Lareef Zubair, Editor.
Sri Lanka and Britain will Violate Legal Obligations under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCC full text
The handover of the Meteorological Department Lands in Colombo to the British High Commission in a manner detrimental to the maintenance of international standards for climate observations is in contravention of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that both Sri Lanka and United Kingdom have signed.
Sri Lanka signed the UNFCC convention on June 10, 1992, ratified it on November 23, 1993 and came into force on March 21, 1994. Responsible Authority: Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
United Kingdom signed the UNFCC convention on June 12, 1992, ratified it on August 12, 1993 and came into force on March 21, 1994. Responsible Authority: Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The relevant clauses of this convention states that: -------------------------------- Article 4 (g)....Promote and cooperate in scientific, technological, technical, socio-economic and other research, systematic observation and development of data archives related to the climate system and intended to further the understanding and to reduce or eliminate the remaining uncertainties regarding the causes, effects, magnitude and timing of climate change and the economic and social consequences of various response strategies In carrying out their commitments under Article 4, paragraph 1(g), the Parties shall: (a)....Support and further develop, as appropriate, international and intergovernmental programmes and networks or organizations aimed at defining, conducting, assessing and financing research, data collection and systematic observation, taking into account the need to minimize duplication of effort; (b)....Support international and intergovernmental efforts to strengthen systematic observation and national scientific and technical research capacities and capabilities, particularly in developing countries, and to promote access to, and the exchange of, data and analyses thereof obtained from areas beyond national jurisdiction; ------------------------------ ex-Minister of Science says Cabinet was bypassed in the handover of Meteorological Department Land: Raises Questions Raised About Payouts
From Daily Mirror bylined Damitha Hettiararchi see article
Former Science and Technology Ministers, Batty Weerakoon and Prof.Lesley Gunewardhana maintained that they, during their term as ministers, did not give permission or present a cabinet paper to sell or hand over a portion of Department's land.
An earlier request by the British High Commission for a portion of land from the Meteorology Department premises as far as 1996/97 was also turned down. "Dr.Bernard Zoysa refused to hand over or sell the land to anyone as he felt it would interfere with the work of the Department. The Foreign Minister and the British High Commissioner too made a request to me but I refused to sell any part of the Met. Department Land," Former Minister, Batty Weerakoon said.
However, nearly one year after the initial request, the Secretary to the Ministry of Science and Technology informed Mr. Weerakoon that the Foreign Affairs Ministry had requested him in a letter to hand over two acres from the Department land to the British High Commission. "I asked the secretary to reply that there could be no such hand over as it would disturb and interrupt the research," he said, adding that it was the last he heard of the deal.
But today, the British High Commission has started the initial structure of the planned building. " How?" Mr. Weerakoon questions. "If the required cabinet permission was not given to the transaction , who by passed the cabinet and what happened to the money which changed hands?"
Although the decision was taken nearly one year ago under the PA regime, the present UNF government too has failed to protest the sale and the resultant relocation which disrupts the maintained records of one of Asia's best meteorological centres.
Full article at http://www.dailymirror.lk/inside/features/020812.html
Takeover by British High Commision will lead to violations of WMO Standards for Meteorological Observatories
The Department of Meterology in its website states that it was enacted in Parlimatement to "provide all meteorological and climatological information nationally, in accordance will WMO and ICAO regulations".
But consider the WMO standards as condified in "The WMO Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation", (WMO No. 8), 6th Edition, Geneva, 1996.
1.1-3 (a) Outdoor instruments should be installed on a level piece of ground, .. (b) There should no steeply sloping ground in the vicinity (c) The site should be well away from trees, buildings, walls or other such obstructions. ... (h) The position used for observing cloud and visibility should he as open as possible and command the widest possible view of the sky and the surrounding country (j) Night observations of cloud and visibility are best made from a site unaffected by extraneous lighting.
It is doubtful that all of these standards for station locations can be maintained.
In addition according to the USEPA, the instruments should be located at least 30 meters away from paved areas. However, now the instruments are being moved from a good location to a place in proximity to one of Colombo's main roads, in proximity to the new Department Buildings. In addition, the construction of a new Office, Barrier Walls and additional lighting for the Embassy will alter the measurements. A crucial question is the layout and architecture of the High Commission offices. But all that is secret.
World Meteorological Organization: Governments have a Fundamental Obligation to Safeguard Historical Records for Future Generations
Two of the most fundamental obligations accepted by governments through the ages have been the protection of the safety and welfare of their citizens and the collection and safeguarding of important historical records for future generations. For more than a century, virtually all countries of the world have fulfilled their obligations to minimize the adverse effects of weather and climate on community safety and welfare and to provide a comprehensive and reliable national climate record through the operation of a National Meteorological Service (NMS). In most countries the NMS is complemented by a National Hydrological Service (NHS), or in some cases the two are integrated into a single National Hydrometeorological Service.
The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro brought together nations of the world and numerous international organizations and inspired them to modify their programmes by pooling resources and global intellectual capital, in order to provide governments and society with vital information on climate change and ozone levels, and to improve climate forecasts and prediction. RIO also led national institutions such as National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to put new techniques into action around the world that would help establish a firm base for future efforts at reaching sustainable levels of development. Such techniques relate to the enhancement of early warning systems of severe weather, monitoring of the climate system, improved assessments of freshwater resources, pollution monitoring and control, and climate change detection. Full Statement http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html
NASTEC Endorses and Reiteratres Opposting to Handover of Meteorology Department Land to British
The National Science and Technology Commission (NASTEC) the Apex Body of Science in Sri Lanka has strongly endorsed and reiterated the sentiments expressed by the signatories to the Sri Lanka Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology Network appeal. This commission includes in its ranks ex-Secretary General of UNCTAD, ex-cabintet secretaries, the Presidential Science Adviser, ex-Science Adviser to the Minister of Science, an Emeritus Professor of Education and one of Microbiology and the ex-Director of the Ceylon Institute for Scientific Industrial Research in Sri Lanka. NASTEC has written to the Minister of Economic Reform, Science and Technology that
"Some time ago it was reported that the land adjoining the Department of Meteorology would be handed over to the UK High Commission for construction of office buildings. The protests made by scientists of the Department on acceptable technical grounds were not heeded. Now, a group of eminent scientists and engineers have requested NASTEC to forward a renewed appeal to the Government, to prevent the use of this land by the High Commission for building purposes. The National Science and Technology Commission having reviewed the grounds for the renewed appeal, completely endorses the stand that, the decision to invest the land in the UK be reversed for a number of significant technical reasons.
The Commission which has as its mandate an advisory role to Government on matters concerned with Science and Technology, strongly reiterates the position taken up by the scientists." see letter
Positions of Various Authorities on the Land Handover
# A report has been requested by the Additional Secretary to the President as to handover of the meteorological department land from the Secretary, Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology.
# A report have been requested by the Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister regarding the handover of the meteorological department land from the Secretary, Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology.
# Director, Department of Meteorology, qouted as "the directive to move the observatory was received from the Lands Commissioner and the Treasury".
# Land Commissioner in a letter referring the matter to Secretary, Ministry of Lands, states that this decision was not taken by himself but at a higher level and letter was copied to SLMOHN.
# The Treasury Secretary in a letter copied to SLMOHN referred the matter to Secretary, Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology for further action.
# Chairman, Urban Development Authority referred the matter to Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology with copy to SLMOHN.
# Sir Arthur C. Clarke writes to SLMOHN that "as a Brit in favour of good meteorology, I am torn on the matter.
# In response, to a request for a report from the Presidents Secretariat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology has requested for a report on the matter from the Director of Meteorology.
# No response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
# No response from the British High Commision sans starting initial building work
Full List of Persons Contacted
Britain Refuses to Review the Land Take Over
Nicola Walsh, Desk Officer for South Asia, Foreign and Commonwealth Office wrote on behalf of the British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary as
"You suggest that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office review the case case of the apparent takeover of the Meteorological Observatory Land in Colombo by the British High Commission, but as the land was sold by the Sri Lankan government we do not consider that it would be appropriate to do so. I understand that the sale has not been completed but should you wish any further information, I suggest you contact the Chief of Protocol at th eMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Maduwagedera."
Climate Change, National Security and the British Embassy, by Lareef Zubair, was carried in all three English Daily News papers in Sri Lanka
Island June 22, 2002 (see http://www.island.lk/2002/06/22/satmag01.html ) Daily Mirror June 18, 2002 (http://www.dailymirror.lk/2002/06/18/opinion/3.html) Ceylon Daily News (July 10, 2002)
Letter from Prof. Manfred Domroes:
was carried in the Island Newspaper, August 10,2002
Summary
The IRI's assessment is that there is a greater than 95% probability of El Niño conditions during the remainder of 2002 and into early 2003 with current conditions representing the early stage of this El Niño episode. This assessment is based on the collective forecasts of various ENSO prediction models, as well as on the experience of the several oceanographers and atmospheric scientists familiar with the El Niño phenomenon. Compared with the statement from one month ago, this probability has increased by more than 5%, since the substantially warmer than average sea surface temperatures that first emerged in late May are considered highly likely to continue for the next 6-9 months. The most likely strength of this El Niño will be weak to moderate, which is significantly less than the 1997-98 event. The associated climate effects in most regions are expected to be weaker than those associated with the 1997-98 El Niño, but may nonetheless be substantial in some regions. For further details: http://iri.columbia.edu/climate/ENSO/currentinfo/update.html
Asian Brown Cloud http://www.unep.org/Documents/Default.asp?DocumentID=259&ArticleID=3103
FORTHCOMING MEETINGS AND DEADLINES
10th Asian Congress of Fluid Mechanics in Sri Lanka in May 2004 Prof. S. Sivasegeram (University of Peradeniya) writes: You may have heard that the next Asian Congress for Fluid Mechanics is to be Peradeniya in 2004 May. I hope that you will be around and encourage fellow Sri Lankans to participate.
Editors Comment: This is really tremendous news as this is an important congress and it was previously held in India, China, Japan, Iran and it may be the first time its being held in a smaller country. Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology have always been big themese in these conferences. It affords a venue for compiling and showcasing research in Sri Lanka in these fields related to Fluid Mechanics.
Name: Dr. Rohinton Emmanuel Address: Dept. of Architecture, University of Moratuwa Moratuwa 10400, SRI LANKA Telephone: (94) 1 651 047 (w); (94) 1 625 637 (h) Fax: (94) 1 650 622 Email: rohinton@mail.ac.lk
Description of your involvement in the field: (use additional space as needed)
My research centers on mitigating the negative effectsof the urban heat island (UHI) effects in tropical cities. I have done some work on the UHI phenomenon in the Colombo Metro Region (CMR). My empahsis is on the effects of UHI upon human comfort and cooling energy needs in tropical cities.
Name: BUDDHIKA N. HEWAKANDAMBY
Address: University of Sheffield, Dept. Chemical and Process Engineering,
Newcastle St, Sheffield, S1 3JD, United Kingdom
Telephone: +44 114 222 7570
Fax: +44 114 222 7501
Email: cpp98bnh@shef.ac.uk
needed)
I am a fluid dynamist who has a general interest in geophysical flows. Most
of my work is based on thin films though I have published on Dynamics of
Atmospheres and Oceans (Elsevier). The publication is on a stability
analysis to investigate the limiting parameter space using a multiple scale
perturbation scheme. Novelty of the scheme is that it can accomodate non
periodic disturbances given that the amplitude is small.
Name: P. Gokulakrishnan Address: Dept. of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. Telephone: 609 258 0307 Fax: Email: pgokulak@princeton.edu Description of your involvement in the field:
My research interest primarily lies in emissions from combustion processes. My graduate work mainly involved the chemistry of nitrogen oxides formation in natural gas fired, low-NOx, multi-jet burners and fluidized beds. I am currently engaged in gasoline oxidation research pertaining to automobile engines.
Name: M.A.S.P.K.Malaviarachchi Address: Epalawa watte, Galatara, Mawanella, Sri Lanka. Telephone: 094 35 31095 Email: smalavilk@yahoo.com Description of your involvement in the field: I am a Post graduate student of the Post Graduate Institute of Science (PGIS ), University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. I follow a M.Sc ( Oceanography ) Course.
Sri Lanka Meteorology, Oceanography and Hydrology Network
Name: Address:
Telephone: Fax: Email:
Description of your involvement in the field: (use additional space as needed)
Please Send in Your Forms and contributions for circulation to
Lareef Zubair 103 Monell Building, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, P.O.Box 1000, Palisades, NY 10964-8000, U.S.A or to Lareef Zubair, c/o NRMS, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, Dam Site, Polgolla, Sri Lanka.
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