President reiterates country’s commitment to protecting heritage sites

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the United Nations Summit on Biodiversity, on Wednesday, stressed that Sri Lanka was firmly committed to protecting the two UNESCO Natural Heritage Sites: the Central Highlands, and the Sinharaja Rain Forest Reserve and the six sites recognised under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

President Rajapaksa told the virtual gathering held under the theme of ‘Urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development’, “Protect and sustainably manage these natural assets that contribute to our unique and rich biodiversity” that as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Sri Lanka endorsed the Commonwealth Blue Charter in 2018 and as such “we will champion the Commonwealth Blue Charter Action Group on Mangrove Ecosystems and Livelihoods”.

He said Sri Lanka was home to two UNESCO Natural Heritage Sites: the Central Highlands, and the Sinharaja Rain Forest Reserve. “We are also proud of our six sites recognized under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.”

He added: “There is a critical need for a transformational change in the relationship between nature and people and contemporary global environmental governance.”

The President said the Sri Lankan kings believed that the ruler was never the owner of the land; he was merely its caretaker on behalf of his people and all the living beings.

“This is the very principle that my government has adopted in our development agenda said the President while stressing as mere trustees of this planet and its resources we must resolve to protect what is in our trust and pass it to future generations as best as we could.”

The Summit will highlight the crisis facing humanity from the degradation of biodiversity and the urgent need to accelerate action on biodiversity for sustainable development.

It will provide an opportunity for Heads of State and Government and other leaders to raise ambition for the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2021.

Emphasising that the concept of biodiversity must be at the very core of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, President Rajapaksa stressed that in spite of the rapid decline in biodiversity globally, over the recent decades, Sri Lanka had been deeply committed to upholding the overarching spirit of the Convention on Biodiversity.

“There is a critical need for a transformational change in the relationship between nature and people and contemporary global environmental governance.”

(IN)