Sri Lanka is residence to over 26,000 spiritual establishments representing numerous spiritual faiths. Annually, over one million devotees of varied faiths collect in such spiritual locations to carry out spiritual actions and to have a good time spiritual festivals.
The Sustainable Growth Council of Sri Lanka (SDCSL) has developed the folks centric inexperienced spiritual locations idea proposing six fundamental methods to rework spiritual locations scattered across the nation into inexperienced and inclusive areas. This progressive method was developed to handle key sustainable improvement challenges and to attain wider impacts on a lot of Sustainable Growth Objectives (SDGs).
It has been revealed by Plastic Recycling Corporations that greater than 20 tons of plastic waste alone is amassed in spiritual locations round Sri Lanka per 12 months. Vital quantity of degradable waste additionally collect round spiritual locations. Moreover, there’s extreme consumption of electrical energy by spiritual establishments throughout regular days in addition to throughout festivals. Most spiritual ceremonies are held at night time. The present financial disaster and the ensuing power disaster have reaffirmed the necessity to take a look at different power sources.
Accordingly, addressing precedence areas corresponding to different power use, waste administration and growing inexperienced cowl in spiritual locations can have a constructive influence on lowering Local weather Change.
The methods proposed on this programme embrace:
* Set up of rooftop photo voltaic techniques in spiritual locations to handle the present power disaster while mitigating the carbon emissions.
* Sharing of surplus meals amassed in spiritual locations amongst susceptible households via meals banks to handle meals safety and diet points aggravated by the present financial disaster whereas stopping meals waste.
* Remodeling underutilized lands round spiritual locations into productive lands by cultivating vegatables and fruits. This may open potentialities to develop uncommon fruits and medicinal vegetation and contribute to extend the inexperienced cowl of the nation.
* Utilizing biodegradable waste to provide biogas power or compost natural fertilizers and thereby selling the usage of renewable power sources in addition to natural cultivation. The usage of waste as a useful resource contributes to the prevention and discount of waste. As well as, it additionally creates alternatives for utilizing clear power for cooking and lighting whereas producing environment-friendly natural fertilizer to uplift soil fertility.
* Managing waste via lowering the usage of plastic and polythene that collect round spiritual locations and popularizing eco-friendly merchandise to make sure sustainable consumption and manufacturing that assist entrepreneurship, respectable job creation, creativity and improvements, and progress of small and medium-sized enterprises.
* Selling environment friendly utilization and reuse of water assets to make sure water safety.
“Though we innovated this concept, we didn’t know find out how to implement this programme as SDCSL is a small organisation. We’re very pleased that the Senior Presidential Advisor on Local weather Change, Ruwan Wijewardhane noticed the worth on this and recommended the inclusion of this programme within the Local weather Prosperity Plan to be carried out underneath the aegis of the Presidential Secretariat’’, the Director Normal of the Sustainable Growth Council, Chamindry Saparamadu mentioned.
The Local weather Prosperity Plan of Sri Lanka was launched by President Ranil Wickremesinghe at COP27 (the UN Local weather Change Convention) held in Egypt in November final 12 months. It presents a pathway for Sri Lanka to grow to be a carbon-negative economic system earlier than mid-century. The Individuals-centric Inexperienced Non secular Locations Programme aligns effectively with the core targets of the Local weather Prosperity Plan corresponding to growing the share of renewable power, lowering greenhouse gasoline emissions, growing inexperienced cowl, creating inexperienced job alternatives and carbon crediting and many others.
“It’s our hope to capitalize on partnerships to implement this programme. We have to draw on the strengths of varied stakeholders together with Authorities companies, companies, non-Authorities companies, neighborhood based mostly organisations, philanthropic organisation, volunteer organisations, and devotees of all spiritual faiths to implement this programme throughout the island. This fashion, we decrease the burden on the Authorities to finance such initiatives. Already, the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress has approached us desirous to be a companion of this programme”, the Director Normal Saparamadu additional said.
Given its distinctive and progressive method, the Individuals-centric Inexperienced Non secular Locations Programme has been chosen as an exhibit merchandise on the SDG Acceleration Pavilion on the tenth Asia-Pacific Discussion board for Sustainable Growth to be held in Bangkok from March 27-31, 2023. The Asia Pacific Discussion board on Sustainable Growth is an annual occasion convened underneath the aegis of the United Nations and brings collectively representatives from Governments and civil society of 53 member states in addition to UN and different Worldwide Companies.
