1 week Ago
Seasoned environmentalists, senior scientists, and legal professionals have reiterated that legal recourse will be sought yet again should another global or local entity seek to resume wind power initiatives in the ecologically sensitive Mannar Island, following withdrawal by India’s Adani Group last June. A press brief was organised by environmental conservationist Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda and environmental organisations The Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS), Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), and Environmental Foundation (Guarantee) Ltd.
(EFL) to touch upon several issues, such as transparency, due process, and the financial aspects according to which the Adani bid was challenged, and the misunderstood and erroneous notion that environmental organisations are against development and technological advancement. “Mannar Island is an environmentally, culturally, economically, and politically sensitive area and is as critical for the environment and the economy as the protected Sinharaja Forest, Horton Plains, the Knuckles Reserve, and the Yala and Wilpattu National Parks. It is a biodiversity hub which is the gateway to about 15 million migratory birds entering the island from 30 counties across the globe via the Central Asian Flyway each year, with approximately 1 million birds of 180 species making it their home.
Already, the Thambapavani wind power project has 30 wind turbines operating on the southern edge of the Mannar Island and the Adani wind power project, if it had materialised, would have erected 52 towers in the Phase 1 extension and 21 during Phase 2, covering most of the island and blocking the migratory paths of birds with the obliteration of these birds, some of them critically endangered,” said University of Colombo Zoology Professor and WNPS Vice President Sampath Seneviratne at a recent press conference. “The proposed Adani wind towers would have stood at a height of 220m (the vertical Altair tower is 240m tall), with a diameter of 160m. The approximately 80-90m long blades would rotate at around 100 kmph and it would have been into 52 of such towers initially that migratory birds would fly towards into oblivion.
According to a study conducted by the developers of Thambapavani, many more birds have died than predicted, even with these 30 towers not being in the direct path of the birds and bats. Mannar Island is also home to 67,000 war-affected people still struggling to make ends meet. Any wind power project on this island will disrupt these lives as well.
It is a no-brainer to understand the magnitude of the ecological and human devastation 103 wind towers almost the size of Altair, pockmarking the small Mannar Island, would have brought about,” Prof. Seneviratne added. “A strategic sensitivity analysis has shown that Mannar Island is an extremely high-risk area for flying species while satellite images that track bird paths show Mannar Island being inundated and Mannar district with very little movement.
The WNPS has challenged the controversial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka (SEASL) on behalf of Adani Green Energy, a document that itself has identified alternate locations to Mannar Island and admitted to higher than anticipated bird deaths due to the Thambapavani project.” Environmentalists have identified numerous alternate areas with similar wind speed and consistency as Mannar Island as substitutes for wind power projects, such as the Mahaweli valley, Knuckles, the Central Highlands, Rakwana hills, Kalpitiya, Mannar district, and parts of the Jaffna district. “The motors of the wind towers that operate on Mannar Island need to be shut down with the help of radars during bird movements, which bring about approximately a 20% drop in power generation.
Even if the alternate locations suggested by us do not have the same wind speed and consistency as Mannar Island, any wind towers on these alternate locations could run continuously, which will compensate for a possible drop in power generation due to wind power,” stated Prof. Seneviratne. CEJ Chairman Ravindranath Dabare touched upon the legal ramifications of a wind power project on ecologically highly sensitive Mannar Island, such as adhering to the stipulations and safeguarding the rights of the Convention on Biological Diversity that Sri Lanka has ratified, protection of flora and fauna, ensuring that Sri Lanka’s energy sovereignty remains with our people, and assuring equality of opportunities to every citizen.
“We are receiving information that the halted wind power project on Mannar Island could be re-introduced through different channels but in preparation for such an eventuality, we have retained the right to resubmit litigation,” he said. CEJ officials have already conducted discussions with the Environment Minister and the Secretary to the President. Dr.
Pethiyagoda reiterated that environmental organisations are not against development, contrary to certain beliefs. “When Asia’s largest plywood factory was proposed to be constructed in Avissawella many years back to provide wood for tea chests, protected forests such as Sinharaja were identified to provide timber. The WNPS, who protested against this atrocity, was branded traitors and against development then, as in the current scenario.
The alternate solution to plywood tea chests was the use of paper sacks and similarly, there are alternative locations to Mannar Island for wind power generation,” he said. A crucial consensus reached following this discussion was that Sri Lanka needs a national voice and the creation of a national responsibility beyond that of the environmentalists who fight for the same to prevent future energy generation proposals that can be detrimental to the environment, culture, and economy of Sri Lanka. We, as a nation, should also be instrumental in creating a national recognition of Mannar Island, which is one of the richest biodiversity hotspots of Sri Lanka.
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