The Central Environment Authority (CEA) will function as the regional centre for emission inventories.
“CEA as the regional centre for emission of inventories will be the lead centre in South Asia in the field of emission inventory and retain and enhance scientific capacity on emission inventories,” CEA chairman Charitha Herath said
participating in the inauguration of the training workshop on Emission Inventory Under Male Declaration at Hotel Renuka Hotel yesterday.
He said as the regional centre, CEA is committed to continue to improve methodologies and science required to compile a high quality emission inventory for the member countries, to facilitate good partnerships with governments and academia in all the Male declaration member countries on the development of inventories, to continue to assist the countries in compiling emission inventory and to conduct quality assurance assessment in the emission inventories submitted to the regional centre.
“The ‘Male Declaration’ established in 1998 is an intergovernmental agreement to tackle regional air pollution problems of South Asian countries at the meeting of the SACEP governing council held in the Maldives. The main objective of this project is to regulate trans- boundary environmental impacts on air pollution,” he said. The chairman said air pollution has been identified as a priority environmental issue in South Asia.
“Over the last 10 years, a significant capacity of South Asian countries to address air pollution has been significantly enhanced. Now there is a need to retrain the developed capacity and to develop new science in the region. Development of quality emission inventories is a key area that South Asia need to focus in order to address air pollution issues,” Herath said.
“The CEB has a commitment to society to provide a cleaner environment. We also have a commitment by our children to provide them with a healthy, uninterrupted, and future to develop them to be socially responsible adults.” he said.
United Nations Environment Programme Project Coordinator Mylvakanam Iyngararasan ,CEA Director General Ramani Ellepola, international representatives from UNEP, Male Secretariat, Stockholm Environmental Institute were among those who participated.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/05/22/news13.asp