1.0Verité Researchhttps://www.veriteresearch.orgChalani Ranwalahttps://www.veriteresearch.org/author/chalani_ranwala/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://www.veriteresearch.org/2020/01/03/balancing-short-and-long-term-interests-vital-for-sri-lanka-in-2020/">Balancing short and long term interests vital for Sri Lanka in 2020 (Commentary)</a></blockquote> <script type='text/javascript'> <!--//--><![CDATA[//><!-- /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(d.addEventListener)e=!0;if(d.wp=d.wp||{},!d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){var r,a,i,s,n,o=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]');for(r=0;r<c.length;r++)c[r].style.display="none";for(r=0;r<o.length;r++)if(a=o[r],e.source===a.contentWindow){if(a.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;a.height=i}if("link"===t.message)if(s=l.createElement("a"),n=l.createElement("a"),s.href=a.getAttribute("src"),n.href=t.value,n.host===s.host)if(l.activeElement===a)d.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),d.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(!o){o=!0;var e,t,r,a,i=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),s=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),n=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content");for(t=0;t<n.length;t++){if(!(r=n[t]).getAttribute("data-secret"))a=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),r.src+="#?secret="+a,r.setAttribute("data-secret",a);if(i||s)(e=r.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),r.parentNode.replaceChild(e,r)}}}}(window,document); //--><!]]> </script><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.veriteresearch.org/2020/01/03/balancing-short-and-long-term-interests-vital-for-sri-lanka-in-2020/embed/" width="600" height="338" title="“Balancing short and long term interests vital for Sri Lanka in 2020 (Commentary)” — Verité Research" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe>https://www.veriteresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Lepord.jpg1200750Taken from – Mongabay By Nalaka Gunawardene Image courtesy – Nalinka Abeysinghe Sri Lanka enters 2020 at a time of political transition. With a new president in office and a parliamentary election due in the next few months, public and media focus is on near term politics. Electoral politics, heightened public security concerns and a sluggish economy are likely to dominate the public sphere in the new year. It would be easy to lose sight of many formidable challenges of natural resource management, biodiversity conservation and climate impacts – but that would be a big mistake. How can Sri Lanka balance the short term, economic needs of its 21.7 million people with the long term, quality of life of current and future generations? What mix of policies, regulations, technologies and research can help avoid the worst possible outcomes in the coming decades? As the new administration reviews and realigns policies, 2020 provides an opportunity for Sri Lanka to balance economic growth with sustainability and climate resilience. Some developments during 2019 serve as indicators of things to come. Consider these examples: In early November, air pollution levels – as measured by the presence of tiny particulate matter called PM 2.5 –...