President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the Boao Forum for Asia today (12) called for an Asian consensus to reach a global climate Agreement by 2009, based on traditional wisdom of Asia, the new knowledge brought to us by science and leadership of those who have helped make this the Asian Century. He expressed hope that the Boao conference will produce much new thinking and perspectives on arriving at an Asian consensus regarding the pressing of Climate Change.

He also said that those who ravaged the environment in their dash to development must bear the brunt of the responsibility for addressing the consequences.

Speaking on the need to explore options for developing environment-friendly and cost-effective energy sources, the President, however, cautioned that the search for alternative fuel sources must not deprive the poor of their food, as we see with the diversion of corn and other food crop lands to produce fuels for motor vehicles.

The full speech:

His Excellency HU Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China
Your Excellencies
Distinguished Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen

I am greatly honoured to stand here today in this charming city of Boao, amidst a most perfect enchanting environment to address this distinguished audience. This important forum which is at the vanguard of Asia’s intellectual strength over the last decade has brought about meaningful and thought provoking dialogues helping to charter Asia’s future in the new century. I am sure this conference too, will no doubt produce much new thinking and perspectives on arriving at an Asian consensus regarding the pressing of Climate Change, and other issues that affect Asia too, which will receive very careful consideration in our deliberations during the next two days, and after that too.

I am here today, because of the importance of this Forum, despite the serious loss that we suffered last Sunday at a sports festival in preparation for the national New Year, with one of my senior ministers being blown up by a suicide bomber and also, because we must continue to address the challenges of climate change, global warming and resource diminution.

The world, in the last century, had made remarkable progress in science and technology bringing many positive attributes for human development. These saw the significant improvement of living conditions in so many ways, great advances in health care and education, the expansion of industry, widening of opportunity for travel, and overall brought more comforts to a larger number of people.
We have also seen the emergence of many challenges, These include the fight against terrorism that pervades the world today, the continuing spread of nuclear weapons, the widening gap between the rich and the poor, international trafficking in drugs, women, and children; and in recent years the most alarming problem of the depletion of the earth's natural resources; and the destruction of the environment. With all the wealth that industrial progress has produced, today, we are gravely threatened by global warming and climate change. In the face of these challenges that mock our most determined attempts to solve them within established frameworks, we must fashion our policies to enable continued development while addressing the challenges posed. This Boao Forum has a critical role to play in this regard.

If we journey through to ancient Asia, we find that its evolution has been founded on the cornerstones of environmental sustainability. Our forefathers, who have left their indelible footprints in nurturing our civilizations over centuries ago, integrated environmental responsibility into our cultural values. Our gentle cultures, wherever their roots were from, taught us to respect and live in harmony with nature. The essence of China’s ancient wisdom is that we hold the environment in trust, to be handed down to generations to come without damage or destruction. A great king of Sri Lanka when threatened to reveal the storehouse of his wealth, showed the waters of a massive reservoir he had built for irrigation. Another great ruler admonished the people not to allow a single drop of water to drain into the sea, without first having watered the crops. Our history, therefore, should provide us with considerable strength as we face our future challenges, especially in the new challenge of facing up to Climate Change, and seeking consensus of how we should restore harmony with nature and the environment.

Industrialization, the most powerful agent of change that came from the West, saw a marked break with the concept of harmony with nature. We saw the natural environment being defined in terms of man’s right to possess and dominate, with the environment being there solely to be exploited for the benefit of man. The social and political philosophies that sprang from industrialization encouraged this selfish approach, for which, we have paid a heavy price since, and will have to do so in the future too.
However in meeting the challenges posed by globalization today, as well as the challenges faced by the environment, we see the need for a new definition of man’s relationship with nature and the environment. We need to look back at our traditional values, and also look forward to what today’s scientific knowledge can give us to restore our good relations with nature.

As Asia develops at an extraordinary pace, a major transformation is occurring in the distribution of the world's wealth. China and India now contribute over half of the world's GDP and this trend will continue. China's extraordinary economic growth has brought immense benefits to its people; and has been a great inspiration for developing countries. Asia’s economic surge, led by these icons of our region, provides us with the opportunity to address some of our global challenges. This brings hope of change to many in our region to whom poverty and deprivation have been the only birthright for centuries. Asia is now firmly a driver of world growth bringing us our century of hope.

This extra-ordinary economic growth has no doubt brought immense benefits to the people of Asia. The number of people living in absolute poverty has declined from over 920 million in 1990 to about 600 million today. The living standards have improved and people have become healthier. This no doubt has become a great inspiration for us to move forward in chartering our course for the future. Despite many challenges, the economy of my country grew by 6.7% last year. To ensure that the benefits of this growth reach all strata of society, my government has pursued a variety of direct initiatives in such fields as gender issues, livelihoods security and rural prosperity.

The Asian resilience could be vividly displayed in terms of the current global economic environment. Although the pace of growth in 2008, could be expected to slow down due to the effects of the new crisis in the US economy, now admittedly approaching a recession, it appears that the slowdown caused by this in emerging Asia will be limited due to strong expansion by China and India. Further, the region has built substantial buffers against external shocks since the 1997 – 1998 financial crises. However, Asia is not totally immune to the potential spillovers. Given these risks, Asia’s policy makers need to take the steps necessary to ensure confidence in the global financial markets. They must continue to pursue sound macroeconomic management and improve structural resilience through deeper and more comprehensive reform efforts, as economic growth will still remain one of the prerequisites in the region. But this growth -oriented strategy will also need to be a sustainable, pro-poor and a more inclusive process.

It is necessary to understand that the rapid expansion of Asia's dynamic economies, both large and small, has brought with it the predicament of coping with a serious environmental challenge. Asia's appetite for energy rises steadily, with the need to develop rapidly and further reduce poverty. As we consume ever increasing quantities of fossil fuels we also emit larger amounts of green house gases. The products that we consume and the waste we create expose our populations to a wider array of potentially harmful consequences than ever before. Significantly, we find that rural eco- systems, which are the bedrock of Asia, coming under enormous pressure.

My dear friends,

We are now at a critical juncture. There are deep-seated economic problems and imbalances that need to be fundamentally reversed. It shall give us challenges as well as opportunities. Despite the progress we have made, there are still millions of people living in abject poverty. There is a huge infrastructure gap in the region. Urbanization is putting a serious strain on infrastructure services in Asia’s cities. More than half a billion Asian people have no access to safe water and three times as many live without proper sewage and waste disposal, access to paved roads, electricity and other services is uneven.

We owe it to our people, to ensure that our economic development must continue. However, if we are to protect the environment and safeguard nature as we develop, we must focus more on sustainable energy sources, cleaner production processes, sustainable consumption patterns, efficient technologies and agricultural processes. We must ensure investment in improved and eco-friendly infrastructure, including better roads and ports, power and rural electrification, irrigation, renewable energy sources, water supply and sanitation and better health services.

Despite the scale of challenges our region now faces, all is not gloomy. There seems to be a new public awareness building of the dangers of destroying the resources on which our long term health and prosperity depends. Concrete efforts are being taken to address policies and investment that remove barriers and obstacles to the participation of poorer groups in the region. There is a particular focus on creation of sustainable employment livelihoods and investment in improved infrastructure, especially rural infrastructure. More importantly, we are aware that these investments need to be matched by adequate investment in good quality education and training.

An education that focuses on awareness of the current needs for a change in attitude towards development, away from one that lays stress only on the exploitation of nature, but rather on achieving partnership with nature and the environment. This is in keeping with the traditional Asian respect for education, and our strong belief that to ensure the future, we must invest in our future -- which is our children.

In this context, I must mention that Sri Lanka has a free education system from kindergarten to university level. We are proud of our achievement in ensuring that the needs of our university students, in terms of maintenance, books and other requirements are provided for by the State throughout their undergraduate career. 97 percent of our youngsters are enrolled at school. This is our own investment in the future.

We need to take urgent measures to ensure that we leave behind to our children a planet that is livable with the benefits of sustainable progress. This requires measures to mitigate our impact on the environment being pursed simultaneously, with measures to adapt to the sustainable environment that we will progress to. I agree with the view that those who ravaged the environment in their dash to development must bear the brunt of the responsibility for addressing the consequences. They need to assume the main burden for adopting measures that mitigate the harm done and contribute significantly to the new measures that protect nature and favour sustainability. For, it is they who established the signposts of development and progress from which others are still measured. Yet, having witnessed the ravages they have caused, the responsibility can lay not only with them today. With Asia’s new important role in driving the world economy, we also share this great responsibility.

We also need to concentrate steadfastly on urban environment improvement. It has become apparent today that the Earth’s natural ecosystems will not cope with the style of industrialization and over consumption seen in the world. The destruction of the natural resource base through deforestation, destroying fauna and flora, and disturbing the natural environment for various development activities, that are now questionable, needs re-examination in the light of current knowledge.

You may observe that the world is already locked into significant levels of climate change and its efforts are already visible in the sea level rise, melting glaciers and frequent storms and natural disasters. We are still struggling to mitigate the effects of the unprecedented Tsunami that hit Sri Lanka and many other Asian neighbours in 2004. Similarly the destructions caused in China in the past couple of months due to unexpected severe snow storms are stark realities of the need to pay attention to this global problem.

This calls for the urgent need to take adaptation measures, which is increasingly getting better recognition in our region. However mitigation and adaptation will have to be pursued simultaneously for a synergetic effect. How do we do this in a systematical environment is the question that needs to be answered today by our national efforts being complemented through regional and global procedures.

In Sri Lanka, despite the ravages of brutal terrorism, we have been able to make significant advances in social and economic development. We stand unique with the longest tradition of representative democracy in Asia. As one of the first developing countries to promote universal health and education, gender equality and social mobilization, we have been able to achieve exceptional socio-economic indicators; way ahead of those normally expected of a country in the lower and middle-income range. Today we are moving to achieve or surpass many of the Millennium Development Goals. In recent years we have also seen a welcome rise in the per capita income of our people.

However, a launch pad for a sustainable green Asia remains firmly rooted in the stability of the region. It is in fact a vicious cycle. Without stability, there will not be any sustainability. We in Sri Lanka have been victims of terrorism for over three decades and every single citizen of my country has had to deal with this vicious plague. A terrorist group, recognized as terrorists by most countries, who seek to create a separate state in the north and east of Sri Lanka has been recently named as one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations in the world.

The incidents in New York on 9/11 brought the realization in the world that terrorism is a global phenomenon. The brutal tentacles of terrorism cannot be singled out to any particular locality or region. But are ones which spread far and wide, over a myriad of areas from financing to smuggling be it in humans or narcotics, all contributing in no small measure to bring misery and hardship to thousands, while further handicapping a country on its path to progress and prosperity. My belief is that “terrorism anywhere is terrorism” and there is nothing good in terrorism. Therefore, Sri Lanka has taken an upfront position in the global community’s efforts to deal with terrorism.

As a responsible Government, Sri Lanka has faced up to this challenge. We have a cause for satisfaction that the entire Eastern Province has now been cleared of terrorism. My government has already initiated several development measures in the Eastern Province, which is seeing a new awakening with freedom from terror. Release from the shackles of terrorism has brought in its wake, for the people of this long afflicted area, economic opportunity in such fields as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and small and medium scale industry. The programme attempts to rehabilitate and relocate the people in Eastern Sri Lanka with sustainable livelihood projects in a habitable environment. A measure of our success is the successful holding of local government elections after 14 years in one District of the East. Another measure is the holding of elections for a new Eastern Provincial Council early next month. While my Government will pursue a similar strategy in liberating the North from the tentacles of terrorism, we are not unaware of the need for a political solution to bring a negotiated settlement to the national problem in keeping with the common aspirations of all the people of Sri Lanka. It is our intention to establish in the near future conditions which will enable the implementation of a political solution to fulfill the just aspirations of all communities in our country.

Amongst other problems, Sri Lanka has to deal with her fair share of development perils. While trying to maintain a sustainable economic growth we are determined to reach a more inclusive social development. The Blue Print of my Government introducing the developmental plan for the next decade has clearly emphasized our vision for a growth-centered pro-poor strategy, injecting fresh vitality and dynamism to the existing development programmes and looking forward to new initiatives.

In this connection I am glad to state that Sri Lanka's bio-diversity is part of the world's heritage. At present 13% of land is under biodiversity protection, compared to 8% in the 1950s. Our development efforts and strategies will not let that heritage be lost. They will ensure the protection of our oceanic resources, water, aquatic life, forestry and natural resources. We are implementing the "Haritha Piyasa" (Green Shelter) programme to reforest the hill country mountain slopes and protect watershed areas with species endemic to Sri Lanka. Steps have been taken to promote commercial forestry in view of the growing timber requirements of the nation. Waste management systems are being implemented both in rural and urban areas to produce fertilizer and solve the urban solid waste problem.

Increasing carbon dioxide emissions are of great concern, especially in urban and industrialized areas. Measures have already been taken to address the energy problem in the country with efforts to launch an energy efficient production system. Experiments are being conducted on renewable energy sources. Energy from, solar, wind-power, and mini-hydro projects is being encouraged. In protecting the atmosphere from air pollution, the government has formulated various programmes including vehicle emission reduction, quality improvement in gasoline, combined with tax policies on fuel and vehicles.

Sustainable mobility and harnessing the blue sky and the seas will also be top priority taking due advantage of our strategic location with a vision of Sri Lanka as the center of the Asian Silk Route once more. In this connection the Hambantota integrated development project, being built with Chinese assistance, targeting sustainable rural development will be one of the many projects that would be initiated in Sri Lanka making use of our strategic location in the Asian sea-lanes.

Sri Lanka is only one example of the vast environmentally challenged tapestry of developing countries. While we will take steps to address many of our immediate problems, we will need assistance to adopt measures to mitigate prevailing threats to the environment, and to adapt to demands of the sustainable environment we seek to achieve. The current crises that face the world, and our own country, has made our resource base even more inadequate to achieve all our dreams on behalf of our children.

As energy costs escalate, Sri Lanka has undertaken measures to address the energy problem with efforts to launch an energy efficient production system, as well as explore alternative energy sources.

A key obstacle for creating a broad based vision for eradicating poverty and providing equitable development opportunities is the resource constraints faced by many governments, particularly in Asia. Therefore it is important to particularly to involve the private sector in relevant development programmes and harness its resources and capacity in providing solutions to development challenges. Stakeholder participation in many such programmes allowing them to feel a sense of ownership should be empowered and encouraged. In Sri Lanka such linkages have been successfully created in sustainable energy projects, water conservation & management, bio diversity conservation etc.

We must continue to explore options for developing environment-friendly and cost-effective energy sources. Those who achieved prosperity early at the expense of the environment and our lands must assist those who have been left behind to resort to more efficient energy sources that science has made available today. If not, we will all be condemned to suffer together.

These could be solar energy, wind power or even nuclear energy. All these options must be explored with a view to providing developing countries a better model for development; a model that can be best worked out together with the genius of the Asian region, too.

There is need for a note of caution. The search for alternative fuel sources must not deprive the poor of their food, as we see with the diversion of corn and other food crop lands to produce fuels for motor vehicles. Let us not ignore the hunger pains of the people to fill up the gas guzzlers that brought these threats to our world. Development must be sustainable. It must be conscience driven.

Friends,

We have watched with admiration the evolution of modern China, its political system, its society and economy to the modern economic giant that China today is. We have closely observed the strategies developed by China’s leaders to pursue Chinese national interest with skillful tenacity. In the past five years China has seized remarkably the opportunities presented by the coming Olympics in making necessary institutional innovations and structural fine-tuning and made adjustments in the environment in-line with the requirements of the Scientific Outlook on Development, to make progress in all fronts in building a harmonious society.

It is regrettable, though, that attempts are being made today to disrupt this greatest of all sporting events, to which thousands of sportsmen and sportswomen the world over eagerly look forward to, as well as millions of sports fans from all countries, for the purposes of narrow political gain, using slogans of antagonism that have no place in the world of sport and human understanding. It was not so long ago that we did notice frantic efforts made by some of these same forces that seek to disrupt the Olympics today, stating that it will be a non-starter because of the environmental conditions in Beijing.

We believe that internal problems must be resolved by their own people, if necessary with genuine help from friends outside. I talk with the experience of my own country, where outside forces, often with little understanding of reality or with motives that are not as altruistic as may seem, seek to direct our affairs for us, in the fight against terrorism, which advice they do not give themselves. I believe that contextual factors are of overriding importance. The solutions we propose must be based on our historical experience, our cultural traditions and our economic and social institutions.

My dear friends,

China has utilized a major part of its resources for conservation of energy, water, land and material and also in improving the living standards of the people. We have observed the very ambitious plan developed by China to setting targets to bring down the energy consumption, reduce the total discharge of major pollutants and increasing forest cover from 18.2% to 20% by 2010. These environmental targets have been elevated by the Chinese leadership as “key mandatory targets”. In simple terms, the GDP in China could no more be used as an excuse to flunk the national investment plan for pollution control, which I presume, is a very ambitious move for a country with the world’s largest population. It is also heartening to note that China has the largest area of artificial forests, which is more than 53 million hectares, accounting for 1/3rd of the world total. The latest figures have indicated that the trees planted over the past 25 years have absorbed 5.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide. This explicitly reveals the importance of the forest cover in improving the quality of our environment. In the latest reforms introduced by China and in the creation of an Environment Super Ministry, we see the seriousness of her policy makers to the need for sustainable growth and face up to the Challenges of Climate Change.

Asia’s development challenges are of such scale that their solutions require regional co-operation to supplement national efforts. Countries and sub-regions within Asia are already at quite different stages of regional development. If I may turn specifically to South Asia, significant reforms have been made in the SAARC process in trade, investment, industrial and fiscal policies. This has made the growth rates to improve and poverty ratios to decline. In terms of trade flow, today South Asia is progressing well and simultaneously the realization has dawned upon us of the importance of an inclusive growth in harmony with environment. The institutional mechanisms are in place and framework arrangements have been developed within the SAARC process to complement the national policies in giving primacy to attaining a sustainable growth and intensifying regional ties.

The world has taken major strides towards meeting the challenge of climate change, moving on from scientific analysis to public concerns, to develop and implement an international convention on the Protection of the Environment and Climate Change. We have cause for hope in an Asian driven consensus on meeting the challenge to Climate Change. The Nobel Prize for Peace last year saw consensus, with it being shared by an American politician turned visionary on Climate Change and a UN Committee headed by an Indian Scientist that included a Sri Lankan scientist, too. The recent Bali Conference on Climate Change has created the momentum in supporting negotiation of a new pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocols when it expires in 2012, and important world figures who once rejected the Kyoto Protocols are now thinking of going beyond them, even modestly.

It is our firm conviction that the political will be mustered to see through to a successful conclusion of the process that has begun. Sri Lanka has subscribed to around 40 Environment Related International conventions, treaties, protocols and agreements and will continue to undertake further work programmes towards strengthening the process of implementing these accords.

As I thank the Chinese Government and People and the organizers of the “Boao Forum for Asia” for providing this unique opportunity for such a wide range of views and perspectives to be expressed on one of the most pressing problems of today, I wish to draw attention to the necessity to combine the traditional wisdom of Asia, with the leadership that the Asia has, to face the new challenges before Asia and the world.

As I have earlier mentioned, our region is particularly rich in the resource of traditional wisdom. As we gather here today in this intellectual forum, destined to play an important role in the transformation of Asia and the world, I look forward with optimism to the future. We must see the best way to harness this reservoir of wisdom, combine it with the political will to make the much-anticipated change mandatory to reconcile development and the protection of environment. In this respect I suggest that we first achieve an Asian consensus to reach a global climate Agreement by 2009, based on traditional wisdom of Asia, the new knowledge brought to us by science and leadership of those who have helped make this the Asian Century.
The role of history and the influence of Buddhism have conditioned to a great extent the culture and values of Sri Lanka. What I find particularly interesting to note is that Buddhism can provide helpful insights and practices across a wide spectrum of disciplines – and on the protection of the environment too, we discover ancient wisdom in the teachings of Buddhism.

Let me conclude by quoting from this great Wisdom of Asia:

The Buddha had once said:

“A tree is unique. It has unlimited tolerance, patience, and generosity. It provides a congenial atmosphere for many living organisms to survive. It also keeps on providing shade (as long as it stands) even to the man who attempts to destroy the tree with his axe.”

May the Triple Gem Bless you!.