Pri's blog

  I have just seen RED.   Not because it is the auspicious colour for the New Year, but because I have just read in the Island of 11 th April the seventieth Pathfinder Economic Flash entitled Colombo Port City: Monster or transformative opportunity.   There has been a lot written about how transformative the project promises to be – not just of the Sri Lankan economy, but also of the environment in which we Sri Lankans live.   Some consider the transformation monstrous, others an opportunity! I had gone to the Pathfinder article with a view to finding some evidence for the latter view; for learning about the ‘potential benefits of a massive integrated development project of this nature’, especially the benefits of the marina and yacht club, the seaview apartments, the five star hotel, the mini golf course, the shopping and entertainment centre and the ‘many other modern facilities’.   IMHO, the benefit from projects such as the Colombo Port City Projec...

Just returned from the above UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction - where I represented Duryog Nivaran , and had two speaking slots: as a panellist at the launch of the Global Assessment Report 2015  and at the Ministerial Roundtable on Governing Disaster Risk: overcoming challenges.  Also worked closely with the Women's Major Group, coordinated by WEDO.  Interesting as UN conferences go, but significant, since its the first of three that are aiming to frame the post-2015 world development agenda - what the world is going to do about disasters, sustainable development and climate. Many interesting thoughts to share... but for now, here is my intervention at the Ministerial Round Table chaired by Ms Maria del Pilar Cornejo, Minister Secretary for Risk Management, Ecuador.  at the roundtable with the African Union President on my left and the City of Istanbul on my right. Photo by Ramona Miranda G ood afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, I represent...

This may be a strange thing to say after the recent devastating landslide in the Meeriyabedde Tea Plantation  in Koslanda that occupied our thoughts in the last couple of weeks, but there is no such thing as a ‘natural’ disaster.  What we have are natural hazards.    The disaster that follows a natural hazard, whether it is a tsunami,  earthquake, flood, drought, cyclone or landslide depends on  how much impact the hazard has on  people, assets and the environment.   The numbers of people and assets that are damaged by the  occurrence of the natural hazard turns the event into a disaster.  The  damage  of course is largely dependent on the choices we make about how we use our land, how we build our buildings, what kind of government we have, and how our financial system works. Disaster risk is seen as the frequency and severity of the hazard, the numbers of people and assets exposed to the hazard and ...