President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has directed officials to take the strongest possible measures to protect Sri Lanka’s rapidly developing Northern and Eastern coastlines, and to move faster on projects meant to curb the country’s deadly human-elephant conflict.
According to the President’s Media Division, the directives were issued at a meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat on July 22 to review progress of projects funded under the 2026 Budget for the Ministry of Environment and to discuss proposals for the 2027 Budget. Ada Derana, the Daily Mirror and the Daily FT reported on the meeting.
The President ordered strict legal action against unauthorised constructions that damage coastal areas, warning that such building work after coastal development causes significant environmental harm. He instructed that a steering committee be appointed to oversee and monitor coastal protection efforts, and called for an expert committee to examine erosion along the Oluvil coastline and submit recommendations at the earliest opportunity.
On human-elephant conflict, the President expressed concern over delays in mitigation projects, stating that slow implementation posed a direct threat to human lives. He instructed officials to complete the work within the stipulated timeframe and to fully utilise the allocated budget before the end of the year. The placement and extent of elephant fences, he stressed, should be decided by the need to protect human lives rather than simply to demarcate wildlife zones.
The Environment Ministry has been allocated Rs. 19,719 million under the 2026 Budget. The meeting also reviewed progress under the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, including the Clean Coastline Project and water-source conservation, and discussed upgrading holiday bungalows run by the Wildlife and Forest departments. Environment Minister Dr. Dammika Patabendi said the ministry is formulating a national carbon emissions policy to open up broader investment opportunities.
