Friday Apr 19, 2024
Friday Apr 19, 2024
Wednesday, 26 April 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Over the years Sri Lanka has experienced so many natural and man-made disasters, one could sarcastically say, people are already used to it. Usually the main steps are, something tragic happens, everybody is shocked and surprised, relief efforts start more or less coordinated, blaming and shaming starts, the entire country gets somewhat involved and then, nothing really changes.
It is safe to say that Sri Lankans are amongst those, who have very big hearts when it comes to donations and helping someone in need. From corporates to the average person on the road, when a disaster strikes, relief efforts are vast and the feeling of “in that difficult time we have to help each other” is widespread.
For example, during the floods in 2016 a large amount of people were involved in voluntary work to assist professionals in their relief efforts as well as did not hesitate to donate items for those who lost everything. To coordinate relief efforts is a very difficult task, and therefore too many times unfortunately items go to waste or do not reach those who need it most. As a matter of fact, this is not a particularity of Sri Lankan disasters, this unfortunately happens globally.
Similarly the latest disaster to hit the headlines, the collapse of the Meethotamulla garbage dump, provoked a multitude of organisations and individuals to immediately engage in disaster relief and emergency efforts. More than with other disasters, outrage about the waste landslide is very high, naturally from those most affected who live in the surrounding area, however also by the public who seem to be tired of unsustainable leadership practices contributing to such tragedies.
The Meethotamulla garbage dump disaster is in many ways upsetting: currently it was reported that 98 houses have been destroyed, 625 persons displayed, 33 people have lost their lives. Only last year in August 2016 concerns were raised, not for the first time, about the instability of the garbage dump. Protests took place by residents about the garbage dump and experts warned of a potential collapse. Hiru News on 16 August 2016 reported: “The Municipal officers promised the residents to settle the issue within three weeks.” However the concerns were not taken serious enough and the necessary mitigation activities did not take place.
Those living close to a garbage dump have suffered for years from sickness and discomfort due to the enormous amount of waste piled up. Not only that living close to such garbage dump drastically decreases quality of life, the repeating complaints and worries about the dangers of the dump were left unheard by those in charge.
An article on Groundviews website states: “One thing they all (the residents) had in common was their distaste for the nearby dump. It was clearly visible from most of the lanes – swarming with flies, with the occasional pig rooting through the garbage. Even if you couldn’t see it, you could certainly smell it. The people I interviewed said the stench was particularly unbearable when it was hot, forcing many to close their windows and doors to avoid the smell. Worse, respiratory diseases and skin rashes were quite common thanks to the proximity of the dump.”
It was reported yesterday that now soldiers have stopped searching for missing victims where at the same time residents and the public are more and more upset about the incident as well as how it was handled by those in charge. WSWS highlights opinions of those most affected: “For how long have we been saying that this would collapse? All our cries fell on the deaf ears of governments. They did nothing until so many people were buried alive.” It was said that politicians and other officials were blocked from visiting the area by angry residents during the course of the past few days.
It does not help when political leaders mention that the tragedy occurred due to resistance of local residents to move from that area.
It is the question if there had been a resettlement program and in which way such program was a real alternative for those affected. Many times, despite the better amenities, resettlement programs have shortfalls such as loss of occupation or social environment as most of the time the new settlements are established quite a distance from the old one. However as mentioned details about such earlier resettlement program would need to be researched. Within the latest top level meeting at the Disaster Management Ministry it was announced that families living in the areas near the garbage dump which are identified as high risk will be relocated from July onwards.
In any case, it has been the main responsibility of the authorities to manage the waste dump, as it is not rocket science that there is a limit to such disposal procedure anyways. One might assume that after such tragedy the appropriate measures are taken to calm the situation and prevent any similar disaster.
Few days back a Reuters report mentions that the police said they were investigating whether the landslide was natural or man-made. This for me is a highly inappropriate statement as even if any natural force and may it have been rain or even a slight earth quake (thought this would have been noticed by the respective seismological department) if one wants to consider that, the garbage dump is clearly man made and the neglect in taking care of it appropriately was clearly human failure.
Yesterday within the high level discussion involving the President, Prime Minister and several other ministers it was decided that each house which was destroyed will be rebuilt and Rs. 250,000 will be provided for furnishing. Daily FT reported on 20 April that during this meeting methods of sustainable management of garbage disposal avoidance of similar incidents in the future have been discussed. The president instructed to clear the Meethotamulla garbage dump within the next months and to ban illegal settlements. It was not reported which methods will be applied and where the waste will be brought to. Also, where the current daily Colombo waste will be disposed if it cannot be brought to Meethotamulla anymore.
As so often in history, first the tragedy has to take place, to cause enough attention that change can happen. However TIME reports that every day up to 800 tons of waste were piled onto the Meethotamulla dump. Officials now stated that this waste will be split across two other sites.
Where a comprehensive solution cannot be implemented over night, splitting the waste to other sites does not sound like any solution at all. Further, within the last few days, various reports revealed that already in the past solutions to remove the dump were proposed to the government but were not taken on.
Sri Lanka is not the only country facing waste issues. If priorities are set right, there are enough opportunities to consult experts (local or foreign) and those who have already found sustainable solutions to handle such waste dumps. Instead of paying compensation to the victims’ families AFTER a tragedy takes place, real solutions have to be implemented BEFORE. Where waste has been piled up for years, recycling becomes impossible, incineration might be an alternative, however the appropriate solutions to deal with this challenge have to be prepared and implemented by designated expert companies.
The Colombo Telegraph criticises today that Rs. 3 million are going to be paid as compensation (100,000 per family; today it should be 3.3 m) when at the same time the president received two cars for a value of almost Rs. 600 million. This comparison might not be the best in absolute terms, as it is not comparing apples with apples, however it simply shows that in Sri Lanka priorities are just not set right. There is a clear division between leadership as well as top societal class which seems to be able to reap all sorts of benefits; and the remaining population of Sri Lanka who needs to bear the consequences of mismanagement and unsustainable decision making.
One can refer to any objective of sustainable development, I feel it might be safe to say, if inequality in a society is not taken care of, how can any other objective such as environmental protection or poverty or sustainable supply chains be reached? If wealth and power are distributed extremely uneven, how can a country ever run sustainably? The only exception one might be able to think of is a “benevolent dictatorship” where power is also concentrated however those in power are focusing on the prosperous development of the entire country. As history shows, such leaders are rare to find.
With May being the peak of the rainy season on the West Coast, the remaining residents around the Meethotamulla dump are still exposed to harmful chemicals released from the waste dump. Hope remains that those in charge will take on their responsibility and do the needful, even if it is only for the sake of keeping their voter base.
Referring to the Meethotamulla garbage collapse, I would like to discuss another viewpoint as well. Where rains can be predicted and so can potential flooding, natural disasters are still perceived as something more or less “out of our control”, whereas the collapse of a garbage dump is no one else’s but humans fault. That refers to leadership failure in managing that dump but also a failure of appropriate waste management in general and an immense lack of responsible consumer behaviour which in the first place leads to garbage dumps.
Natural disasters can nowadays also be mitigated with modern means of prediction and also strategies of climate change adaptation. If the priorities are set right we do not need to invest so much effort in complaining about the tragic consequences of such disasters. It is “easy” to condole those who lost their loved ones, it is much more difficult to take responsibility and change one’s own behaviour contribute preventing similar catastrophies. This should be at leadership level however also at individual level. There will be only progress if everyone – in whatever role that might be – as organisation or individual, understands her or his influence on what is happening in a country.
Similar to voting, each purchase is influencing the degree of sustainability in a country. First, which resources are used to produce the product, how is it used and reused and is it recycled? Each consumer decides every day in which direction the country will progress. Consumer power is at least similarly influential as voting for a political party. By consuming certain products and refusing others, each person has power over corporate decisions and in the end about exploitation or preservation of the natural environment. Many consumers are not aware of this power and influence they can actually exert onto organisations.
Every one of us has already experienced how much advertising is done by corporates to sell their products, once it is bought, after sale service is often not as enthusiastic and satisfactory compared to pre-sale efforts. The main objective of companies is to sell their products and services and to get as many consumers as possible. Obviously if a company can’t sell, they have to close down. Consumers often seem to forget that with their purchase they can contribute to success or failure of that company.
Rather than complaining about corporate behaviour and blaming and shaming unsustainable practices, the best solution is to empower those who incorporate ethical conducts by buying their products. To do so, consumers would need to inform themselves better about corporate behaviour and understand supply chains and the consequences of a linear economy. At the same time, those corporates which engage in sustainable corporate conduct will need to inform the public better about what they are doing and in which way their products and services are different to others. They will need to transparently disclose information which is crucial to develop trust among consumers.
Each families’ waste behaviour leads to garbage dumps which in the end cause so many challenges to a society. It is about time to take on this responsibility, it is about time to demand sustainable behaviour from corporates and political leadership. The circle of disaster – shock – relief – promises – inaction – disaster has to stop, to facilitate any real progress in Sri Lanka.
