Found within the borders of the CMR is 80% of the country’s industrialisation and over 60% of all vehicles plying Sri Lankan roads. The main sources of energy in Sri Lanka are biofuel, petroleum and hydro electricity. In 1998, energy consumption was Biofuel (44.5%), Petroleum (42%), and hydro electricity (13.4%). The current hydroelectric power production, which has reached a saturation point, is around 4000 GWh annually. While over 95% of the country’s electricity requirements in 1995 were obtained from hydroelectricity, the scenario has rapidly changed during the last few years where thermal power plants have taken over the generation of around 30% of the national requirement. The power requirements are expected to double over the next decade. To meet the increased energy demand the preferred option of the government appears to be the installation of coal fired power plants.
The number of motor vehicles has been increasing at around 6% annually during the last two decades. Over 60% of all motor vehicles are registered in the CMR and it is this that is the main cause of the air quality problem. Of particular concern is the increase in diesel powered vehicles. The import of diesel fuel increased by about 25% over the period 1991-1995 while from 1995 to 1996 the increase has been a phenomenal 60%. This is largely due to the operation of new diesel power plants. Sri Lankan produced diesel has a higher concentration of sulphur compared to other countries in the region. Of the petrol vehicles nearly 99% use leaded gasoline which has the potential of causing health problems in the city.
Sri Lanka is a tropical island nation with total land area of 65600 km2. The climate is moderate and uniform and depending on the altitude the temperature ranges between 16oC – 35oC. There are two major monsoon periods where rain falls mainly in the southwest and northeast regions. The annual rainfall ranges from 2500-5000 mm during the southwest to around 1250 mm during the northwest and southeast monsoons. Because of the small size of the country, its location within the Indian Ocean and prevailing wind patterns there is the distinct possibility of transboundary impacts with regard to air pollution emissions. Within the island, although most of the emissions are generated in CMR they could easily get transported, especially to the hill country areas or into the ocean.
Understanding the importance of the issue, in 1992 the government with the assistance of the Metropolitan Environmental Improvement Programme (MEIP-Colombo) - a World Bank assisted regional initiative on urban environmental management – developed an action plan called the Clean Air 2000 Action Plan for Air Quality Management in the Colombo Metropolitan Area (CA2AP). The cabinet of ministers approved this action plan in 1993, and an Implementation Committee consisting of concerned line agencies was instituted. The committee is hosted and chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Forestry and Environment. This committee meets bi-monthly and reviews the progress on the implementation of CA2AP. The committee also has the responsibility of identifying and addressing policy issues relating to air quality management.
This document attempts to extend the existing action plans to take into account both air pollution issues within the country, its implications on the region and likely transboundary effects thereby fulfilling the objectives of the Malé Declaration.
The proposed system for the air quality management in Sri Lanka is as shown in the diagram 1 below.
Diagram 1: Proposed System for Air Quality Management in Sri Lanka