“We are equipped with the necessary legislation” JAGATH GUNAWARDENA

Speaking to the , Environmental lawyer and Attorney-at-law Jagath Gunawardena said that in terms of legislation we have gone beyond the CITES agreement. “For example the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance (FFPO) Section 37 and Section 40 clearly state that the export of wild animals is illegal. But we have imposed zero tolerance on the export of wild animals or any for trade purposes. Also according to the document it is clearly visible that Sri Lanka is not alone in getting suspended. There are certain matters that need to be taken in to consideration. One is the fact that we have the proper legislation. Second is that the CITES requires a scientific body and under Section 35 of the FFPO we have many of them including Zoological Gardens. Then there should be an enforcement authority and we have the Customs department for that. Both section 40 which speaks about exports and section 35 which speaks about imports empower the Customs department to deal with such transactions as it’s an offence under the Customs Ordinance. As such these particular areas are covered. Then back in 2007 Prof. G. L. Pieris, who was the then Foreign Minister wanted compliance with the CITES for the GSP Plus. There was a committee to look in to the GSP Plus compliance and CITES was one of the requirements. The provisions in the FFPO were sufficient for the EU and therefore they granted us the GSP Plus concession.”

Stressing further on this regard, Mr. Gunawardena said that CITES is a trade convention and that it provides a way for trade. “Back in 1995 this convention downgraded the protected status of corals to Appendix 2. But in the FFPO all corals are a totally protected species and therefore we were able to circumvent any adverse situation. On the other hand, certain countries have openly violated the CITES convention when it comes to the illegal trade of ivory for example, but the CITES has not taken any action against them. Therefore we can be a party to the CITES but they can’t do anything detrimental to our position. What should be done at the moment is that someone should show the CITES that we are equipped with the proper legislation. But on the other hand there are certain species that should be protected under the CITES which we have failed to do. For example marine organisms like the manta ray and sea horse which comes under the purview of the Fisheries ministry should be protected. The Aquatic Resources Department is quite slow and they should gear themselves to work more effectively, when it comes to priorities and enacting legislations.”