost estimated at Rs. 39,000. The Minister had invited the private sector to mass produce computers for sale at this price so that they could be used in rural schools, the funds to come from the decentralized budget allocations for individual Members of Parliament. The project has been launched, and is expected to give a fillip to science education in rural schools. Another project that was mentioned by the Minister was the local manufacture of a two wheeled tractor, with a gear box. The Minister did not seem to know that an identical project launched under the DDC program had once existed. His advisers had not told him that a DDC Light Engineering Industrial Co-operatives project for manufacture of the two wheeled tractor had reached quite an advanced stage by 1977. After the change of government in 1977 this project was summarily abandoned on the instructions of the new Head of State who had made the memorable remark: "Let the Robber Barons come". He decreed that there was no need
118 to manufacture tractor-tillers in the public sector because the private sector would undertake this. Nevertheless, an eminent engineer who had access to the Head of State at the time, A.R.P. Wijesekera, personally pleaded the cause of the DDC tractor manufacturing project, but to no avail. Thereafter tractors were imported under the liberalized trade arrangements and there was no interest in continuing the project to manufacture them locally. Equipment imported for the CEATO factory at Piliyandala remained in their crates for many years, and I do not know what happened to them in the end. The Minister of Science and Technology also mentioned some ongoing work at the National Engineering Research and Development Centre, at Jaela. It was obvious that he was quite unaware that the NERD Centre had been set up to institutionalize the adhoc engineering R&D done in the SEC in various fields[32], of which there are many projects that fulfil the criteria of alternative development models. A few NERD Centre projects may be mentioned here[33], the Prasakthi lighting project, the Bio-gas project, and the Low-cost Housing project. Suffice it to record the fact that several hundred thousand homes have electric power under the Prasakthi program; the Biogas technology is an unique technology developed locally, quite distinct from the Chinese and Indian technologies; the Colombo Municipal Council waste disposal project at Kirillapone was designed at the NERD Centre based on this technology; and the Low-cost Housing technology which includes a house built without any timber, equipped with water supply, biogas for cooking and lighting, and (Prasakthi) electricity, has been used in Sri Lanka, and taken abroad by enterprising property developers. Among a few other technologies which demonstrate the best features of the counter culture of alternative development in Sri Lanka today, an outstanding example is the development of a Railbus in the Ratmalana Railway workshops. This project has been carefully thought out, and discussed among professional engineers at several meetings as the project progressed[34] [35]. It represents in all
119 its multifarious aspects, the counter culture of an alternative development model opposed to the conventional wisdom. The diagrammatic representation of this alternative development model (Figure 4.1) shows the underlying philosophy of the counter culture which is another telling response to Nurkse' Vicious Circle of Poverty (Figure 3.2). Its author PP Wijesekara correctly says that the model can be generalized to apply beyond the bus-train example for which it was developed[36].
However, an accountant who advisers Ministers on transport policy, told me "They have invented the rail-bus which was invented a hundred years ago". This is a copy-book example of how apologists for the conventional wisdom try to undermine selfreliance. Such persons often make their way into positions where they can advise Ministers, and even survive changes of government, to continue their anti-national activity. It is when such ill
120 informed views of ignorant or malicious advisers are heeded by policy makers that self-reliant projects are jeopardized, and alternative development models remain unrecognized. Perhaps also in the course of time such advisers get their due reward, in the form of lucrative World Bank consultancies, with attendant perks like foreign travel.
Fortunately this has not happened in the case of the Rail-bus project. But this type of "advice" may be why government continues to make it easier and more profitable to import and sell, than to manufacture and sell. It is in this context that the policy initiative of the Minister of Science and Technology, mentioned above, should be commended. It is no coincidence that he remains the only Cabinet Minister who has spoken out against the stupendous folly of the proposed Eppawala sell-out to a multinational corporation. There has also been a suggestion that this sell-out is a kind of industrialization. It has been observed, for example, that[37]: "Export promotion is justified by the claim that there is a balance of payments crisis which must be dealt with by increasing exports. But it is also justified by the argument that such production leads
121 to industrialization and an increase in technical capacity". Let Dr Gamani Corea have the last word on this aspect of the matter. He has said: "Exporting raw materials in raw form is commodity exporting, not industrialization"[38]. To conclude this chapter, alternative development models relating to the all important issue of domestic water supply are discussed, to illustrate the methods of neo-colonialist exploitation using the conventional wisdom. The extraction of shallow ground water using collector wells in rechargeable aquifers has been introduced to Sri Lanka. A local engineer had used this technology very successfully in several projects in the private sector, including a beer factory, and it was felt that the time was now ripe to introduce the technology in the public sector. However, the local engineer has come up against the roadblock of conventional wisdom in the public sector, of which two examples are given here. The first is a proposal for domestic and industrial water supply for the much talked of Southern Development Authority (SDP)[39], and the second is a proposal for supplementary water supply in the city of Colombo[40]. The proposal for an assured water supply to Hambantota from an extensive rechargeable shallow groundwater aquifer in the left bank of the Walawe ganga, has been ignored by the SDA. Instead grandiose and potentially destructive proposals to divert rivers have been proposed by laymen in positions of high authority, while technical persons remain silent. This happened for example at a meeting called by the President in her office at Temple Trees on March 17, 1997 when the proposal to divert Menik ganga to Lunugamvehera, in the lower Kirindi oya basin, and thence to supply the proposed new southern city Ruhunupura was discussed. (This diversion of Menik ganga to Kirindi oya had in fact been studied by the previous government and rejected. It was now being resurrected by the bureaucracy). The Minister of Irrigation quite correctly reminded everybody present that when Kirindi oya is short of water, so too is the
122 adjacent Menik ganga. Having said this he added that some day in the future it would be necessary to divert Kumbukkan oya to Menik ganga. Nobody present spoke out to explain that the whole concept of diverting dry zone rivers in this adhoc manner is ridiculous, unnecessary, and very dangerous in ecological terms. The Emperor's New Clothes syndrome was again at work. I had already sent the Director of the SDA a fax message titled "Playing God" explaining this, with a copy to the President, but it was obvious that she had not seen it. I therefore tried to bring to the attention of the President what the archaeologist Martha Prickett Fernando had said in her contribution to an Environmental Impact Assessment Study[41] on another river diversion proposal that was under discussion at Temple Trees that day, the Augmentation of Malala oya Basin from Mau ara. Referring to the area earmarked by the SDA for the proposed new megalapolis, Ruhunupura, the archaeologist had said[42]: "Unless development activities in areas like this project are accompanied by proper EIA studies and [proposals for] mitigation of the [adverse impacts on] archaeological resources that will be damaged, vast numbers of sites - in fact, much of Sri Lanka's unrenewable cultural heritage and the raw data for all future studies on ancient Sri Lanka -will be destroyed without record, and an accurate understanding of life in ancient Sri Lanka will remain forever wrapped in myth and hypothesis". (Emphasis in original). This was not successful because the Director General of the SDA literally snatched the papers from my hands saying, "These details are not for the President", who smiled charmingly and did not disagree. This gave me the idea to subtitle my paper to the 47th Pugwash conference (reproduced in Chapter 10), "The Empress' New Clothes". (These remarks of course apply to the Eppawala area as well. But here, it is necessary to protect the cultural landscape of the ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem by denying access to the multinational corporation altogether).
123 The Mau ara diverson proposal as originally conceived was a reconstruction of some ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, and not just another hydraulic engineering project. The EIA study reflected this, but it was not understood by the hydraulic engineers in high authority. It was therefore not a matter for surprise that the EIA report was rejected by the Irrigation department, and another study done. Thereafter, the diversion of Mau ara to Malala oya basin has been taken up for implementation with much publicity as a hydraulic engineering project. The predictable consequence is that this project will eventually join Lunugamvehera as another monument to technocratic folly. The second example concerns water supply to the city of Colombo. The proven rechargeable collector wells technology has been proposed to provide a decentralized supplementary domestic water supply in Colombo, using shallow rechargeable groundwater aquifers[43]. Conventional wisdom in this instance takes the form of another grandiose "aid" proposal to augment the Kalatuwava and Labugama reservoirs that supply Colombo, by diverting water from the Kalu ganga. In the USA, Amory Lovins has studied and explained the vulnerability of centralized systems for urban water supply and electricity to acts of god, and acts of man including terrorist attacks[44]. Consequently, alternative development models based on decentralized systems are now being taken seriously in the USA. In Sri Lanka, similar thinking backed by practical proposals will not be accepted in the public sector until and unless they come from the World Bank/IMF or the ADB. It is hoped that these remarks will give the think tanks in Washington and Manila some food for thought that will ultimately benefit Sri Lanka. But, the very latest information we have in Sri Lanka today is not just the conventional wisdom, but the work of neocolonialism in its crudest form, exactly similar to the Eppawala proposal in its implications. A very recent report states that "the battle for water in Sri Lanka is growing and experts say the water protests are similar to water problems seen in India, where the tussle for water is between farmers, industry and domestic
124 consumers".[45] The report then goes on to say: "Nanda Abeywickrema, a Sri Lankan water specialist, told a recent discussion on integrated water resources management that the public sector may soon lose the control that it has on water resources to the private sector. `The private sector is the engine of growth in Sri Lanka and the time will come when they would have a bigger say in the use of water resources', he told the meeting organised by the South Asian Technical Advisory group of the Global Water Partnership (GWP-SASTAC). Mr. Abeywickrema, a member of GWP-SASTAC, said that the group was planning another consultation next month to discuss the formulation of a "vision" of Sri Lanka's water needs into the new millennium. There has been no national policy for the allocation of water for diverse uses so far, but a proposed National Water Resources Policy prepared by the Water Resources Secretariat - currently being studied by the government - may provide some relief to water users. The plan, presented at the GWP-SASTAC meeting, lists out water rights and allocations and says that the right to use water would be granted through a process of water entitlements. It also has provision for the voluntary transfer of water entitlements between entitlement holders; the development of river basins; a water management cost sharing basis and the development of groundwater resources. Another important segment in the proposed policy is the setting up of a water tribunal, which is an independent body to resolve disputes over the use of water. This item provoked the following comment from a scientist[46] who claims to understand the real significance of "privatization" of water: What on earth is going on in the name of water rights in Sri Lanka? This is capitalism gone barmy! Pen pushing policy makers laying down remote control legislation. What next? Air to be privatized? The goings on behind the scenes concerning Metropolitan Colombo's water supply are not a matter for levity. Information is not
125 generally available about bureaucratic moves because by definition they are confined to select groups and individuals. But the following information is available. A firm of foreign consultants has submitted a proposal titled Water Sector Reform Study[47], in which it is categorically stated that "water and sewerage assets should remain in public ownership". Having said that, the Report goes on to recommend a system described as a Concession[48], defined as follows: "A Concession gives a much wider responsibility to a contractor where he must finance investments as well as working capital. The complete operation and maintenance functions are devolved on the contractor, similar to a lease arrangement. The contractor is responsible for billings within agreed tariff levels and may pay a concession fee to Government. In addition, the contractor is responsible for capital works to maintain, improve and extend supply systems. However, assets would remain in Government ownership. The concession would be over a longer period, about 20 years or more to reflect the need to recover long term investments in the systems. There are advantages in combining responsibility for operations and investment in one entity. The operator is likely to make wise investment decisions since it is able to strike the best balance between capital and operating expenditure; it also knows that it must bear the risks of any mistakes. Technological innovation will be encouraged as this should result in improvement and efficiency. Two areas of risk would be transferred. Firstly, operational risks and responsibilities where the contractor would be given scope, similar to a lease, for securing operational efficiencies within clear performance criteria. Secondly, the contractor will take on the risk of funding capital works to maintain, improve and extend the system to new customers ". Having prepared the ground so to speak, the report goes on to make specific recommendations regarding the size of the long term consultancy contract equivalent to a lease - large rather than small,
126 to suit foreign bidders. It then states quite candidly[49]: .. "it is true that utility operators are mainly limited to French and British firms, but the market is expanding and by the time tenders are invited, there is likely to be more competition with new entrants to the market". The intention to leave out local competition could not have been more obvious. Local expertise could eventually be used on subcontracts to the main contractor, as has happened before. This is not capitalism gone barmy. It is pen pushing policy makers laying down remote control legislation to suit foreign entrepreneurs. It is also known by another name - neo-colonialist exploitation hand in glove with the local comprador class, the prevailing conventional wisdom. In conclusion, there is another project that has been blithely undertaken over the loud protests of local engineers, wet-blanketing at Samanala weva. The work involved is throwing earth into water, at a cost described at the time to be[50] "3 billion rupees or 5 billion or even more, who knows?" It is learned that the actual work is being done on subcontract by a local entrepreneur, whose other activities include supply of ordnance to the military to service the ongoing civil war.
References 1 George S. and F Sabelli. Faith and Credit, The World Bank's Secular Empire. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1994, quoted in: 2 Smith, Philip B. "National and International Policies for Poverty Relief; the International Aid Crisis". Proceedings of the 46th Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, Ed. Joseph Rotblat, p. 509. World Scientific publications, Singapore, 1996. 3 Black, Eugene. "The Age of Economic Development". Economic Journal. June 1960, quoted in Veldman, Meredith, Fantasy, the Bomb and the Greening of Britain. Cambridge. 1994, p. 218 4 Mishan, E.J. The Costs of Economic Growth. London, Staples press, 1967 5 Gunder-Frank, Andre. Reflections on the World Economic Crisis. Monthly Review Press, New York, 1981, p.25 6 See for example: Agarwal, Anil. The Poverty of Amartya Sen. Daily News, February 8, 1999, p. 8 7 See for example: Discussion on my paper, "Some Thoughts on Technology Transfer for Irrigation and Multipurpose Development Projects in Sri Lanka". Transactions, Vol. II. Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1977 8 Mendis, D.L.O. "Planning the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Project using Appropriate Technology". Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1974 9 Mendis, D.L.O. "Planning the Industrial Revolution in Sri Lanka". Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka 1977. 10 Kohr, Leopold. The Overdeveloped Nations: The Diseconomies of Scale. New York, Schocken Books, 1978.
127 11 Gunder-Frank, Andre. Op. cit. p.145 12 Ruskin, John. Unto This Last and Other Writings. Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1987 13 Morris, William. "News from Nowhere" and selected writings. Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1980 14 Coomaraswamy, Ananda. Medieval Sinhalese Art. Pantheon Books, London. 1909 15 Melman, Seymour. The Demilitarized Society. Harvest House, Montreal, 1988. Chapter 2, "An Economic Alternative to the Arms Race" pp. 7-35. 16 Caldwell, Michael. "The Desperate Race to Feed the World". Peace News. 12 April /963, quoted in Veldman, Meredith, Fantasy, the Bomb and the Greening of Britain. Cambridge. 1994, p. 204 17 Davol, John, in Conservation Society Newsletter, 3/5, (June-July 1969) p. 3, quoted in Veldman, Meredith, Fantasy, the Bomb and the Greening of Britain. Cambridge. 1994, p.221 18 Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston, Houghton-Mifflin. 1962 19 Ward, Barbara. Spaceship Earth. New York. Columbia University press, 1966 20 Meadows D.H. et al. The limits to Growth: A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind. Washington D.C., Potomac Association, 1972. 21 Goldsmith Edward, Robert Allen, Michael Allaby, John Davoll, and Sam Lawrence, A Blueprint for Survival. New York, New American Library, 1974. (First published as Ecologist, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 1972) 22 Ward, Barbara and Rene DuBois. Only One Earth. London. Andre Deutsch. 1972 23 Schumacher, E.F. Small is Beautiful: Economics As if People Mattered. New York, Harper and Row, 1973 24 Mendis, D.L.O. Hydraulic Civilizations, Irrigation Ecosystems and the Modern State. Professor E.O.E. Pereira Commemoration Lecture, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1989. p. 33 25 Goldsmith, Edward, and N.Hildyard. The Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams. Wadebridge Environmental Centre, Cornwall. 1984 26 Goldsmith, Edward. "Learning to Live with Nature: the Lessons of Tradition Irrigation". The Ecologist,SanctuaryAsia Edition. Vol. 6, No. 5, September/October 1998, p.7 27 Leach, E.R. "Hydraulic Society in Ceylon". Past and Present. April 1959. 28 This is being documented in a forthcoming volume of the History of Engineering in Sri Lanka, series, of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. 29 Kulasinghe Felicitation Volume in the Institution of Engineers, History of Engineering in Sri Lanka, series (Forthcoming) 30 Kossambi, D.D. The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical Outline. Vikas. New Delhi. 1992, p.24 31 Marga Institute/SIDA. Seminar on the Nobel Prizes. BMICH Colombo, February 1619, 1999. 32 Mendis, D.L.O. "Planning the Industrial Revolution in Sri Lanka". Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1973. 33 Mendis, D.L.O. Progressive Development of Technology under Provincial Councils. Centre for Regional Development Studies, Colombo. 1992 34 Wijesekera, P.P "Sri Lanka Railways - Re-Engineering Possibilities". Open University/Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Symposium on Mass Transport Systems for Colombo Metropolitan Region. September 6, 1996. OUR ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY Vol. 2, No. 4, Part 1. September 1996 35 Wijesekera, PP "Supplementing the Locomotive - Road-bus on rail: Immediate and Future
128 Prospects". Seminar on Improving the Transport System - Potential of Local Engineers. Institution of Engineers, (TESL) Sri Lanka, August 22, 1997. 36 Wijesekera, P.P. "The rail-bus Project: Future Prospects". Transactions of the Institution of Engineeers, Sri Lanka, 1999 (Forthcoming) 37 Gunder-Frank, Andre. Op. Cit. p. 59 38 Corea, Gamani. Taming CommodityMarkets. The Integrated Programme and The Common Fund in UNCTAD. Vistaar publications, New Delhi. 1992, quoted in Mendis, D.L.O. "Energy, Development, Security". Professor R.H. Paul Commemoration Lecture, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, February 9, 1998. 39 Tharumaratnam, V. "All the Water for Development of the Southern area". Report to Chairman, Southern Development Authority. March 1997 40 Tharumaratnam, V. "An Approach to Sustainable Water Supply for All". A Report to the Water Supply and Drainage Board. May 1998 41 Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the Augmentation of Malala oya Basin from Mau ara. (Hambantota Integrated Rural Development Project, and Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy). Wikramanayake, Teddy. "An EIA Study with a Difference". A Review of above Daily News, November 7, 1993 42 Ibid. p. 9 43 Tharumaratnam, V. op. cit, 1998 44 Lovins, Amory. Brittle Power. Brick House publishing co. Massachussetts. 1982 45 Samath, Feizal, "Water Protests seen Growing in Sri Lanka". Sunday Times.Colombo. April 18, 1999: "The situation of water protests in India is slowly coming to Sri Lanka," believes M. Wickremage, Director of the staterun Water Resources Secretariat. 46 Personal communication 47 Water Sector Reform Study. Greater Colombo Sewerage Project, funded by the Department of International Development, UK. Summary and Main Report. WS Atkins, May 1998 48 Ibid. p. S-10 49 Ibid. p. S-12 50 Mendis, D.L.O. "Energy, Development, Security - A Global Pugwash Perspective". Professor R.H Paul Commemoration Lecture, 1998. Engineer, Quarterly Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, August, 1998.
129 CHAPTER 5
The Proposal to Mine the Eppawala Apatite Deposit to Exhaustion in 30 years
[It is understood that the proposal by a US multinational corporation had been made during the period of the previous government, as far back as 1991. However, after the change of government in 1994, the former Minister of Industries who is the present Leader of the Opposition, has changed his position. He has expressed his opposition to the proposal, while the Minister of Industries in the new government is promoting the project. This newspaper article gives his justification of the project].
Eppawala Phosphate Project
(An article by C.V. Gooneratne, Minister of Industries, distributed to the media, December 1997) I find that there are serious misconceptions regarding the Eppawala Phosphate Project which was recently approved by the Government. The Eppawala phosphate deposit (apatite) was discovered by the Geological Survey Department in 1971 and Lanka Phosphate Ltd. which is a fully Government Owned Company, mines about 40,000 metric tons of rock per annum for crushing and marketing it to enterprises mixing fertilizer. The deposit has a proven reserve of 25 million metric tons and inferred reserve of another 35 million metric tons of phosphate rock making a total of 60 million metric tons. However, in view of the chemical composition of this rock such as high chlorides and high oxides of iron and aluminium causing
130 serious corrosion of plant and equipment as well as a reduction in infiltration rate, foreign collaboration had to be sought to get over these technological difficulties and mine this deposit for the manufacture of fertilizer for export, while satisfying the local needs as well. As most people are aware, some negotiations had been conducted even in the 1980's regarding a joint venture project. The present negotiations which were recently concluded, was with M/s Freeport McMoRan Resource Partners/IMC Agrico of USA. Negotiations were initiated with Freeport McMoRan after they were identified as having submitted the most acceptable proposal out of six, in response to worldwide advertisement calling for such proposals for a joint venture. At this point it may be useful for me to recount the main features of the joint venture. The partners to the joint venture will be: (a) M/s Freeport/IMC Agrico - 65% equity Tomen Corporation of Japan - 25% equity Lanka Phosphate Ltd. - 10% (free equity) representing the Government (This will be paid for by the other partners) (b) The total project cost is estimated to be US $ 425 million. (c) The production capacity of the phosphate fertilizer plant will be 600,000 metric tons per year, and it will be located in Trincomalee. (d) Mining will be conducted in Eppawala where the deposit is located. (e) The product will be high analysis fertilizer such as DiAmmonium Phosphate which has a regular demand in the world market. (f) The duration of the project will be 30 years from the date of signing the Mineral Investment Agreement. This 30 years can be divided into four periods viz. The Exploration period (18 months); Feasibility Study period (15 months); Construction period (36 months) followed by the Operating period - right up to 30 years from the date of signing.
131 (g) Export of Phosphate rock - The joint venture will also be permitted to export 3.6 million metric tons of phosphate rock over a period of 12 years. The export of rock will commence 1 1/2 years prior to mechanical completion of the plant. If within 1 1/2 years of the first export of phosphate rock, the company has not made its first shipment, the right, to export rock will be suspended. This means that by the time the first shipment of rock is effected, the mine and almost half the plant should be ready. (h) No other mineral except phosphate, may be commercially exploited/exported under this Agreement. It is after very careful consideration that the Government decided to go ahead with this project in view of the benefits that it would bring, and also the fact that this deposit has been lying for a period of over 25 years after discovery, without any effective use. While I would explain the benefits of the project a little later, I would at this stage, like to focus on some of the concerns that have been expressed by various individuals and groups. My main purpose in enumerating briefly the various aspects of the project was to make the readers understand the scope and magnitude of the project. The concerns that have been expressed can be generally classified as follows: i. Environmental issues including the impact on land, water, air, biological resources etc. ii. Displacement of settlers in the area, and iii. Possible damage to waterways. (i) Environmental issues including the impact on land, water, air, biological resources etc. As was mentioned earlier, the exploitation period will immediately be followed by a period when all data, will be evaluated. This evaluation will compulsorily include a comprehensive Environmental Study. The company will be required to identify and analyze as part of the feasibility study, the potential impacts of its operations on land, water, air, biological resources, social, eco- nomic, culture and public health. The study will also have to outline
132 measures the company intends to take to mitigate adverse environmental impacts. The company will be required to comply with all laws and regulations relating to environmental precautions including the National Environmental Act. The Project Approving Agency for this purpose will be the Geological Survey and Mines Bureau under the direction of the Central Environmental Authority. Further, once the study is completed, it has to be made available to the public over a period of one month after notification in the Government Gazette, so that the public could make due note of serious issues arising from the study. This is a safeguard that the laws provide to the public since the environment is a matter of public importance. A case in point is the fate that befell the Upper Kotmale Project. As a further safeguard the Agreement empowers the GSMB to secure a bond from the project company up to a value of US $ 500,000 or may be increased if necessary to cover foreseeable environmental damage. Even after the Project commences, if at any stage, the project company fails to remedy severe environmental damage that may occur, the Government has the right to suspend operations. Regarding the fear of the loss of water, I might mention that detailed hydrological studies will be conducted as part of the environmental study and measures will have to be taken by the company to ensure that such losses of water will not take place. The measures that the company proposes to take must be acceptable to the environmental authorities of government. Comprehensive provisions have been included in the Agreement to the effect that the availability of water in the area will not be adversely affected by the company utilizing water for its operations.
(ii) Displacement of Settlers: The exploration area identified for the purpose, covers an area of 6 km. by 6 km. in respect of which Lanka Phosphate Ltd. has already been granted an exploration licence and issued to an affiliate
133 company of the project company. Part of this area falls within the purview of the Mahaweli Authority. While there are settlers and other occupiers in this area, the project company on the basis of the results of exploratory studies, will make every attempt to avoid displacement of settlers. This is a matter to be taken into consideration by the Secretary when approving the development plan of the project company. This will be to their advantage in that any settler that is displaced will have to be adequately compensated by the project company. There will be no upper limit on such compensation and all occupiers who are displaced will have to be compensated by the project company, irrespective of the nature of their legal title.
(iii) Damage to Waterways The project company will ensure that the waterways are not affected or interfered with. The main canal namely the Jaya Ganga will have a 100 metre buffer zone on either side which will remain not only untouched, but will be planted with suitable vegetation to ensure protection. Mention was earlier made that about 3.6 million metric tons of phosphate rock will be exported by the company. This has been permitted, having considered the cash flow of the company during the initial period when loan repayments have to be met. Lenders require a satisfactory cash flow to ensure recovery of loan repayments. Finally, I must also briefly enumerate the economic benefits of this project which will utilize only 26.1 metric tons of rock over the entire 30 year period, including the export of raw rock. This will be the biggest foreign investment project in the manufacturing sector so far in this country. It will develop infrastructure facilities such as a solid rail track from Eppawala to Trincomalee, townships, schools, community facilities etc. Local requirements of fertilizer will be fully met from this project. The project company has agreed to supply this high grade fertilizer which is hardly imported
134 at present due to its high price, at FOB cost minus 5%. This will help the farming community who will receive this fertlizer at around 50% of the normal imported price. This will also enable the government to heavily cut down on the fertilizer subsidy. Some of the benefits revenue-wise will be the following: (a) The royalty payable on the phosphate rock mined, which will be 5.5% of the Morocco International price, will generate approximately US $ 37 million. These royalty payments will have to be made in US currency. (b) Although this project will be a BOI approved project and in terms of the magnitude of the investment, they would be entitled to tax holidays, the project company will be subjected to tax on the basis of 5% in the first twelve years and 15% thereafter. This will bring in as income tax an amount of US $ 74 million. (c) In view of the fact that Lanka Phosphate Ltd. will be given 10% equity, they would be entitled to dividends amounting to US $ 70 million. (d) The defence levy on capital expenditure will generate US $ 1.3 million. (e) The Sri Lanka Ports Authority will also earn approximately US $ 137 million for the services they will provide in Trincomalee. (f) There will also be other revenues such as the land rent which will be collected by the Provincial Councils of the areas concerned. (g) Gross revenue from the DAP fertilizer and phosphate rock are estimated to be in the region of US $ 135 million to US $ 152 million per annum. This will help the government as far as balance of payments is concerned.
135 (h) There will also be considerable employment opportunities during the construction period. The numbers will be less when construction is over and commercial operations commence. As was mentioned earlier, this investment will be the biggest foreign investment in the manufacturing sector so far. While it will help us to utilize one of our natural resources efficiently, it will also bring in a variety of benefits. One other fact that should not be overlooked is that this massive investment will encourage other investors from US and elsewhere, to look at the possibilities of investing in Sri Lanka in other fields of activity as well.
Note: There were many Yoda elas or Yodi elas, but only one Jayaganga, the Kalaweva Jayaganga. The Mahaweli museum has a large model of the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project in which the Jayaganga is labelled Yoda ela. Little wonder therefore that many persons today are under the impression that the name Jaya Ganga has been given to this Yoda ela in recent times, just as the Jaya terminal in the port of Colombo, has been named after the architect of the AMDP, J.R. Jayewardene.
136 CHAPTER 6
Technical, Economic and Political Perspectives For and Against the Proposal
(Report of a Seminar by Dr Gamini Kulatunga)
A seminar on the Eppawela phosphate deposit was hosted by the Institution of Engineers, as part of the 1998 Annual Sessions, on 21st October at the Institution auditorium. The speakers were Prof. Tissa Vitarana, Prof. RP Gunewardana, Dr. NP Wijayananda, Eng. PG Joseph and Eng. SAS Perera. The President of the Insitution Eng. ANP Wickremesuriya chaired the first session. Prof. Vitarana, speaking first, said that the issue has become an emotionally charged one, but as scientists and professionals we must dispassionately weigh the pros and cons and arrive at a solution. The facts he wanted to present are gathered by consulting various people involved in the various aspects of the proposal and related issues. The deposit, close to Anuradhapura was first detected in early 1970s and its exact location is in close proximity to the Jaya ganga. At present Lanka Phosphate Ltd. mines around 30,000 tonnes of rock annually and crushes it and sells for direct application in the plantation sector. An exact assessment of the total deposit has not been carried out. The low solubility of rock phosphate makes it unsuitable for rice, and to meet the phosphate fertilizer needs of shortterm crops. Around 50,000 tonnes of TSP (triple super phosphate) and 1000 tonnes of DAP (diammonium phosphate) are imported annually. As our soils do not need large doses of phosphate fertilizers, a manufacturing plant capable of producing around 150,000 tons of SSP (single super phosphate) will save the foreign exchange now spent on these imports. Such a plant was proposed in a study jointly undertaken
137 with New Zealand. The cost of the investment was US$ 20 million, which is only 5 percent of the current McMoRan proposal. One disadvantage of the New Zealand proposal to make SSP is that the product is not readily exportable and hence foreign exchange earnings will be minimal. On the other hand the resource will be conserved and environmental damage minimised By year 2005 when WTO recommendations come into effect, to create a `global free market', locally produced SSP may have to compete with TSP imported from large-scale manufacturers catering to massive markets abroad. The farmer may opt for the imported fertilizer as it is less bulky to handle and more quick-acting. The McMoRan proposal envisages production of both TSP and DAP using sophisticated technology and make the product available to the local farmer at 5 percent below the FOB prices. The bulk of the production will be exported and the direct employment offered by the company is estimated to be 750. In addition, infrastructure development valued at US$ 43 million, representing 10 percent of the total investment, will take place. These facts have been highlighted in promoting the project as a beneficial one that will help in the economic progress of the country. The disadvantage of the proposal is that 26 million tonnes of rock phosphate will be mined in 30 years without our knowing the exact quantity and the quality of the total extent of the deposit. The project proponents claim that the P:05 content is 33-37 percent and the impurities are high, whereas the local scientists claim that 70 percent of the deposit contains 45 percent P2O5 and the impurities are low. As an economic deal, it is a bad one as we are committing US$ 1125 million worth of rock, valued at US$ 43 per tonne, while the total investment is only US$ 425. This was originally estimated to be US$260 and later increased without an explanation. The returns we get during the 30 year project period is US$ 580 million of which only US$ 107 come as a direct return. The equity share of the government is only 10 percent whereas in Jordan, in a project of similar magnitude but using an inferior deposit, a 40 percent equity share
138 has been negotiated. For some unknown reason the export of 3 million tonnes of unprocessed rock is allowed in the first twelve years. Two possible explanations for the insistence by the project proponent on the export of rock may be conjectured as the export of any naturally occurring raw material without adding value, is a difficult decision for any government to take. One possibility is the presence of rare earths in extractable quantities in the rock phosphate found at Eppawela. The other is that McMoRan may have access to phosphates containing high Fluorides, that are not allowed for use in USA, therefore they may be interested in obtaining our rock for blending to achieve an acceptable standard. The other important matter to bear in mind is that the initial negotiations started in 1992 when the world market for phosphates was at its lowest in 20 years. At that time no other company was interested in the project but now the prices are rising and phosphate is considered a strategically important material. The environmental effects of strip mining in an area known for mosquito-borne diseases need study. The craters and gullies left behind after strip mining will be an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes that spread diseases such as malaria and Japanese encephali tis. The main waste product of the process is phosphor gypsum. This will be stock piled in Trincomalee causing contamination of the sea and it could also increase radioactivity. In Florida, where such waste is stock piled by the same company, medical records indicate a threefold increase in the incidence of cancer. The company in question has a poor record as a polluter in the US, Indonesia and New Guinea, so one could imagine the fate that will befall a country like ours. The area that will be worst affected is a part of our valuable cultural heritage, namely, the ancient water conservation system, epitomized by the Jayaganga. The social impact of the project will be the displacement of people from their traditional and arable land, loss of income from the land that will be mined, and disruption of the infrastructure already built under the Mahaweli development project.
139 In concluding his speech, Prof.Vitarana recommended the following course of action: ? As an essential first step, the exact quantity and quality of the deposit must be assessed ? An independent assessment must be carried out using our own resources ? Once the information is made available a decision must be made on the rate of extraction and the proportion of local and export markets to be met ? In any collaboration that may be necessary, we must aim at an equity share of a minimum 40 percent ? Export of unprocessed rock must not be permitted ? Mining operation to be retained within state control ? Track record of project proponents must be scrutinized ? Contribution to the environmental repair fund must be paid up front before any operation begins ? The impact on the cultural heritage sites and on the fragile marine ecosystem at Trincomalee must be subjected to a rigorous EIA study.
Prof. RP Gunawardena spoke next and he said that the Eppawela deposit is one that is very close to his heart as he has been working on this for a couple of decades. The proven reserves of 25 million tonnes are fairly well established and a further inferred reserve of about 40 million tonnes is estimated to be available. The present operation of supplying crushed phosphate cannot meet the demands of short-term crops, such as, rice, potato, and onion due to its low solubility. But the needs of the Tea, Rubber and Coconut plantations are partially met. We supplement the needs of Phosphate fertilizers by importing TSP, DAP and rock phosphate valued at US$ 10 million annually. Out of these DAP imports are limited to applications mainly in plant nurseries and only 1000 tonnes are needed annually. The deposit at Eppawela is a Chlo-flo apatite containing more chlorides than fluorides. In 1973, the Government Geological Survey Department carried out investigations and established that
140 the deposit contains 40 percent P2O5 occurring in a pure crystal form. Subsequent analysis done in the UK, USA and Sweden indicated that P2O5 content varies from 34 to 40 percent, so an average figure of 38 percent is now used in computations. The water soluble P content is 0.5 percent and citric acid solubility, which is a measure of available P, is 2 percent. The amount of P that a plant can absorb from Eppawela apatite is estimated to be 5-6 percent. The rock can be used to manufacture a variety of products including straight P-fertilizers. Some of them are:
Fertilizers SSP TSP Nitro phosphate Meta phosphate Partially acidulated phosphate Others Animal feed Phosphoric acid DAP Pharmaceuticals Dyes and paints The two main methods of manufacture of P-fertilizers are acidulation and thermal process. Acidulation with sulphuric acid gives 22 percent available P. The thermal process is not popular due to its high energy cost in raising the temperature to 1600 C for the reactions to take place. In the work carried out at Peradeniya, several locally available chemicals at the time such as hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide were tried out. The aim was to minimize the use of acids while maximizing the available P to keep the cost of production low. To minimize the energy used in the thermal process, a process using sodium carbonate and silica was tried out. Partial acidulation reduced the acid requirement by 40 percent while the new thermal
141 process reduced the temperature to 900°C. Some of the results obtained were: Method Partial acidulation with H2SO4- PARP50 Partial acidulation with HNO3-Nitro PARP60 Rinania process Available P and N 17 % P2O5 at room temperature 15% P2O5 and 8% Nitrogen with a period of curing for 3 weeks 26% P2O5 at 9000C Our annual requirement of P2O5 is 35,000 tonnes, this is equivalent to 157,500 tonnes of SSP (multiply by 4.5) or 63,000 tonnes of DAP (multiply by 1.8). The annual output of the proposed plant is 600,000 tonnes of DAP, and for the process 900,000 tonnes of rock are required. In addition ammonia and phosphoric acid are needed, and to produce these the necessary ingredients, namely, sulphur and hydrogen must be imported. One disadvantage in using DAP is that the proportion of N and P are fixed in the end product, crop-specific applications are not possible. Dr. Sarath Amarasiri, Director of Agriculture, who served in the Presidential committee with Prof. Gunawardena, has confirmed that SSP or PARP50 is suitable for Sri Lanka's short-term crops. But due to the extra weight that has to be handled, there will be some disadvantages in storage and transport in using SSP. The effluents generated by the McMoRan project will include one million tonnes of phosphor gypsum annually, which is very likely to be dumped into the sea. At the end of the 30-year project period we will not only have a massive environmental problem to deal with but also an economic problem. By then, we would have depleted our only source of phosphate, thus compelling us to import all our P-fertilizer requirements. On the other hand, if we make use of the technologies developed locally we will be using the resource for another 200 years, at least.
142 In conclusion, Prof. Gunawardena said that in using a valuable non-renewable resource such as this, all aspects that will affect our national economy must be taken into consideration in the broadest sense. Balanced utilization of the deposit to meet our immediate needs without sacrificing the benefits that could be accrued to the future generations is a must. This objective could be best achieved by entrusting the processing to the local scientists, engineers and technologists. He hoped that the current proposal would not be carried out. Dr. NP Wijayananda, Director Geological Survey and Mines Bureau, speaking next said that this is the third occasion he is addressing a gathering at the Institution, on Eppawela. He indicated the location of the exploration area of 56 km', . and said that exploration activity is not going to affect the Yoda Ela because at present Jaya Ganga conveys the water at a safe distance from the site. Further, the deposit was located before Mahaweli development project was started, therefore no settlements were allowed in the exploration area. If any relocation has to be done it will be that of squatters. He too said that the present operation by Lanka Phosphate Ltd. does not meet the needs of short-term crops grown in the country. At the time the Geological Survey Department carried out the investigations, processing was to be done on a small scale by the District Development Council. Therefore, only a limited number of boreholes were made and no drilling was done outside the area where the deposit was found. The present investigations have revealed a proven reserve of 25 million tonnes and observed reserves of 45 million tonnes. He emphasized that the proposed project is to mine a definite quantity of 26.1 million tonnes, and even if more phosphate is found at the site, the limit will not be exceeded. According to the prevailing data, the two hillocks at Eppawela contain around 16 million tonnes and all this is available above the ground level. This represents more than 60 percent of the agreed amount to be extracted, so there will not be a large pit left behind after mining, as imagined.
143 The Eppawela operation is not very large compared to other mining activities in the country. In Puttlam 50 million tonnes of limestone are being mined at present, and a 2 billion tonnes mineral sand deposit is being studied for extraction. The proposed mining operation at Eppawela can be considered small or medium scale by current technology in mining. The common exploration methods used in mining are classified as destructive and nondestructive. Magnetic surveys using a magnetometer from ground level or from the air is one common nondestructive method. Drilling is also nondestructive although it is considered to be a destructive method, and only these two main methods will be used at Eppawela. Initially, in phase I of the exploration, around 100 holes will be drilled in a limited area. In phase II, additional drilling will be required in the Mahaweli area as well, for which permission has not been granted. Only the areas outside the Mahaweli project will be investigated based on the proposal made for exploration. The exploration area of 56 km2 is small compared to the already identified area of 7463 kin' that are being explored for mineral sands in Sri Lanka. Out of a total land area of 65,000 km2 of the country, an area of less than 10 percent has been identified for exploration. Eppawela exploration area is a mere fraction of the land earmarked for exploration. Strangely, there are no complaints about the rest of the exploration that is going on. In Aruwakkalu, 750,000 tonnes are being mined annually and in a day 2000 tonnes are mined. This has been going on for the last 25 years and it may go on for another couple of decades. The land has been completely rehabilitated and you will not see any open pits there. Eppawela activity will be of the same magnitude and as Director of Geological and Mines Bureau I am confident that the Bureau will exercise the same level of control there too. Dr. G. Kulatunga presented the current recommendations on the use of P-fertilizers based on UN Economic Commission findings, as a prelude to the next presentation by Eng. PG Joseph. The recommendations include use of rock phosphate in the following applications: ground rock and partially soluble forms.
144 ? in perennial crops ? in rice cultivation in acid soils ? with green manure to increase its uptake by short-term crops Eng. PG Joseph, the General Manager of Energy Conservation Fund of the Ministry of Irrigation and Power, presented the case for the use of biological means to increase utilization of rock phosphate. He explained that one means of attaining sustainable development is to explore simpler means of utilizing our limited resources. He exemplified the concept, referring to the case of US astronauts using an expensive pen to write under zero gravity conditions while the Russian counterparts were using pencils. He explained how rock phosphates are used in plantation crops based on its long-term effects due to residual behaviour. In the cultivation of energy forests, which his project team is working on, leguminous plants are grown for fuel wood. The green leaves, rich in N and P, are used as fodder and mulch. The scheme is to grow coppicing trees, at one meter spacing, generating 8 tonnes of dry wood and 1.4 tonnes of dry leaves annually. Harvesting will be done every six months and an estimated 4 million acres of scrubland available for the purpose will be utilized. If the project pays dividends, it is hoped that by year 2040 the forest cover of the country will be restored to the level that prevailed in 1956, namely, to 46 percent from the present 19 percent of the total land area. Eng. SAS Perera, Head of Chemical Engineering Department, University of Moratuwa spoke next. He wanted to know why only fertilizer manufacture is specifically mentioned in the project proposal when a whole range of industrial and pharmaceutical products could be manufactured using apatite. The government is compelled to make use of the country's natural resources to alleviate poverty and improve the living standards of the people. But the whole project seems to go against the concept of utilizing a nonrenewable natural resource to the benefit of the people. TSP is quite suitable for our use and there are several methods available for its manufacture. The wet process uses sulphuric
145 acid to make phosphoric acid which is then converted to TSP. The thermal process makes phosphorus first and then phosphoric acid that is converted to TSP, the phosphoric acid made in this process being of a higher quality. Prof. Gunawardana has more than enough experience on the process to lead a team of local personnel to undertake the manufacture. India has high quality equipment, which are ideally suitable for our purpose and they will be very cost effective, as their unit sizes will suit our manufacturing capacities. Gypsum that is produced, as a byproduct, poses no danger if the quantities are manageable. Using gypsum, plaster of Paris is made which could be used in the manufacture of moulds used in ceramic industry and for plastering in the building industry. The conversion to plaster of Paris is achieved at 130"C which is much lower than the temperature of 806,C used in manufacture of quicklime using dolomite or coral stone. We will be saving not only the scarce fuel wood used for firing but also our valuable coral reefs. Based on some preliminary work done at the university chemical engineering laboratory, a typical plant layout was presented and he said that partial acidulation is a slow process but 98 percent concentrated sulphuric acid could be used to accelerate the reaction. Another benefit of using highly concentrated acid is that it is less corrosive than dilute sulphuric acid, which enables the use of mild steel for construction of most process equipment. The scale of operation is very important if all the byproducts are to be utilized for their maximum benefit without causing environmental damage. But, the present proposal is one made with the idea of maximizing the profits of the foreign company in the shortest possible time, irrespective of the long-term effects. In concluding his presentation Eng. SAS Perera urged that we decide to manufacture TSP on our own as the local engineers and scientists can solve any technical problems that may arise. Environmental impact will be minimized by choosing the appropriate scale of operation, and as being done at Aruwakkal we can handle the environmental problems too, if the quarrying is left
146 under our control. He emphasized that we must make use of this deposit to make our country a better place to live rather than making it a worse place. At this stage Dr. G. Kulatunga, who chaired the second session, called upon all the speakers, Dr. C Panabokke and Eng. S.A.D. Subasinghe to join the panel to answer questions from the audience. Dr. Kulatunga said that the meeting is the culmination of several discussions held at the Institution to find solutions to the problems posed by the proposed project. He anticipated the panel to arrive at a broad consensus on what should be done next. He than called upon Dr. Panabokke to say a few words on the agricultural issues raised. Dr. Panabokke said that the deposit was identified in 1971 and by late 1970s we knew exactly how it was to be used in local agriculture. The technology involved has not changed much from that time with regard to P-fertilizers but it is not the same with manufacture of N-fertilizers. Sri Lanka's soils are not rich in P but after years of application of fertilizer the soils have improved and do not need large doses of P at the moment. Dr. Sarath Amarasiri, Director of Agriculture, has confirmed this by saying that we do not want luxury P-fertilizers. Most of the vegetable plots in the country are overloaded with P, and the rice fields need only topping up doses. It is mostly our forests that need an infusion of P into their soils. We could meet our needs with TSP, as DAP is used only in plant nurseries. In the world scene P has become a limiting resource, and the USA imports large quantities of good sedimentary phosphates from the Middle East for fertilizer manufacture. In the US, mining is confined mostly to pebble bits which are inferior to our deposits. In India, the manufacture of TSP and DAP are done in an integrated manner to enable utilization of waste products such as gypsum in their industries. TSP technology is easy to access and we must concentrate on the manufacture of TSP.
147 In another 50 years time P will become a very scarce material therefore we should not think in terms of the next 30 years but in terms of the next 150 or 200 years. We must use this resource frugally. P will be a material of strategic importance. The rare earths normally associated with phosphate deposits will become still more strategically important. Dr. Pattiarachchi who has done the initial investigation of the Eppawela deposit has told Dr. Panabokke of the significance of this association. Prof. Gunawardena said that in India, out of the total P-fertilizer manufactured, 65 percent is in the form of SSP. The presence of monazite in phosphate has been reported at Pulmoddai. At Eppawela the rare earth content is low but after processing the remains may have a higher concentration that justifies extraction. Eng. S.A.D. Subasinghe said that the engineering aspects need further elucidation, and even the Presidential committee has overlooked this aspect. Whatever solution we propose must address the issues of local demand, long term employment, use of local resources and environmental damage. At present, only the portion of the deposit lying above the ground level is being extracted but in the future we may have to go below ground level. The mining aspect is not a major engineering issue but processing the rock to suit our requirements is an unresolved aspect. One method we could consider developing is the technology to incorporate the ground rock into organic fertilizer on a commercial scale. Engineers must take up these challenges and work closely with the scientists to keep the process within our control and management. Mr. Sarath Fernando, raising a question from the audience, wanted to know whether the recommendations of the Presidential committee have been incorporated into the agreement. He also wanted to know whether any work has been done regarding the use of biological means to increase the availability of P from phosphates. Prof. Gunawardana, in replying to these questions, said that
148 he is not aware whether a new agreement is drawn up incorporating the recommendations. The use of microbial activity to breakdown the phosphates has been carried out in other countries but these are not yet commercially done, as far he knows. Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe wanted to know whether size reduction helps in improving plants' ability to obtain P from phosphate rock. Though 100 mesh was recommended he thinks further reduction is economical. Prof. Panabokke in reply said that further reduction in size poses problems in application and handling. Dr. Kulasinghe responded by saying that granulation could over come some of these problems. He asked Prof. Gunawardena whether his patented processes are also polluting. Prof. Gunawardana replied that the size of the plant is crucial in managing pollution. The proposed project is 50 times larger than what he proposed and his method uses only sulphuric acid. The method he proposed is the best suited for Sri Lanka and he urged that we decide to start soon at some level to make our own fertilizer. We have been talking about it for decades and he has patented some of his methods and won Presidential awards but there is no will or interest to go beyond. Other countries are interested in getting his expertise and he wanted the influential people present today to find out why we are reluctant to proceed on our own. Mr. Bala Tampoe read out the contents of a letter sent by BOI Chairman to Mr. Sarath Fernando where the Presidential committee's recommendations are listed, one of which is the suspension of the export of unprocessed rock and another is to reduce the rate of mining till the exact quantity available is known. Further, Prof. Gunawardena had requested calling for worldwide tenders for a medium scale plant. BOI Chairman has stated in his letter that most of these recommendations are already incorporated. Mr. Tampoe thinks that statement is not only wrong but also false. Mr. Tampoe also referred to a meeting attended by his union and the monk from Eppawela, where the President has stated that
149 the country does not have the resources or the finances to exploit such a valuable deposit. Dr. Wijayananda said he is not in the negotiating team or a signatory to the agreement but he will only be implementing the agreement, once approved. Therefore, he is unable to comment on the matter. Prof. Gunawardana said that his recommendations are not incorporated at all. Prof. Tissa Vitarana said that we should decide whether the deposit will be used to meet the long-term requirements of fertilizer of the country or we need to earn foreign exchange quickly by exploiting it. Eng. PG Joseph replying to a question on economics of bio mass use in agriculture said one need only to observe the trucks transporting cow dung to Nuwara Eliya to find the answer. He remembered, as a schoolboy, how farmers in Chunnakam transported green matter from Chavakkacheri by cart to meet their organic fertilizer inputs. The Jaffna farmer knows his economics quite well and he would not have done a trip of more than 15 miles in search of some material if he were to lose money on it. Dr. Panabokke said that he fully agrees with Prof. Tissa Vitarana that a complete assessment of the deposit, with regard to its quantity and quality, must be done first. From the samples of rock he has seen he could say that our deposits are very heterogeneous as predicted by Dr. Pattiarachchi. The rock contains quartz, apatite, iron etc. which is typical of a metamorphic igneous rock. The sedimentary deposits that are found in other parts of the world are more homogeneous. This makes it very important for us to carry out a complete study before we decide on the method of processing the rock. Eng SAS Perera explaining the economics of production said at the moment the prices per tonne of TSP and DAP are Rs. 19200 and Rs.25000 respectively. Sulphur is available at Rs.6000, this indicates that the cost of production of TSP is around Rs. 16000 per
150 tonne, giving a profit of Rs.3000 for each tonne produced. The cost of a 100,000 tonne per year plant is in the range Rs.300 to Rs.500 million. If 40,000 tonnes are exported then the investment could be recovered in less than 5 years. We need not be afraid of this technology and seek the help of a foreign investor. We must find a means of sending this message to the government. Prof. H. Sriyananda observed that we seem to be arriving at a consensus of what we need and how it can be made but we have not dealt with two connected issues that are important. One is the destruction of cultural heritage mentioned by Eng. DLO Mendis' in his paper, but he wanted to emphasize that this heritage is not a dead monument but a living one still functioning after more than a thousand five hundred years. The other is the matter of human rights of the people that will be affected by the proposal. Whatever the present condition of these people is, we can be certain that they feel they will be worse off after the project. That is why they protest. These are people with rights to their means of living and fair play. He said the answer to the question posed by Prof. Tissa Vitarana, about foreign exchange earning and preservation of the deposit, was given by Dr. Panabokke when he said we need to look at long term use of the deposit going up to 200 years or more. That does not mean that we should not meet our requirements of 30000 tonnes of ground rock and 60000 tonnes of SSP annually by processing the rock. But if foreign exchange is to be earned, we should go in for manufacture of value added products, such as pharmaceuticals and dyes, that the earlier speakers mentioned. This will require a financial assessment to know the feasibility of producing high quality products; at present we may not have with us anyone who could comment on this aspect. But one would not expect much difficulty in evoking the interest of investors with such a valuable deposit as collateral. As we have the technology and the basic infrastructure, Lanka Phosphate Ltd. must be requested to commence manufacture of SSP by calling for subcontractors to supply the necessary equipment.
151 At the same time, further research should be undertaken to study the long-term effects of rock phosphate application in soils found in Sri Lanka and on biological fixing of phosphates. Eng. ADS Gunawardena observed the lack of appreciation of local capability by the decision-makers of the country. He recounted when the accelerated Mahaweli project was planned, the management of the project would have been handed over to foreign consultants if not for the timely intervention by Dr. A.N.S. Kulasinghe. Recently when an irrigation project was to be handed over to a foreign company, despite the Irrigation Department's assurance to do it at a fraction of the cost, the Minister concerned had to go public to ensure that it was not handed over to a foreign party. If the politicians are not keen to know the capabilities of local engineers and scientists then we must generate a breed of professional that will not be afraid to speak the language politicians understand. Dr. G. Kulatunga, summing up the seminar said the next step is to form a small group of people to formulate a set of recommendations based on today's discussions and to submit it to the Ministries concerned. After that, if there is no response then the Institution must go public to create awareness among the people. Eng. Rahuman proposed the vote-of-thanks and said he is sure that this fruitful seminar will produce some results soon and thanked all the speakers for their excellent contributions and the audience for their active participation.
1. My paper to this Seminar was distributed in absentia. It is published in Chapter.
152 CHAPTER 7
Cultural Heritage and Ecosystems Perspectives Against the Proposal
Ever since the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit was brought to my attention, I have endeavoured to give publicity to the impending danger to the cultural landscape of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem in which this deposit is situated. In the course of 1998, I have published newspaper articles, and presented papers at local and foreign symposiums and seminars on the subject. This chapter consists of a local newspaper article, and two papers presented at international meetings, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and in Queretaro, Mexico. The International League of Humanists organized an "International Congress of Humanists Unity" in Sarajevo, Bosnia, May 1998, to which I too was invited. In the historic city of Sarajevo I saw some of the consequences of man's inhumanity to man in another country than my own. I met some of the heroines and heroes of the tragic Bosnian civil war, who were continuing their struggle to win the Peace after the horrors of war, including Dr Arif Smajkic, Director of the Institute of Medical research who had presented a paper at the conference. I also met a Sri Lankan acting Head of the UN Peace Keeping Mission Lakshman Asela Dassenayake, who introduced me to Dr Colin Kaiser, UNESCO Head of Mission. Dr Kaiser urged me to present the case of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem to ICOMOS in Paris, in person. When I explained the difficulties involved in my getting to Paris, he undertook to send my papers to the Head of ICOMOS, Dr Roland Silva, a former Director General of Archaeology in Sri Lanka. The 1998 international Pugwash conference was to be held in
153 Mexico, September 28 to October 4, followed by a Workshop on Public Health in Cuba, October 5-9. My application to NARESA (now the National Science Foundation) for a travel grant to attend these two conferences was refused with the cryptic statement that my application "did not meet the criteria under which such grants were awarded". Since NARESA, had awarded a travel grant to a Colombo University student to attend a Student Pugwash meeting in USA in 1995, this refusal could only mean that I was being prevented from presenting the Eppawala project at Pugwash. This made me all the more determined to go, and my family rallied around with generous support, to make my visit to Mexico possible. Thereafter, Pugwash supported my participation in the La Havana conference. My paper in the Mexico meeting was well received, and resulted in a recommendation in the Report of the Working Group 2: A very interesting case study of the concession of a phosphate mine in north central Sri Lanka to a US multinational corporation lays out the complicated interactions of the international economic order, and the impact on local populations and cultural heritage of large-scale, short-term economic development projects. The case involves the imminent destruction of an ancient water and soil conservation ecosystem in the pursuit of shortterm financial benefit, desired by the state on account of the Asian financial crisis and its impact on the Sri Lanka currency. The displacement of population will likely increase tensions within Sri Lankan society and perhaps contribute to the sectarian violence. In an effort to head off the mining project, an appeal is being made to UNESCO, through its International Council for Cultural Monuments and Sites, to recognize the irrigation system as a cultural heritage site An appeal was also made for help by Pugwash in lobbying UNESCO to add the Sri Lanka waterway (called the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem) to the list of its protected sites. This approach - involving concerned citizens and conservation scientists in an effort to head off destruction of the environment and cultural heritage - may be an area where Pugwash could make a contribution.
154 Eppawala – Heart of the Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems of Rajarata (Reproduced from the Island newspaper, April 14, 1998)
Much has been written and spoken about the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit to exhaustion in a period of just thirty five years. This article deals with an aspect of the problem, showing why this non-renewable resource should not be violated in the manner proposed. Rather, it should be conservatively utilized over as long a period of time as possible, without destruc- tion of the cultural landscape in which it is situated. In fact the original plan to do just this is described in a paper in the Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, in 1974. The ancient man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka are commonly and incorrectly described as irrigation systems. In medicine, the word irrigation is used to describe the movement of water under pressure to flush out impurities, in the stomach for example. In agriculture, the movement of water from storage reservoirs or diversion channels, to the root zone of crops, is also described as irrigation. But the storage and distribution of water in the ancient systems, seen in totality, is a conservation function, of which the irrigation function is only a part. The totality of conservation includes both water and soil. The ancient systems were developed to retain the runoff from the heavy rainfall of the dry zone rainy season between October and January for use through the remaining dry months of the year. Rapid runoff is wasteful of water, and also causes harmful soil erosion. In the water and soil conservation systems of the dry zone much of the rainfall was stored, not just in reservoirs, but in the soil itself, especially the upland soils above, below, and around reservoirs. Seasonal highland crops were grown, as well as a wide range of perennial tree crops giving rise to a dry zone forest garden, similar to the better known Kandyan forest garden. The term irrigation systems reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of these ancient conservation systems by hydraulic engineers, whose activities
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157 have led to environmental damage in many areas, especially the southern area of Sri Lanka. The ancient man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems have been carefully mapped and documented by R.L. Brohier in his classic work Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon, published in 1933/34. He documented and described the systems in the Rajarata in even greater detail in his landmark lecture to the Royal Asiatic Society on "Inter-relation of Groups of Ancient Reservoirs and Channels ", in 1935, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch) in 1937 (Figure 7.1). Senarath Paranavitana and C.W. Nicholas also documented these systems in their Concise History of Ceylon, in 1960. (Figure 7.2). The Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is located at the heart of these ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the Rajarata, as shown (Figures 7.1, 7.2). The ancient yodi ela called the Jayaganga, is a 54 1/2 mile long contour channel that starts from a sluice in the bund of the magnificent Kala weva and ends in the city tanks of Tissa weva and Basawakkulama in Anuradhapura. It is the principle artery of the ancient system in the western seaboard of the Rajarata (Figure 7.1). Its function was twofold: to intercept the drainage from the land to the east and issue it to cascades of smaller village tanks to the west, in the basin of the Kala oya; and, by trans-basin diversion to augment the Anuradhapura city tanks and provide irrigation water in the adjacent Malwatu oya basin. Brohier has described it thus: "The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation, which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined irrigation and water supply canal, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir, Kalaweva, for the water it carried. The length of the bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high ground to the east which otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each subsidiary valley which
158 lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain". The Jayaganga is rightly recognised as a wonder of the ancient world, a cultural monument comparable with any other monument conserved under UNESCO's World Heritage Convention. What is most amazing is the fact that it still functions as was originally intended, and this too despite the totally incorrect understanding of its design and purpose by modern Irrigation engineers. For example, when the modern Mahaweli Development program was prepared, it was originally proposed to level off the small tanks lying below the Jayaganga on its eastern side, and replace them with channel distribution systems alone. Local villagers protested against this incredibly stupid plan of the irrigation engineers, who of course had not understood the functioning of these ancient man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems. Fortunately, their protestations were heard and heeded, at two levels: Chairman H de S Manamperi actually lived in the Mahaweli System H area long enough to be convinced that local villagers were correct in their assessment of the ancient systems, and President J.R. Jayewardene, on the advice of his political supporters (and opponents) decided that the irrigation engineers had erred. So, the original plans were modified, and much of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the Jayaganga were retained at that time. Many years later, UNESCO convened a meeting in September 1994, at which archaeologists met to discuss what was described as Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors in Cultural Landscapes. This was an extension of their well established program for recognizing Cultural Monuments that may be considered as part of the universal cultural heritage of all humankind. Examples of canals and channels from various countries around the world were presented and discussed, as candidates for recognition under the World Heritage Convention. After stimulating discussions, the Chairman of the Conference stated in his closing remarks that there were two outstanding candidates for
159 recognition as cultural monuments, namely the Grand Canal in China and the Jayaganga in Sri Lanka. For various reasons, the necessary follow-up to this recommendation has been delayed, but it is now being put into effect. There is a tremendous urgency now, for completing the submission to UNESCO, so that the disastrous proposal for mining the heartland of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of the Rajarata, through which the Jayaganga flows, may be abandoned even at the eleventh hour. If this is not done, Sri Lanka will add yet another item to its recent list of barbarities: destruction of a cultural landscape seen by UNESCO as a universal cultural heritage of all humankind, that should be conserved, even as it had been conserved by our forefathers down the ages, and used to generate enormous economic surpluses. In terms of adverse impact, this destruction will be immeasurably greater than the threatened destruction of the tallest standing Buddha statue in Afghanistan by the Taleban rebels, about which the Sri Lanka government lodged a protest at the United Nations last year. Thus, apart from the tragedy of the deep-seated adverse impacts that will necessarily follow, we will become the laughing stock of the world community if this proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is implemented without giving heed to protestations. There is also a very real possibility of concerned persons in other nations taking it up as an issue, in order to save and conserve this unique cultural landscape which those who understand it see as truly part of the universal cultural heritage of all humankind. This has already been indicated to me by fellow scientists in USA, Canada, and elsewhere, who are prepared to make individual and collective representations to UNESCO on this. One last point may be mentioned. In the local project started in 1974, and continued to this day, the water insoluble phosphate rock is extracted using conventional small scale drilling and blasting methods, crushed in hand-fed jaw crushers, and ground to a fine powder in ball mills. (All this is documented in the Institution
160 of Engineers paper referred to above). The product is a finely ground, slow acting phosphate fertilizer that can be absorbed by crops, especially when mixed with organic fertilizer. Over the long term it enriches soils, unlike chemical fertilizers which generally tend to impoverish soils over the long term. Whether there is a similar natural slow leaching effect, beneficial to crops, on account of the Jayaganga flowing through the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit, has to be systematically studied by scientists. It is conceivable that this is indeed so, and that the Jayaganga water below Eppawala has the beneficial effects of a "mineral spring", although this aspect has not been studied by modern scientists. If this is so, the benefit to fields commanded by the Jayaganga has to be quantified by economic analysis. This benefit will be lost as a result of mining the deposit to exhaustion in a brief period of 30 years. This aspect must also be studied and quantified for economic evaluation of dis-benefits of the proposed new project. In conclusion, the eminent soil scientist Deshamaniya Vidya Jothi Dr C.R. Panabokke has done an exhaustive study of the cascades of small tanks in the Anuradhapura district, which includes the Jayaganga cascades (Figure 7.3). His views should be sought by government before rushing into a project to mine to exhaustion, in a very short period of time, this priceless natural resource, the non-renewable Eppawala phosphate rock deposit. [Figures 7.1 and 7.2 are reproduced from pages 132, and 134, of the 1997 Sri Lanka Pugwash Group publication, Meaningful Development - a Pugwash Perspective ]
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162 Impending Destruction of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga Cultural Heritage Landscape on account of the proposed Eppawala Phosphate Rock project D.L.O. Mendis (From a paper presented at the International League of Humanists World Congress of Humanists Unity, in Sarajevo, Bosnia, May 23, 1998)
The unique man-made Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is in grave danger of total destruction on account of a proposal to mine to exhaustion a rare deposit of igneous phosphate, apatite, which happens to be located at Eppawala in the heart of this ancient cultural heritage landscape. Destruction of the ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem, part of the man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka is a disaster that can be averted and must never be allowed to happen. This unique cultural heritage landscape is both a site and a monument, as defined by UNESCO's ICOMOS program, that should be conserved and used as part of the cultural heritage of all humankind. The immediate apparent urgency for promoting this project is said to be the need to raise foreign exchange, which may be used in the ongoing civil war, described as a war for Peace. If the proposal to mine to exhaustion in a very short period of 30 years the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit by a multinational corporation is implemented as planned, this unique man-made water and soil conservation ecosystem will be seriously damaged, if not totally destroyed. Hence the urgency to have this system declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage site or Cultural Heritage Landscape. There is, however, an element of uncertainty relating to the presentation and promotion of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape, in so far as it should be conserved for future generations, probably due to the absence of a multidisciplinary approach to its management. This has permitted business interests to propose the exploitation to exhaustion of the phosphate rock deposit without any reference to the Cultural Landscape in
163 which it is located. UNESCO intervention is therefore seen as an issue of great urgency. As a matter of fact, a paper on "Canal Corridors in Sri Lanka" was presented by Professor Leelananda Prematilleke at the UNESCO World Heritage Convention meeting on `Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors' held in Ottawa, Canada, September 15-19, 1998. At this meeting of experts, Dr Henry Cleere of ICOMOS, made the following observation on Criterion (iii) of the six criteria laid down in the Operation Guidelines for implementation of UNESCO's World Heritage Convention: "As presently phrased, this criterion relates essentially to archaeological sites and monuments. China's Grand Canal and the Jayaganga of Sri Lanka are examples of canals for which this criterion would be appropriate". For various reasons, follow-up on this recommendation has not been done, until present circumstances have given added urgency to the need to do so in respect of the ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural heritage landscape. The Jayaganga really is: "a human made water and soil conservation ecosystem", and the term "transportation canal corridor", hardly does justice to the totality of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem which is a classic example of a cultural heritage landscape. The Kalaweva-Jayaganga is the principle artery in the complex of water and soil conservation ecosystems in the ancient Rajarata. The Jayaganga is indeed a `masterpiece of creative genius', in the totality of its conception, as well as in details of its construction. In regard to the latter, for example, the first 17 miles of the channel from the sluice at Kalaweva (reservoir) has a gradient of only 6 inches in the mile or approximately 1 in 10,000 (Brohier, 1934, Vol. II, p. 8). It's width is about 40 feet throughout its 54 1/2 mile length to the reservoir at its end, Tissaweva. Even today, it is rarely that a water supply channel of this magnitude, is built with such a small gradient. The Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem has been described as follows (Brohier, 1937, 70):
164 "The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation, which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined irrigation and water supply canal, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir, Kalaweva, for the water it carried. The length of the bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high ground to the east which otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each subsidiary valley which. lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain". It still functions, as it did some fifteen centuries ago, and is very much an `integral element in the landscape'. Since it passes through Eppawala it is under imminent threat on account of the proposal to mine to exhaustion in just 35 years the rare deposit of igneous phosphate rock, apatite, located in the heart of the system (Fig. 7.1). This deposit has been used since 1974, to provide phosphate fertilizer for local agriculture, using an appropriate technology that does not harm the cultural landscape as the proposed new project most certainly will (Mendis, 1974). If continued in this manner, it will be possible to conserve this cultural landscape for centuries to come, while easily extracting all the needed phosphate fertilizer for local consumption, and even for export of some surplus. The Jayaganga is a 54 1/2 mile long contour channel built at least 15 centuries ago, if not earlier. It's first 40 miles lie in the basin of the Kala oya (non-perennial river), after which it crosses the catchment divide and enters the Malwatu oya basin. The eastern or right bank of the Kalaweva basin above the Jayaganga drains into this contour channel as described by Brohier, above. This channel feeds cascades of small storage reservoirs, called village tanks, lying on its western or downstream side in the Kala oya basin (Fig. 7.1). On account of the trans-basin supply of water to the Malwatu oya basin, the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem impacts on that river basin as well (Figs 7.1, 7.2).
165 The history of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem has been documented by R.L. Brohier (Brohier, 1934, II, 3-7). The history of the Malwatu oya basin systems has also been documented by the same authority (Ibid, 10-12). Other historians and scholars have also contributed to our understanding of the ancient irrigation works or water and soil conservation ecosystems, before and after Brohier, who however remains the doyen of historians on these systems. The Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is a living system, a cultural landscape that is as functional and productive as was originally intended. It is an outstanding example of human settlement and traditional land-use in Sri Lanka, representative of a culture that has a continuous unbroken documented history of more than two thousand years. At one time, modern hydraulic engineers had proposed that existing village tanks in the area were `inefficient' and should be replaced by channel irrigation and distribution systems. This was resisted by local villagers whose views ultimately prevailed, at least at that time (Mendis, 1997). Let me now give you a sketch of the ancient man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, which were located in the ancient regions of Rajarata and Ruhunarata (Fig. 7.4). These systems had been built over a long period of over 15 centuries, commencing in the mid first millennium BC, mainly in what is today described as the dry zone. They are commonly and incorrectly described as irrigation systems. In medicine, the word irrigation is used to describe the movement of water under pressure to flush out impurities, in the stomach for example. In agriculture, the movement of water from storage reservoirs or diversion channels, to the soil root zone of crops, is also described as irrigation. But the storage and distribution of water in the ancient ecosystems of Sri Lanka, seen in totality, is a conservation function, of which the irrigation function is only a part. The totality of conservation in these ancient man-made ecosystems of Sri Lanka, in the humid tropics, includes both water and soil. They were developed to retain runoff from heavy rainfall
166
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168 in the dry zone monsoon season between October and January, for cultivation of food crops through the remaining dry months of the year. Rapid runoff is wasteful of water, and also causes harmful soil erosion. In the unique ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka much of the rainfall was stored not only in reservoirs but in the upland soil itself, especially the soils above, below, and around reservoirs. For irrigation and cultivation of rice in the lowlands, storage in small, medium and large reservoirs was used. For cultivation of seasonal highland crops as well as a wide range of perennial tree crops, an unique system of storage in the upland soil was used, facilitated by construction of numerous small earth embankments or bunds called `vetiyas', to raise and divert runoff into the highland soils (Fig. 7.5). Many large reservoirs and channels are still in use after piece-meal restoration and rehabilitation that started in colonial times, but the vetiyas have never been systematically restored. In fact, it is considered possible that many of what are described in the upland areas on topographical survey sheets as `abandoned tank' are in fact abandoned vetiyas. The ancient systems in Rajarata had been built to serve the regions around the capital city of ancient Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura in the Malwatu oya basin, first, and augmented from more southerly basins like Kala oya, later (Fig. 7.2). After the capital was moved from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa in the 11th century, these systems on the western seaboard of Rajarata may have suffered some neglect, while systems constructed near and around the new capital, Polonnaruwa, in the eastern seaboard flourished (Fig. 7.6). The composite picture of the ancient storage reservoir systems for lowland rice cultivation in the ancient Rajarata or King's country at this time was an inter-connected system of large reservoirs and channels (Figs. 7.2) feeding smaller reservoirs called `village tanks' (Fig. 7.3). Modern irrigation engineers looking at these maps often marvel and wonder how the management of water issues in such complex composite systems was ever achieved in ancient times. Due to a variety of circumstances, the systems suffered a final apparently irreversible decline after the reign of the King
169
170 Parakrama Bahu in Polonnaruwa (1153-86). By the time the western colonial powers visited the country, for trade and plunder, most of these systems had already been overtaken by the tropical jungle. The Portuguese who captured the maritime provinces in 1505, had no interest in the remains of the ancient systems lying in the jungle covered interior. The Dutch who took over from the Portuguese in 1656, did discover and restore some of the ancient systems, lying near the coast in the northwestern, northeastern and southeastern regions of the country. It was left to the British who wrested the maritime provinces from the Dutch in 1796, to capture the unconquered Kandyan kingdom in the central hill country in 1815, and rule the whole island, until 1948. During the long period of British occupation, the first new administrative department to be set up was the Surveyor General's department. The next was the Public Works department, which had an Irrigation Branch, which was converted into a full fledged department in 1900. The Survey department undertook a most comprehensive topographical survey of the whole island, starting in the mid nineteenth century, which was completed in the 1920s. These topographical survey sheets were originally plotted and published on a scale of one mile to an inch, but they have been recently converted to a metric scale of 1:50,000. These maps were used by R.L. Brohier to document a comprehensive history titled `Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon', published in three volumes in 1933/34, which remains the standard reference work on the subject to this day. The evolution and development of the ancient systems over such a long period, their sustainability and stability over an even longer period, and their apparent final irreversible decline immediately after the reign of King Parakrama Bahu (1153-86), are still subjects for serious study by scholars and researchers from many different disciplines. Contributory causes for the final decline that have been identified include: invasions from southern India, internecine strife, destruction on account of war, the advent of malaria, and elimination of a class of persons called kulinas who were responsible for the maintenance and operation of the systems (Indrapala, 1971). Prolonged cyclonic rainfall, earthquakes, and
171 the fall of the Vijayaraja empire and consequent decline in foreign trade, have since been added to this list of causes.
1. Water inanimate, active animate, passive 2. Small tank “inefficient” stage in Micro-irrigation ecosystem- evolution and development – essential part of total micro- to be replaced by large irrigation complex of man- reservoir made ecosystems 3. Large “efficient” system in Part of macro water and soil reservoir combination with channel conservation ecosystem –with distribution irrigation system micro ecosystems in command area 4. Diversion Built to augment large Earlietst stave in irrigated reservoir – last stage in agriculture and evolution of irrigated agriculture system irrigation ecosystems 5. Vetiya “abandoned small tank” Deflection structure – micro water and soil conservation ecosystem 6. Downstream Cleared of all vegetation to Must be designed as a series of lay out channel distribution micro water and soil irrigation systems conservation ecosystems 7. Forest areas Limited to catchment areas Not only in catchments – interspersed with fields in development areas for better nutrient flows Table 1
My own addition to this list is the advent of hydraulic engineering during or after the reign of King Parakrama Bahu (115386). That king had a stupendous record of reconstruction and rehabilitation of the ancient systems in his time, that are well documented. It is possible that by introducing a hydraulic engineering approach during the course of this `accelerated development' he started the final decline of the systems. This is of interest today on account of the recent `Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project'. For, as Kossambi once said "to learn about the past in the light of the present, is to learn about the present in the light of the past". The contrasting concepts of a hydraulic engineering perspective
172 and a water and soil conservation ecosystems perspective arises from the fundamental difference in how water is seen, as inanimate and active in the former perception, and as animate and passive in the latter. The consequences may be summed up as shown in Table 1. Restoration work was begun in colonial times, especially in the 19th century under the British and continued after independence in 1948. In the ancient Rajarata or King's country, the complex of interconnected large reservoirs and channels was only restored in piece-meal fashion, and the grand fetmotif of the ancient inter-related system of groups of reservoirs and channels was lost (Brohier, 1937) (Figures 7.1, 7.2, 7.6). This is really an indication of the superiority of the ancient systems, in overall conceptual terms, as well as in the successful irrigation water management within the systems, as compared to the rather less elaborate modern systems. Of the small village tanks, in all parts of the island, some 8000 are shown on the 1:50,000 topographical survey sheets of the island, described as `working', and another approximately 7000 are shown as `abandoned'. Restoration of small village tanks goes on to the present day. Restored works in various parts of the country are now under the administrative authority of the Irrigation department (Arumugam, 1969), and the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka. It is worth mentioning that the whole question of how the interconnected system of reservoirs and channels had been conceived and constructed in the ancient Rajarata, over a period of several centuries, still intrigues researchers and scholars. For example, Tissaweva at the tail end of the Jayaganga had been built in the third century B.C.(Brohier, 1934, 11, 10). Kalaweva at the head end had been constructed in the fifth century (Ibid, 4). The historical chronicles, Mahavamsa and Culavamsa, describe the continuous functioning of the KalawevaJayaganga system over more than a thousand years. One hypothesis for the development of these interconnected systems over many centuries is that a channel was usually built
173 first, as a river diversion irrigation structure, below which a system of small tanks (reservoirs) and minor channels developed, around which the human settlements grew. Over a period of time, usually running into centuries, a substantial economic surplus was achieved and accumulated from the river diversion system of crop production. Some of this surplus was used in operation and maintenance of the ecosystems, and some for construction of the magnificent religious stupas, a few of which are recognized by UNESCO as Cultural Heritage Monuments. Thereafter the system was consolidated by construction of storage reservoirs at the tail end and/or the head end of the river diversion canal, thus completing the evolution and development of an unique cultural landscape.
Conclusion The US multinational corporation that intends to enter into contract with the Sri Lanka government to mine to exhaustion the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit, has a very bad record in Indonesia that has been reported in an article titled Unrest in Indonesia in the recent May/June 1998 issue of World Watch, the environmental journal published in USA. Subsequent to that publication, widespread civil unrest and rioting broke out in Indonesia, which led to the resignation of President Soeharto, after students had taken over the Parliament building in the capital city. Some excerpts from the World Watch article are as follows: "It is the richest mine in the world, with assets exceeding $60 billion, and the Indonesion government received $480 million in 1996 from the 10% stake it owns in the operation. But development of this remote site, which physically occupies more than 10,000 hectares, has taken a heavy toll on the local people and their environment. Each day the operation extracts more than 165,000 tons of ore from the mountain - 98% of which is subsequently dumped into the Ajkwa river for disposal. The sediment load in the river is now five times its natural concentration, and the mining wastes have contaminated thousands of hectares of forests downstream. Environmental groups have claimed that the tailings from the mine which contain dissolved arsenic, lead, mercury, and other potentially
174 dangerous metals, have killed fish, poisoned sago forests (a traditional food source), and made the water dangerous to drink". "Since mining first began, local communities have resisted the presence of (the multinational corporation), and the driving force has been a widespread resentment over what is perceived as a neo-colonial interference by outside interests `At the moment... they do not have an avenue in which to express dissatisfaction short of basically going to armed conflict"'... "Deforestation of the country's vast rainforests spurs more conflict and controvesy that any other development practice"... It is worth remembering that in rainforests in the humid tropics 95% of the nutrients are in the vegetative cover and only 5% in the soil, whereas in temperate regions the opposite is the case, with 95% of the nutrients in the soil and 5% in the vegetative cover (Gore, 1992, 117). Destruction of rainforests therefore means removing inherent fertility, so that if the denuded land is used subsequently for crop production, fertility will have to be restored by use of chemical fertilizer (and fertilizer responsive seed, instead of local seed varieties), all usually imported. In Sri Lanka, the ancient peoples had developed an ecosystem that represented an active adaptation to nature, in contrast with modern agricultural and crop production systems that seek to dominate nature. With the final decline of these systems after the 12'" century, the jungle over-ran the ancient civilization. The Dutch were the first western colonial power to discover the remains of these systems in the tropical jungles, and the British began systematic restoration, albeit on a piece-meal basis. After independence in 1948, we continued restoration and reconstruction for a few years, before launching on some altogether new schemes. The first of these, the Gal oya project, in fact was started before independence, modeled on the Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA. This was the clearest possible indication of our inferiority complex towards the west, because we did not have the knowledge (and confdence) to understand and realize that the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems in Sri Lanka should be the model for
175 sustainable and stable development in the west. Transfer of technology in the form of the accumulated wisdom and experience of ages, should have been from us to them, not the other way around. Last year, on a visit to the Rocky Mountain Institute, USA, I was informed by the RMI Water group about destruction of the environment in USA by hydrologic engineers from the US Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, Colorado, as documented in "Cadillac Desert" by Marc Reisner, which had been made into a five part TV film. Copies of both the book and the video film were presented to me by RMI. On my return to Sri Lanka I have tried to bring this to the notice of high-level decision-makers most of whom still turn to the USBR for inspiration, and turn their backs on the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of our own country. The process of convincing them is necessarily slow, and the lessons of experience from other so-called developing countries, like Indonesia, takes time to sink in. Hence the urgency of the situation facing us on account of the proposed Eppawala Phosphate rock project that will destroy the heartland of the ancient cultural landscape of the Rajarata, if it is allowed to be implemented as planned. In all humility, I seek the support of fellow Humanists, through the International League of Humanists, to help avert this impending tragedy.
References: 1. Arumugam, S. Water Resources of Ceylon. Water Resources Board, Colombo, 1969 2. Brohier, R.L. Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon, Government Press, Colombo, 1933/34 3. Brohier, R.L. “Inter-relation of Groups of Reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon”. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, (Ceylon Branch), Vol. Xxxiv, No. 90, pp.64-85 4. Gore, Al. Earth in the Balance – Ecology and the Human spirit. Houghton-Mifflin company, Boston, New York, 1992 5. Indrapala, K. (Ed.) The Collapse of the Rajarata Civilization and the Drift to the Southwest. Journal of the Humanities, University of Peradeniya, 1971 6. Mendis, D.L.O. “Planning the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Project using Appropriate Technology”. Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1974 7. Mendis, D.L.O. Meaningful Development – A Pugwash Perspective. Sri Lanka Pugwash Group, Kandy, 1997 8. World Heritage Convention: Heritage Transportation Corridors. Proceedings of an International Meeting of Experts. Chaffey Locks, Ontario, Canada, September 1994 9. Unrest in Indonesia, World Watch, May/June 1998, pp.16-19
176 ANNEX Sri Lanka Pugwash Group D.L.O. Mendis, Secretary/Convenor 15, Buchanan Street 16/1, George E de Silva Mawatha Colombo 4 Kandy Tel. + 94 1 585066 Tel/Fax + 94 8 223597
His Excellency A1 Gore May 6, 1998 Vice President of the United States of America The White House Washington, DC USA
Excellency The Sri Lanka Pugwash Group was set up way back in April 1981. Earlier, my first presentations at the international Pugwash conferences in 1980 and 1981 had resulted in a recommendation to the Pugwash Council to hold a Symposium on Tropical Agriculture. The Sri Lanka Pugwash Group therefore organized this Symposium on Tropical Agriculture in 1982 at which the late Professor Roger Revelle was the official Pugwash Council representative. His report to the Pugwash Council resulted in a very favourable comment in the Pugwash Newsletter of October 1983. Sri Lanka had been known as Ceylon in colonial times, a name derived from the more ancient name Ceylao. It was also known as Tabrobane (cf. Milton's "furthest eastern isle, Tabrobane"), and Serendib, from which the word serendipity has been derived. Now, by a serendipitous circumstance we have learned about your concern for the environment in your remarkable book, Earth in the Balance, Ecology and the Human Spirit. The fact that Professor Revelle was your teacher is undoubtedly another such serendipitous coincidence. I had the privilege of meeting Professor Revelle first in San Diego in 1978, and, after coming to know him rather well, respected his vision and scientific
177 integrity as demonstrated in many Pugwash discussions. With these preliminary remarks may I now come to the point of this letter: There is a complex of what are commonly described as ancient irrigation works in Sri Lanka. These are well documented in R.L. Brohier's Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon (1934). However, they are in reality water and soil conservation ecosystems built by humans over a long period of time running into centuries. The earliest works were built in the mid first millennium BC, and the last in about the 12th century AD. Unfortunately, hydraulic engineers, (of whom I too am one!), have not understood these systems correctly, and they have not been used to maximum good effect although many are still functioning. Worse still, they are always in danger of being destroyed and replaced by modern hydraulic engineering systems that are not sustainable in the long term, as the ancient systems have been. [A comparable situation of degradation and destruction of the environment exists in the USA, on account of the activities of hydrologic engineers, as described, for example, in Cadillac Desert (Reisner, 1993)]. Now, there is impending a new danger to these ancient systems, in the form of a proposal by a US multinational corporation, to mine to exhaustion in a period of just 30 years, a rare igneous phosphate deposit in the heartland of these ancient systems, at a place called Eppawala. The present slow rate of exploitation, in use since 1974, will meet local fertilizer requirements for many centuries to come, and above all, it will not destroy the unique cultural landscape in the surrounding environment. The Pugwash Council's Dagomys Declaration of 1988 marked the expression of a new Pugwash concern about problems of environmental degradation. It began with: "We live in an interdependent world of increasing risks. Thirty-three years ago, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto warned humanity that our survival was imperiled by the risk of nuclear war. The familiar challenges identified in that Manifesto and the 1982 Warsaw Declaration of 111
178 Nobel Laureates remain as important as ever. But in the spirit of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, we now call on all scientists to expand our concerns to a broader set of inter-related dangers: destruction of the environment on a global scale and denial of basic needs to a growing majority of humankind'. The Sri Lanka Pugwash Group, (one of whose members is UN Under Secretary-- General and former Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala), has therefore decided to take up this problem of the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit: I shall be presenting a paper on the subject at the 48th international Pugwash conference in Mexico, in September 1998. Meanwhile, it has also been proposed to submit a case to UNESCO for recognition of some of these ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems as universal cultural heritage monuments. This is because a preliminary UNESCO meeting held in Canada in 1994, had already identified the Jayaganga (river of victory), the main waterway running through the Eppawala area, which had been built in the 5th century and is still in use, as a candidate for such recognition. (World Heritage Convention, Proceedings of Inaugural Meeting of Experts, Chaffey Locks, Ontario, 15-19, September 1994) Meanwhile, on account of your excellency's rare prescience as amply demonstrated in your book referred to above, this appeal is being addressed to you personally. We are aware that US law on conservation of cultural heritage will not permit such a thing to happen in the USA (Cultural Conservation - the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the United States. Loomis, Library of Congress, 1983). It is all the more important that it should not be allowed to happen in a poor third world country like Sri Lanka. Thanking you Yours sincerely
D.L.O. Mendis
179 Mining at Eppawala - Destruction of Cultural Heritage D.L.O. Mendis (Paper submitted to the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Seminar on Eppawala, October 21, 1998, presented in absentia)
It is my sincere regret that I am unable to attend the 92nd Annual Sessions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, October 16-23, 1998, to present this paper. This will be the first time in about 47 years that I have missed the annual sessions, which I first attended as a student in 1951 or 1952. This paper, which I consider to be one of the most important I have prepared for an IESL conference, is being sent for presentation in absentia, at the Seminar on Eppawala on October 21, 1998, in Colombo, while I complete my mission in USA to do what I can to avert what is seen as an impending national disaster. The story of this selfappointed mission will be told in a book now under preparation to be titled "Eppawala -Destruction of Cultural Heritage in the Name of Development". It will incidentally describe three conferences I have attended in a crowded programme in September-October 1998, in USA, Mexico and Cuba. The first conference to which I had been invited was a World Bank / UNESCO meeting in Washington DC, on Culture in Sustainable Development on September 28-29. At the opening ceremony, by sheer serendipity, I met Mr James D Wolfensohn, the distinguished President of the World Bank himself, but I did not meet Mr Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO who was also present. Mr Heman Crespo Toral, Assistant Director for Culture, UNESCO, who chaired the first session, let me speak from the floor of the house, and I described briefly the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, incorrectly described as irrigation systems, an important feature of our cultural heritage. Later, I met Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, Director, Division on Cultural Heritage, UNESCO, and gave him a detailed description of how the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem will be adversely
180 impacted by the proposed mining to exhaustion, in just 30 years, of the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit at the heart of the system. I gave Mr Wolfensohn and Mr Bouchenaki each a copy of R.L. Brohier's Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon, and copies of some other papers on Eppawala. From Washington DC I had to fly through half the night to Los Angeles via Chicago, to catch my scheduled flight to Mexico city. Having arrived in LA at 1.00 am, I had a four hour rest in the airport Sheraton hotel, before returning to the airport at 5.00 am to check in for the Mexico flight at 7.00 am on Tuesday, September 29. Arriving in Mexico city in the afternoon, I took a bus to the ancient city of Queretaro, and a taxi from there, to arrive at 6 pm in the conference centre at Jurica, where the Pugwash conference was held over the next five days on The Long Roads to Peace, September 29 - October 4, 1998. It was a truly symbolic long road to Peace for me, unlike for Mr Federico Mayor, who had arrived by a direct flight from Washington DC to Mexico city, and by helicopter to Queretaro. Mr Mayor was one of two Keynote speakers at the inauguration, the other being Ms. Julia Carabias, Minister of the Environment, Mexico. I was able to describe to each of them, in some detail, the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, of which the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is an outstanding example. I explained to them the impending disaster of the proposal to mine to exhaustion, in just 30 years, the Eppawala apatite deposit at the heart of this ancient ecosystem. I also gave each of them a copy of Brohier's classic, and copies of my own papers, as well as Tourist Board brochures and posters showing some of our cultural heritage. My paper at this meeting, Pugwash, Environment and Conflict - A Sri Lankan NAM Perspective, given below, was presented in Working Group 2, on Non-nuclear Threats to Security. It was referred to in the Rapporteur's report as given on page 154.
181 48th International Pugwash Conference, Mexico, 1998 Pugwash, Environment and Conflict - A Sri Lankan NAM Perspective D.L.O. Mendis (Sri Lanka)
NAM: Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) was one of 25 nations represented by their Heads of State, at the first meeting of Non Aligned and developing countries in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1961, which started the Non Aligned Movement or NAM. In addition there were 3 countries with Observer status. The NAM now has about a hundred members. A high point in the history of the NAM was the fifth Summit Conference held in Colombo in 1976, at which I was a member of the Sri Lanka delegation[1]. A year later, the Sri Lanka electorate inflicted a massive defeat on the government of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike, whose name was a household word in third world countries at the time, at the seventh successive free and fair general elections held in Sri Lanka since Independence in 1948. A new government was installed in office with an unprecedented five-sixths majority of seats in Parliament. Leadership of the NAM then passed to the new Prime Minister who changed the
182 Constitution and became the first Executive President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in 1978. By the time President Jayewardena handed over the Presidency of the NAM to President Fidel Castro of Cuba in 1979, NAM had lost much of its charisma, and whatever clout it may once have had in global politics.
1970s Decade of hope: Participants in Pugwash conferences represent no one but themselves but their presentations obviously should have larger objectives than ego-trips, or what Francesco Calogero has described as a `prima donna role’[2]. My presentations at international Pugwash conferences have tried to bring a Sri Lankan perspective to the attention of Pugwashites, beginning with my first paper in 1980 titled "The NIEO, Basic Needs, PQLI, and Zero-tillage Agriculture"[3]. This apparently motley collection of what may be described as `key words' was not an accident. Rather, it was a deliberate attempt to present the background to the paper consisting of a number of important global events that had occured in the previous decade of the 1970s. First was the Report to the Club of Rome, the "Limits to Growth"[4] study in 1971, followed by the Latin-American Bariloche Foundation's response in 1972. Next came the OPEC's first `oil shock' in 1973, leading to the UN 6th Special Session in 1974, which concluded with the virtually unanimous "Declaration and Program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order" or NIEO. This resolution gave tremendous encouragement to the Non Aligned Movement, which agreed at its 5th Summit meeting in Colombo in 1976, that the achievement of a NIEO was an essential pre-requisite towards solving problems of poor third world countries. The importance of meeting the Basic Needs of all people to enhance the Physical Quality of Life, as measured by an Index, PQLI, was stressed in discussions at this conference. Then in 1977, Robert McNamara initiated the setting up of an International Commission headed by Chancellor Willy Brandt of Germany. The widely acclaimed Brandt Commission Report "North-South: A Program for Survival"[5] was submitted to the UN Secretary-General in 1980.
183 All this was the background to my first international Pugwash conference in 1980, at which my presentation was outside the conventional Pugwash areas of interest like nuclear issues, the arms race and proliferation of weapons. My paper was well received, nevertheless, and the Working Group recommended that a Symposium on Tropical Agriculture should be organized by Pugwash. 1980s Decade of despair: In a sense my first Pugwash paper anticipated some trends to come in the decade of the 1980s which is now remembered as a Decade of despair. In 1987, the Brundtland Commission report titled "Our Common Future"[6] brought some of these issues into authoritative focus. Pugwash followed with the Dagomys Declaration[7] of the Pugwash Council, which begins: "We live in an interdependent world of increasing risks. Thirtythree years ago, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto warned humanity that our survival was imperiled by the risk of nuclear war. The familiar challenges identified in that Manifesto and the 7982 Warsaw Declaration of Nobel Laureates remain as important as ever. But in the spirit of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, we now call on all scientists to expand our concerns to a broader set of inter-related dangers: destruction of the environment on a global scale and denial of basic needs to a growing majority of humankind". The Sri Lanka Pugwash Group was set up in 1981, and efforts were made to get it off to a flying start with an international Pugwash conference in 1983. Alas, this was not to be despite a visit to Sri Lanka by Professor Joseph Rotblat, and acceptance of a generous funding offer by a Sri Lankan engineer to the Pugwash Council[8]. The reason was intransigence of a few influential local scientists, an ominous indication of things to come in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lanka Pugwash Group organised a Symposium on Tropical Agriculture in 1982, which was an unqualified success, but it was still a far cry from an international Pugwash conference. Sri Lanka's Presidential election was advanced ahead of general elections that were due earlier, and the incumbent President re-elected. General elections were then postponed on the basis of a
184 Referendum in 1982, whose legality has never been established, creating a very dangerous precedent, that may be followed again in the near future. Thereafter a pogrom against the Tamil minority that broke out in July 1983 was blamed by government on left wing political parties; but it is now belatedly being recognized as "state sanctioned violence"[9] by criminal elements. Similarities to the `Krystal Naaght' violence in Germany in 1933, half a century earlier and in another continent, are striking. My Pugwash presentation in August 1983, a quick appraisal of the situation two weeks after the outbreak of violence in July, was titled "Causes of Conflict in Sri Lanka"[10] Thereafter, even though the Sri Lanka conflict escalated to the scale of a civil war, it was not presented for formal discussion at any Pugwash meeting. Meanwhile in USA, Amory Lovins in his exhaustive 1982 study "Brittle Power"[11] had analysed and described the dangers of over-centralization in systems for supply of energy (especially electricity), food, and water, and for industrial production. This was an indication of similarity in thinking, albeit in vastly different contexts, that had been seen in Lovins ground-breaking "Soft Energy Paths"'[12], and my paper "The Technology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Technology in Sri Lanka"[13]. These had been brought to each other's attention at an US Pugwash Symposium in Racine, Wisconsin, on Social Values and Technology Choice in an International Context, in 1978, and had led to a warm friendship between us. 1990s Decade of deception: The award of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize to Professor Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Movement, was well deserved. However, despite this momentous event, the decade of the 1990s may well go down as a Decade of deception or a decade of deceit. It has been characterized, on a global scale, by the rich (countries and individuals) growing richer, and the poor growing desperate, a most dangerous polarization when seen from a NAM country perspective. In the decade of the 1990s, following the focus of the Dagomys Declaration, my work in Sri Lanka was presented to
185 Pugwash highlighting environmental degradation and destruction, on account of a wrong understanding of ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, commonly (but incorrectly) called irrigation systems. My 1991, 1992, 1995 and 1997 papers, and a chapter in a Pugwash book in 1994[14] [15] gave a Sri Lankan perception of environmental degradation as a cause of conflict. Global perceptions of environmental problems had been discussed at the first UN Conference on the Environment in Stockholm in 1972, and given much more global attention in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Beijing Conference on Environment and Development in June 1991 had discussed Third World perceptions, embodied in the Beijing Declaration on Environment, Development[16], but these perceptions went unremarked by participants at the Beijing Pugwash conference in 1991, and perhaps also at the UN Conference on the Environment in Rio in 1992. The recent Pugwash publication World Citizenship: Allegiance to Humanity[17] has discussed in idealistic terms the rationale for world citizenship. There is passing reference to "human tragedies of our time in Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, Iraq", but special problems of third world countries seem to have escaped discussion, and a third world perspective is not evident. Recent nuclear adventures in India and Pakistan would surely have increased this apparent distance between developed and developing countries' perceptions. An example of what I call `western perceptions' was a reference to spontaneous globalization in a Working Group draft report at last year's 47th Pugwash conference in Lillehammer, Norway. It was pointed out that, as far as developing countries are concerned globalization is not at all spontaneous, but is the result of carefully planned actions of the IMF and the World Bank. However, these views were not recorded in the final version of the Working Group report. Revival of the NAM: In these circumstances it is necessary to bring to the attention of Pugwash some current and ongoing activities of the NAM. A preparatory meeting of NAM Foreign Ministers had been held in New Delhi in March, for the 12' Conference to be held in Durban, South Africa, begining August 29, 1998,
186 to be chaired by President Nelson Mandela. A Committee was set up at the Delhi meeting headed by Dr Gamani Corea, former Secretary-General of the UNCTAD, to look into changes in the world economy and polity, and their impact on developing countries, and to contribute to a positive agenda for the South. Members of this Committee represent former Presidential countries of the NAM, Algeria, Colombia, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the incoming President, South Africa. I was privileged to be informed by Dr Corea about some findings in their draft report. These relate to arrangements to continue development activities in NAM countries, launch a program for science and technology, study problems of the environment, reform of the UN system, money, finance and trade, including the World Trade Organization, WTO, the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, GATT. Also, at a meeting of Foreign Ministers in Columbia, which is the current President of the movement, a statement was made on May 20, 1998, that UN sanctions should not be used for political purposes. The reference was to sanctions against Iraq, one of the founding member countries of the NAM, where sanctions are known to be causing deaths of children and old people in horrendous numbers, due to lack of medicines, milk food, and other imported necessities. In a population of 22 million, some 500,000 deaths have been reported as resulting from the UN sanctions. A special reason for setting up the Committee at the Delhi meeting of Foreign Ministers, may be seen as the recent financial turmoil in Asian countries, that has made global headlines. Since the last Pugwash conference in Norway in 1997, there has been rapid, dramatic decline in the exchange value of the Indonesian Rupiah, the Thailand Bhat, the Malaysian Ringit, and the Philipines Peso. Causes for these sudden and unexpected declines given by outside critics broadly encompass bad financial management of national economies. The terms that have been used include "crony capitalism" and "speculative investment", especially in real estate. The IMF and the World Bank have intervened with "belt tightening" measures, but the situation, for example in Indonesia,
187 remains as bad as ever. The immediate lesson for other developing countries like Sri Lanka, seems to be that there is no known mechanism for prevention of such financial crises, and after-the-event actions like IMF bail outs, are bitter medicine for the people of the affected countries. The question has been asked, whether this type of financial collapse may happen in one of the rich countries, Japan, or even the great USA? The answer that has been given is that however unlikely, if it does happen, the USA for instance, will not turn to the IMF for a bail out, but will declare a moratarium on debts, say for six months, until the problem was sorted out. The point is that poor countries do not have this option. The biggest irony is that developed world nations are talking about a New Economic Order for the 21 s` century, a consolidation of the control of the global economy by the rich countries through structural adjustments, and institutions like WTO, and its off-shoot TRIPS, which will police the globalization process. This will be the exact opposite of the NIEO that third world countries called for through the NAM in the 1970s, the Decade of hope. Little wonder then, that the 1990s will be remembered in the third world as the Decade of deception or the Decade of deceit. Sri Lanka - Eppawala: Sri Lanka has escaped massive devaluation of its currency in the wake of the financial crises in other Asian countries, but the exchange rate of the Rupee continues to decline steadily. Foreign direct investment is seen as a necessity for development, and projects that attract such investment are always in vogue. A proposal to mine a rare deposit of igneous phosphate rock, apatite, said to be one of only three such deposits in the world, has been announced recently, and has caused a storm of protests. This deposit was "discovered" (in the same sense that Columbus discovered America, for example), by the Mineralogical Survey department in 1971, at a place called Eppawala in the north-central province. The deposit is estimated at several million tons, enough to meet local phosphate fertilizer requirements for over a thousand years. The Ministry of Planning began to use this deposit for local consumption, using locally available expertise and technology, in 1974[18]. The project was later taken over by the
188 Ministry of Industries. It has been going on since, the present rate of extraction being about 40,000 tons per year, all of which is used in local agricultural production. One of the reasons for gradual extraction to meet only local requirements of phosphate fertilizer, is the location of the Eppawala deposit in the heartland of the ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka's ancient Rajarata or King's country. These ancient systems which are now recognized as part of the unique cultural heritage of Sri Lanka, treasured by all humankind, are still in use after restoration. They consist of river diversion systems and storage reservoir systems, from which water is delivered under gravity for irrigation and crop production. These systems had been built to conserve the heavy rainfall of the northeast monsoon rain season between October and January, for use during the remaining dry months of the year, in the so-called dry zone of Sri Lanka. They checked rapid runoff thereby also reducing soil erosion, hence their description as water and soil conservation ecosystems. The evolution and development of these systems over a period of more than fifteen centuries beginning in the middle of the first millenium of the pre-Christian era, their sustainability and stability over an even longer period of time, and the reasons for their final apparently irreversible decline after the 13`" century, are subjects for study by scholars even at the present time[19]. The ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems were mapped in colonial times in the comprehensive topographical survey of the island done by the British"[20]. The ancient systems in the Rajarata or king's country were documented and described in even greater detail by the same authority[21]. The ancient irrigation works in Rajarata included the large resevoir Kalaweva, with a water spread of more than 2000 hectares, believed to have been built in the 5th century, and the trans-basin contour channel called the Jayaganga, or river of victory. The Jayaganga has been described as follows: "The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation, which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined
189 irrigation and water supply canal, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir, Kalaweva, for the water it carried. The length of the bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high ground to the east which otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each subsidiary valley which lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain"[22]. The Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem will be adversely impacted if not totally destroyed if the proposal by the US multinational corporation to mine the Eppawala apatite deposit to exhaustion in just 30 years, is implemented. The proposal has met with a storm of protests including demonstrations at the site itself, and seminar discussions and demonstrations in the capital city, Colombo. However, at the time of writing there is no indication that the government is giving heed to these protests from a very wide cross-section of the public, ranging from local people to scientists and specialists, including members of the National Academy of Sri Lanka. UNESCO and ICOMOS: UNESCO, through its International Council for Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS, has recognized the existence of Cultural Heritage Monuments and Sites, in various parts of the world, that belong to the universal cultural heritage of all humankind. The ICOMOS mandate is to help avoid destruction of these cultural heritage monuments and sites, and help in restoration and reconstruction of any that have been adversely impacted, for whatever reason. This should be a matter of interest and concern to Pugwash and pugwashites as well. Steps are now being taken to make representations to UNESCO to recognize the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem as a cultural heritage site, in order to to save it from destruction, and avert an impending conflict. This situation of impending conflict was also presented and discussed in a paper at a recent conference of the International League of Humanists in Sarojevo, Bosnia[23].
190 Bosnia: The conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovinia, part of the former Yugoslavia, a founding member of the NAM, has resulted in the destruction of a number of sites and monuments. UNESCO has established a mission in Bosnia to find ways and means to identify and restore some of the sites and monuments that were impacted in the war. The library in Sarajevo was one such monument, which I was able to see for myself during my recent visit to that historic city. The bridge in the city of Mostar is another such monument. This bridge, built in the sixteenth century, was such a remarkable structure that the whole city came to be named after the Bosnian word for a bridge most. UNESCO has published a beautiful illustrated document for the record, on Mostar[24]. The lessons of the Bosnian conflict should be learned by all Sri Lankans, if only in order that our so-called development efforts do not result in destruction of cultural heritage sites and monuments, of which there are a very large number, some dating back to the pre-Christian era. Such destruction will almost inevitably become a new cause of conflict in Sri Lanka - sadly a strife torn country already - as discussed below. Indonesia: The US multinational corporation that is planning to mine the Eppawala deposit to exhaustion in just 30 years, has a very unfortunate track record in a similar mining project in Indonesia. Unimpeachable reports suggest that a contributary cause of the recent unrest and violence in that country that finally led to the recent resignation of the President of Indonesia, included some of the activities of this corporation[25] [26]. Vice President Al Gore of the United States, has shown awareness of and sensitivity to such environmental issues[27]. An attempt has been made recently to bring the impending tragedy at Eppawala to his personal attention, because an US multinational corporation is involved[28]. A similar destruction of a non-renewable phosphate deposit in the pacific island of Nauru has been vividly documented in a recent publication by a distinguished international jurist who, ironically enough, happens to be a Sri Lankan[29]. The contribution of the US multinational corporation to the financial crisis in Indonesia on account of its activities, arising from the mining at Grasberg, which has been called the richest mine in
191 the world, has also been documented[30]. This report says that the corporation concerned is backed by an influential Pugwashite, Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon[31]. The Report also describes activities of the corporation elsewhere, in Florida, Lousiana, Texas, and the proposed activity in Sri Lanka: In Florida ... more than 200,000 acres ... have been stripmined leaving behind land that looks like a car race track after heavy rains, filled with pits and gullies, mini-mountains of dirt and thousand hectare slime pits. Some 20 stacks of phosphogypsum, a waste material from phosphate mining, that tower ten stories high occupy 400 acres of the Florida landscape ... The phosphate rock mined in Florida is shipped to Louisiana to be converted into fertilizer. This manufacturing process produces gypsum waste which contains trace amounts of radioactivity. Until 1972, the company simply dumped waste into the Mississipi river. When the newly created US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned this practice, the company began to stockpile the waste. In 1986 it asked for permission to resume dumping the 100 million tons of waste that had accumulated. The proposal resulted in a massive public outcry and was successfully opposed by the people of New Orleans"[32]. This Report, published in USA, describes the proposed Eppawala project as follows: ..."the companies have proposed a $ 425 million new mine, which will be situated near the town of Eppawala and will relocate some 12,000 villagers from 26 villages. Buddhist temples, schools and a large number of government buildings also face destruction. A coalition of Buddhist priests, farmers, former politicians and ex-soldiers have told President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga that they oppose the deal. `We will not leave; the government will have to use soldiers to remove us from our homes', Mahanama Kadawata Piyarathana, a Buddhist monk and President of the Committee for the Phosphate Deposits, told journalists"[33].
192 Conclusion: The disastrous experiences in Indonesia are about to be repeated in Sri Lanka, as indicated in the above report, unless some unexpected intervention occurs. This appeal is being addressed to the 48th International Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, meeting in Mexico, a third world country, in the hope that Pugwash will add its voice and lend its support to avert this impending tragedy. Postscript: A copy of the above Pugwash paper was also sent to the World Commission on Dams Secretariat in South Africa. Professor Kadar Asmal, Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa, is the Chairman of the WCD.
References 1 Mendis, DLO " Science, Technology and the Liberation of the Third World" Marga Journal. Special Issue, 1976 2 Calogero, Francesco, "Pugwash, Past, Present, Future". Proceedings of Pugwash, 1997 3 Mendis, DLO "The NIEO, Basic Needs, PQLI, and Zero-tillage Agriculture" Proceedings of Pugwash, 1980 4 Meadows BH et al. Limits to Growth. Potomac Associates/Universe Books, New York, 1971 5 North-South: A Program for Survival. Report to the UN Secretary-General, United Nations, 1980 6 Brundtland, Gro, Our Common Future: Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987 7 Proceedings of Pugwash, 1988, p 26. 8 Mendis DLO, Meaningful Development - A Pugwash Perspective Sri Lanka Pugwash Group, 1998, p. 18-21 9 Richardson, John M Understanding Violent Conflict in Sri Lanka: How Theory can Help. GC Mendis Memorial Oration, Colombo, 1990 10 Reference 8, pp. 22-24 11 Lovins, Hunter and Amory, Brittle Power, Brick House Publishing Co. Massachussetts, 1982 12 Lovins, Amory, Soft Energy Paths. Penguin books, Harmondsworth, 1977 13 Mendis, DLO The Technology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Technology in Sri Lanka. Presidential Address, Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, Section C, 1975 14 Mendis DLO, Meaningful Development - A Pugwash Perspective Sri Lanka Pugwash Group,1997
193 15 Smith, Phil et al. (Ed). The World at the Crossroads: A Report to the Pugwash Council. Earthscan.1994 16 Beijing Review, Vol. 34, No. 27, July 8-14, 1991 17 World Citizenship: Allegiance to Humanity. Ed. Joseph Rotblat. Macmillan press, 1997 18 Mendis, DLO "Planning the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Project using Appropriate Technology. Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1974 (see Chapter 2 in this volume) 19 Indrapala, K.(Ed.) The Collapse of the Rajarata Civilization and the Drift to the Southwest. Ceylon Studies Seminar, University of Peradeniya, 1971 20 Brohier, RL The Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon. Government Press, 1934 21 Brohier, RL. "Inter-relation of Groups of Reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch). 34, (90), 1937, pp. 64-85 22 Ibid, p. 70 23 Mendis, DLO Destruction of Cultural Heritage as a Cause of Conflict in Sri Lanka. International League of Humanists, Seminar on Humanists Unity, Sarajevo, Bosnia, May 23-24, 1998 (see above) 24 Angelo Pontecorboli (Ed.) Mostar, Urban Heritage Map and Rehabilitation Plan of Stari Grad. UNESCO, 1997 25 World Watch, May/June 1998. "Unrest in Indonesia", pp. 16-19 26 Risky Business An Independent Annual Report on P.T. Freeport Indonesia, Inkworks press, Berkeley, CA, 1998 27 Gore AL. Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit. Houghton Mifflin, New York, 1992 28 Mendis, DLO, Personal Communication. May 6, 1998 29 Weeramantry, CG. Nauru: Environmental Destruction under International Supervision. Cambridge, 1992 30 Risky Business An Independent Annual Report on PT. Freeport Indonesia, Inkworks press, Berkeley, CA, 1998. 31 Ibid, p. 21 32 Ibid, pp. 23-24 33 Ibid, pp. 23-24
194 CHAPTER 8
World Bank/UNESCO Conference on Culture in Sustainable Development
The World Bank and UNESCO held a conference on "Culture in Sustainable Development" on September 28-29, 1998, at the World Bank's main Preston Auditorium, at 1818 H Street NW, Washington DC, followed by three days of Seminars, September 30-October 1. By a series of serendipitous occurrences, or small miracles, I was able to attend this conference on the opening day, and personally convey my fears and anxieties to the highest authorities in both the World Bank, and UNESCO, about Eppawala. The first small miracle was that an invitation sent to Madame Madonna Larbi, Director of Match International, a NGO in Canada, was forwarded to me in July 1998 with a recommendation for me to apply. When I checked with the Director-General of Archaeology in Colombo, I was told that he had not received an invitation. My application was accepted by the World Bank, and the last e-mail.message I received from them before leaving Sri Lanka, in September, for the Mexico Pugwash conference, said: "We hope to see you at the conference". But, since I was told that neither travel assistance nor "per diem" was available from the World Bank, it would take another miracle for me to attend! The second miracle occurred after I arrived in Los Angeles, USA, on Wednesday September 23. I spent the next two days getting a visa for Mexico, where the Pugwash conference on "The Long Roads to Peace" September 29- October 4, was the main purpose of my trip abroad as described in the previous chapter. My son, who understood the importance of my mission to save the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem, gave me a round-trip ticket to Washington DC from Los Angeles (via Fort Worth Dulles, Texas),
195 at the very last moment on Sunday September 27. I stayed the night in Washington with a Sri Lankan engineer, Chris Ratnayake, who works in the World Bank, and on Monday morning both of us arrived together at the Preston Auditorium. The third small miracle happened after I had just completed registration and pinned my identification badge on my lapel. A very distinguished looking gentleman addressed me saying "I see you are from Sri Lanka!". To my great surprise he turned out to be none other than James Wolfensohn, the President of the World Bank, himself! He told me that he had a very close friend from Sri Lanka, which was why he had spoken to me when he saw that I was a Sri Lankan. (In fact when the distinguished Sri Lankan's name was mentioned it turned out that I too knew him very well, another serendipitous coincidence in a small world!). So it was that I accompanied the President of the World Bank into the packed Preston Auditorium, parked my carry-on baggage by the wall, and took a seat in the second row, among the distinguished invitees. By now, I was brimming with confidence and enthusiasm, all my travel weariness forgotten! The addresses in the morning sessions of the World Bank/UNESCO conference were of uniformly superlative quality. During the first Questions and Audience Discussion part of the program, I was fortunate to be given the floor. I told the audience about the UNESCO/ICOMOS meeting in Ottawa in September 1994, where archaeologists meeting to discuss Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors in Cultural Landscapes, had recognized the Kalaweva-Jayaganga as such an item. I described the significance of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka as unique cultural heritage monuments, which are still functioning. These living sites and monuments are now threatened on account of projects like the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit to destruction in a very short period of time. In the break immediately following this session I was able to speak again to James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. I took the opportunity to present him copies of various articles on Eppawala, including some of those reproduced in the preceding
196 chapter of this book. I also gave him a copy of R.L. Brohier's classic Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon, published in 1934 and republished by the Mahaweli Authority a few years ago. Mr Wolfensohn was interested in Brohier's pioneering and comprehensive work in documenting available information about the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, in Sri Lanka. I expect that he would have taken up the subject for detailed discussion with our mutual Sri Lankan friend at the first available opportunity. After lunch I was able to meet Mounir Bouchenaki, Director, Division of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO, about whom I had heard from Colin Kaiser, Head of Mission, UNESCO, Sarajevo, as described previously. I gave him a detailed account of the cultural heritage sites and monuments which comprise the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, and presented him with a copy of Brohier's Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon. I also gave him copies of the papers and articles on Eppawala. Some other delegates who were interested in what I had said, asked for further information. They were from African and Asian countries, and one was a World Bank official stationed in England. The full two day program of this very important World Bank/UNESCO Conference is given below, together with other documents made available at the conference. These documents give an indication of the responsibility vested in UNESCO to conserve cultural heritage sites and monuments that are in any kind of danger. In particular, The World Heritage Convention, to which Sri Lanka is a signatory, was adopted in Paris in 1972, and came into effect 17 December 1975. It should be invoked to protect the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem and cultural landscape. The Convention states inter alia: "Once a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List, what is the State Party's responsibility? Above all, it is to maintain the values that gained inscription for the site. Listing a site accomplishes little if it subsequently falls into a state of disrepair or if a development project threatens to compromise the site's integrity".
197 The wonderful thing about the Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape is that it is a living ecosystem, not a dead one. It will be destroyed if the Eppawala project is implemented. This has to be brought to the attention of the authorities promoting the project, who seem to be blissfully ignorant of their responsibility in this regard, a responsibility to all humankind, not only to Sri Lankans. Of the other Conventions, The Hague Convention that dates from 1954 is relevant to conservation of cultural sites and monuments, as well as artifacts, in areas of conflict. The Convention against trafficking in stolen articles of cultural value, is always relevant in Sri Lanka today, where increase in tourism has perhaps contributed to increase in such trafficking. The Format for presentation of a cultural heritage site or monument for recognition by UNESCO, is also included in this chapter. An attempt has been made to fill up this application for submission to UNESCO, and this is given as an Annex to the concluding chapter. In conclusion, I was only able to attend the first two sessions of this important conference, before lunch on September 28, and part of the third session. Thereafter I left for the airport, to take my return flight to Los Angeles via Chicago, as described in Chapter 7. I am grateful to my wife and children for making it possible for me to attend. It was worth their effort because I was able to tell the Very Important Persons I met there, about Sri Lanka's unique cultural heritage monuments described as water and soil conservation ecosystems, one of the most important of which is presently in grave danger of vandalization and destruction.
198
199
200 THE WORLD BANK/UNESCO CONFERENCE "UNDERSTANDING CULTURE IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: INVESTING IN CULTURE AND NATURAL ENDOWMENTS" 28-29 September 1998 "We must respect the rootedness of people in their own social context. We must protect the heritage of the past. But we must also foster and promote living culture in all its many forms. As recent economic analyses have consistently shown, this also makes sound business sense. From tourism to restoration, investments in cultural heritage and related industries promote labor-intensive activities that generate wealth and income".
James D. Wolfensohn, President,
The World Bank
"Culture draws on the boundless human capacity for creative diversity and is both a key ingredient and an essential goal of endogenous, sustainable development. UNESCO works to improve understanding of the unique relationship between culture, diversity and development, which forms a central foundation of a culture for peace" Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO
201 INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
CONVENTION AND PROTOCOL FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF ARMED CONFLICT (THE HAGUE CONVENTION, 1954)
CONVENTION ON THE MEANS OF PROHIBITING AND PREVENTING THE ILLICIT IMPORT, EXPORT AND TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF CULTURAL PROPERTY (PARIS, 14 NOVEMBER 1970)
CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE (THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION, 1972)
The World Heritage Committee The World Heritage List
The World Heritage List in Danger
202 "UNDERSTANDING CULTURE IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: INVESTING IN CULTURAL AND NATURAL ENDOWMENTS"
SPONSORED BY THE WORLD BANK AND THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANISATION 28-29 SEPTEMBER 1998
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1998 Preston Auditorium The World Bank 1818H Street N.W. Washington, D.C.
8.45 Visual Reflections to Welcome Arrivals
OPENING PLENARY THE CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM
9.15 Welcome Maritta Koch-Weser, Director, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Latin America, The World Bank
9.20 Culture and Sustainable Development: Investing in the Promise of Societies - James, D. Wolffensohn, President, The World Bank
9.40 Opening Keynote Address Sustaining Culture and Creative Expression in Development Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities, Boston University
203 COMMENTARIES AND CONTEMPLATIONS
10.30 Presiding Heman Crespo Toral Assistant Director General for Culturre, UNESCO
10.45 The Natures of Culture: The Natural and Human Environment Vann Molyvann, Senior Minister for Culture and Fine Arts, Land Management, Urban Affairs and Construction, Cambodia
11.00 Cultural Heritage: Economic Challenges and Opportunities Enrique Iglesias, President, Inter-American Development Bank
11.20 The Social Dimensions of Culture and Contemporary Expressions Ali Mazrui, Director, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Albert Schweitzer Chair in Humanities, State University of New York, Binghampton
11.45 Questions and Audience Discussion Moderator: Hernan Crespo Toral
12.00 The Intrinsic Value of Heritage Israel Klabin, President, Foundacion Brasileira Para O Desenvolvimento Sustentavel, Brazil
12.20 Cultural Heritage in the Global Information Millenium Ikuo Hirayama, President, Foundation for Cultural Heritage, Japan
12.45 Questions and Audience Discussion Moderator: Maritta Koch-Weser
13.0 Lunch
204 14.30 Presiding Bonnie R. Cohen Under-Secretary for Management Department of State, Washington D.C. 14.40 Economic Benefits and Public Finance: The Role of Governments Sheila Copps Minister of Canadian Culture, Canada 15.00 The Role of the Private Sector Francesco Frangialli Secretary-General World Tourist Organization 15.30 Questions and Audience Discussion Moderator: Bonnie R. Cohen
15.45 Break
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN IN CULTURE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
16.0 Presiding Gloria Davis, Director Social family Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development 16.20 A Vision of Culture in Gender Mahnaz Afkhami, President Sisterhood is Global Institute, New York 16.40 A Vision of Gender in Culture Lourdes Arizpe, Chair Scientific Committee for World Culture, Report, UNESCO 17.0 Shadow Hands: Culture and Survival in Nature Dianne Dilon-Ridgley, President Women's Environment and Development Organization 17.20 Questions and Audience Discussion 18.0 Adjourn
205 EVENING PROGRAMME
18.30 "CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE MILLENIUM: THE CHALLENGE AND THE RESPONSE" Official Opening of the Cultural Heritage Exhibition Remarks: Testimony to Partnerships Ismail Serageldin, Vice President Special Programs, World Bank Benjamin Ladner, President American University Mounir Bouchenaki, Director Division of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO
18.45 Reception
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1998
CULTURAL HERITAGE AND NATIONAL SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
9.0 Presiding Wally N'Dow Special Adviser to the Administrator United Nations Development Programme Sheltering People in the Culture of Cities 9.15 The British Experience Lord Rothschild Chairman of RIT Partners plc. President, James Place Capital and J. Rothschild Assurance 9.45 Reconstructing the Past to Build the Future: Aliza Cohen-Mushlin, Founder/Director Division of Creativity Cultural Industries and Copyright UNESCO 10.30 Break
206 CULTURAL HERITAGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Requirements for the 21st Century
10.45 Presiding Franco Passacantando, Italy Executive Director of the World Bank 10.50 Supporting the Contemporary Expression of Culture James Billington, The Librarian US Library of Congress, Washington, D.C 11.15 Conserving Cultural Heritage James Allen Smith, Executive Director Gilman Foundation, NYC 11.40 Promoting Cultural Partnerships Francisco Weffort Minister of Culture, Brazil 12.0 Material and Spiritual Dimensions The Right Reverend Njongonkulu Hugh Ndungame Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa
CLOSING KEYNOTE SESSION 12.15 Presiding Cesar Gaviria, Secretary-General Organization of American States 12.20 Closing Keynote
Partnerships in the International Community for the Stewardship of Cultural Heritage and the Living Arts
Federico Mayor, Director General United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
12.45 Summary Ismail Serageldin, Vice President Special Programs 13.00 Adjourn
207 STANDARDS FOR PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF MATERIAL CULTURAL HERITAGE
INTRODUCTION During the second half of the twentieth century, standards for the protection and management of material cultural heritage have proliferated. This phenomenon results from a growing realization that cultural patrimony is valuable to society and increasingly vulnerable to a variety of threats. Thus it is necessary to assure the continuing existence and stewardship of the worlds cultural heritage. The safeguarding prescriptions emanate from many sources. They are promulgated by governments at international, regional, national, state or provincial and local community levels. These legal regulations tend to define the material cultural heritage, including sites, structures, monuments and moveable objects, as "cultural property". Non-government organizations, operating at levels from international to local community, also have standards for protection, care and management of the culturally significant sites and objects. The three international conventions for protection and management of the cultural heritage are described on the following pages. They are administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and include: Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the Protocol, 14 May 1954 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 14 November 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 16 November 1972 In addition to the Conventions, UNESCO offers a series of Rercommendations for the protection, care and management of the material culture and the presentation of heritage to the public.
208 These Recommendations are the result of a prescribed consultation, drafting and vetting process involving member stats of UNESCO, and thus also broadly reflect a broad international consensus, although they are not formally ratified by national governments as per the conventions. The texts of these Recommendations are also available from UNESCO. The topics are as follows: Recommendation on International Principles Applicable to Archaeological Excavations, 5 December 1960 Recommendation concerning the most Effective Means of Rendering Museums Accessible to Everyone, 14 December 1960 Recommendation concerning the Safeguarding of the Beauty and Character of Landscapes and Sites, 11 December 1962 Recommendation on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Export, Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 19 November 1964 Recommendation concerning the Protection of Cultural Property Endangered by Public or Private Works, 19 November 1968 Recommendation concerning the Protection at National Level, of the Cultural and Natural Heritage, 16 November 1972 Recommendation concering the International Exchange of Cultural Property, 26 November 1976 Recommendation concerning Safeguarding and Contemporary Role of historic Areas, 26 November 1976 Recommendation for the Protection of Moveable Cultural Property, 28 November 1978 Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images, 27 October 1980
209 CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF ARMED CONFLICT (The "Hague Convention") Adopted in The Hague, 1954 This Convention is a sequel to an earlier treaty of 1907 concerning the laws and customs of warfare on land, an accord that instituted, for the first time, a rudimentary form of international protection for structures devoted to the arts and sciences and for historical monuments. The 1954 Convention contains provisions for safeguarding movable as well as immovable property deemed of great importance to the cultural heritage of peoples, irrespective of its origin or ownership, and makes respect for such property, during armed conflict obligatory. The term "armed conflict" is used, rather than "war", to cover any armed hostilities, including those between and within nations, whether or not war is formally declared. During an armed conflict, protection of cultural property is the responsibility of the territorial State and of its enemies alike. Respect for protected property implies that the parties to the Convention refrain from any use of such property that might make it vulnerable to damage, and from any deliberate destruction. States Parties also undertake to prohibit and, if necessary, to prevent any form of theft, pillage, misappropriation or vandalism directed against protected property. The Convention provides for special protection of movable property considered of great importance and for designated refuges intended to shelter such property. The Convention came into force on 7 August 1956. As of 15 July 1998, there were 92 State Parties. A separate Protocol was adopted at the same time as the Convention. This accord forbids States Parties to export cultural property from territories under their occupation. Furthermore, those States must take all necessary steps to prevent such exportation by others. If, despite these measures. An item of cultural property is exported from an occupied territory, it must be returned to the competent authorities of that territory upon the cessation of hostilities,
210 with the understanding that any indemnities due to the purchasers or holders in good faith will be paid by the previously occupying State. As stipulated in the Protocol, cultural property transferred from an occupied territory shall never be retained as war reparations. The Protocol came into force on 1 August 1956. Seventy-seven (77) countries were States Parties as of 15 July 1998. 16 The Convention and the Protocol were drafted and adopted in the wake of massive destruction during the Second World War, comprising the first international agreement focussing exclusively on the protection of cultural heritage. The terms of the Convention cover a broad range of cultural property, including religious or secular architecture; archaeological sites; works of art; manuscripts, books and other objects of artistic, historical or archaeological interest; scientific materials; museums; libraries; archives; and entire historic dis- tricts and settlements. Vehicles used to move cultural objects are also protected, as are personnel responsible for their care. The procedures for application of the Convention are set out in regulations for its execution which, on the initiative of the DirectorGeneral of UNESCO, were implemented for the first time during the 1967 Middle East conflict. In brief, States parties to the Convention are obliged to lessen the consequences for cultural heritage of an armed conflict and to: ? take preventive measures for such protection, not only during hostilities, but also in peacetime ? safeguard and respect cultural property during armed conflicts ? establish mechanisms for protection, including nomination of Commissioners-General for Cultural Property and inscription of specially protected sites, monuments or refuges of movable cultural objects in the International Register of Cultural Property under Special Protection ? a mark important buildings and monuments with a special protective emblem: the "Blue Shield" ? create dedicated units within the military forces with responsibility for protecting cultural heritage
211 ? inform the military and the general public of the Convention and its terms When the UNESCO Secretariat receives information about impending hostilities or the destruction of cultural property during armed conflict, it immediately contacts the warring parties, reminds them of their obligations to respect and protect cultural property, and if requested by a State Party, provides technical assistance, including expert missions. This practice has been helpful in the course of several conflicts during the past forty years. Moreover, in order to disseminate the provisions of the Convention more widely, UNESCO organizes expert meetings, seminars and training courses for specific groups inclusing parliamentarians, members of the armed forces, police officers, lawyers, and conservation specialists, and issues publications. UNESCO's recent activities relating to the Convention include meeting military and legal experts to enhance application by the armed forces in the field and to strengthen the utility of the accord. Regional and sub-regional seminars are convened to encourage ratification and adherence to the terms of the Convention: the first of these were in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Continuing meetings of States Parties are reviewing the Convention with the objective of strengthening provisions for its effectiveness. Publications by UNESCO relating to the Convention include: reports of States Parties to the Convention on application of its terms (issued in 1967, 1970, 1979, 1984, 1989 and 1995); a commentary on the Convention, in French and English; an insert about the Convention for inclusion in military manuals; and a review of the Convention, in English and French. In protecting cultural property during armed conflict, UNESCO co-operates closely with the United nations and other inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations such as the Council of Europe, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and the Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the Red Cross, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
212 UNESCO CONVENTION AND PROTOCOL FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL PROPERTY IN THE EVENT OF ARMED CONFLICT (The Hague, 14 May 1954)
List of the 92 States Parties (77 States Parties to the Protocol) As at 15 July 1998
Albania Germany Niger Argentina (np) Ghana Nigeria Armenia (Republic of) Greece Norway Australia (np) Guatemala Oman (np) Austria Guinea Pakistan Azerbaijan (Republic of) Holy See Panama (np) Belarus Hungary Peru Belgium India Poland Bosnia-Herzegovinia (Republic Indonesia Qatar (np) of) Iran (Islamic Republic of) Romania Brazil Iraq Russian Federation Bulgaria Israel San Marino Burkina Faso Italy Saudi Arabia (np) Cambodia Jordan Senegal Cameroon Kazakhstan Slovak Republic Colombia Kuwait Slovenia (Republic of) Congo (Democratic Republic of) Spain Kyrghyz Republic (np) Sudan (np) Cote d’lvoire (np) Lebanon Sweden Croatia (Republic of) Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Switzerland Cuba Liechtenstein Syrian Arab Cyprus Luxembourg Republic Czech Republic Tajikistan (Republic of) Madagascar Thailand Dominican Republic (np) Tunisia Malaysia Turkey Ecuador Mali Ukraine Egypt Mexico United Republic of Estonia (np) Monaco Tanzania Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mongolia (np) Finland Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Morocco Myanmar France Uzbekistan (np) Netherlands Yemen (Republic of) Gabon Nicaragua Zimbabwe (np) Georgia (Republic of)
213 CONVENTION ON THE MEANS OF PROHIBITING AND PREVENTING THE ILLICIT IMPORT, EXPORT AND TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF CULTURAL PROPERTY Adopted in Paris, 1970
The purpose of this Convention is to further develop principles and standards set forth in the Recommendation on the same subject adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 1964, and to make them binding on States Parties to the Convention. The accord defines at length the cultural property qualifying for pro- tection on historical, archaeological, artistic and scientific grounds. Under the Convention, the transfer of ownership, import and export of all property covered by its definition is not automatically prohibited. Each State Party to the Conventionmust establish regulations regarding operations that affect property situated in its territory and decide which are licit and which are illicit. States Parties to the Convention undertake to adopt necessary meassures to: (1) prevent museums within their territories from acquiring illegally exported cultural property; (2) prohibit import of cultural property stolen from a museum or a public institution after the entry into force of the Convention; (3) recover and return any such cultural property stolen and imported, at the request of a State of origin. The Convention came into force on 24 April 1972. As of 9 October 1997, there were 88 States Parties. What is illicit traffic and why does it need to be prevented? Works of art, antiques and archaeological objects are an important part of a country's cultural heritage and thus national laws exist to protect them. But protection often is inadequate, and due to a growing international demand, thefts of art works and antiquities are increasing. Archaeological sites continue to be plundered. Countries with rich archaeological and cultural heritage are particularly vulnerable, as the lucrative international art and antiquities market encourages disturbance of archaeological sites, plunder of
214 historic structures, destruction of monumental works of art, and the ensuing illicit trade. The result is disappearance of cultural heritage in countries, but moreover, in the case of looted archaeological sites, the destruction of unique evidence for human habitation and accomplishment. Most looted objects are sent abroad where laws of the countries of origin are ineffective. Thus, cooperation between countries is essential if theft, looting and the illegal movement of objects are to be controlled. The intention of the Convention is not to prevent all movement of art works and archaeological objects. Their international circulation is necessary to enable people in other countries to gain knowledge of and respect for world cultures. Rather, the aim is to stop theft, and to regulate the export and import of cultural objects so that countries are not deprived of artifacts fundamentally significant for their national knowledge. A key provision of the Convention the return by a State Party of cultural property stolen from a museum or a similar institution located in another State Party. In the case of pillage of archaeological sites causing extensive damage to a State's cultural heritage, the Convention calls for concerted international efforts which could include controls on imports and on international trade. A series of complementary protection measures including regulating exports, protecting archaeological sites, improving museum management and security, as well as promulgating ethical rules for curators, collectors and dealers, are included in the text of the Convention. Most States Parties to the Convention have passed laws protecting certain cultural objects, or categories of objects, and establishing rules regulating export. These rules vary widely: in some countries there is a total ban on the export of various types of cultural property; in some, export is subject in all cases to authorization; and in others authorization to export must be obtained for specified categories of objects. Regulations by State Parties governing import also differ. The main impact of the Convention may be to change attitudes.
215 By adopting this accord, the international community exerts moral pressure not only on those concerned with protection of the cultural heritage, but also on those dealing in cultural objects, even in States that are not parties to the Convention. Officials responsible for heritage management are encouraged to take adequate measures to ensure proper protection in collaboration with the different public services concerned, including museums, police and customs. Conversely, those acquiring cultural property (including museums, collectors and dealers) have an increasing awareness of international standards. The effect of the Convention is evident in codes of ethics regarding acquisition of cultural property adopted by many museums in the industrialized countries. The Code of Professional Ethics of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) serves as a model, reinforcing the Convention's terms, as it states: "A museum should not acquire, whether by purchase, gift, behest or exchange, any object unless the governing body and responsible officer is satisfied that the museum can acquire a valid title to the specimen or object in question and that in particular it has not been acquired in, or exported from, its country of origin .... In violation of that country's laws. Although few cases have brought before the courts under legislation adopted to implement the 1970 Convention, its principles have been invoked in several cases. Courts in numerous instances maintain that the UNESCO Convention expresses internationally accepted fundamental convictions on the right of each country to the protection of its cultural heritage and on the fact that practices which prejudice this right are condemnable and must be combated. UNESCO's role is essentially one of encouraging States to ratify the Convention; collecting and disseminating information on implementation measures; studying questions raised by States concerning the application of the Convention; and making proposals to States on these matters. In addition, UNESCO circulates information concerning thefts of cultural property from museums or similar institutions in States Parties to the Convention, encouraging cooperation among museums, customs administrations, and police services.
216 The following are a few examples of actions taken by UNESCO in support of the Convention. ? After the theft, in 1985, of 140 archaeological objects from the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico, UNESCO circulated to all States Parties an illustrated booklet on the stolen objects, requesting all possible assistance for their recovery and return. Interpol and the International Council of Museums also circulated details of the thefts through their own channels. ? UNESCO published compendia, in English and French, of national laws and regulations concerning the protection of moveable cultural property in 45 states, as wella’s booklets, in English and French, containing the full texts of national laws and regulations in some 31 other states. ? Commentary on the Convention, in French, is available from UNESCO. ? A study by a group of experts in 1983 on problems raised by States Parties regarding implementation of the Convention, proposed measures for national and international actions to stem illicit trafficking. The results are published under the title "National legal control of illicit traffic in cultural property", available in English, French and Spanish from UNESCO. ? A handbook, in English, containing a summary of national regulations concerning the export of cultural property in more than 150 countries is widely disseminated. ? In cooperation with the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), UNESCO addressed questions of private law regarding stolen and illegally exported cultural property and participated in drafting the UNIDROIT Convention. ? UNESCO cooperates with Interpol, the Customs Cooperation Council and the International Council of Museums in training specialized personnel to counter illicit traffic in cultural property.
217 UNESCO CONVENTION ON THE MEANS OF PROHIBITING AND PREVENTING THE ILLICIT IMPORT, EXPORT AND TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP OF CULTURAL PROPERTY (November 1970)
List of the 88 States Parties (As at 9 October 1997)
Algeria Egypt Niger Angola El Salvador Nigeria Argentina Estonia Oman Armenis (Republic of) Federal Republic of Pakistan Australia Yugoslavia Former Yugoslav Republic of Panama Bahamas Macedonia Peru Bangladesh France Poland Belarus Gabon Portugal Beklize Georgia (Republic of) Qatar Bolivia Greece Republic of Korea Bosnia-Herzegovinia (Republic Guatemala of) Romania Brazil Guinea Russian Federation Bulgaria Honduras Saudi Arabia Burkina Faso Hungary Senegal Cambodia India Slovak Republic Cameroon Indonesia Slovenia (Republic of) Canada Iran (Islamic Republic of) Spain Central African Republic Iraq Sri Lanka China (Peoples Republic of) Italy Syrian Arab Colombia Jordan Republic Kuwait Tajikistan (Republic of) Congo (Democratic Republic Kyrghyz Republic of the) Tunisia Costa Rica Lebanon Yurkey Cote d’lvoire Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Ukraine Croation (Republic of) Madagascar United Republic of Mali Tanzania Cuba United State of America Mauritania Uruguay Cyprus Uzbekistan Czech Republic Mauritius Zambia Democratic People’s Republic Mexico of Korea Dominican Republic Mongolia (np) Ecuador Nepal Nicaragua
218 CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE (The World Heritage Convention) Adopted in Paris, 1972.
This Convention is a unique international instrument recognizing and protecting both cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value. The accord links conservation of nature and culture, thus challenging the limited perception that nature and culture are in opposition. Nature and culture are complementary and inseparable, the cultural identity of different peoples having being forged in their natural environment. Just as creative works of humankind may be inspired by the beauty of their natural surroundings, some of the most spectacular natural sites bear the imprint of human activity over centuries. The Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of 28 July 1998, there were 154 State Parties. The accord is the most universal legal instrument for heritage protection, with 552 cultural, natural and mixed sites on the World heritage List, a number augmented each year. Inscription on the list has extraordinary implications, as it designates sites as valuable beyond natural boundaries and significant to all humankind. Thus, the Convention establishes two basic principles: First, each State Party accepts primary obligation to ensure conservation of listed sites on its territory, and agrees to perform this responsibility to the utmost of its resources. Second, all States Parties recognize the duty of the international community as a whole to exert influence and cooperate in conserving a heritage deemed of world-wide value. The diversity of World heritage sites and monuments is astounding: some are entire cities like Brasilia, Bath or LuangPrabang; others are vast natural features like the Great barrier Reef in Australia, or sites carrying traumatic memories of history
219 like Auschwitz, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial or the island of Goree, where slaves were embarked for the New World. Still others are exemplary buildings like the Taj Mahal or the Acropolis in Athens, or proto-industrial sites like the Wieliczka Salt Mines near Krakow, or the city and silver mines of Potosi. There are great natural parks like Yellowstone in the United States or Los Glaciares in Argentina, and frail ensembles of buildings made entirely of earth, like those of Sana'a in Yemen, or Ait Ben Hadou in Morocco. It would be a mistake to assume that the List is simply an ever-expanding tourist's guide to hundreds of wonders in the modern world. Many of these sites are endangered, threatened by a variety of forces, including: poverty, development and population pressures, war, indifference, inadequate management, ideological intolerance, the brute power of profit, and relentless touristic overuse. Above all, the sites are threatened by the exceptionally swift changes visited upon our age throughout the world. The framers of the World Heritage Convention intended neither to arrest the change, nor to freeze development. Rather, sustainable development is the ultimate aim of the World Heritage conservation process. The Convention is governed by a World Heritage Committee, composed of a representative each of 21 States Parties, with nations participating on a rotating basis. A World Heritage Center, housed at UNESCO, provides support services for the Committee, and administers a World Heritage Fund supported by contributions from States Parties. This fund provides approximately $ 4 million per year, and is used to facilitate some international technical assistance for managing and restoring World Heritage sites, although the amount falls short of that anticipated by the Convention drafters and of current need. Sites are inscribed on the World Heritage List through a fourstep process consisting of identification, nomination, evaluation and decision. In the identification stage, States Parties prepare an inventory of properties in their territory deemed worthy of nomination. Nominations are considered and sites added to the list on
220 an annual basis. Upon nomination of a site by a State Party, a dossier is prepared and submitted to UNESCO for examination by the World Heritage Center and evaluation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in the case of cultural sites, and by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) for natural sites. Nominations of cultural landscapes and mixed sites are evaluated by both ICOMOS and IUCN. Site nominations and evaluations are considered by the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee which makes recommendations to the Committee for decision. Cultural sites must meet one or more of the following criteria: (1) be considered a masterpiece of human creative genius (2) exhibit an important interchange of human values over time (3) bear a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition, living or disappeared (4) be an outstanding example of a structure, site or landscape, illustrating a significant stage in human history (5) be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement or land-use by a culture, especially a vulnerable one, or (6) be directly associated with events, living traditions, ideas, beliefs, artistic or literary works of universal significance. Natural sites should: (1) be outstanding examples representing major stages of the earth's history (2) be outstanding examples representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes (3) contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty, or (4) contain the most important natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity. A preponderance of sites in the European and Mediterranean regions leads the Committee to focus increasing attention on geographical representation and on assuring an appropriate diversity of site characteristics. Hence, the Committee initiated a global strategy to identify, at regional levels, properties suitable for inscription that would lead to a fully representative and universal list. In 1994, an experts meeting on the global strategy prescribed regional meetings to assist States Parties less well represented on the List in identifying and nominating cultural and natural heritage sites. Several meetings have taken place in Africa, Asia and the
221 Pacific area. Additionally, there have been thematic meetings on topics including: historic routes, heritage canals, as well as Asian rice culture and terraced landscapes. Other meetings have examined cultural landscapes in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Andes. Once a site is inscribed on the World Heritage List, what is the State Party's responsibility? Above all, it is to maintain the values that gained inscription for the site. Listing a site accomplishes little if it subsequently falls into a state of disrepair or if a development project threatens to compromise the site's integrity. Conservation is an ongoing process. The credibility of world heritage stems from regular monitoring of the state of conservation, reporting on the condition of sites, and on measures taken to protect them. Efforts to raise public awareness of the value and conservation needs are essential in this process. Submission by States Parties of periodic reports on the condition of listed sites to the General Conference of UNESCO through the World Heritage Committee is considered a crucial part of the World Heritage conservation process. In regard to improving conservation and site management, sharing of experience on the international level is a great asset offered by the World Heritage venture. States Parties are encouraged by the Convention to improve general practices for designating, managing and protecting heritage areas. When nominating World Heritage sites, governments must vouch for their legal and administrative protection. Monitoring the condition of World Heritage sites is an increasingly important and complex issue. The Convention calls for a List of World Heritage in Danger, to draw international attention to severely threatened sites. As of December 1997, this list contains 25 cultural and natural sites. The Committee pay occasionally apply pressure on a State Party regarding stewardship of its World Heritage sites. In its advisory and oversight role, the Committee encourages good management practices and has, in some instances discouraged threatening development projects such as dams, roads, and intrusive industrial or tourist facilities. For long-range protection of the planet's cultural and natural
222 diversity it is necessary to instill a deep sense of responsibility in young people. UNESCO's Young People's World Heritage Education Project aims to promote awareness of the World Heritage Convention among young people and to involve them in World Heritage conservation through the integration of World Heritage education into secondary school curricula. This is done with the expectation of creating a new synergy among educators, teachers, curriculum developers, heritage experts and others from the local to the international level. In June 1995, the First World Heritage Youth Forum was held in Bergen, Norway. World Heritage Youth For a also convened during the following two years in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in Victoria Falls, Ziimbabwe, and in Beijing, China. A World Heritage Education kit called "World Heritage in Young Hands" including student activities, a poster, and photographs of World Heritage sites from all regions of the world will be available from UNESCO in late 1998. The effectiveness of the World Heritage Convention is impressive since failure to comply with the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee does not invoke sanctions greater than the possibility of removal of a site from the World Heritage List. The Convention relies solely on the power of persuasion and the desire for general recognition felt by people everywhere who are concerned with the preservation of the world's remarkable heritage.
223 UNESCO CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITAGE (Paris 16 November 1971)
List of the 154 States Parties as at 28 July 1998
Afganistan Gabon Nigeria Albania Gambia Norway Algeria Georgia Oman Angola Germany Pakistan Andorra Ghana Panama Antigua and Barbuda Greece Papua New Guinea Argentina Haiti Paraguay Armenia Holy See Peru Australia Honduras Philippines Austria Hungary Poland Azerbaijan Iceland Qatar Bahrain India Republic of Korea Bahamas Indonesia Romania Bangladesh Iran (Islamic Republic of) Russian Federation Belarus Iraq Saint Christopher and Nevis Belgium Ireland Saint Lucia Belize Italy San Marino Benin Jamaica Saudi Arabia Bolivia Japan Senegal Bosnia-Herzegovinia Jordan Seychelles Brazil Kazakhstan Slovakia Bulgaria Kenya Slovenia Burkina Faso Kuwait Solomon Islands Cambodia Kyrghystan South Africa Cameron Loa People’s Democratic Spain Canada Latvia Sri Lanka Cape Verde Lebanon Sudan Central African Republic Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Suruname Chile Lithuania Sweden China Luxembourg Switzerland Congo Macedonia, Former Syrian Arab Republic Congo (Democratic Republic of) Yugoslave Republic of Tajikistan Costa Rica Madagascar Thailand Cote d’lvoire Malawi Togo Croatia Maldives Tunisia Cuba Mali Turkey Cyprus Malta Turkmenistan Czech Republic Mauritania Uganda Denmark Mauritius Ukraine Democratic Peoples Republic of Mexico United Kingdom Korea Monaco United Republic of Tanzania Dominica Mongolia United State of America Dominican Republic Morocco Uruguay Ecuador Mozambique Uzbekistan Egypt Myanmar Venezuela El Salvador Nepal Vietnam Estonia Netherlands Yemen Ethiopia New Zealand Yugoslavia Fiji Nicaragua Zambia Finland Niger Zimbabwe France
224
UNESCO CONVENTION CONCERNING THE PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURAL AND NATURAL HERITATE
The World Heritage Committee 1997-1999
AUSTRALIA FRANCE MEXICO BENIN GREECE MONACO BRAZIL HUNGARY NIGER CANADA ITALY REPUBLIC OF KOREA CUBA JAPAN THIALAND ECUADOR LEBANON UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FINLAND MALTA ZIMBABWE The above 21 members of the Committee were elected by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention at its ninth, tenth, and eleventh sessions held on 29 and 30 October 1993, 2 and 3 November 1995, and 27 and 28 October 1997.
THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST SRI LANKA 1982 Sacred City of Anuradhapura 1983 Ancient City of Polonnruwa 1984 Ancient City of Sigiriya 1985 Sinharaja Forest Reserve 1986 Sacred City of Kandy 1987 Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications 1988 Golden Temple of Dambulla
???? Ancient Kalaweva Jayanga Cultural Landscape
225 FORMAT
NOMINATION OF PROPERTIES FOR INCLUSION ON THE WORLD HERITAGE LIST
1. Identification of the Property a. Country (and State Party if different) b. State, Province or Region c. Name of Property d. Exact Location on map and indication of geographical coordinates to the nearest second e. Maps and/or plans showing boundary of area proposed for inscription and of any buffer zone f. Area of property proposed for incsciption (ha.) and proposed buffer zone (ha.) if any
2. Justification for Inscription a. Statement of significance b. Possible comparative analysis (including state of conservation of similar properties) c. Authenticity/Integrity d. Criteria under which inscription is proposed (and) justification for inscription under these criteria
3. Description a. Description of Property b. History and Development c. Form and date of most recent records of property d. Present state of conservation e. Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property
226 4. Management a. Ownership b. Legal status c. Protective measures and methods of implementing them d. Agency/agencies with management authority e. Level at which management is exercised (e.g. on property, regionally) and name and address of responsible person for contact purposes f. Agreed plans related to property (e.g regional, local plan, conservation plan, tourist development plan) g. Sources and levels of finance h. Sources of expertise and training in conservation and management i. Visitor facilities and statistics j. Property management plan and statement of objectives (copy annexed) k. Staffing levels (professional, technical, maintenance)
5. Factors Affecting the Property a. Development Pressure (encroachment, adaptation, agriculture, mining) b. Environmental Pressures (e.g. pollution, climate change) c. Natural disasters and preparedness (earthquakes, floods, fires, etc) d. Visitor/tourism pressures e. Number of inhabitants within property, buffer zone f. Other
227 6. Monitoring a. Key indicators for measuring of conservation b. Administrative arrangements for monitoring property c. Results of previous reporting exercises
7. Documentation a. Photographs, slides, and where available, film/video b. Copies of property management plans and extracts of other plans relevant to the property c. Bibliography d. Address where inventory, records and archives are held
8. Signature on behalf of the State Party
228 CHAPTER 9
World Commission on Dams
Professor Kader Asmal, Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry in South Africa, is the Chairman of the UN World Commission on Dams. There are 12 Commissioners in all, the others being[1]: Mr Don Blackmore, Australia; Ms. Joji Carino, Philipines; Prof. Jose Goldenberg, Brazil; Dr Judy Henderson, Australia; Mr Goran Lindhal, Sweden; Ms. Deborah Moore, USA; Srimathi Medha Patkar, India; Mr. Jan Veltrop, USA; Prof. Thayer Scudder, USA; Ms. Shen Gouyi, Peoples Republic of China; Mr Achim Steiner, Ex-officio, Secretary-General, Germany. Professor Kader Asmal had been Professor of Law in Dublin University during his exile from South Africa during the apartheid era. He has said about his WCD assignment[2]: "Our work is for two years. After that our function is finished. It's the first time ever that such a thing has been done. We're working hard. Nothing concentrates the mind as the imminence of death and nothing concentrates our minds like imminence of expiry". A meeting of the WCD had been scheduled to be held in India, in October 1998, but was banned by the Indian government at the eleventh hour. It was later held in Sri Lanka, December 5-9, 1998, and Professor Kader Asmal, Shrimathi Medha Patkar and other members of the WCD were present. A copy of the Pugwash paper reproduced in Chapter 8 had been sent to the WCD Secretariat in South Africa, and I was able to meet Professor Asmal during his visit in Colombo. Professor Asmal gave a memorable lecture at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, during this visit, a media report on which is reproduced in the Annex below. In that presentation, Professor Asmal told us about the historic Separate Opinion of Vice President Weeramantry in the
229 International Court of Justice, in the Gabcikovo-Nagaymaros case, relevant extracts from which have been reproduced in this book as, "Vice President Christopher Weeramantry's Separate Opinion in the World Court". At Srimathi Medhar Patkar's invitation, I made a presentation on the Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems of Sri Lanka, to a group of persons representing Non Government Organizations (NGOs) at the WCD meeting. I took the opportunity to draw their attention to some misconceptions that had been documented by Edward Goldsmith[3] in his earlier publication on the Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams, (mentioned in Chapter 4). These misconceptions were repeated in a journal article distributed at the WCD meeting in which Goldsmith had said[4]: "Many of Sri Lanka's larger tanks are today silted up and abandoned, while many of the smaller tanks continue to be used for irrigation. It would seem that the reason for this is that larger tanks were often built by the State and in particular by kings, for largely ornamental purposes or simply for personal aggrandizement. The small, village tanks, on the other hand, were constructed by local people to supply their water needs. Sir Edmund Leach, at one time, Professor of Anthropology at Cambridge University, argues that although the larger tanks may have been the work of a state bureaucracy, the smaller tanks were constructed and maintained at local level". It has already been shown in several publications that Goldsmith has been repeating the sense (or nonsense) of some of Professor E.R. Leach's statements. The following is an example from a forthcoming book[5]: "At this point it would perhaps be opportune to draw attention to L each's famous essay Hydraulic Society in Ceylon[6]. It is an interesting coincidence that Leach also used the term hydraulic society, because he too revealed a very uninformed attitude about the ancient irrigation works in some of his remarks. Despite his first hand experience in the dry zone of Ceylon he did not realize the vitally important inter-relation
230 between the large reservoirs and the small village tanks, as shown by some of his comments[7]: ...although the major irrigation works provide food for labourers as well as amenities for palaces, the hydraulic system was not of crucial economic significance for the society as a whole. When the central government was disrupted and the major works fell into disrepair, village life could carry on quite adequately; for each village still possessed its own small scale irrigation system which was maintained by the villagers themselves. The major works collectively represent a colossal investment of labour effort but their construction was haphazard and discontinuous and spread over many centuries ...... The major hydraulic works are not created rationally and systematically but haphazard as pieces of self advertisement for individual leaders. But once created, such constructions survive and can be enhanced by later adventurers of the same type.
It is interesting that Leach, an anthropologist who could not have known about the water and soil conservation ecosystems approach to understanding ancient irrigation systems, has clearly viewed them from a hydraulic engineering perspective. This suggests that that perception was widely prevalent in the late nineteen fifties when Leach was doing his research on a dry zone village, Pul Eliya, near Anuradhapura[8]. Brohier's RAS paper on the "Inter-relation of Groups of Ancient Reservoirs and Channels", of the nineteen thirties was then apparently forgotten, and Brohier himself had used a hydraulic engineering approach in his Presidential Address[9] to the Engineering Association of Ceylon in 1956, as mentioned previously. What is more surprising though, is that so far no one seems to have challenged that slanderous last remark by Leach about the ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka, though scholars of
231
Kalaweva spilling - an awesome sight various disciplines must surely have read his essay. It is really indicative of ignorance of the subject, unbelievable in someone who has studied the social organization in the dry zone as carefully as Leach did. (However. it will be seen later that Leach's last statement applies most exactly to the modern designers of the large projects in the southern area, especially Lunugamvehera)". In fact Leach had gone even further in demonstrating his ignorance of ancient Sri Lanka, in his well known essay[10] that had been written to refute Wittfogel's concept of "oriental despotism"[11] related mainly to the development of water resources projects in China. The following statement is an example Ancient Sinhala was located exclusively in that part of the Northern Dry Zone which is now known as the North Central Province. According to Leach there was no Sinhala civilization in the southern area of Sri Lanka! The most amazing thing is that although Leach's essay is often cited by historians, I have yet to come across any criticism of the above wrong and false statements." There is the possibility of a new danger e% en from well-intentioned
232 efforts of such organizations as the WCD, when such incorrect interpretations of our history are popularized through it. The need for a correct understanding of our greatest asset, the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, should not be jeopardized in this manner. After the WCD meeting in Colombo, I have been kept informed about the activities of a number of concerned persons in India, and elsewhere, but mostly in India, who are involved in direct action about environmental issues that affect the lives of the silent masses of people. Their activities are an inspiration to those of us in Sri Lanka who are similarly committed and involved with the problems of the long-suffering people of Eppawala, the Rajarata, and the dry zone generally. An inspiring article by Arundhathi Roy titled "The Greater Common Good" is an example.[12]
Reference 1 DAMS, Official Newsletter of the World Commission on Dams. No. 1, December 1998. 2 Ibid. "Kada Asmal: That Dam Man", by John Carlin. p. 2 3 Goldsmith, Edward, and Hildeyard, The Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams. Wadebridge Environmental Centre. 1984 4 Goldsmith, Edward. "Learning To Live With Nature: The Lessons of Traditional Irrigation". The Ecologist, Vol. 6, No. 5. September/October 1998, Sanctuary Asia edition, Bombay, 1998. p.7 5 Mendis, D.L.O. Genocide in Southern Sri Lanka: Destruction of Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems in the Name of Development. (Forthcoming) 6 Leach, E.R. (1959) Hydraulic Society in Ceylon, in Past and Present, April 1959. 7 Ibid. 21 8 Leach, E.R. (1961) Pul Eliya - A Village to the Dry Zone of Ceylon. Cambridge. 9 Brohier, R.L. "Some Structural Features of the Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon". Presidential Address, Engineering Association of Ceylon, 50th Jubilee year, 1956. 10 Leach, Reference 6 11 Wittfogel, K. Oriental Despotism. Yale University press, Connecticut. 1957 12 Roy, Arundhathi, "The Greater Common Good". Outlook, March 1999.
233 ANNEX
(Reproduced from the Daily News, Sri Lanka, December 24, 25, and 26, 1998) Sustainable Development: Myth, Fancy or Reality?
BY PRO FESSOR KADER ASMAL MINISTER FOR WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY, S. AFRICA CHAIRMAN, WORLD COMMISSION ON DAMS "Sustainable Development is a flag of convenience under which diverse ships sail without an agreed theoretical core" - Bill Adams When the history of the twentieth century is written there will be a chapter reserved for the discussion of development and development theories. Maybe it will start with the period of unbridled industrial development and end with an understanding of sustainable development, particularly in the context of globalization. As we approach the end of the millenium it is time to take a step back and look at what we are taking us into the next century. In this lecture I want to look at the concept of -sustainable development with due regard to the myths, fancies and realities. I want to put forward what I see as the steps that we need to take if we are to make something meaningful and practical of sustainable development.
Myths and Realities The United Nations Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by Gro Harlem Bruntland, Prime Minister of Norway, reported in 1987 and produced the benchmark definition of sustainable development: ..."development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Since then there have been hundreds of operational definitions of sustainable development. However, these have mostly been variations on the Bruntland definition. Detractors of this definition would accuse it of being a formula designed to promote consensus rather than clarity. The first myth with respect to sustainable development is thus the belief that we have an inviolable, universal and timeless definition
234 and understanding of what sustainable development is. However, before the present generation takes the credit for having "invented" sustainable development we should consider just a few examples of projects undertaken hundreds of years ago which today would constitute good examples of sustainable development. Being here in Sri Lanka we do not have to look too far for these examples. In this country I had the pleasure to visit an amazing system of waterworks - giant storage reservoirs, erosion control tanks, including provision of water for wild animals - dating up to two thousand years ago. This included 25,000 to 30,000 minor reservoirs, which were developed together with an intricate network of canals. Sustainable development was already consciously practiced over two millennia ago with much success. The proponents of sustainable development have been greatly assisted by the respected jurist from Sri Lanka, Judge Christopher Weeramantry, who as Vice President of the International Court of Justice presented a separate opinion on the case concerning the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungry v. Slovakia) also known as the Danube Dam Case 1997. In his judgement Judge Weeramantry pointed to the ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka which recognized the need for development but which specifically articulated the need for environmental protection and ensured that the technology it employed paid due regard to environmental considerations. Similarly the legal system of the time paid attention to environmental protection. Modern environmental law needs to take note of the experience of the past in pursuing this "congruence of fit" between development and environmental imperatives. Sustainable development is thus not merely a principle of current wisdom or modern international law. It is one of the most ancient of ideas in the human heritage. It has rich insights that can be gained from millennia of human experience therefore have an important part to play in the service of international law.
235 As an added observation Judge Weeramantry suggested that there are now ample and sufficient indications of the recognition among governments of the need for sustainable development for it to be practiced as an obligation, thereby giving the principle of sustainable development the nature of customary law.
Economic growth A criticism of the Bruntland report, as representative of `manistream' sustainable development thinking, is that it suggests that growth and over-consumption are the root-causes of the current problem, but it then goes on to call for continued economic growth up to 5 or 10 times the output existing at the time the report was published in 1987. Thus the powerful myth that growth equals development remains firmly entrenched even in certain sustainable development circles. Since 1950 global economic output has jumped from $3.8 trillion to $ 18.9 trillion, a nearly five-fold increase in itself. Yet during this period of increasing world production and consumption, the gap between rich and poor has been widening. In terms of relative wealth, the poor countries certainly did get poorer. By 1995 the relative gap had become even greater, with the income of low-income countries equal to only 1.7% that of the industrialized countries. Hence between 1950 and 1995, the relative gap between rich and poor countries widened by 60%. But another gap separates rich from poor: many developing countries have long experienced a growing gap between rich and poor citizens. Many poor people living in poor countries are therefore not only falling behind the world's rich, but also their more affluent compatriots. The solution to this growing inequality and persistent poverty doesn't like in the ruling classes trying to convince the world that the best way out of our current problems is for the rich to continue to increase consumption in order to prime the growth engine of the international economy.
236 It is estimated that at the moment the rich countries use 75% of the world's resources and produce 75% of the world's waste. We cannot all live like that and nor do I believe that we should aspire to do so. The reality is that with the size of the current world population, and predicted increases in population, particularly in poorer countries, we cannot afford to live at those levels of over consumption - the world may not have the sufficient carrying capacity. Despite the noblest commitments of various governments to reduction in carbon emissions, to protecting rain forests, to combating desertification, the figures contained in reports to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development still tell a depressing tale. This situation will continue so long as we are unable to react quickly to the crises the world faces. We continue to undermine the principles of sustainable development by utilizing non-renewable resources at an increasing rate and failing to develop renewable resources effectively. Sustainable development requires that non- renewable resources should be depleted only at the rate of creation of renewable substitutes. The Bruntland Commission set out, as mandated by the United Nations, to make recommendations that would achieve sustainable development by the year 2000. Just as the Club of Rome, Bruntland and successive commentators made predictions of looming catastrophe about the sustainability of the earth's ecosystem. In reality there is still little consensus as to what the real limits are, how limits are measured and what the point of no return might be. In fact sustainable development has much of its present day origins in the doom and gloom of the book Limits to Growth published by the 'Club of Rome' in 1972. In some ways it was a little like a follow up to the Origin of Species, except that Limits to Growth predicted the demise of the species! Using models on resource use and population growth it
237 predicted catastrophe for the year 2000 unless there was concerted international action to alleviate the approaching and inevitable catastrophe. The main premise of the report was that in order to avoid this catastrophe the world needed to achieve zero population growth and a stable world economy in which growth was not the main factor. Importantly though, they advocated a global approach to the problem. However, despite the Club of Rome's claims of 25 years ago there is no growing crisis around the immediate shortage of basic non-renewable resources. The problem is more with basic systems like the water cycle, the composition of the atmosphere, the changing seasons, the assimilation of waste, the recycling of nutrients, the pollination of crops, the interplay of species - all could be on the verge of collapse over the next 50 years. The challenge of globalization must be to intensify the war against poverty. How do we develop an understanding amongst the poor and dispossessed of today that an improvement in their lot has to be done with the consideration and protection of our resources and environment for future generations? Poverty is both a cause and an effect of environmental destruction. But we have to ask the question as to how much we can achieve in alleviating current levels of poverty without growth? Incidentally, when we talk about the alleviation of poverty, we often refer to developing countries and we forget the 100 million or more people who live in poverty in the well or over-developed market economies, and at least another 100 million who live in countries of the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe. If one accepts that ultimately there are limits to growth, and that we live in a finite world, then there are complex decisions to make about the trade-offs between the elimination of poverty and deprivation on the one hand, and the need to limit increases in physical throughput of non-renewable resources in our economic system.
238 Fancy and reality It is difficult enough trying to understand the term "development" without having to add the adjective "sustainable" before it just to make life a little more complex than it already is. We have to ask whether it has simply become fashionable to attach the adjective to development every time we use the word to give us a sense that we are doing something? The United nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro June 1992 produced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Other documents were Agenda 21, a statement on Forest Principles, and two conventions one on Climate and another on Bio-diversity. Agenda 21 is a forty chapter action blueprint on specific issues relating to sustainable development. It lays out what needs to be done to reduce wasteful and inefficient consumption patterns in some parts of the world while encouraging increased but sustained development in others. It offers policies and programmes to achieve a sustained balance between consumption, population and the earth's life-supporting capacity. A major theme is the need to eradicate poverty by giving poor people more access to the resources they need to live sustainably. Since Rio there have been a variety of other United Nations initiatives to pr5omote Agenda 21 and related issues. These include Conferences on Human Settlements (Habitat I and Habitat II) and on Women (Beijing) and the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen. But the lack of real progress is alarming. In general three appears to be a lack of real commitment to Agenda 21 and one often gets the impression that many countries are simply paying lip service to the commitments made on sustainable development in international forums. In addition, the Commission on Global Governance noted, the countries facing the most compelling threat to sustainability are generally
239 those with the least capacity, both institutional and financial, to deal with them. Nevertheless over the last decade a number of processes have been put into place to monitor the progress of Agenda 21 s well as to provide for ongoing international negotiations around agreements and declarations. These include the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), the Framework Convention of Climate Change, the Convention on Bio-diversity, the Convention to Combat Desertifcation, Chemical Management initiatives, Global Forest Policy, attention to issues of trade and the role of the World Trade Organization, and a Global Oceans Policy. I believe that important as the role of the Commission on Sustainable Development is, we need to ensure that language and resolutions do not become substitutes for genuine interactions that foster sustainable development, particularly in those countries where resources to do so are most urgently required. In general too little work has been done to strategically place the question of sustainable development at the forefront of the focus of governments and the international bodies that should be most concerned with the future of the world in the next century.
Making Sustainable Development a Reality At the time of the Rio Summit, I was privileged to play a significant role in drafting of the new Constitution for South Africa. It is not often that one is presented with such a unique opportunity to design the essence around which a country decides to build its political, social and economic future. Our Constitution is probable one of the few in the world that constitutionalizes the concept of sustainable development. Clause 24 (a) (iii) of our Constitution reads: "Everyone has the right to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promotion of justifiable economic and social development".
240 Elsewhere in the Bill of Rights section of our Constitution the rights to adequate housing, to health care services, sufficient food and water and social security are also entrenched (obviously within the resources available). Of course challenge for South Africa and our government is to ensure that these clauses are acted upon efficiently and effectively, rather than remaining as dictums for good governance which are dusted off at times like this. I have already mentioned constitutional provisions which promote sustainable development in South Africa. My own Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry, is the lead Ministry for the "Working for Water" programme which, to the consternation of many North American and Europeans, specializes in cutting down trees! More than 40,000 previously unemployed people are working at eradicating alien vegetation in water catchment areas as part of a long-term demand management process to conserve water, a precious and scarce resource in South Africa. Besides providing valuable service in the pursuit for sustainable development and the creation of employment, the programme is used to promote public health and welfare campaigns. Demand management is crucial to the sustainable use of our water resources. Already it is a policy of my department to ensure that no new plans to construct dams are approved before a proper demand management study has been undertaken. So, for instance the City of Cape Town has been waiting for some years for approval to build a new dam whilst demand management studies are undertaken. Reading submissions by the Sri Lankan Government to the Commission on Sustainable Development it is encouraging to see that programmes for economic and human resources development have enabled Sri Lanka to achieve a comparatively high quality of life at low per capita income levels in line with much thinking on sustainable development.
241 It is encouraging to note that Sri Lanka has signed and ratified the UNCED agreements and conventions. There is government recognition that growth and environment are two sides of the same coin. Sri Lanka has reaffirmed the Rio Declaration and Agenda 21. This has led to the development of a national Environment Action Plan to provide a policy framework for sustainable development. Also a Forestry Master Plan, Coastal Zone Management Plan, and a National Bio-diversity Action Plan. At an international level there is progress as well. In May 1994, an international group of experts on human rights and environmental law convened at the United Nations in Geneva and drafted the first ever declaration of principles on human rights and environment. Clause 1 of the draft principles of the declaration states: "Human rights, an ecologically sound environment, sustainable development and peace are interdependent and indivisible". Over time it is hoped that this declaration will also be adopted and accepted universally. In addition Article 1 of the Declaration on the right to Development, 1986, asserted that "The right to development is an inalienable human right". The Rio Earth Summit affirmed the need for this right. The right to development like other basic human rights is indivisible. However it must be seen more as a collective right, rather than an individual right selfishly taken on board by uncaring persons whose only interest is in self-enrichment.
World Commission on Dams This lecture coincides with the third meeting of the World Commission on Dams, which I chair. I agreed to chair the Commission, as I believe that it provides an unique opportunity to address one of the most intensely debated issues in sustainable development. The construction of large dams has become the subject of intense scrutiny and I believe our report will contribute to clarifying many issues and assist with future decisions and planning about water resource utilization in the future. In our deliberations
242 I believe the Commission must be guided by the principles and values of sustainable development. Clearly the Commission has to come out with properly reasoned criteria and guidelines which will be broadly acceptable to all the role players who have an interest in the building or otherwise of large dams and the utilization of water, an increasingly scarce resource. One of the key questions we will seek to address is how to assess the overall effectiveness of dams in development. In this context we must also recognize that notions of development effectiveness ware not static but tend to evolve as knowledge and values change. Twenty years ago, for example, hydropower proponents would not have argued their case in terms of CO2 emissions as they do today. The fact that both dam proponents and critics reached consensus on creating the Commission, and have continued to work together, is a significant step forward. In this respect I believe that this Commission is unique among Commissions and it bodes well for the future. I believe that with an open and honest approach being observed by all the Commissioners we should be able to reach consensus in carrying out the mandate of the Commission. Nevertheless as a Commission we face a number of critical challenges - particularly in the areas of displacement and relocation of affected peoples and the question of compensation, viable alternatives to large dams, alternative sources of energy, and the need to balance environmental and ecological concerns against increasing development demands. There is considerable debate about the extent to which hydropower can really be considered a "clean" form of energy and we hope to examine this and related issues in an objective manner. The question of C02 reduction targets is important as part of the concerns around global climate change and much of this is dependent on choices of power generation. In the end it is hoped that through the process we have followed, with all its attendant thoroughness, the various role players will take heed of out recommendations and begin to use mechanisms,
243 which we will also propose, to prevent any logjams that might have otherwise occurred, when the construction of large dams is being contemplated. Our work as a Commission on Dams reflects many of the issues at the heart of the discourse on sustainable development. The parameters and indicators used to determine the effectiveness of dams in development have changed over time. In the early days of dam construction sustainability was defined through the engineer's eyes - namely kilowatt hours produced or hectares of land irrigated. With time economists, ecologists, hydrologists, social scientists and others have added new parameters and criteria. The way we look at dams today reflects both changes in knowledge and values. Experience, changes in technology and advances in sciences have enabled us to gain a better understanding of both benefits and costs. Similarly our valuation of environmental goods and services, social rights and equity, and systems of governance has changed over time. The way we define development effectiveness is therefore not a static concept but rather a dynamic one. The raison d'Itre of the World Commission on Dams derives from the debate on how changes in knowledge and values determine our perception of dams. Part of our work as a Commission will be to capture and better reveal how we - as an international community - wish to deter- mine development effectiveness. Key elements of the changing paradigm will have to include not only technical performance of dams but also their impact on economic growth, environmental sustainability, equity and distribution benefits, uncertainty and risks, governance and decision-making processes. In seeking to better understand why dams have become an issue of intense debate we are essentially seeking to address the evolving concept of sustainable development. The challenge of development is one of creating a healthy and educated society in which people participate freely in social, political
244 and economic decision-making. No longer can income and economic growth be considered the sole measures of human welfare.
Challenges We must reject the liberal myth that those in situations of poverty cannot enjoy full democratic rights until they emerge from their poverty. In this spirit the United Nations Development Programme has promoted the concept of sustainable human development including the elimination of poverty, a reduction in the population growth rate and an improved understanding of the diversity of ecosystems and the environmental impact of development activities. Sustainable Human Development puts the human development paradigm within the context of our finite environment and ensures future sustainability of the ecosystem. Decisions that have to be made to ensure sustainable development must be based on efficient allocation, just distribution and scale of activity which will allow sustainable development. As a result the UNDP through its Human Development Reports has developed a Human Development Index (HDI) comprising longevity, educational attainment, and standard of living to facilitate the quest for sustainable development. We need to encourage the development and use of such indices to measure as many aspects as possible of sustainable development. In 2001 a United Nations sponsored global intergovernmental conference will take place on "Financing Development". It will offer an ideal opportunity to spell Ot the global economic priorities for the next century. Sustainable development is not about preventing further development in under developed countries, nor, for that matter, about exporting dirty industries to under developed countries. Sustainable development must be premised on the concept of
245 equity, on the concept that all people, now and in the future, are entitled to a life of dignity, a life in which their basic human deeds are met, and a life in which their right to develop their human potential is met. Sustainable development is about finding our way forward (not back) to a place in the natural order of things. It requires, I believe, an enormous paradigm shift in the increasingly "free market", individualistic, global view of life and economics. Much of the future of our planet depends on the creation of an economic system that exists in harmony with the tenets of sustainable development. I believe that the economic system has to be reoriented to locate market activity in the interests of the long term welfare of the world community. We need to turn conventional economics on its head by redirecting focus from the narrow concerns of growth and efficiency to the concerns of community solidarity, democratic governance and environmental sustainability. This requires the strengthening and empowerment of civil society to take charge over the forces that affect their lives. In more orthodox economic terms. Herman Daly in his farewell speech at the World Bank, suggested four pointers towards global economic change: ? Stop counting the consumption of natural capital as income ? Tax labour and income less, tax resource throughput more ? Maximize the productivity of natural capital in the short run, and invest in increasing supply in the long run ? Move away from the ideology of global economic integration by free trade, free capital mobility, and export led growth - and toward a more nationalist orientation that seeks to develop domestic production for internal markets as the first option, having recourse to international trade only when clearly more efficient ("Farewell lecture to World Bank", 1994) It is easy to dismiss sustainable development as one more utopia, arguing that entrenched interests press for more of the same, that is savage growth and imitative modernization; that environmental
246 protection is expensive and, therefore should wait for better times, and that the present economic and social situation in many third world countries is too critical for implementing any such changes. Finally there is a need for a re-think at the way in which the world as a community makes decisions. We need only to look at some instances over the last century of slow response times to international crises; such as the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the atrocities his regime committed; of our slow reaction to the genocide that took place in the Great Lakes region in Africa. Indeed the world's slow response to taking serious action against the Apartheid regime in South Africa, was painful for those suffering under racist oppression. How long has it taken or is it still taking to persuade the world of the AIDS catastrophe which we are now facing? The reality is that there can be no rational development amidst massive inequalities, wars, large scale destruction of social institutions, when planning mechanisms are all at the level of the state and when the state itself doesn't really exist.
247 The collective right of development cannot only be exercised in an atmosphere peace and democracy and with the intention that development must take place in an integrated manner which tackles issues of poverty, illiteracy, social alienation and violence in communities. Therefore most of all we require visionary leadership. Vaclav Havel recognized this when he said in 1990 addressing the US Congress: "Without a global revolution in the sphere of human consciousness, nothing will change for the better in our being as humans, and the catastrophe towards which our world is headed... will be unavoidable... We are still incapable of understanding that the only genuine backbone of all our actions - if they are to be moral - is responsibility: responsibility to something higher than my family, my firm, my success, responsibility to the order of being where all our actions are indelibly recorded and where, they will be properly judged".
248 CHAPTER 10
The Conventional Wisdom as a Cause of Conflict over water
This chapter contains a paper presented by me at the 45th international Pugwash Conference in 1995 in Hiroshima, the city devastated by the first atomic bomb 50 years earlier; and a local critique of that paper. When first submitted, this paper titled Past, Present and Future Conflict over Water had been read with interest by the Secretary General 'of Pugwash, Professor Francesco Calogero, himself, and commended by him (Frances Calogero, Personal communication, January 1995). It was well received at the Working Group where it was presented and discussed. A member of that group, Dr Malin Falkenmark, whose specialty is water resources development, was very interested in the concept of water and soil conservation ecosystems in Sri Lanka, which was new to her. She asked me later to contribute an article to the UN Environmental Forum on the subject. The Report of the Working Group, under the caption "Future action on water and conflict" had the following comment: As shown in the case of Sri Lanka, there is a lot to learn from traditional water systems, which unfortunately have been ignored in the construction of modern alternatives. However, when this paper was brought to the attention of a Sri Lanka scholar, a distinguished former diplomat, it was subjected to scathing criticism, which is published here for the first time, with his permission. This shows that my presentation may not be all that convincing, and that, moreover, in certain circumstances it is dangerous to show appreciation of the ancient systems, in Sri Lanka. The burden of my personal crusade against the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is based on recognition of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Rajarata
249 as a priceless resource, of which the Kalawe\ a-Jayaganga cultural landscape is the crowning glory. If this view is dismissed with the type of criticism given below, it will be difficult indeed to save the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit from devastation, and the ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape from destruction.
Actually, as a matter of fact, to use a phrase often used by the first Prime Minister, D.S. Senanayake (who believed in the value of the ancient systems) there was a time when little practical use was seen in the ancient irrigation systems. Although one engineer of that time, S. Arumugam, now a nonagenarian who lives in London, appreciated the ancient systems and tried to understand their functioning, his was a voice in the wilderness. He was virtually alone, while the small tanks were dismissed as "inefficient" by irrigation engineers, as illustrated in the quotation from the Heda oya Reconnaissance report. The large systems were also subjected to oblique criticism by scientists whose opinions carried weight. For example, Dr Christoper Panabokke, the eminent soil scientist who was recently appointed Chancellor of Sabaragamuva University, used to tell me that I was suffering from the "Mahavamsa syndrome". The meaning was obvious, I was glorifying the past, without scientific basis. But, as discussed in Chapter 1, in the fifth
250 decade of his professional life, Dr Panabokke has brilliantly demonstrated the underlying scientific basis of the systems of small tanks in ancient Rajarata, in terms of soil morphology etc. Dr Panabokke has thus belatedly joined the ranks of those Sri Lankans, like D.S. Senanayake, and S. Arumugam, who perhaps merely following instinct and not supported by sterile "scientific objectivity", have nevertheless worked on the basis that there is a scientific validity in the ancient systems. It is my hope therefore that, after reading this book, Dr John Gooneratne, Professor Stanley Thambiah and Dr Lai Jayewardena, will like Dr Panabokke, join the ranks of those who do appreciate the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka for their real worth.
251 But, the whole issue of preserving the Kalawewa-Jayaganga cultural landscape hinges on the perception not of local scientists alone, but of the Minister of Industries, and the government. If they see it as the critique of this paper has seen it, there will be very little hope. The signs at present are not exactly propitious. For example, the historic Jayaganga, so named at least from the time of King Dhatusena in the 5th century, has been thought by some to have been named after the architect of the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project that began in 1977, President J.R. Jayewardena, like the Jaya Terminal in the Port of Colombo. There is no better evidence of this than the Mahaweli museum located in the building that ironically enough also houses the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch) in Colombo. In a model of the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project the Jayaganga has been labeled Yoda ela. Apparently the loyal public servants who set up this model had not bothered to look into the RAS journals to learn that there are many yoda elas built in ancient times, but one and only one Jayaganga, a wonder of the world for many reasons. Accordingly, it would seem that there has to be a cultural revolution, no less, in the minds of political and administrative decision-makers, if the cultural heritage of the ancient Rajarata is to be saved. This change of heart and mind will have to start at the very top, since under the present system at the present time, every decision-maker seems anxious to read the mind of his immediate superior before expressing his own opinion. I have seen this to be the case in regard to the submission of the proposal to UNESCO to have the Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape recognized as a cultural heritage monument. In spite of having informed those concerned about my efforts to bring this to the attention of top officials in UNESCO, and the President of the World Bank, as described in this book, no positive action has been taken at the time of writing. Everybody seems to be waiting to learn what the President thinks about it, and then take action. In these sorry circumstances, I have myself prepared the first part of the UNESCO submission which is published as an Annex in this book.
252 Past, Present and Future Conflicts over Water in Sri Lanka
(reproduced from the Proceedings of the 45th International Pugwash Conference, 1995)
Introduction Sri Lanka is an island lying about 30 km off the southeastern tip of India. It receives rainfall from two monsoons, from the southwest and the northeast, each blowing for about half the year. A central hill massif in the south-central area intercepts most of the rain from the southwest monsoon, but the northeast monsoon gives precipitation all over the island. As a result, the southwestern sector gets rainfall in excess of 2500 mm. and is called the wet zone. About two-thirds of the island, gets less than 1900 mm. mostly during less than half the year, and is known as the dry zone. An intermediate zone lies in between. Three ancient kingdoms, Rajarata, Ruhunurata, and Mayarata had existed in ancient times, the first two covering almost the entirety of the dry zone.
Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems or Irrigation Systems Extensive man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems had been built in the dry zone, starting in the first millennium BC, which had functioned for more than 17 centuries until after the 12th century. A number of contributory causes for the final, apparently irreversible decline of the ancient systems have been identified. These causes include invasions from south India, internecine strife, occupation of the heartland of Rajarata by invaders who were not able or did not care to maintain the systems, elimination of the kulinas, a class of persons vested with the task of maintaining the systems, and the advent of malarial[2] [3], as well as salinization, and breakdown of foreign trade, sustained heavy rainfall, and even earthquakes. The most recently identified contributory cause is the possible introduction for the first time of a 'hydraulic engineering perspective' (which will be explained below), in the reign of
253 Parakrama Bahu (1153-86), replacing the existing ecosystems approach to the ancient systems at that time[4]. A comprehensive topographical survey of the island was completed by the British in the early years of the 20th century, which showed the remains of the ancient[5] systems. Using these data Brohier[6] showed that all the large reservoirs in the ancient Rajarata were interconnected by means of channels and natural rivers. Small reservoirs called tanks (after the Portuguese tanque) had been built in cascades in mini-catchments in the ancient Rajarata. Brohier showed that each of these cascades was dependent on the inter-connected systems of large reservoirs and channels thereby forming an efficient water and soil conservation ecosystem[7]. These cascades have been studied in great detail recently[8]. The term 'hydraulic society' was used to describe the ancient civilization[9], but this description is now seen to be misleading[10]. The preferred description is a 'sustainable and stable society', or, in more popular current phraseology, a 'viable green society'.
Modern Development: Hydraulic engineering Starting in British times, hydraulic engineers in the Public Works Department and in the Irrigation department (after it was set up in 1900) played a dominant role in piecemeal restoration of abandoned large reservoirs in the ancient Rajarata, thereby dismembering what had once been a marvelous complex of water and soil conservation ecosystems that may well have been described as a 'Wonder of the Ancient World’[11] . They went further and devel- oped a four stage hypothesis for the evolution and development of the ancient systems as seen from a hydraulic engineering perspective, to which the best known authority on the ancient systems ultimately lent his illustrious name[12]. The four stage hypothesis was later republished by Joseph Needham in his Science and Civilization in China, and described as follows[13]: "The process of evolution which is thought to have occurred may be described as follows; first, the farmers made numerous small tanks in the hills and foothills, near their fields or
254 terraces to catch the run-ojf water, which they baled out at leisure. Then numbers of small dams, forming small reservoirs were built, often in series, on the upper reaches of the greater rivers, thus retaining the annual or inundatory flow, and discharging it as desired by small channels along the valley sides. As time went on larger dams were built submerging or rendering unnecessary the smaller ones. The next step was revolutionary: a weir was built much higher up the main river to form the headwork for a long lateral trunk derivation canal, which thus brought perennial water to join the annual monsoon supplies in the great reservoir. This method [which was] ambitious as well as scientific, had numerous advantages ". Needham subsequently acknowledged that this hypothesis was not correct[14]. It is incorrect because it dates storage as an earlier stage than river diversion. River diversion is water management in space, a much earlier process in irrigated agriculture than storage, which is water management in time. The former dates back to the early stone age, whereas storage depends on the invention of the sluice - an event that took place perhaps in the late stone age. For example in Sri Lanka, this invention has been dated back to the 3'"/2^° century BC: "Since about the middle of the last century, open wells, called 'valve-towers' when they stand clear of the embankment, and 'valve-pits' when they stand on it, have been built on numerous reservoirs in Europe. Their duty is to hold the valves, and the lifting gear for working them, by means of which the outward flow of the water is regulated or totally stopped. Such also was the function of the bisokotuwa of the Sinhalese engineers. They were the first inventors of the valve-pit, more than 2100 years ago". (Parker, 1909, 379) The invention of the sluice has been recognized as a stage in the evolution and development of water and soil conservation ecosystems, in a new seven stage hypothesis that is presented below.
255 The Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon, 1959 Based on the hydraulic engineering perspective, a map called the Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon was published in 1959. This map, while ignoring all but the very largest of the ancient reservoirs and channels shown on the topographical survey sheets, identified locations for new large reservoirs that would submerge ancient tanks, and small diversion systems, in accordance the third stage of the erroneous four stage hypothesis. The Water Resources Development Plan, was prepared by engineers in the Irrigation department who were not attuned at all to the cultural history of the country, and were therefore, totally ignorant of the traditional knowledge of its people[16]. These engineers believed that there was little value in the ancient systems, which they described as irrigation systems rather than as water and soil conservation ecosystems. More particularly they believed that the ancient small tanks were 'inefficient' and had to be replaced by large reservoirs submerging large numbers of them. This is indeed so when small tanks are viewed from a hydraulic engineering perspective. This is vividly seen in an extract from a Reconnaissance Report (now a Pre-Feasibility study) prepared 45 years ago, before the Water Resources Development Plan of 1959.[17] The development of Heda oya is recommended as it compares very favourably, from technical and financial viewpoints, with other major schemes already undertaken by government. There does not exist any doubt as to the need to achieve selfsufficiency in food. This is an achievement that cannot be realized by spending large sums of money on tiny village tanks which do not have the staying power in a drought nor can a better standard of living be taken to a people depending on them. Vagaries of the monsoons and resulting destitution can be fought only by spending public funds on large schemes and not by creating little evaporating pans and relief works. The age of the village pond has passed away and the time has come to embark on large projects like the scheme under review'.
256 This deep-seated prejudice against the small tanks (described as little evaporating pans) has recently been extended to another dimension. Thambiah in his polemic Buddhism Betrayed?, has argued that the small tank, the Buddhist temple stupa or dagoba, and the paddy field, are a triad that is venerated as symbolic of a past glory, as a result of which real development, meaning economic growth, in modern Sri Lanka is being retarded[19] . Recently this incorrect analysis has been responded to in detail[20]. Western trained and western-oriented engineers, of the type who prepared the Water Resources Development Plan, though ignorant of history and unsympathetic to the traditional knowledge of traditional farmers, were nevertheless dominant in water resources development planning, and they impressed their views on other scientists. (Recently, however, there have at last been some significant changes. For example, a soil scientist who had earlier subscribed to wrong interpretations of hydraulic engineers, studied some "cascades" of small tanks in the ancient Rajarata, and found them to be extremely efficient water and soil conservation ecosystems[20]).
Kuhnian Stages in Understanding the History of Irrigation in Sri Lanka It has been shown that an incorrect understanding of the evolution and development of the ancient systems has followed Kuhnian stages of Theory, Paradigm, Crisis and Revolution[21]. The pre-Paradigm stage or Theory began with the publication of a landmark paper which described the earliest understanding of the scientific basis of the small tanks systems in the ancient Rajarata[22]. The Paradigm was the publication of the four stage hypothesis[23], followed by publication of the 1959 Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon, both based on a hydraulic engineering perspective. Kuhnian-style paradigm-based 'normal science' took the form of paradigm-based engineering - implementation of some projects based on construction of large reservoirs selected from this map, in the southern area of Sri Lanka. The succeeding Crisis stage was highlighted by protestations of local people on account of destruction
257 of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, beginning in the early seventies[24] The Crisis continued with environmental degradation on the new projects, which led to civil commotion and insurrection aimed at overthrowing the government itself[25]. The final stage of Revolution should be the arrival of a new paradigm. A new Paradigm candidate, the seven stage hypothesis based on ecosystems, announced in 1983/84 and published later, is given below[26]. (A more literal interpretation of this stage is also available in the form of break-down in law and order, and continued civil commotion and unrest with tremendous loss of life and property, in the 1980s. Sadly, these events themselves were overshadowed by the more widely publicized 'ethnic conflict', which has always received wide global media coverage especially in the West. Consequently there has been an understatement of the scale and magnitude of the 'non-ethnic' conflict. For example, although a visiting EEC delegation estimated the number of missing persons in the southern, central, eastern and western parts of the country as 60,000 - twice the highest estimate for those killed and missing in the ethnic conflict in the north and east - outside commentators have given absurdly low figures, thereby masking the extent of the tragedy[27]).
The Ecosystems Perspective The hydraulic engineering perspective may be described as a hard technology approach in which water is treated as being inanimate and active, as in the study of hydraulics. In the soft technology ecosystems approach, on the other hand, water is seen in exactly the opposite terms, as animate but passive, as in its function as a facilitating agent in Nature's biogeochemical cycles, and in photosynthesis. The seven stage hypothesis based on ecosystems, is as follows[28]: 1. Rain fed agriculture 2. Temporary river diversion and inundation irrigation on river banks 3. Permanent river diversion and channel irrigation systems
258 4. Development of weirs and spillways on diversion channels 5. Invention of the sluice 6. Construction of reservoirs equipped with sluices 7. Damming a perennial river Six types of water and soil conservation ecosystems may be identified in Sri Lanka from this hypothesis, of which all but the first are man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems: 1. Rain fed agriculture ecosystems of two types, viz. traditional haen govithan, (also described as swidden agriculture), and permanent tree crops, of which the Kandyan forest garden is the best example[29], and the Dry Zone forest garden is another[30]. 2. Flood or inundation irrigation ecosystems 3. Channel irrigation ecosystems 4. A micro irrigation ecosystem below a small tank equipped with a sluice 5. A macro irrigation ecosystem below a large reservoir, with one or more micro irrigation ecosystems of types 2, 3, or 4, in its command area 6. A complex of macro irrigation ecosystems consisting of a number of interconnected macro irrigation ecosystems, as in the ancient Rajarata Small tanks are seen to be efficient from the ecosystems perspective, always in combination, either in 'cascades' or with other hydraulic structures, as listed above. There are two aspects of the ecosystems concept relating to 'small tanks'. Firstly it has been found that a large number of the small earth embankments shown on the old topographical survey sheets as 'abandoned' small tanks, were not equipped with sluices in ancient times, although some of them have been so equipped when restored in recent times. These earth embankments were in fact deflection structures which served to raise water and divert it into permeable soils in the valley sides, and thus maintain the water table[31]. Secondly, in Tamilnadu and other parts of southern India, there is appreciation of the small village tank as a water and soil conservation device called eri or yeri in Tamil. In contrast to the narrow hydraulic engineering attitude to these small tanks here in
259 Sri Lanka, they have been described as follows[32]: 1. As appropriate irrigation devices 2. As a system which acted as a flood control device, thus preventing soil erosion and wastage of runoff water during periods of heavy rainfall 3. As storage devices which acted as insurance against low rainfall periods and also recharged groundwater in the surrounding area 4. As a device which was crucial to the overall ecosystem A similar appreciation of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems is a necessary prerequisite for rational water resources development planning. Any true water resources development plan must build on these ancient systems, which are priceless assets, and not liabilities. Scientific study of these systems must be a multi-disciplinary exercise. The hydraulics engineer in Sri Lanka must take the leading role in water resources planning, but he should collaborate with many other disciplines - bio-scientists, historians, and archaeologists, for example. For, "to learn about the past in the light of the present is to learn about the present in the light of the past[33].
Hydraulic Engineering in the Southern Area of Sri Lanka The two large reservoir based projects in the southern area in which ancient ecosystems were destroyed by the imposition of new hydraulic engineering designs, are Uda Walawe in the Walawe ganga, and Lunugamvehera in Kirindi oya, basins. (Ganga refers to a perennial river, and oya or ara (Tamil aru) refers to a non-perennial river). In both cases, the new large reservoirs submerged large numbers of small tanks and diversion structures according to the third stage of the four stage hypothesis. Alternative upstream sites for construction of large reservoirs, which would have commanded the large numbers of ancient small-scale systems rather than submerge them were available but were not investigated[34].
260 Samanala weva A large reservoir, Samanala weva (literally, butterfly reservoir, due to its shape in plan) constructed recently in the south at tremendous cost, mainly for hydropower benefits, has been given much global publicity on account of complex foundation engineering problems[35]. It is not generally known that these problems would have been avoided if an alternative proposal for a 'run-of-the-river' project in the first instance had been accepted[36]. Now, a proposal to solve the problem of continuing leakage in the right bank abutment by a process described as 'wet-blanketing', is the subject of heated debate. Local engineers have expressed grave doubts about the proposal[37], while foreign 'experts' are backing it strongly. Furthermore, local people in and around the site are not consulted, while the proposal is being publicized and promoted by its proponents under slogans like "Environment and Development". The message is that development depends on hydropower that is environmentally clean. However, the propaganda methods used to create support for the project have apparently been borrowed from Madison Avenue, and do not deceive local people, who see it as yet another attempt by vested business interests to pull the wool over their eyes.
Ancient Iron and Steel Manufacture in Sri Lanka An important development during construction of Samanala dam was the discovery in the vicinity of an unique, previously unknown system of smelting locally available iron ore for production of iron and steel, dating to the pre- Christian era. This discovery has far-reaching implications for the study of the ancient man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems in Sri Lanka. More than 9000 tonnes of high quality steel have been produced in unique west-facing 'linear' furnaces, powered entirely by wind[38], quite different from the foot-bellows technology documented earlier[39]. This was most probably the source of the famous Damascus of damascene steel, used in making weapons for the crusades and other adventures in the Middle Ages[40]. It was undoubtedly also the source of steel used in making high quality surgical instruments
261 used in the first hospitals ever built in Sri Lanka in the early Middle ages[41]. Large amounts of slag from iron and steel smelting are also found in various locations all over the dry zone. These are indications of local manufacture of earth moving tools and equipment used in construction of the vast infrastructure of water and soil conservation ecosystems, as well as of tools and implements used in agriculture and industries, during the ancient civilization[42].
A New Conflict over Water? - Moragahakande Reservoir and the NCP Canal Despite protestations that the Water Resources Development Plan published in 1959 is based on unscientific and irrational principles[43], an announcement has been made recently by government that yet another large reservoir, Moragahakande, picked out from this Plan, this time in the ancient Rajarata in the north-central dry zone, is to be constructed with Japanese 'aid'. It is predicted that new conflicts over water will result from this project. Engineers who prepared the Water Resources Development Plan, though ignorant, were well motivated, and one of their foremost thoughts was how to transfer surface water from the northcentral region to the semi-arid northern region. Towards this end they proposed construction of a large reservoir, Moragahakande, and a long channel called the North Central Province or NCP canal located approximately on the dividing ridge in 'the north-central part of the island, carrying water from the Moragahakande reservoir at the source to storage systems at the end. No such major ridge channel has ever been built in Sri Lanka where all major ancient channels are contour channels that receive water from one side, and deliver it to chains of small tanks on the other side, all along their course. The intention to provide some measure of relief to semi-arid lands in the north - identified as part of the 'traditional homelands' of the Tamil minority in the island, a few of whom are presently involved in a disastrous civil war - can never be achieved by the Moragahakande project. Rather, if built as designed, the NCP canal will be a cause of conflict over water all along its course - from beginning to end. This conflict will be compounded
262 by the 'ethnic' element. It has therefore been predicted that the on-going north-south conflict will be supplemented by an east-west conflict over water if the NCP canal is built, as it surely will be if the proposed Moragahakande reservoir is constructed[44]. The tragedy of this proposal is that it stems from ignorance of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems, which was earlier responsible for alternatives not being considered when large reservoirs were built in the south -with tragic consequences. In a similar manner, an alternative proposal to Moragahakande has been discarded apparently because "the high public official is expected and is sometimes required to expound the conventional wisdom[45]. Nor is it clear whether this is due to entrenched beneficiaries of the "ancien regime" about whom the President herself has warned the nation [46].
Conclusion In conclusion it must be said that it is not a matter for satisfaction to make this grim prediction about conflict over water in the proposed Moragahakande reservoir and NCP canal project. However, having anticipated problems in the Uda Walawe, Lunuganvehera and Samanala weva projects in the southern area, and proposed alternatives that were not accepted, these predictions vis-a-vis Moragahakande are being given publicity. It is intended that Pugwash scientists would thereby become aware of diverse problems in the field of water resources. development planning in Sri Lanka. If as a result, some assistance comes the way of the silent, long-suffering majority of Sri Lanka in some unexpected serendipitous manner, the purpose of this presentation would have been amply served.
References 1 K. Indrapala (ed), The Decline of the Rajarata Civilization, and the Drift to the Southwest, Ceylon Studies Seminar, Peradeniya, 1971 2 Murphy, Rhoads, "The Ruin of Ancient Ceylon". Proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), 1957 3 D.L.O. Mendis "The Value of Indigenous Knowledge - the Case of Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems in Sri Lanka" in Phil Smith et al (eds), The World at the Crossroads - Towards a Sustainable, Equitable and Liveable World: - A Report to the Pugwash Council, Earthscan, London, 1994 (Chapter 5) 4 R.L. Brohier, "Inter-relation of Groups of Large reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon" Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), Vol. 34, No 90, 1937 5 Ibid, p 70
263 6 C.R. Panabokke, "Small Tank Cascades Systems of the Rajarata: their Distribution patterns, typologies and implications for irrigation", S. Arumugam Felicitation volume in the History of Engineering in Sri Lanka, series (forthcoming) 7 E. R. Leach, "Hydraulic Society in Ceylon", Past and Present, April 1959 8 D.L.O. Mendis, "Rational Principles of Water Resources Development Planning: A Discussion with some examples from Southern Sri Lanka" Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1994 9 D.L.O. Mendis, "The Water Resources Development Plan of Ceylon" Engineer, Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1992 10 R.L. Brohier, "Some Structural Features of the Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon", Presidential Address, Transactions of the Engineering Association of Ceylon, 1956 11 J. Needham et al, Science and Civilization in China, Vol 4, Part 3, p. 369, Cambridge University press, 1971 12 J. Needham, Personal Communication, 12 May, 1989 13 H.W. Parker, Ancient Ceylon, Lusacs, London, 1909 14 D.L.O. Mendis, 1994, op cit 15 D.W.R. Kahawita, Reconnaisance Report on Heda oya Project, Irrigation Department, Colombo, 1950 16 S.J. Thambiah, Buddhism Betrayed?, WIDER, Helsinki, 1992 17 Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Hambantota Integrated Rural Development Project, Environmental Impact Assessment Study, 1994 18 Panabokke, C.R. "Cascades of Ancient Small tanks in the Rajarata". S. Arumugam Felicitation Volume in the History of Engineering in Sri Lanka series, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, (Forthcoming) 19 D.L.O. Mendis, "Theory, Paradigm, and Crisis in Understanding the History of Irrigation in Sri Lanka", 11th Conference of the International Association of Historians of Asia, Colombo, 1988, (Unpublished) 20 J.S. Kennedy, "Evolution of Scientific Development of Village Irrigation Works in Ceylon", Transactions of the Engineering Association of Ceylon, 1934 21 Brohier, 1956, op cit 22 D.L.O. Mendis, "Development of Underdevelopment in Southern Sri Lanka: Destabilization of Ancient Irrigation Ecosystems by the Impact of Hydraulic Engineering", Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1989 23 D.L.O. Mendis. "Non-ethnic Causes of Violent Conflict in Sri Lanka: Environmental Degradation by the Impact of Hydraulic Engineering, Proceedings of the 41st Pugwash Conference, Pugwash, London, 1991 24 D.L.O. Mendis, "Evolution and Development of Irrigation Ecosystems and Social Formations in Ancient Sri Lanka", Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1986 25 Susan George, The Debt Boomerang - How Third World Debt Harms us All, Pluto press with the Transnational press (TNI), London, 1992 26 Mendis, 1986, op cit
264 27 R. Knox, An Historical relation of Ceylon, Tisara Prakasasayo, Colombo, 1993 28 Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, 1994 29 Mendis, 1994 etc, op cit 30 T.M. Mukundam, "The ERI System in Tamilnadu", Water resources Management, Proceedings of a Seminar, CPR Environmental Education Centre, Madras, 1993, pp. 41-62 31 D.D. Kossambi, Culture and Civilization in Ancient India, Routledge and Keagan Paul, 1965 32 D.L.O. Mendis, "Some Observations on the Designs for Uda Walawe Headworks", Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Ceylon, 1968. 33 F. Pearce, "Britain's other dam scandal", New Scientist, 26 February, 1994 34 D.L.O. Mendis, "Some Thoughts on Technology transfer for Irrigation and Multipurpose Development Projectts in Sri Lanka". Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1977 35 V. Pereira, "Samanala weva Project - Problems and Suggested Solutions; D.V.A. Senaratne, "Analytical Study of the Applicability of the Water quality monitoring Data to Conclusions drawn at Samanala weva"; D.V.A. Senaratne, "Reality of the Sub-surface conditions of the Right Bank abutment at Samanala weva, and the Economic and Environmental Disaster that will follow with the Proposed Wet blanket Treatment"; Proceedings of a Seminar on Samanala weva Leaks - Remedial Measures, January 13, 1995, Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1995 36 G. Juleff, "Samanala - 20 Centuries of Iron and Steel production in Sri Lanka", 1995 D.T. Devendra Memorial Lecture, Colombo, (Unpublished) 37 A. Coomaraswamy, Medieval Sinhalese Art, Pantheon, 1909 38 Juleff, 1995, op cit D.L.O. Mendis, Review of the 1995 D.T. Devendra Memorial Lecture by Gill Juleff: "Samanala - 20 Centuries of Iron and Steel production in Sri Lanka", Daily News, Colombo, 27 February, 1995 39 Prematilleke, L, and Aluvihare, A. "Ancient Hospital Systems of Sri Lanka". Sri Nagabhinandanam, Dr. M.S. Nagaraja Rao Festschrift. Ed. L.K. Srinivasam and S. Nagarajah. Bangalore. 1995 40 J.W. Bennet, Ceylon and its Capabilities: An Account of its Natural Resources, Indigenous Production and Commercial Facilities, London, W.H. Allen, 1843 41 Mendis, 1992, op cit 42 Ibid 43 J.K. Galbraith, The Affluent Society, Penguin books, 1967 44 Island, Daily Newspaper, Sri Lanka, 28 February, 1995 45 Mendis, 1977, op cit, Mendis, 1994, op cit
265 Some comments on D.L.O. Mendis' paper "Past, Present and Future Conflicts over Water in Sri Lanka" by Dr John Gunaratne
The main argument that runs through the paper is that for modern Sri Lanka the "principles" for water management in the dry zone have been set by the ancient tank builders. The moderns should follow these "principles". One gets the impression that no modern analysis etc. need be done; only try and find what the ancients did, and follow it. The "principles" of water management of the `ancients' can be deduced from available tanks etc. together with a little bit of imagination based on ancient chronicles. Aren't there any principles one has to follow in constructing hydraulic works of this kind? What if there hadn't been ancient hydraulic works in Sri Lanka, and one had to build tanks etc. Wouldn't one have to follow certain principles. A project shouldn't be faulted purely on the basis it did not conform to an ancient pattern that one has `constructed' for oneself based on a variety of types of evidence; rather, it should be judged, based on whether it is good engineering or bad. One can research "Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems or Irrigation Systems", as has been done in paras 2 & 3 of page 2. A certain picture is painted. It could be so, or it could be challenged by others, because one is trying to come to some conclusions based on the evidence. No doubt, there was " a marvelous complex of water and soil conservation ecosystems" (page 3, para 1). But does it mean that one has only to try and recreate a past and maintain it, for all problems to be solved; and any modifications will be `sacrilegious' ? How about changed times, changed population needs etc.? How about budget constraints, and other more urgent needs as explaining "piece-meal restoration" (page 3, para 1) of abandoned tanks. Engineers did not totally reject the past, as seen in the restoration of large abandoned tanks. But your criticism sounds like you have to restore "all or nothing". A more useful criticism would have been whether the hydraulic principles followed were bad engineering or not.
266 Needham introduces his "four stage hypothesis of evolution", quite correctly and cautiously - "The process of evolution which is thought to have occurred may be described as follows..." The counter you provide (para 2 & 3 on page 3) is also challengeable, in theory, by those who are knowledgeable on this area. One can see this subject area as one that can be developed further, expanding on the different interpretations on this subject: Different theories on how the ancient tank system started. One can cite other proponents of the seven stage hypothesis? (Perhaps you have given it in your other writings), and develop it in a non-acrimonious way. Is some project bad merely because it "would submerge ancient small tanks, and small diversion systems" (page 7, para 1)? What hydraulic engineering principles do they offend? What is bad in the principles present engineers follow in this respect? You seem to be making the restoration of the ancient tank system into a religion, and those who tamper with an "imagined" original tank system are hydraulic apostates. On what basis does one presume that those who prepared the `Water Resources Development Plan 1959' were not "attuned at all to the cultural history of the country"? Is there a nationalist/cultural czar at work here? Why not confine ones critique to the area of hydraulic principles, without trying to make out whether they are culturally attuned or not? Who is a pukka nationalist/patriotic Sri Lankan engineer? If one is to call the comments quoted in (Kahawita, 1950) page 4. a "deep-seated prejudice against small tanks", then, is the opposite view a "deep-seated prejudice for small tanks?" Pot calling kettle black. The small tank is not the issue. It should be, I imagine, what is the need and what is the best solution for it, hydraulic engineering speaking. Why make a religion of small tanks? Interpretations can change: after all these are all hypotheses one is working with, as seen in the change of view cited at page 4, last para. But why call the earlier interpretation "wrong interpretations"? Theories are developed and refined in this manner. And that is how paradigm shifts occur.
267 - p. 7. para 1. What one wishes to have seen here are reasons why the alternate method (not submerging ancient small tanks) is the better method than the one adopted. If as suggested here, the method adopted was bad hydraulic engineering, the criticism can be valid, and has nothing to do with protecting ancient small tanks for its own sake. - p. 7. para 2. If the criticisms made in this section on the Samanala Wewa are valid (and I am not competent to comment on it), they appear based on hydraulic engineering principles, and does not involve arguments about how the ancients did it. The solution might be worse than the ailment, it is made out. Not admitting one's mistake is a bureaucratic weakness; and covering it up ("wet blanketing") is another bureaucratic weakness. What else is new? - p. 7. Para 3. Ancient Iron and Steel Manufacture in Sri Lanka. Doesn't fit directly into the subject at hand, except to extol some of the achievements of the ancients. - p. 8. Moragahakande. The only objection made is that the ancients have not constructed that type of canal in ancient times, and so should not be tried by the moderns. This is not an engineering reason for objecting to the construction of such a canal. If there is a need for water in one area, and this is a possible method of taking the water there, then one can try it. Objections must be based on engineering grounds. - p. 8. The paragraph has the heading "A New Conflict over Water..." But the theme is not developed at all. What has been mentioned are only ethnic attitudes which are now in vogue. Doesn't the Mahaweli also take good Sinhala water to Tamil areas? Definitely, there is "conflict" associated with water e.g. the settlement of Tamil colonists in the Eastern province on the right bank of the Maduru Oya (vide. Malinga Gunaratne's book on this episode). But more instances need to be cited e.g. has there been population movements as a result of degradation of soil resulting from engineering projects cited by you. Trying to tie the JVP uprising solely to bad water use seems to be more journalistic (and
268 appealing -another Ruhuna myth) than based on evidence. Perhaps, given Sri Lanka's still ample (but fast dwindling) water and land resources, there is no immediate conflict likely. But it is an area where conflict can develop, as land and water resources dwindle. But, that is another point, not one this paper has developed. So, the title of the paper is a little ambiguous. Perhaps, it is not only "conflicts" as is generally known, but includes "conflicts" among hydraulic engineers over ancient/modem water use!
Final thoughts: - The writer is plugging a "belief' (an article of faith, shall we say), hence the tone of "religious intolerance" for others' "beliefs". As a result, what should be a scientific presentation, has tones of evangelistic fervour. - There is an uncritical acceptance that what's ancient is best, and should be faithfully reproduced, even though circumstances and conditions of all kinds have changed. A very un-engineer-like approach. Is it (the ancient tank system) becoming a bee in the bonnet? When it comes to tank construction and hydraulic engineering, maybe, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Try the advice given by a French diplomatist of yore to budding diplomats - pas trop de zèle.
Are you saved brother? Do you believe in the ancient irrigation system? Have you seen the light? Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
269 The Last Laugh? The following comment was sent by a Sri Lankan Ecologist in London, after reading the draft of this chapter: As for Dr Gunaratne's comments, I cannot agree with his over-enthusiasm in playing the role of a critic. He demonstrates an inability to understand the key message that you are stating (i.e that "contemporary civil engineering structures e.g. reservoirs, dams and 'irrigation networks', are far inferior in performance and ecologically unsound when compared with the ancient Sinhala counterparts which are well dispersed around the country even though in need of 'renovation'. All the evidence is there to prove (in the only language that Gunaratne appears to venerate i.e. western scientific analysis) that the ancient systems are more 'environmentally sound, well 'engineered', and 'sustainable developments' that enhanced 'local participatory roles; 'local peasant empowerment' (unless invaders and international vandals decide to destroy them, as amply evident in this case). If he thinks you are basing your 'evangelistic fervour' (his word, not mine!) on personal 'beliefs', please refer him to the documentation on the Earth Summits and Rio Principles for the Agenda for the 21st century! As for reasons 'why the small tanks should not be submerged within a newly constructed large "modern" tank', perhaps he should be sent for a 're-habilitation' exercise on a course at "English Heritage" or "English Nature"! Overall I find his criticisms rather 'cheap'- more like a newly rich woman from the East End of London buying an English country manor, unable to understand the country life and blinkered with the concept of sky-scraping tower blocks as 'civilized scientific living'. She thinks that 'nobility' means using mechanized stable cleaners and running around the countryside in American Cadillacs which drink petrol and are too big for the country lanes. Well we all know who will have the last laugh with critics like that.
270 A Last Word In view of the obvious need for a proper understanding of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, a suggestion has been made to embark on a comprehensive study on the following lines: 1. What are sustainable water and soil conservation ecosystems as created by ancient civilizations? This will involve a detailed identification of the integral components in ecological terms; i.e. how did ancient man develop a 'niche' of n-dimensional inter-relationships (conservation of water, flow of water, control of soil loss, retention of soil nutrients, free-flow of nutrients within the ecosystems via networks of waterways and waterbodies, sharing of land, rotation of crops, sharing of ecosystem control), to develop a supremely 'civilized' society. 2. Was the creation of the inter-connected and interdependent water-bodies and waterways the pinnacle of achievement in constructing a stable and sustainable water and soil conservation ecosystem? R.L. Brohier in 1935/37 showed that all the large reservoirs built in ancient times in the Rajarata were interconnected, and illustrated this with two extracts from the topographical survey. This was further elaborated later by C.W. Nicholas, and published as a map and a line diagram in A Concise History of Ceylon, by C.W Nicholas and Senarath Paranavitana, in 1960. 3 Using the model of 'sustainable development' from an ecosystems perspective, can the key issue of 'critical limits' beyond which the whole system will not be sustainable anymore, be addressed? For example, given that the whole water and soil conservation ecosystem of Rajarata was interconnected, was the ecosystem susceptible to complete collapse if and when some tanks were breached, thereby draining the system beyond a critical functional value? If so, what lessons can we learn in development of such systems
271 for the future? On the contrary, were any safeguards allowed by the ancients in building these magnificent ecosystems? Have we so far failed to identify such intrinsic safeguards? What was the role of the village tanks, vetiyas and minor irrigation works within the whole system? Could we also add on one more dimension to the above n-dimensional hypothesis of sustainable water and soil conservation ecosystems, i.e. that 'spiritual development' (towards Ahimsa) of the humans in such a society may in itself make the system susceptible to failure due to lack of appropriate defence awareness?
Note: Dr. Christopher Weeramantry's Separate Opinion in the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros case at the International Court of Justice, The Hague (see xxi to xxxviii) was brought to attention by Professor Kader Asmal, Chairman, World Commission on Dams (see Chapter 8, Annex). Professor Weeramantrys statement is an adequate explantory response to Dr. John Gunaratne's critique.
272 CHAPTER 11
Eppawala and Nauru: Comparison and Contrast
The island of Nauru in the Pacific ocean had been endowed with fabulous wealth in the form of phosphate deposits that had accumulated over aeons of time. These were sedimentary deposits different from the Eppawala deposit which is of igneous origin. It has been observed that "Nauruans lived an unhurried lifestyle for centuries, developing a culture and language that were distinctively their own. Little did they know that they were sitting on a mine of mineral wealth worth hundreds of millions of dollars - so rich that it was destined to be known as the treasure island of the Pacific"[1]. Interestingly a similar idiom has been used by proponents of the Eppawala apatite project, using the conventional wisdom of economic discounting to "justify" its exploitation to destruction, namely that the local people are "sitting on a pot of gold" that should be exploited in a very short period of time. In the 19th century, industrialization in Europe, specially in Britain, resulted in movement of labour from agriculture which was then intensifed. The need for fertilizer grew, and bone manure that provided phosphates was no longer adequate. "Phosphate meant better agriculture, which meant more food, which in turn meant more people, which in turn meant more power. In the adage of the time 'there can be no civilization without population, no population without food, no food without phosphate', or, to quote another saying, `phosphate was to agriculture what energy was to industry' "[2]. During the first crisis of international capitalism, 1873 - 95, referred to earlier[3], two international imperialist conferences were held to carve up the globe among the imperial powers. The Congress of Berlin in 1885 decided on the future of Africa, with arbitrary lines
273 drawn on the map to create new colonial possessions to be shared by the imperial powers. As is well known, this is a contributory cause of internecine strife in many of those now nominally independent former colonies, that even spills across those arbitrary boundaries at the present time. At another conference in Berlin in 1886, Britain and Germany decided on the future of all the Pacific islands: "the two empires drew an arbitrary line dividing the Pacific into two great spheres of influence - the British and the German"[4]. Nauru came formally into the German sphere of influence by an imperial proclamation on 16 April 1888[5]. Phosphate mining commenced under the Germans in 1906, and until it lost possession after World War 1, Germany had shipped out approximately 630,000 tons of phosphate valued at nearly a million pounds sterling. The Nauruans were paid 1320 pounds, less than one seven-hundredth part of the value, for all these shipments of phosphates[6]. Nauru was much coveted by other imperial powers too, and, "as elsewhere in the South Seas, trading posts would be set up from which the trader operated, bartering produce ranging from worthless baubles to liquor and firearms, in exchange for copra and products from the sea”[7] In fact "when the Germans took over the island in 1888, there were Scandinavians, British and Germans among the small group of traders on the island"[8] And, on account of its proximity, "Nauru was also visited by stowaways from the convict settlement of Australia"[9]. Their chance came after Germany's defeat in World War 1, when Britain and Australia staked their claim at the Versailles Peace conference. In fact "Australia strenuously contended for annexation of the island, but was unsuccessful, mainly owing to the policy of President Wilson who refused to move from his policy of `no annexations’” [10]. Nauru from being a Protectorate under the German Reich, now became a mandated territory under the League of Nations. It was given a Class C mandate where the metropolitan power could treat the mandated territory as an integral part of its own territory[11]. "In the context of conflicting claims for control over Nauru and indeed of claims to annexation of the island, a compromise was worked out by which the island was entrusted to the administration
274 of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand under the mandate system "[12]. It was agreed among these three nations, that the mandate would be administered by Australia. After World War 2, mandated territories under the League of Nations (with the exception of South West Africa) came under trusteeship of the United Nations. Australia continued administration of Nauru, until the achievement of independence in 1968, which was not easy: "Although the Trusteeship Council pressed the partner governments to set a date for the Independence of Nauru, this was resisted by the partner governments. However, the international pressure for Independence was building up. By a Resolution adopted by the Trusteeship Council at its 1323rd meeting on 22 November 1967, the date of Nauruan Independence was set as 31 January 1968 .... One factor that delayed settlement was the attempt of partner governments to link the question of independence with the settlement of questions concerning the phosphate industry"[13]. During the period of the League of Nations mandate and the United Nations trusteeship, the phosphate deposits were mined to exhaustion, the island's natural ecological environment was destroyed, local peoples were displaced, and their traditional lifestyles violated. The independent Nauru government submitted their case for compensation to the World Court in The Hague, which awarded damages for the material destruction of the non-renewable phosphate deposits on the island. No award could be made for the irreparable damage to the traditional culture and lifestyle of its peoples. There are many lessons from the Nauruan experience for Sri Lanka, in the context of the proposal to sell out the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit to a US multinational corporation. Some of these may be detailed following the documentation of the Nauru case[14] by Justice Weeramantry, as follows. "there is here a challenge to the world community. In a heavily interdependent and interlinked world, global resources, especially in the form of expertise, should be available for the solution of national problems which by reason of their scale are
275 also global. The concept of global co-operation, particularly in the area of technology, is growing in importance. The Nauruan situation offers the international community a significant opportunity to put into operation the principle of technological co-operation for purposes of development Nauru is a small country but its problems, especially in the environmental field, are of great proportions. It was once a trust territory whose wealth and very substance were scattered through the world in the form of cheap fertilizers which helped grow food not only for particular countries but through them for the world. The world cannot be insensitive to Nauru's problems. Moreover, the issues lying behind these problems are global issues with which no member of the world community can remain unconcerned”[15]. Technological expertise was not available to the local people in Nauru, but should be easily available in the global market for purchase by Sri Lankans today, and the government should be so advised. As described elsewhere in this book, there is already a global awareness of the impending environmental, ecological and cultural disaster at Eppawala, and the issue has to that extent been internationalized. In particular, mining to exhaustion at Eppawala will result in the inevitable destruction of cultural heritage sites, monuments and landscapes. The world cannot be insensitive to these issues. "The discovery of phosphate in Nauru was made in 1899 when a young chemist in the service of the Pacific Islands Company conducted a chemical test on a piece of Nauruan rock that had been used as a doorstopper in its Sydney office. The test revealed a phenomenally high content of phosphate of lime - 78 per cent - which bettered by far the content of the American and North African deposits. Albert Ellis, the young chemist who made that discovery, had a suspicion that this kind of rock was abundantly present on the island. Here was wealth beyond the dreams of avarice and a source of power substantial enough to be attractive even to
276 the greatest empires of the day. But Ellis' discovery had to be carefully handled, for the Germans who held Nauru since the carving up of the Pacific in 1886, must not know. No doubt the Naurans themselves did not need to be told how valuable was the treasure they were sitting upon. Indeed we see here the beginning of that veil of secrecy which surrounded the conduct of the phosphate operation from that day till the Nauruans achieved Independence in 1968"[16]. In Sri Lanka, there has been a lack of transparency concerning Eppawala comparable to the veil of secrecy which surrounded the Nauru phosphate operation. This relates not to the discovery of the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit, but to the negotiations with foreign investors concerning its exploitation. This lack of transparency is a sad reflection on the Sri Lankan nationals in the seats of power, both political and executive, and especially on the President, who heads both the Political and Executive arms of government under the 1978 Executive Presidential system. "Not acquainting the Nauruans with the full value of their phosphate was seen as good policy then and it remained good policy throughout the period of mining"[17]. The calculations presented by the Minister of Industries (see Chapter 5) concerning the value of the Eppawala apatite deposit, suggest that our government too is not acquainted with the full or real value of our phosphate deposit. A possible explanation as to how this has happened is given in the Foreword which describes the process of Discounting used by economists. This process follows the `conventional wisdom' of economics to justify proposals of this sort which result in exhaustion of non-renewable resources in a comparatively short period of time. "It is difficult for non-Nauruans to appreciate the depth of Nauruan feeling regarding the damage sustained by their land. This feeling was intensified by the intimate bond that has always existed between Nauruans and their land, a bond which contrasted with the Western view of land as a commodity to be bought and sold like an article of commerce"[18].
277 Conversely, but similarly, and ironically, after nearly four and a half centuries of colonial domination, it is difficult for urban decision makers to appreciate the depth of feeling of the dry zone farmer for his land, and for the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems that make it so productive. These western oriented elites do not understand their own cultural heritage. They do not see any real value in the achievements of the ancient Sri Lankan peoples in the field of water resources development. That is why, when planning the Gal oya project for example, we sought inspiration from the Tennessee Valley Authority, rather than from our own traditional knowledge and expertise. Even today, when TVA has long been largely discredited in the light of new understanding of the natural and built environment[19], the Irrigation department and Ministry in Sri Lanka still seek guidance from the US Bureau of Reclamation. It should of course be the other way around. I fear that there will not be a change of heart, and an attempt made to learn from our ancient systems, until the World Bank and the IMF decide that it should be done. Having met some technical personnel in those institutions I am not very optimistic that such a change of heart will come in the foreseeable future. "The phosphate-bearing central plateau, known as Topside, was traditionally used by Nauruans for a variety of purposes including recreation, the hunting of noddy birds, and the cultivation and reaping of pandanus, a staple food of the islanders, and was a source of timber for their houses and boats"[20]. "When the British Phosphate Commissioners consistently maintained to the League of Nations and the United Nations that Topside was not residential and was not used by the inhabitants, this statement did not accord with realities”[21]. There is an almost exact parallel in Eppawala to this misrepresentation in Nauru. It has been stated that very few people in the Eppawala area will be displaced on account of the project. In support of this claim, official data is supplied from the Mahaweli Authority of the numbers of "settlers" in System H area. This is
278 based on settlement policy of the Mahaweli Authority in the days of the "Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project". At that time, some old residents in the "purana" villages were relocated as "new settlers", a policy they did not support but which was enforced on paper by the AMDP officials in Colombo. In reality there still are large numbers of purana villagers who will be displaced, who are not taken into account in official statistical data. During World War 2, the Australian administration in Nauru was displaced for a time. "In 1945 after the return of the Administration at the conclusion of the war, Nauruans were not permitted to re-enter the populous Aiwo district - the district where the phosphate export operations and processing operations took place - until the British Phosphate Commissioners had picked the land which they needed for their purposes "[22]. At Eppawala, the multinational corporation has been permitted to mark out an area of 56 square kilometres as their exclusive mining area, and a further 800 square kilometres as prospecting area. (Figure 1.1). It is known that the local people were not consulted, and it is feared that, as at Nauru, they will be excluded from these areas which will then be virtually destroyed by the mining operations. "The priority given to the needs of the British Phosphate Commissioners over those of the people of Nauru, in violation of the fiduciary obligations of the administering authority, aroused the concern of the Pacific Islanders Welfare Association (PINWA) who took up this matter with the Australian administration. PINWA was a group of concerned Australian citizens based in Geelong. Some of them had been based in Nauru and thus had a special knowledge of the country and its people"[23] Similar concern is being expressed on behalf of the people of Eppawala by organizations in Sri Lanka and outside. This is discussed for example in the Preface by Dr. Jonathan Walters. Now let's see what happened in Nauru:
279 "In their plight in the face of unsympathetic administrative attitudes which they were powerless to alter, the islanders were looking desperately for sympathetic assistance from concerned Australian citizens such as Hurst, [from PINWA] who could foresee the long-term impact on the Nauruan people of attitudes which placed the needs of the phosphate industry above the needs of the Nauruan people[24]. Hurst, wrote an article headed `Australia Seeks to Destroy Nauruans as a People'. (It] draws attention to Australia's solemn pledge to develop the Nauruan people, as contrasted with years of neglect which could destroy them as a people in consequence of mining of their land"[25]. The response of the authorities was to start an investigation to see whether there was "a communist influence at work. There was no doubt tendencies then prevalent in some political and bureaucratic quarters to identify liberal thinking with dangers to national security and with communism"[26]. Recalling the reason given for holding the Referendum of 1982 in Sri Lanka - that there would have been a "Naxalite takeover" at a general election - one could not be blamed for fearing that some such excuse could be given for undemocratic or repressive actions of the authorities at Eppawala in the future. The violence attending the recent Wayamba Provincial Council elections has strengthened these fears. Finally, in regard to destruction of ecosystems in Nauru: .. "Drs Harley Manner, Randolph Thaman and David Hassall in a paper published in 7984 titled "Phosphate Mining Induces Vegetation Changes on Nauru Island" have described how centuries will be needed for the forest to reestablish itself naturally even in a modified form, and how numerous plant species are scattered and stunted as compared with their growth in the unmined forest"[27]. If this was the experience in Nauru one can only imagine how much more disastrous the impact of the mining at Eppawala will
280 be on the cultural landscape of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga, the heart of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Rajarata, described in the Preface as the jugular vein of the fair Lady Lanka.
References 1 Weeramantry, C.G. Nauru: Exploitation of Natural Resources under lnternational Sovereignty. Cambridge, 1996. p. 3 2 Ibid. p.17 3 Gunder Frank, Andre. Reflections on the World Economic Crisis. Monthly Review press, New York, 1981 4 Weeramantry, Op. Cit. p. 6 5 Ibid p. 7 6 Ibid. p. 8 7 Ibid. p. 5 8 Ibid. p. 5 9 Ibid. p. 5 10 Ibid. p. 9 11 Ibid. p. 9 12 Ibid. p. 11 13 Ibid. p. 11 14 Ibid. p. 12 15 Ibid, p.13 16 Ibid. pp. 17-18 17 Ibid. p. 20 18 Ibid. p. 29 19 Chandler, William U. The Myth of TVA., Cambridge Mass, Ballinger, 1984. 20 Weeramantry, C.G. Nauru: Exploitation of Natural Resources under International Sovereignty. Cambridge, 1996. p.30 21 Ibid. p. 30 22 Ibid. p. 384 23 Ibid. p. 384 24 Ibid. pp. 389-390 25 Ibid. p. 390 26 Ibid. p. 390 27 Ibid. pp. 390-391
281 CHAPTER 12
CONCLUSION - AMERICANS SHARE THE ANGUISH OF EPPAWALA
This concluding chapter carries a very slightly revised version of an article published in a Sri Lanka newspaper in October 1998 by Jonathan Walters, a scholar of Sri Lankan history and religion who teaches at Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, USA, and who contributed the Preface with which this book started. It is a virtual postscript to the book that was planned in the course of my visit to USA, Mexico and Cuba in September/October 1998. It resulted from my meeting with Jonathan at Nihal Fernando's house one delightful evening last January, and subsequent correspondence. Jonathan wrote later from USA about what he had learned over the years from villagers in Eppawala: "I find your arguments thoroughly convincing, and wanted to mention that some friends in the villages near Eppawala have been able to corroborate your thesis that not only the water works proper, but indeed EVERY INCH of the landscape was carefully planned for the maximum conservation of water since ancient times. They make this argument from their own experience of both village and jungle life ways, and I think that they -- and you -- are absolutely correct that this was about much more than merely an irrigation system". He goes on to describe his activities back home in USA in the cause of his friends in Eppawala: "I am doing all that I can here to raise American consciousness about this potential tragedy and to speak up for the rights of the 500,000 people of the Eppawala region whose lives and civilization would be senselessly destroyed by it, in hopes that it can be prevented from ever occurring. When I give talks on this issue, show the video I have made (entitled, "Not in My Back Yard Either"), share the articles I have written for the U.S. Press, or point friends and colleagues to my web site ("Americans for Eppawala") I find them universally moved to
282 sympathy. Like me, they are shocked and embarrassed that our fellow countrymen would propose to enact such cruelty on this land and these people, and express their willingness to do everything they can to help prevent it. This gives me hope. So do the valiant efforts being made by you and a handful of others in Colombo. Thousands of people in Eppawala are shouting, yet so few in the centers of power seem able or willing to hear them. Bless you in your work for the people and environment of Eppawala. " Jonathan Walters thus demonstrates the kind of concern that puts to shame the lethargy and inaction of so many of us in Colombo, and elsewhere, far removed from Eppawala. For this reason, his article has been titled:
Some Americans Share the Anguish of Eppawala Pospet Kanda - Phosphate Hill - looms over the northeast corner of Eppawala, Sri Lanka. Until 1971, it was just one among many such large rock-outcroppings which dot the otherwise flat jungle scapes of one of the Island's ancient agricultural and civilizational heartlands, the North Central Province (N.C.P.). Even after the 1971 discovery that it contains a large lode of phosphate, and the subsequent (1974-present) development of a government phosphate industry, the hill garnered recognition primarily as a result of its proximity to Eppawala, a township of central importance in this district. Sri Lankans from scores of villages surrounding it rely upon Eppawala for medicine, upper-level education, banking, groceries and other basic necessities, agricultural supplies, luxury goods, post and tele-communications, gasoline and other fuels, and public transportation. But today, Phosphate Hill looms larger, and darker, than it ever has before. Today everyone knows that a notorious American company wants to take that phosphate by strip-mining the 56 square miles of which it constitutes the center, and thereby irrevocably polluting a 675 square mile area around the mine euphemistically referred to as "the buffer zone". This massive destruction would occur in our own lifetimes. Little wonder that in June 1997, in February 1998, in June 1998, in August 1998, in December 1998
283 and again in February 1999 thousands of local residents demonstrated against the plans of I.M.C.-Agrico (a joint venture between IMC Global and a company belonging to the Freeport-McMoRan conglomerate, both notorious American polluters of the globe) by marching to the Sacred Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura, twelve miles north, (the oldest historic tree in the world) and visible from the top of Pospet Kanda. Also visible from this vantage point are the great dagobas of Anuradhapura, the ancient capital city of Sri Lanka, compared in ancient writings to the face of the beautiful Lady Lanka. Roland Silva, former Director-General of Archaeology in Sri Lanka, and presently Director of ICOMOS, in UNESCO, has pointed out that these dagobas are the highest brick structures ever built on this planet. Little known but greater wonder still, two of them had been built in the pre-Christian era. All these religious monuments, many of them restored, like Ruwanveli seya, the third tallest of the stupas at 290 ft. and built by King Dutugemunu in the 2nd century BC, were constructed with the economic surplus
284 generated by the marvelous water and soil conservation ecosystems of the ancients, of which the Kalaweva-Jayaganga that flows through Eppawala, is the jugular vein in the beautiful throat that is Eppawala, of the fair Lady Lanka. The destruction that would result from the proposed mining operation goes beyond the dislocation which will be suffered by these people if they are driven from their homes, fields, schools, and temples by American bulldozers. Even if individuals can survive relocation, the destruction of this region's ancient and complex civilization, and of its fragile traditional ecosystem, would be permanent. Eppawala's centrality is at least fifteen centuries old, and the dry thorny jungles of the surrounding countryside preserve flora (including rare medicinal plants and ingredients) and fauna (including wild elephants) either threatened or non-existent elsewhere. The proposal even calls for the destruction of the Jayaganga, in the very heart of the ancient Rajarata or king's country. Six miles of it would disappear into the massive 56 square mile, hundreds of feet deep crater of dead land that this American company wants to create in the North Central Province; if anything remains of Jayaganga once this has been done, it will be water poisoned by run-off from the mountains of radioactive waste products which extracting the phosphate will simultaneously produce. And this is to say nothing of the damage which will be done to the East and the ocean, when the company's proposed processing plants in Trincomalee dumps hundreds of tons of mill-tailings and other toxic wastes into the harbor. Eppawala and the villages which surround it are ancient settlements, as is clear in the numerous stone inscriptions, Buddhist monuments and irrigation works - dating back to Sri Lanka's ancient Anuradhapura Period (3rd c., B.C. to 11th c., A.D.) - which are found here. Every square foot is an archaeological site; one cannot dig a well nor clear a new field without turning up hundreds of shards of ancient pottery, carved stone lintels and pillars, and other remains of ancient inhabitants; the parcels of land each village sets aside for cremation and burial are literally filled with the remains of countless generations of Sri Lankans who worked these same paddy fields off these same ancient tanks and canals.
285
Many of the estimated 54 villages which will be destroyed if the proposed mining agreement is implemented, are classified as Sinhala "ancient villages" (purana gam). The tanks, temples, roads and felds in these villages are all relics of the Anuradhapura Period, and there is strong evidence to prove that the present residents are in fact descendants of the men and women who built them in ancient times; they know this and are proud of their ancestry. Indeed, especially in the immediate vicinity of Pospet Kanda and to the east of it, until about twenty years ago most villagers still lived according to a very ancient pattern: homes were clustered so closely together in each village's residential center (gam maedda) that it was literally possible to visit any village home by hopping from stoop to stoop. These tightknit residential centers, located beside ancient irrigation tanks, were surrounded by lush coconut groves and vegetable gardens. The gardens were in turn encompassed by collectively-maintained and moreor-less equally divided stretches of paddy land, followed by strips of slash-and-burn fields carved out of the edge of the open jungle. Traveling outward from any village in any direction along an ancient system of roads - which still connects tank bunds all the way from Dambulla to Vavuniya and beyond - one crosses three or four miles of open jungle before reaching another slash-and-burn area, followed
286 by a stretch of paddy fields, village gardens, residential center and another ancient tank. The jungle itself is maintained by smaller tanks that also date from ancient times. The villages thus connected by the ancient roads were and are also connected to each other within an elaborate social structure. Varying numbers of villages were associated with discrete social units called warigas, which maintained a caste-like status for particular extended clans in relationship to other warigas in the region. In the vicinity of Pospet Kanda the largest of these clans were centered in Eppawala itself, though they in turn were ranked in relationship to others throughout the North Central Province. The centrality of Eppawala was armed in the myths of origin preserved in the smaller warigas dependent on it, which invariably involve a local ancestor and/or deity who came first to Eppawala, and later moved out to the village in question; an elaborate cycle of ritual festivals of deities and sub-deities, all framed rather uniquely within a Buddhistic context, maintained this social stratification until recent times. Indeed, even in the face of the enormous social changes wrought in Eppawala over the last century, some old villages within the proposed mining zone still observe the original gam maedda pattern today. Strong remnants of traditional liturgical practices, marriage patterns, caste obligations and other mainstays of pre-colonial social reality are still evident in all the old villages and even in Eppawala itself. But this is no frozen specimen of antiquity; it is a region which has successfully (if not altogether painlessly) adjusted to steady socio-economic and political change, especially during the turbulent 19th and 20th centuries. The ancient road just west of Phosphate Hill is a major thoroughfare today, which until a few decades ago was the only motorable road between the highlands and Anuradhapura. Eppawala's town center is a thriving crossroads of shops, restaurants, schools, small industries, hospitals, Ayurvedic dispensaries, temples and government offices; it is the conduit through which the surrounding region participates in the cosmopolitan culture of Colombo and Kandy. As Eppawala has been transformed into a modern town, the farmers in the "ancient villages" have adopted technological innovations (e.g., the tractors, fertilizers, pesticides and hybrid seed introduced
287 during Sri Lanka's version of the Green Revolution), new housing patterns (traditional wattle-and-daub is quickly disappearing as brick structures with tile roofs have become the norm; most of the ancient residential centers have dissipated into lines of houses along more-or-less motorable roads) and other cultural trends (e.g., TV.), as far as their own rice-based economies have allowed. Simultaneously, new populations within the city itself, and in some villages, have dramatically changed the region's demography over the last several decades. Eppawala now boasts significant populations of Christians, Muslims and Hindus, drawn to the town primarily for trade, who peacefully co-exist with the still predominant Buddhists of the region. Thousands of people dislocated by hydroelectric schemes in southern Sri Lanka and by the war in northern Sri Lanka have been relocated here, especially in new villages constructed to the west and south of Pospet Kanda, which are laid out along large-scale irrigation works and named by tract number. They have enriched the region not only with diverse religions, but also with the dialects, cultural practices, and beliefs, peculiar to the regions from which they came. The residents of these new villages, and those residents of the older villages which happened to lay along the path of the new irrigation canals, are comparatively comfortable farmers. With water, the land here is almost unbelievably fertile, containing as it does high levels of-f6atural phosphate fertilizer. Despite the shock of their own dislocation from the south - or of the sudden flood of water into ancient reservoir tanks - they have, over the years, established homes, schools, shops, sports clubs, farmers' associations and other markers of their prosperity and social stability. But, the settlement and irrigation schemes also produced some unintended negative consequences which represent matters of great concern to all the villagers of the region. On one hand, agricultural output has not been sufficient to keep up with the simultaneous inflation and influx of luxury goods which has attended the rise of Eppawala. Even farmers with irrigation water feel the crunch of poverty, and recognize their comparative lack of access to the material culture enjoyed in the larger cities. And those villagers who did not
288 receive irrigation water have felt this crunch acutely; in some instances the residents of one-time wariga centers have become wage-laborers for their wetter, wealthier cousins. On the other hand, the settlement schemes involved the clearcutting of an estimated one million acres of old growth jungle, while the cash crisis has provoked considerable illegal timbering in the surviving stretches of jungle between the ancient villages. Deforestation has adversely affected watersheds throughout the entire North Central Province, producing drought and crop failure. Ayurvedic physicians fear that valuable medicinal plants will be lost forever if any more of the jungle is destroyed. And the greatly diminished habitat has angered the hundreds of wild elephants still maintaining a fragile grasp on existence in these remaining stretches of old growth jungle; elephants have increasingly devastated local crops and even resorted to killing villagers. The discontent experienced by farmers faced with such circumstances was witnessed in the widespread support which the people of this region gave to the anti-government J.V.P. movement of the late 1980's; the Mahaweli Project offices in Eppawala, symbols of the "development" of this region, were burned to the ground by angry peasants. Yet, like any strong society, the farmers and city-dwellers have struggled to combat the difficulties they face in more positive and productive ways as well. The poorer villages have filed petitions and begged politicians for access to irrigation waters; though as yet unrealized, it remains a living hope. Small-scale re-forestation projects have been initiated. Efforts have been made to protect elephant habitat so that the elephants do not need to raid village fields. Farmers are experimenting with crops more profitable than rice. Education is increasingly sought; Advanced-level (London) tutorial classes and an English language institute have been established at Eppawala, and increasing numbers of local children are successfully passing the Alevel examination and even gaining university admission. Businesses and small industries, including the current small-scale mining operation at Phosphate Hill, provide additional avenues for employment that have helped families to weather "development". But, of all the difficulties they currently face, and stand committed
289 to combat, the threat posed by this mining project is clearly the greatest. Locally, who could support the proposed mining agreement? Residents of the ancient villages cannot conceive leaving the fields and homes and temples and cemeteries of their ancestors, which ground their very lives; residents of the new villages are now, after several decades, well-enough established to dread from their own experiences, another re-location. The residents of Eppawala proper
290 have fully invested themselves in the businesses and schools and hospitals which serve the thriving society that these rich American businessmen want to reduce to an expanse of destruction, slag and scars. More than five hundred Buddhist monks have petitioned the Government of Sri Lanka to oppose these plans. The Gandhi-inspired Committee to Protect Eppawala Phosphate, led by the charismatic chief monk of an ancient Buddhist temple in the shadow of Phosphate Hill, has attracted enormous local support. The demonstrations and hunger fasts which attended six mass rallies in the last year and a half clearly indicate the strong sentiment that despite poverty and even wild elephants this, and no place else, is home. How can there even be a question of selling it to Americans? This sentiment is more forcefully apparent in the comments being made in Eppawala since this tragedy was first proposed, to the effect that no holds will be barred in resisting this senseless proposed eradication of a very way of life. Jonathan Walters, PhD Associate Professor Whitman College Walla Walla Washington, USA.
"I wish to paint the .scenario of the aftermath of this tragic proposal. The villagers of Eppawala will climb up to Phosphate Kanda and worship the Sri Maha Bodhi from afar, return to their homes and lie down before the oncoming bulldozers-a non-violent protest. The armed forces and police watched .silently the earlier protests when all the roads were blocked in the town of Eppawala. They will do the .same again because the facts of this project have been made known to them. The American security will have to intervene first, leading to mayhem .... as in Irian Jaya. "
Nihal Fernando, ISLAND, Features, May 9, 1999
291 POSTSCRIPT - Three Recent News Items, and an ANNEX
This postscript has been written, after the script of this book had gone to the printer, mainly on account of the Provincial Council (PC) elections held on April 6, 1999. It records some very important items reported in the media, so relevant to the issues presented in this book that they merit a separate chapter, with comments for emphasis, one relating to the PC elections, another from Indonesia, the third concerning UNESCO. The first PC elections in the Wayamba or Northwestern province, held on 23 February 1999 was roundly condemned on account of extensive intimidation, vote rigging, and other malpractices. There was unprecedented intimidation and violence in the lead up to the election, on election day, and after the results were announced, including murders, abductions and violence against women. Since then, PC elections have been held in the Western, Central, North-Central, Sabaragamuva and Uva provinces, all on April 6, 1999. Compared to Wayamba, these were relatively clean elections. The Peoples Alliance (PA) which holds office in the central government, won control of all five Provincial Councils at these elections. The Southern Provincial council was dissolved on April 8, and elections will be held in June. On account of the ongoing conflict in those areas, there is no prospect of elections being held in the North-Eastern Provincial council, which was created by "temporary" amalgamation of the Northern and Eastern Provinces under the terms of the 1987 Peace Accord (see Annex, Introduction, pp.13-15). A PA Deputy Minister, tipped to be the Chief Minister of the North-Central Provincial Council, appeared on TV interviews on Saturday, April 10, and Sunday, April 11, and answered questions about the present state of the Eppawala phosphate project. He said that we need foreign technical assistance to develop the project because we do not have the technology to do so, and that the
292 proposed project would bring benefits to the people of the area, and the country. He said that the President and the Minister of Industries were ready to accept any feasible alternative proposal from local people. All this of course is contrary to actual experience. The problem has been, as indicated in this book, especially in Chapter 6, to have the voice of local scientists and technologists heard. Even the most prestigious National Academy of Sciences report has not been given the attention it deserves[1]. Just one extract from that Report shows why: The Committee appointed by H.E. the President (composed of five scientists, and two economists), recommended in May 1995 that "a more comprehensive geological reserve evaluation be undertaken in the light of recent findings so that government can make a final decision on the rate of exploitation of such reserves. The decision on the rate of exploitation should be made taking into account the important concerns about the use of resources in a manner that future generations can also benefit". No such survey has been done yet. (Emphasis as in original). Among scientists who have spoken up against the proposal is the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Peradeniya University, Professor R.P Gunawardena. His participation in the Institution of Engineers Seminar on October 21, 1998, is reported in Chapter 6. He had made specific suggestions as far back as 1995, which have been ignored[2]. Professor O.A. Illeperuma delivered the Philip Gunawardena Memorial Lecture in February 1998 on "Eppawala Myths and Realities" to a full house at the SLAAS Auditorium. The lecture was followed by a lively discussion. The Deputy Minister referred to the settlements under the Mahaweli programme, but did not acknowledge that there are ancient villages (purana gam) as referred to in Chapter 12, in the area. As far as he was concerned there only are settlers, all other inhabitants being squatters. He did not refer to the Kalaweva-Jayaganga or the ancient irrigation ecosystems as features of our cultural heritage. His reference to a main channel that passes near the phosphate deposit, may have suggested to the less initiated listener
293 that it was just a part of the modern Mahaweli development project that he was referring to. Thus, the PA Deputy Minister was demonstrating from his personal example the extent to which the Mahaweli project has made its impact on the minds of people, by the sheer extent of the scale of activity that had gone on under the Accelerated Mahaweli Development Programme (AMDP) during the 17 years of the previous UNP government. Some comments on the AMDP will therefore be relevant here. The AMDP was started by the Prime Minister J.R. Jayewardena, when he took office with a massive majority of five sixths of the seats in parliament in 1977. At that time I was a Member of the Mahaweli Development Board, as the representative of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs, under the Prime Minister. However, I was away in London on medical leave, when the newly elected Prime Minister created history by bringing his Cabinet of Ministers for a meeting at the Mahaweli office one day. This was even before he had introduced a new Constitution to become the first Executive President of Sri Lanka, the 193rd in an unbroken line of Kings and Heads of State, as he himself described his new position[3]. A regular Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet office had been unexpectedly adjourned, and transferred to the Mahaweli Development Board office in Jawatte road. There, the Prime Minister made a historic announcement to the engineers and other officials present that he had decided to accelerate the 30 year Mahaweli development program for completion in just 5 years. This startling, even sensational, announcement had been met with cries of joy, metaphorically speaking, from most of the top officials and Board members present. Only one of them had sat silently shaking his head from side to side, apparently unhappy about the proposal made by the Prime Minister, who had thereupon asked the Chairman, the late Ratna Cooke, who this person was. The Chairman had then introduced his General Manager, the late K.R.de Silva, to the Prime Minister, who thereupon asked him whether he had any reservations about the suggestion he had just made.
294
295 - K.R.de Silva was an interesting personality, who had a passing physical resemblance to Jersey Joe Walcott, but was as gentle as a lamb. I had the privilege of getting to know him when I served under him as an Assistant Irrigation Engineer when he was Divisional Irrigation Engineer, Kandy, back in 1958. He was a vegetarian, nonsmoker and teetotaler, who practised yoga, a man known for his scrupulous honesty and integrity, which I could personally vouch for -. An interesting exchange of words had then taken place between the General Manager (GM) of the Mahaweli Development Board, and the new Prime Minister (PM), which has been documented in an unpublished book that may be published in the near future[4]. The essence of it is that the GM told the PM that in his opinion the Mahaweli development project, as conceived by the UNDP team in the mid 1960s for completion in 30 years, was too vast and too complex to be completed in a mere five years, even if, as the PM promised, all the necessary resources of men, and materials, and machines, and money, would be made available. When asked his opinion about the minimum time required, the GM had given the memorable answer: "With luck, 15 years!" Famous last words. The GM was on extension of service, at the time, after retirement from the Irrigation department at the age of 60 years, and the extension had to be renewed annually. Next time round, just six months later, the extension was not renewed. K.R. de Silva who had given his whole working life to the Irrigation department which he had joined as an Irrigation Learner, a man who knew too much and did not keep his knowledge to himself, found himself unemployed. He then joined a contractor, but, a few months later he died of a heart attack. Some said of a broken heart. The AMDP eventually became a truncated version of the original UNDP proposals, consisting of six new headworks (out of 12), and the corresponding downstream development areas, which included both existing irrigated lands and new land. Nevertheless, by any standards it was a massive project and it had a massive impact. It was planned and implemented on hydraulic engineering principles, and not on ecosystems principles. This difference in
296 approach is discussed and explained in Chapter 1 and illustrated in the table given on page 34. It is appropriate to state here that I have predicted that adverse consequences of the hydraulic engineering approach will inevitably increase as time passes. At the present time a group of engineers and other supporters of the UNP, are planning to take up the AMDP from where they left off when the UNP lost to the PA at general elections in 1994. They would do well to look carefully into the underlying fundamentals of the scheme, which had largely ignored the existing ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems in the Rajarata from the time of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) plans in the mid 1960'. Causes for the final apparently irreversible decline of the ancient water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka, after the era of King Parakrama Bahu (1153-86), have been listed by various scholars[5]. These include, destruction during invasions from southern India; occupation of the hinterland of the ancient systems by invaders who did not know how to, or did not care to repair and maintain them; internecine strife at various times down the ages; elimination of the class of persons called 'kulinas' responsible for the maintenance and operation of the ancient systems; the advent of malaria and perhaps other water-related diseases; and, salinization and water-logging[6],[7]. To this list has been added by other scholars, prolonged cyclonic rainfall; earthquakes causing the Mahaweli to change its course; and decline in foreign trade, following the collapse of the Vijayaraja empire in southeast Asia in the early middle ages. I have added, the advent of hydraulic engineering methods during the famed Parakrama Bahu era in the 12th century[8]. All these causes contributed to the breakdown in the organization of civil society at the local level, described in modern terminology as local government, that centred around the gamsabha (village committees) and the wevsabha (tank committees), and other features of ancient Sinhalese social organization[9]. The resultant neglect of maintenance has been described by Sir Emerson Tennant, the well-known British colonial administrator cum researcher/historian, as follows[10]:
297 "The ruin of a reservoir when neglected and permitted to fall into decay was speedy and inevitable; and as the destruction of the village tank involved the flight of all dependent on it, the water once permitted to escape, carried pestilence and miasma over the plains they had previously covered with plenty. After such a calamity any partial return of the villagers, even where it was not prevented by the dread of malaria, would have been impracticable; for the obvious reason, that where the whole combined labour of the community was not more than suffcient to carry on the work of conservancy and cultivation, the diminished force of the few would have been utterly unavailing, either to effect the reparation of the watercourse, or to restore the system on which the culture of rice depends. Thus the process of decay, instead of a gradual decline as in other countries, became sudden and utter desolation in Ceylon". Tennant implies that there is a certain critical mass or minimum population that must be available at the local level for operation and maintenance of each small village tank, under a decentralized system of administration. Once the number of people fell below this critical number irreversible decline was inevitable. This would also have applied, on a larger scale, to operation and maintenance of the system of inter-connected large reservoirs and channels in the ancient Rajarata, at central government level, through the system of rajakariya or service tenure to the king, which Leach called corvee labour. Some modern scholars believe, perhaps by analogy with the experience of poor countries in the modern world, that overpopulation was a contributory cause of decline of the ancient systems. This stands in contrast to the above, which clearly refers to underpopulation, at the local or village level. Nor is there any real evidence of over-population at central government level, so that this particular alleged contributory cause is not established and may be rejected. Restoration on a piece-meal basis of the ancient irrigation works as they were called, was started by the Dutch in the maritime
298 provinces, and was accelerated by the British. However, the grand leitmotif of the inter-related system of large reservoirs and channels, in the Rajarata, and the inter-dependent basis for the large systems and the myriads of small village tanks, was not clearly understood at the time. Moreover, as mentioned above, the dominant actors in the restoration of the ancient works were irrigation engineers, who were guided by purely hydraulic engineering considerations. They saw water as inanimate and active, as expressed in Bernoulli's theorem for example, whereas a bio-scientist sees water in exactly the opposite terms, as animate and passive. In hydraulic engineering, channel flow is streamlined by lining channels with concrete or whatever, whereas a bio-scientist would like man-made channels to achieve regime conditions with the aid of aquatic plants whose roots bind the channel sides, so that ultimately the channel would be indistinguishable from a natural stream or river[11]. This of course is unthinkable to a hydraulic engineer to whom channel vegetation causes increased friction losses[12]. So, the ancient systems that had fallen into disuse, and in some cases had been abandoned altogether, were restored as hydraulic engineering systems. Not surprisingly, the result was truncation of the ancient complexes of water and soil conservation ecosystems, with resultant inevitable degradation. Of course the inspiration for all such restoration had to come from abroad, since local engineers had inadequate knowledge of the ancient systems to make them the basis for planning their restoration[13]. A typical consequence was that the small tanks were seen as a 'stage' in the evolution and development of the ancient systems, and groups of them had to be replaced by large reservoirs wherever possible. A map titled the Water Resources Development Plan, 1959 was prepared on this basis, from which new projects are now identified (Chapter 1). The underlying philosophy is illustrated in a statement from a Reconnaisance Report (Pre-Feasibility Study) prepared in the Irrigation department in 1950[14]: "The development of Heda oya is recommended as it compares very favourably, from technical and financial viewpoints, with other major schemes already undertaken by government.
299 There does not exist any doubt as to the need to achieve self-sufficiency in food. This is an achievement that cannot be realized by spending large sums of money on tiny village tanks which do not have the staying power in a drought nor can a better standard of living be taken to a people depending on them. Vagaries of the monsoons and resulting destitution can be fought only by spending public funds on large schemes and not by creating little evaporating pans and relief works. The age of the village pond has passed away and the time has come to embark on large projects like the scheme under review". The scathing reference to little evaporating pans is typical of the hydraulic engineer's one-dimensional perception. The words the age of the village pond has passed away quite clearly implies that the small tank is seen as an early stage in the development of irrigation systems and has no intrinsic value in itself. It should not be a matter for surprise that inspiration for the irrigation and multipurpose Gal oya development project, described as a local TVA, and started prior to independence in 1948, came from the US Bureau of Reclamation. Today, the USBR has come under severe criticism in USA for a 'hydrologic engineering' approach which has caused severe environmental damage[15], but this is apparently not known in Sri Lanka. The Irrigation department continues to send its engineers to the USBR from time to time. Coming back to the TV interview with the Deputy Minister of the PA government, his words indicated the strong impression created by the AMDP on his conciousness. He showed no awareness of the purpose and function of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga as described by Brohier, which has been quoted many times in this book: "The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation, which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined irrigation and water supply canal, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir, Kalaweva, for the water it carried. The length of the bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high
300 ground to the east which otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each subsidiary valley which lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain". The Deputy Minister spoke as if the AMDP was all that had ever happened in the Eppawala region! It appeared that the sensitive eloquence of Jonathan Walters who has described the culture and sensibilities of the Kalaweva people who trace their lineage from pre-Christian times, in the Preface and again in Chapter 12, would be lost on the Deputy Minister. In sum then, the words of the Deputy Minister were merely an endorsement of the views given in Chapter 5, by the Minister of Industries, whom he mentioned by name. He pooh-poohed any suggestion that there was strong opposition from local people, saying that candidates from two minor opposition political parties who brought up the Eppawala project as an issue in the election, were soundly beaten. He said that a Feasibility study would be done, before the project is taken up for implementation. He did not mention the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment study to ensure that there would not be any adverse environmental impact, or an Archaeological Impact Assessment study which is also now a statutory requirement[16]. The impresssion was inescapable that he saw no danger to cultural heritage, and was all for the proposed project. He also failed to mention, however, that his brother is the Chairman of the local company which is involved in the proposed joint venture. There was also a hint of a suggestion in his statement on TV that those who opposed the project were "trouble makers". It is of interest to compare this view with what is knowri about the treatment meted out to local people who expressed opposition to the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, run by the same multinational corporation involved in the Eppawala proposal. They have been described as trouble makers and summarily dealt with by the multi national firm's security organization, supported by the Indonesian
301 military[17] [18]. The well known United Nations' human rights activist, Radhika Coomaraswamy has also seen some of this during a recent visit to Indonesia[19]. This type of harrassment of local people by multinational corporations mining for non-renewable mineral resources, in collaboration with ruling elites, is unfortunately quite common. In Nauru, even some concerned Australian nationals who spoke up on behalf of the local people were investigated for "communist sympathies" (see Chapter 11). And, in the Rivers State of Nigeria where the local Ogoni people protested against the activities of the multinational corporation Shell, (see Nauru case) their leader Ken Saro Wiva was summarily tried, found guilty, and executed. Protests in Britain and elsewhere against the sentence of death on this local leader by the Nigerian military government, went unheeded. In view of these events involving multinational corporations in those other countries, it is disturbing that the passionate pleas of local people in Eppawala (see Preface, and Chapter 12), though widely reported, were not taken seriously by the Deputy Minister in his TV interviews. The increasing militarization in Sri Lanka on account of the ongoing war is also relevant, in the context of possible future suppression of local people at Eppawala, if the Indonesian experience is anything to go by. All this is an indication, if nothing else, of the magnitude of the uphill struggle facing the people of Eppawala and other concerned persons, who are trying to save this magnificent living cultural landscape, truly part of the cultural heritage of all humankind, from the depradations of money hungry predators.
The second item of interest is reproduced in full from Asia Week[20] of April 9, 1999, without comment, because any comment would be superfluous:
302 "Outgunned in Indonesia"
American political economist Jeffrey Winters is something of a celebrity in Indonesia. At a public forum in the nation last October he accused the Minister for Mines and Energy Ginandjar Karatasasmita of lining his pockets by extending a contract to the controversial mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia in the early 1990s. On March 21, Winters a profes- sor at Northwestern University near Chicago, returned to Indonesia to promote the Indonesian translations of his books. He was summoned for questioning by the police for allegedly slandering Ginandjar, who is currently Minister for Economy, Finance and Industry. The Minister has denied Winter's allegations. Shortly after the Professor arrived, an anonymous caller told the US Embassy in Jakarta that "20 snipers were ready to shoot Winters dead" on his way to answer the police summons, said his Indonesian lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis. The threat didn't materialize and appeared to be unrelated to Ginandjar or other top officials, the lawyer later said.
The third and last item, from a Sunday newspaper, April 11, 1999, is rather different from the above. It gives hope. This front page news item states that the Sri Lanka government is making an "All-out bid for top UNESCO post"[21]. The news item goes on: "President Chandrika Kumaratunga has ordered a massive, and costly lobbying mission to have Sri Lanka's new Ambassador to Paris, Professor Senaka Bandaranayake, elected as Director-General of UNESCO .... At least three Cabinet Ministers and several others have been picked to travel to several countries to lobby votes for the archaeological expert turned diplomat. Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera is to visit the African continent, Cultural Affairs Minister Lakshman Jayakody North America and Latin America, while Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamer has been placed in charge of Asia and Europe.
303
SLMC Secretary Rauf Hakeem and former Ambassador Javid Yusuf among others have also been co-opted for this high-profile campaign to have Professor Bandaranayake elected to the top post of the Paris based UN agency at elections due in November this year". The significance of submitting an application to UNESCO, for recognition of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem as a cultural heritage monument, is given an encouraging turn by this interesting development. For, Professor Senaka Bandaranayake has long been known as an energetic champion of our cultural heritage. His work in restoring and conserving Sigiriya is well known around the world, Sigiriya having been recognized as a Cultural Heritage monument by UNESCO far back in 1982. As is well known, Sigiriya was built by the patricide King Kassapa, son of the great tank builder King Dhatusena, who is credited with construction of the wonderful Kalaweva-Balaluweva twin tanks. All of us who have laboured to have this living wonder of the ancient world, the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem, saved from destruction, must hope and pray that Professor Senaka Bandaranayake will be elected Director-General of UNESCO. Then, at last all of us who are concerned about Eppawala would be able to breathe freely again.
304 As described elsewhere in this book, the submission toUNESCO has to be made by a government agency, and not by any private organization. A draft of the proposed Application, prepared by me, is given in the Annex below.
References 1 "The Government's Proposed Eppawala Phosphate Project and the National Academy of Sciences of Sri Lanka's Comments on it". NAASL, Colombo 2 Gunawardena, R.P. "Utiliation of Eppawala Apatite Depoist: General". Mimeo. 2 May 1995. 3 Fonseka, Carlo. "Violence and Democracy". Sunday Island, April 4, 1999 4 Mendis, D.L.O. "Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems (Irrigation systems) in Sri Lanka". Forthcoming 5 Indrapala, K. The Collapse of the Rajarata Civilization and the Drift to the Southwest. Ceylon Studies Seminar, University of Peradeniya, 1971 6 Rhoads, Murphy, "The Ruin of Ancient Ceylon". Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch), 1967 7 Indrapala, K, Ed. The Collapse of the Rajarata Civilization and the Drift to the Southwest. Ceylon Studies Seminar, University of Peradeniya, 1971 8 Mendis, D.L.O. "How Hydraulic Engineering Underdeveloped Southern Sri Lank". Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1992 9 Hayley, F.A. The Laws and Customs of the Sinhalese or Kandyan Law. Navrang, New Delhi. 1993 10 Tennant, Emerson. Ceylon. 11 Amerasinghe, Ivan. An Integrated Approach to Aquatic Resources Development of the Freshwater Ecosystems of Sri Lanka. Terra Aqua Research, South Asia - UK [TARSA- UK] 12 Chow, Ven Te, Open Channel Hydraulics. McGraw Hill, 1959 13 Mendis, D.L.O. "The Value of Indigenous Knowledge: the Case of the Ancient Water and Soil Conservation Ecosystems of Sri Lanka". Phil Smith et al. (Ed)The World at the Crossroads - A Report to the Pugwash Council. Earthscan, London. 1994 14 Kahawita, D.W.R. Reconnaisance Report on Heda oya. Irrigation department, unpublished, 1950. 15 Reisner, Marc. Cadillac Desert. Penguin books, Harmondsworth. 1996 16 Antiquities (Amendment) A Bill to amend the Antiquities Ordinance. The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Part li of March 20, 1998 (Issued on 23.03.1998) 17 See file:C:.HTM on the Internet 18 Alternative Report on Freeport MacMoran, Project Underground, California, May 1998, and World Watch, May /June 1998, "Trouble In Indonesia" pp. 15-19. 19 Radhika Coomaraswamy, Personal statement, December 10, 1998 20 ASIA WEEK, April 9, 1999, p. 12 21 The Sunday Times, April 11, 1999, Page 1, headline
305 ANNEX
DRAFT NOMINATION OF PROPERTIES FOR INCLUSION ON THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
1. Identification of the Property a. Country (and State Party if different) Sri Lanka Dr Siran Deraniyagala, Commissioner of Archaeology b. State, Province or Region Northcentral and Northwestern region in Dry zone of Sri Lanka (see Maps 1,2 & 3) c. Name of Property Ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga water and soil conservation ecosystem (irrigation system) d. Exact Location on map and indication of geographical coordinates to the nearest second See Map 3. Co-ordinates of Kalaweva (start of Jayaganga) and of Tissa weva (end of Jayaganga) to be given (Refer Irrigation department/Arumugam) e. Maps and/or plans showing boundary of area proposed for inscription and of any buffer zone See Maps 3 & 4. f. Area of property proposed for inscription (ha.) and proposed buffer zone (ha.) if any To be worked out from Maps 3 & 4.
2. Justification for Inscription a. Statement of significance The ancient man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems of Sri Lanka are commonly and incorrectly described as irrigation systems. In medicine, the word irrigation is used to describe the movement of water under pressure to flush out impurities, in
306 the stomach for example. In agriculture, the movement of water from storage reservoirs or diversion channels, to the soil root zone of crops, is also described as irrigation. But the storage and distribution of water in the ancient ecosystems in Sri Lanka, seen in totality, is a conservation function, of which the irrigation function is only a part. The totality of conservation includes both water and soil. The ancient man-made ecosystems of Sri Lanka were developed to retain the runoff from the heavy rainfall of the dry zone monsoon rainy season between October and January, for cultivation of food crops through the remaining dry months of the year. Rapid runoff is wasteful of water, and also causes harmful soil erosion. In the man-made water and soil conservation ecosystems much of the rainfall was stored both in reservoirs and in the upland soil itself, especially the soils above, below, and around reservoirs. For irrigation and cultivation of rice in the lowlands, storage in small, medium and large reservoirs was used. For cultivation of seasonal highland crops as well as a wide range of perennial tree crops, an unique system of storage in the upland soil was used, facilitated by construction of numerous small earth embankments or bunds called `vetiyas', which diverted surface runoff into the highland soils. Many of the large reservoirs and channels are still in use after piece-meal restoration and rehabilitation, that started in colonial times, (see annexed list). The vetiyas have never been systematically restored. In fact, it is considered possible that many of what are described in the upland areas on topographical survey sheets as `abandoned tank' are in fact abandoned vetiyas. b. Possible comparative analysis (including state of conservation of similar properties) The ancient storage reservoir system for lowland rice cultivation in the ancient Rajarata or King's country consisted of interconnected large reservoirs and channels (Brohier, 1937), (Map 3) and smaller reservoirs called `village tanks' (Ibid) (Map 4). Restoration work was begun in colonial times, especially in the 19th century under the British, and continued after independence
307 in 1948. On account of piece-meal restoration, the grand leitmotif of the inter-related systems in the Rajarata has been lost. Of the small village tanks, in all parts of the island, some 8000 are shown on the 1:50,000 topographical survey sheets of the island, described as `working', and another approximately 7000 are shown as `abandoned'. Restoration of small village tanks goes on to the present day. Restored works in various parts of the country are now under the administrative authority of the Irrigation department and the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka. The particular area considered in this Report comes under the authority of the latter, by government Act No. of 1979. c. Authenticity/Integrity The ancient systems have been well documented by scholars, beginning in colonial times. A partial list of references is annexed to this document. At the World Heritage Convention meeting on `Heritage Transportation Canal Corridors' held in Ottawa, Canada, September 15-19, 1998, a paper on canal corridors in Sri Lanka was presented by Professor Leelananda Prematilleke. Dr Henry Cleere of ICOMOS, at this meeting of experts, made the following observation on Criterion (iii) of the six criteria laid down in the Operation Guidelines for implementation of UNESCO's World Heritage Convention: "As presently phrased, this criterion relates essentially to archaeological sites and monuments. China's Grand Canal and the Jayaganga of Sri Lanka are examples of canals for which this criterion would be appropriate". (Cleere, 1994, 56). For various reasons, follow-up to this recommendation has not been done, until present circumstances have given added urgency to the need to do so in respect of the ancient Kalaweva-Jayaganga landscape. When seen as "transportation canal corridors", the Jayaganga qualifies under Criterion (iii), but as will be shown in what follows, other criteria also apply, especially when the Kalaweva-Jayaganga system as a whole, is recognized for what it really is: "a human made water and soil conservation ecosystem". d. Criteria under which inscription is proposed (and) justification for inscription
308 under these criteria. The revised criteria for cultural properties adopted by the 16th Session of the World Heritage Convention in Santa Fe, 13 December 1992, are used in this section, as follows (Rossler, 1994, 4):
Paragraph 24 (a) (i) to represent an unique cultural achievement, a masterpiece of the creative genius; or (ii) have exerted great influence, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture, monumental arts, town-planning, or landscape design; or (iii) bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a civilization or cultural tradition which has disappeared; or (iv) be an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural ensemble of landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history; or (v) be an outstanding example of traditional human settlement or land use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change; or (vi) be directly and tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance (the Committee considers that this criterion should justify inclusion on the List only in exceptional circumstance or in conjunction with other criteria)
Criterion (i) "To qualify under criterion (i), a canal must be a `master piece of creative genius' ".(Cleere, 1994, 55). The Jayaganga is indeed a `masterpiece of creative genius', in the totality of its conception, as well as in details of its construction. In regard to the latter, for example, the first 17 miles of the channel from the sluice at Kalaweva (reservoir) has a gradient of only 6 inches in the mile or approximately 1 in 10,000 (Brohier, 1934, Vol. II, p. 8). It's width is about 40 feet throughout its 54 ½
309 mile length to the reservoir at its end, Tissa weva. Even today, it is rarely that a water supply channel of this magnitude, is built with such a small gradient. The Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem has been described as follows (Brohier, 1937, 70): "The Jayaganga, indeed an ingenious memorial of ancient irrigation, which was undoubtedly designed to serve as a combined irrigation and water supply canal, was not entirely dependent on its feeder reservoir, Kalaweva, for the water it carried. The length of the bund between Kalaweva and Anuradhapura intercepted all the drainage from the high ground to the east which, otherwise would have run to waste. Thus the Jayaganga adapted itself to a wide field of irrigation by feeding little village tanks in each subsidiary valley which lay below its bund. Not infrequently it fed a chain of village tanks down these valleys - the tank lower down receiving the overflow from the tank higher up on each chain". This shows that the Jayaganga channel was not just a hydraulic engineering structure that conveyed water from the source reservoir Kalaweva, to reservoirs at the end, but a system that intercepted runoff from rainfall all along its course. The question of how the whole interconnected system of reservoirs and channels had been conceived and constructed in the ancient Rajarata, over a period of several centuries, still intrigues researchers and scholars. For example, Tissaweva at the tail end of the Jayaganga had been built in the third century B.C.(Brohier, 1934, II, 10). Kalaweva, at the head end, had been constructed in the fifth century (Ibid, 4). The historical chronicles, Mahavamsa and Culavamsa, describe the continuous functioning of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga system over a period of more than a thousand years. One hypothesis for the development of these interconnected systems over many centuries is that a channel was usually built first as a river diversion irrigation structure, below which a system of small tanks (reservoirs) and channel irrigation systems developed, around which the human settlements grew. Over a period of time, usually running into centuries, a substantial economic surplus was generated and accumulated from the river diversion system of crop production. Thereafter the system was consolidated
310 by construction of storage reservoirs at the tail end and/or the head end of the river diversion canal thus completing the evolution and development of an unique cultural landscape.
Criterion (ii) "With this criterion, stress is laid on the influence that a given cultural property has had over time and space" (Cleere, 1994, 55). Until the recent Mahaweli Development project was planned, starting in the mid nineteen-sixties, all irrigation projects in Sri Lanka were based on restoration of ancient works. For example, the Kalaweva-Jayaganga system was found to have suffered many breaches when "discovered" by the British in the l 9th century. The breaches were filled, and Kalaweva was restored in 1887, together with the Jayaganga (Brohier, Ibid, 6). However, in the ancient Rajarata or King's country, the ancient complex of interconnected reservoirs and channels was only restored in piece-meal fashion, and the grand lietmotif of the ancient inter-related system of groups of reservoirs and channels was lost (Brohier, 1937) (Map 1). This is really an indication of the superiority of the ancient systems, in overall conceptual terms, as well as in the successful irrigation water management within the systems, as compared to the rather less elaborate modern systems
Criterion (iii) "As recently phrased, this criterion relates essentially to archaeological sites and monuments. China's Grand Canal and the Jayaganga of Sri Lanka are examples of canals for which this criterion would be appropriate" (Cleere, 1994, 56) The Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem bears unique testimony to the cultural traditions of Sri Lanka in the construction and use of water and soil conservation ecosystems, but it certainly has not "disappeared". In fact, despite the inroads of modern agribusiness, traditional farmers stubbornly persist with traditional cultural practices that are part and parcel of traditional knowledge systems. An example is the "bethma" system for equitable distribution of water (Leach, 1959). However, at the present time, the human-made Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is under threat of destruction on
311 account of a proposal to mine to exhaustion a rare deposit of igneous phosphate rock, apatite, which is located in the heart of the system (Mendis, 1997). Criterion (iv) "This criterion is designed to recognise the social, economic and political significance of a cultural property it has special relevance to the new concept of the `cultural landscape' It must be borne in mind, however, that the canal must constitute an integral element in the landscape and not merely pass through it, without making any impact on the landscape" (Cleere, 1994, 56) The Kalaweva-Jayaganga is the principle artery in the complex of water and soil conservation ecosystems in the ancient Rajarata. It still functions, as it did some fifteen centuries ago, and is very much an `integral element in the landscape'.
Criterion (v) "Vulnerability under the pressures of contemporary social and economic imperatives is fundamental to the use of this criterion It also has application where a canal is threatened by re-use for another purpose, such as tourism or leisure activities, that will result in a fundamental change of character or loss of identity" (Cleere, 1994, 56). The Kalaweva-Jayaganga is an outstanding example of human settlement and traditional landuse in Sri Lanka, representative of a culture that has a continuous unbroken documented history of more than two thousand years (University History of Ceylon). The Jayaganga which passes through the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit is now under imminent threat on account of a proposal to mine that deposit to exhaustion in just 35 years. On the other hand, this deposit has been used since 1974, to provide phosphate fertilizer for local agriculture, using an appropriate technology that does not harm the cultural landscape as the proposed new project most certainly will (Mendis, 1974). If continued on this scale, it will be possible to conserve this cultural landscape for centuries to come, while extracting all the needed phosphate fertilizer for local consumption.
312 Criterion (vi) "This sparingly used criterion, which relies on the associative value of a cultural property, is likely to be one of limited application to canals" (Cleere, 1994, 56) As recommended by the Committee at the Ottawa Convention, this criterion may also be invoked, in conjunction with the others, on account of the importance of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem as an unique cultural landscape. 3. Description a. Description of Property As mentioned above, the Jayaganga is a 54 1 /2 mile long contour channel built at least 15 centuries ago, if not earlier. It's first 40 miles lie in the basin of the Kala oya (non-perennial river), after which it crosses the catchment divide and enters the Malawatu oya basin. The eastern or right bank of the Kalaweva basin above the Jayaganga drains into this contour channel as described by Brohier, above. This channel feeds cascades of small storage reservoirs, called village tanks, lying on its western or downstream side in the Kala oya basin. On account of the trans-basin supply of water to the Malwatu oya basin, the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem impacts on that river basin as well (see Map 3). b. History and Development The history of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga has been documented by R.L. Brohier (Brohier, 1934,11, 3-7). The history of the Malwatu oya basin systems has also been documented by the same authority (Ibid, 10-12). Briefly, Kalaweva-Jayaganga is a part of the water and soil conservation ecosystems that had evolved and developed over a period of about ten centuries, starting in the middle of the first millenium B.C. and extending to the fifth century (Maps 1, 2, 3). Other historians and scholars have also contributed to our understanding of the ancient irrigation works or water and soil conservation ecosystems, before and after Brohier. A partial list of such studies is annexed to this report, and Brohier's pub, had suffered many breacheslished works are mainly cited, for convenience.
313 After the capital of ancient Sri Lanka was moved from Anuradhapura in the Malwatu oya basin, to Polonnaruwa in the 8th century, these systems had been subject to some neglect, while new systems constructed near and around the new capital, flourished. Due to a variety of circumstances, the systems suffered a final apparently irreversible decline after the reign of the King Parakkama Bahu in Polonnaruwa (1153-86). By the time the western colonial powers visited the country, for trade and plunder, these systems had already been overtaken by the tropical jungle. The Portuguese who captured the maritime provinces in 1505, did not take any interest in the remains of the ancient systems lying in the jungle covered interior. The Dutch who took over from the Portuguese in 1656, did discover and restore some of the ancient systems, lying near the coast, in the northwestern, northeastern and southeastern regions. It was left to the British who took over the maritime provinces from the Dutch in 1796, to capture the Kandyan kingdom in the central hill country. Having thus brought the whole island under their suzerainty, the British ruled until 1948. During their long period of occupation, the first new administrative department to be set up was the Surveyor General's department. The next was the Public Works department, which had an Irrigation Branch, which was converted into a full fledged department in 1900. The Survey department completed a most comprehensive topographical survey of the whole island, starting in the mid nineteenth century which was completed in 1920. These topographical survey sheets were originally plotted and published on a scale of one mile to an inch, and have been recently converted to a metric scale of 1:50,000. These maps were used by R.L. Brohier to document a comprehensive history titled `Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon', published in three volumes in 1933/34. c. Form and date of most recent records of property The Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka set up in 1979, has been responsible for the administration of the region since that time. Under the MASL, an accelerated land development and resettlement program was started with a view to improving the ancient systems,
314 and increasing their carrying capacity and productivity. Records of their activities are available for reference in the MASL archives. d. Present state of conservation The Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is a living system, very much functional and productive as originally intended. At one time, modern hydraulic engineers had proposed that the existing village tanks were `inefficient' and should be replaced by channel irrigation and distribution systems. This was resisted by local villagers whose views ultimately prevailed (Mendis, 1997). However, at the present time, a proposal to mine to exhaustion a rare deposit of phosphate rock in the heart of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga system has given rise to fears that this unique man-made water and soil conservation ecosystem will be seriously damaged, if not actually destroyed. This gives a new urgency to the need to have this system declared as a World Heritage site or Cultural Landscape. e. Policies and programmes related to the presentation and promotion of the property There is a certain element of uncertainty relating to the presentation and promotion of the Kalaweva-Jayaganga cultural landscape, in so far as it should be conserved for future generations. This is probably due to the absence of a multi-disciplinary approach to its management, which has permitted business interests to propose the exploitation to exhaustion of the phosphate rock deposit in a very short period of 35 years without any reference to the Cultural Landscape in which it is located. UNESCO intervention is therefore seen as an issue of great urgency. 4. Management a. Ownership b. Legal status c. Protective measures and methods of implementing them d. Agency/agencies with management authority e. Level at which management is exercised (e.g. on property, regionally) and name and address of responsible person for contact purposes
315 f. Agreed plans related to property (e.g regional, local plan, conservation plan, tourist development plan) g. Sources and levels of finance h. Sources of expertise and training in conservation and management techniques i. Visitor facilities and statistics j. Property management plan and statement of objectives (copy to be annexed) k. Staffing levels (professional, technical, maintenance)
5. Factors Affecting the Property a. Development Pressures (e.g. encroachment, adaptation, agriculture, mining) The most signifcant "development pressure" by far on the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem is the proposal to mine the Eppawala phosphate, apatite rock, deposit to exhaustion in just 35 years by a multinational corporation, which will destroy this ecosystem that is still very much in use. All other development pressures, due to encroachment, are manageable and not a threat to the ecosystem as such. This mining proposal also contravenes many principles embodied in the United Nations Environmental Conference, 1992 Declaration, for example Principle 3:"The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet development needs of present and future generations" b. Environmental Pressures (e.g. pollution, climate change) Again, environmental pressures are entirely those arising from the proposal to mine the apatite rock deposit. c. Natural disasters and preparedness (earthquakes, floods, fires, etc) Such natural disasters are not anticipated. In particular it should be noted that the possibility of floods due to torrential northeast monsoon rains does exist in the dry zone, but the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem has successfully mitigated the adverse impacts of such floods down the ages. d. Visitor/tourism pressures.
316 Such pressures are insignificant at present and for the foreseeable future. e. Number of inhabitants within property, buffer zone It is stated that there are 12,000 persons in 26 villages within the buffer zone demarcated on the plans prepared by the multinational corporation that wishes to mine the Eppawala phosphate rock deposit (Project Underground, May 1998. p.23). f. Other The Rio Declaration Principle 7 gives added strength to the proposal to include the Kalaweva-Jayaganga ecosystem in the World Heritage list: States shall co-operate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to environmental degradation, States have common but differential responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.
6. Monitoring a. Key indicators for measuring of conservation b. Administrative arrangements for monitoring property c. Results of previous reporting exercises 7. Documentation a. Photographs, slides, and where available, film/video b. Copies of property management plans and extracts of other plans relevant to the property c. Bibliography d. Address where inventory, records and archives are held Department of Archaeology, Colombo Department of National Archives, Colombo
317 8. References Arumugam, S. Water Resources of Ceylon, Water Resources Board, Colombo, 1968 Brohier, R.L. Ancient Irrigation Works in Ceylon, 3 vols. Government press, Colombo, 1933/34. Reprinted in one volume by Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, 1978. Brohier, R.L. "The Inter-relation of Groups of Ancient Reservoirs and Channels in Ceylon." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ceylon Branch, Vol. XXXIV No. 90, Parts I. 11. 111. IV 1937 Nicholas, C.W. Historical Topography of Ancient and Medieval Ceylon. Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, New Series, Vol. VI, Special Number, 1959 Nicholas C.W. and Paranavitana, S. A Concise History of Ceylon. Gunasena, Colombo, 1960 Mendis, D.L.O. "Planning the Eppawala Phosphate Rock Perfect Using Appropriate Technology. Transactions. The Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka, 1974. Mendis, D.L.O. Meaningful Development - A Pugwash Perspectives Sri Lanka Pugwash Group publication. December 1997.
9. Signature on behalf of the State Party
318
Map 1
319
Map 2
320
Map3
321
Map 4
322 References
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