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The State vindicated

At a time when the worst was expected in particularly economic terms, in the wake of the tsunami-induced devastation of last December, comes this economic growth prediction by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, which should allay some of these fears.

Reports said that the Central Bank has made an upward revision of Sri Lanka's growth prospects this year to 5.5 per cent from the 4.0 per cent growth trend prefigured earlier by the International Monetary Fund.

Detailing further the country's growth prospects, the CBSL was also quoted as saying that the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work launched by the Government in the tsunami-affected areas, coupled with the foreign financial assistance received by Sri Lanka, would help in mitigating some of the ill-effects flowing from the tragedy. In other words, Lanka's situation wouldn't be as bleak as earlier imagined in some quarters.

The country does have the capacity to overcome any predicted economic reverses, provided Lankans pursue their well being with a high degree of perseverance and industriousness. Accordingly, Lankans would be only imperilling their future growth prospects by getting into a cocoon of complacency.

They risk bursting the predicted growth bubble by imagining that they could now sit back impassively and let things take their course. This would take us into economic rough seas. However, if the citizenry throw their weight behind the State, economic dreams could be turned into reality.

It is significant that the CBSL has underscored the role played by the State in our recovery effort. It makes no bones of the fact that relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work undertaken by the Government has contributed substantially towards relieving some of the economic gloom. This amounts to establishing that the State is a prime mover in bringing normalcy and well being to the land.

Such positive assessments of the State gain in significance when viewed against the backdrop of the current allegations made against it. The commonest of these charges is that the Government is yet to get into the act of relieving the lot of the tsunami-affected segments of the population.

Another is that the State is paralytic and slow-footed in this crisis. We know now - on the authority of the Central Bank - that there is no foundation to these allegations. The State is slowly but surely rising to the challenge of bringing sunshine into the lives of those tragedy-struck sections of our populace. All this it is doing without much fanfare and publicity although it remains the recipient of brickbats rather than bouquets.

This long journey of bringing normalcy to our land is no easy task. Drawbacks and setbacks need to be expected, because we are faced with an unprecedented crisis.

However, we are pulling through thanks to the State and the international community, coupled with some well-intentioned NGOs who are manfully sticking to the task of helping Sri Lanka recover.
 

A drop in the ocean

The December 26 tsunami was caused by a massive undersea quake that changed a docile sea into a raging monster in a matter of hours. While the tsunami was a sudden event, far more subtle changes are taking place deep in the oceans. Scientists have discovered dramatic changes in the temperature and salinity of deep waters in the Southern Ocean that they warn could have a major impact on the global climate.

Expedition leader Steve Rintoul of Australia had found that waters at the bottom of the Southern Ocean were significantly cooler and less salty than they were 10 years ago. The size and speed of the changes have surprised scientists, who long believed that deep ocean waters underwent little temperature change.

A situation that evokes a scene from The Day After Tomorrow where a deep ocean buoy indicates a temperature drop of 13 degrees, this about-turn in ocean current patterns is being hurriedly studied by oceanographers and meteorologists around the world. Most people do not know that ocean circulation has a big influence on global climate. It is critical that we understand why this is happening and why it is happening so quickly in order to take corrective action. Temperatures are reported to be rapidly decreasing at depths of four or five kilometres from the surface - there is little time to lose.

Although scientists do not know the exact reason for this phenomenon, one thing is clear: the climate is changing at all places on Earth, including the vast oceans which cover 75 per cent of the planet. There is no doubt that humans account for most of these changes.

The world has already laid a firm foundation for slowing down climate change with the implementation of the Kyoto Treaty this week. The treaty aims to cut production of so-called greenhouse gases believed responsible for a warming of the Earth's climate.

Unfortunately, some of the biggest fossil fuel users including US and Australia have not ratified the treaty, which requires signatories to reduce or stabilise their emissions of six "greenhouse" gases.

As the world takes measures to protect the above-ground environment, the vast marine environment should not be neglected. Abrupt changes in sea temperature and current patterns could have grave consequences for many countries. The ocean gave us life. We must ensure that it lives on.

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