The civil society and environmental movement in Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka country analysis

This paper examines the role of environmental NGOs in Sri Lanka in addressing environmental concerns in the country. The focus of the paper is mainly on NGOs as the most active agents of civil society organisations (CSOs).

The paper presents the following findings:

• Sri Lanka created a good platform for environmental CSOs to take part in formulating environmental polices
  
• the awareness building is an integral component of almost all the NGOs operating in Sri Lanka
• NGOs were influenced and forced by public opinion in matters concerned with environmental destruction
• the presence of very active NGOs who have gained experience in addressing specific environmental issues is a good justification to ensure higher efficiency for the investment
• the majority of environmental NGOs lack sufficient competencies to act as equal partners to the government
• staff turn over in NGOs is a serious issue that limits their capacity
• CSOs are heavily dependent on external sources of funding, which affects the entire outlook of the NGO
• NGO networks were often formed as prescribed by the donor funded programmes rather than evolving naturally as mechanisms for better cooperation and coordination
• the transparency, accountability, conformity with law, credibility and trust of the NGOs are the key pillars on which the relationship between the government and NGOs is sustained.

Equally important, in terms of policy implication, the paper argues that there is a need to focus clearly on a specific concern rather than thinly spreading the resources. Therefore, it suggests the following thematic areas to be considered in the future collaborations:

• natural resource management including biodiversity and forestry
• bio energy and energy conservation
• urban environmental management and Waste management.