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Primacy for law and order

It goes without saying that law and order would be uppermost in the minds of both the authorities and the public, with the nomination process getting under way for the April 2, general election.

Usually, the handing in of nomination lists by political parties presages a period of great uncertainty and tension, often characterized by inter-party violence and hooliganism, culminating in even bloody incidents.

Such patterns of conduct among local political activists are predictable, given the usually acrimonious spirit in which elections are fought in this country. It is our hope that this wouldn't be our lot this time around, for, violence bodes ill for the generality of the public.

Accordingly, we welcome moves by the police and the law enforcement authorities to ban the conduct of processions, cavalcades and the like at nomination time. We call for the stringent enforcement of the law to enable peace to prevail, for, the unloosening of barbarism would be exceedingly counterproductive.

As we have time and again mentioned, political leaders are obliged to lead from the front in observing civilized norms in electioneering. Exemplary conduct by leaders are likely to produce a beneficial impact on their following and lead eventually to a peaceful poll.

Particularly, a duty is cast on leaders to discourage their rank and file from unleashing violence against their opponents. They would do well to remember that violence begets violence - there is no getting away from this universal truth.

In fact, these leaders are duty-bound to put their heads together and work out the modalities of conducting a peaceful poll. Why cannot they, for instance, frame a code of conduct for their following? Why cannot these political activists be called to account for any misdeeds they may commit? These are issues which need to be addressed by our political leaders and their party workers, if the country is not to be witness to gory election-linked incidents.

Pleas of this kind were largely ignored in the past by local politicians, although there were some, isolated incidents of united, cooperative behaviour among political opponents.

The authorities and politicians need to act on these suggestions lest we underwrite the fact that Sri Lanka is a dangerously volatile country, where killing comes easy.

It is our belief that words pronounced could work wonders or wreak havoc, depending on the sentiments expressed. We urge the profoundly constructive use of words because we very badly need to testify to our edifying cultural heritage.

Protecting biodiversity

Imagine a world without many of the plant and animal species that we take for granted. This is the fate that awaits more than 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species in the near future, if the world does not take urgent measures to protect biodiversity.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), ratified by 187 countries, aims to do just that. Governments around the world have agreed to establish protected areas by 2010 on land and by 2012 in oceans.

Unfortunately for the endangered species, no firm commitment had been made to implement or fund the programmes immediately. There is an estimated annual shortfall of US$ 25 billion in funding for work on protected areas. Greenpeace, the environmental organisation, has warned that the convention was at risk of becoming a 'paper tiger'.

Most of the endangered species are found in tropical forests. Illicit logging, poaching and clearing for 'development' has drastically reduced the world's forest cover. Millions of plant and animal species in these jungles remain to be discovered, studied and classified. The medicinal and commercial value of many tropical plants will never be known if they become extinct.

The same goes for oceans, the least unexplored part of the planet. Only 0.5 per cent of the oceans is currently protected, against 11 per cent for terrestrial areas. The vast labyrinth of the oceans still holds many secrets. Scientists are still discovering exotic species from the deep. Many of them could face extinction unless urgent steps are taken to protect the marine environment.

The disappearance of a species, any species, is a loss. We will mourn the extinction of the elephant or the Bengal tiger. We will not bother when a jellyfish vanishes from the Earth. But the truth is that every species, big or small, land or marine, fulfils a unique role in the biosphere.

Nature provides for the gradual evolution and extinction of species over millennia. Man has interfered with this delicate cycle, leading to the swift elimination of thousands of species.

It is not too late to stop this steep decline that will make the world a poorer place to live in. The global community must come together to make the CBD a success before we lose a sizeable proportion of life forms on Earth.

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