Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a message released for World Environment Day, which is today, said Sri Lanka must come together as a nation to rediscover respect and consideration for nature.

‘As we celebrate the International Environment Day, we must come together as a nation to rediscover the respect and the consideration for nature, while inculcating a wider consciousness of the environment in everyone,’ the Prime Minister said.

He said Sri Lanka had the ‘advantage of a unique bio diversity footprint and ecological advantages’ but warned that the result of ‘short-term goals that border on fast gains’ had shifted the eco balance, causing harm to the environment. 

‘We need to rediscover the manner in which our ancestors were able to co-exist in harmony with nature; as a country, every one of us must be conscious of the need to address ecological and environmental concerns as we travel the path to progress,’ the Prime Minister said.

He said the government and individuals faced the challenge on achieving the optimum balance between development and managing the environment the right way.

‘If we do not pay adequate attention to the eco systems and address environmental erosion, needless to say that there would be drastic consequences which the world has witnessed time and again,’ the Prime Minister said.

‘As we celebrate the International Environment Day, we must come together as a nation to rediscover the respect and the consideration for nature, while inculcating a wider consciousness of the environment in everyone.’