Sri Lanka’s government announced last week it had decided to revise the stringent buffer zone regulations in tsunami affected districts with immediate effect.
After the December 26 tsunami the government declared a 100-metre area from the sea in certain coastal districts and 200 metres in others as “no-construction” zone.
However, there has been outrage amongst many coastal communities, as hotels and resorts for tourists were either rebuilt or newly built well inside the buffer zones.
Some analysts believe the buffer zone was becoming a potent election issue in the deep South. Campaigning is underway for elections to select Sri Lanka’s next President – and Premier Mahinda Rajapakse is a leading contender.
Last week the Government Information Department said the buffer has now been reduced to a maximum of 55 metres from the ocean, with some areas only needing to adhere to a 25-metre no-building rule in the southern districts.
The buffer zone enforced for the north and east will be between 100 metres and 50 metres, the government said.
Accordingly the recommended area for the buffer zone in the districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota has been reduced to the minimum of 35 metres in certain divisional secretaries areas.
The 200-metre buffer zone introduced in the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Jaffna has been reduced to a minimum of 50 metres.
In the northern Jaffna district, the full 100-metre buffer zone will be enforced while certain areas in the southern Hambantota district will be subject to a buffer zone of 60 metres.
“District secretaries and divisional secretaries had requested the government to revise this buffer zone to accommodate special projects and those involved in fisheries related activities so that they can continue their livelihoods without much difficulty,” the government announced.
It said the Urban Development Ministry on the instructions of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse held discussions with relevant authorities including the affected families and agreed that the 100/200-metre buffer zone identified on the coastal belt could be revised under exceptional circumstances.
United Nations’ Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egelend who was visiting Sri Lanka last week welcomed the government’s decision on the buffer zones which many residents and aid groups have criticized because it has delayed reconstruction efforts.
In a recent report a campaign group, Tourism Concern accused the authorities for giving priority to large scale tourism development projects in the guise of tsunami relief while ignoring the needs of the local population.
The Task Force to Rebuild The Nation (TAFREN) is headed up by an extra-governmental body of ten members, six of whom are involved in the country’s tourism industry, Tourism Concern pointed out.
A recent team from Refugees International said they saw “saw numerous hotels and restaurants that had been quickly rebuilt within the zone … [while] fishermen languish in temporary housing several kilometers away from the ocean, with the prospect of being permanently resettled as much as five or six kilometers away from the coast.”
After the December 26 tsunami the government declared a 100-metre area from the sea in certain coastal districts and 200 metres in others as “no-construction” zone.
However, there has been outrage amongst many coastal communities, as hotels and resorts for tourists were either rebuilt or newly built well inside the buffer zones.
Some analysts believe the buffer zone was becoming a potent election issue in the deep South. Campaigning is underway for elections to select Sri Lanka’s next President – and Premier Mahinda Rajapakse is a leading contender.
Last week the Government Information Department said the buffer has now been reduced to a maximum of 55 metres from the ocean, with some areas only needing to adhere to a 25-metre no-building rule in the southern districts.
The buffer zone enforced for the north and east will be between 100 metres and 50 metres, the government said.
Accordingly the recommended area for the buffer zone in the districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Hambantota has been reduced to the minimum of 35 metres in certain divisional secretaries areas.
The 200-metre buffer zone introduced in the districts of Ampara, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Jaffna has been reduced to a minimum of 50 metres.
In the northern Jaffna district, the full 100-metre buffer zone will be enforced while certain areas in the southern Hambantota district will be subject to a buffer zone of 60 metres.
“District secretaries and divisional secretaries had requested the government to revise this buffer zone to accommodate special projects and those involved in fisheries related activities so that they can continue their livelihoods without much difficulty,” the government announced.
It said the Urban Development Ministry on the instructions of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse held discussions with relevant authorities including the affected families and agreed that the 100/200-metre buffer zone identified on the coastal belt could be revised under exceptional circumstances.
United Nations’ Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egelend who was visiting Sri Lanka last week welcomed the government’s decision on the buffer zones which many residents and aid groups have criticized because it has delayed reconstruction efforts.
In a recent report a campaign group, Tourism Concern accused the authorities for giving priority to large scale tourism development projects in the guise of tsunami relief while ignoring the needs of the local population.
The Task Force to Rebuild The Nation (TAFREN) is headed up by an extra-governmental body of ten members, six of whom are involved in the country’s tourism industry, Tourism Concern pointed out.
A recent team from Refugees International said they saw “saw numerous hotels and restaurants that had been quickly rebuilt within the zone … [while] fishermen languish in temporary housing several kilometers away from the ocean, with the prospect of being permanently resettled as much as five or six kilometers away from the coast.”
