Protecting our environment is safeguarding our children: President
Saturday, 7 June 2014 00:00
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Invaluable lives have been lost due to the dengue hazard facing the country. It is necessary for all in society to be committed to ensuring a clean environment to save the country from the widening dangers of dengue. Such protection of the environment is in fact the best protection for our children, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He was speaking at the World Environment Day event held at the Navarangahala, Colombo on Thursday. The theme of the 41st World Environment Day was ‘Impact of Climate Change on Island States’.
President Rajapaksa emphasised that whatever laws were passed, however much money was spent, if society did not carry out obligations, it will not be possible to save the country from the dengue hazard. Dengue could not be eradicated by state action only, and it was essential that all sections of society should carry out their responsibilities and duties in this regard, he added.
Climate Change is a challenge to the entire world and the task of protecting the environment for the future generations was being shouldered by the government. Although Sri Lanka is an island, in implementing several policies in the Mahinda Chinthana with regard to environmental protection, the task has been dealt with as in a continent, the President said.
He further stated that although many persons referred to the cleanliness in some foreign countries, it was not possible today to step into such countries because of the polluting conditions. However, we have good reason to be proud of the environmental and climate conditions that largely prevailed in our country.
