Statement by Her Excellency Himalee Arunatilaka, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva
World Tsunami Awareness Day: 05 November 2024
Tsunami: Sea Change for Resilience
Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction Mr Kamal Kishore,
Ambassador Oike Atsuyuki, Permanent Representatives of Japan
Ms. Ana Luiza Massot Thompson Flores, Director, UNESCO Liaison Office in Geneva
Ms. Hanna Entwisle Chapuisat, Curator of the exhibition,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I thank the organizers, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, and the Permanent Mission of Japan, for inviting me to speak on this occasion.
26th December this year marks 20 years since the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami that killed over 230,000 people across 14 countries including my own, Sri Lanka. The tsunami that struck on Boxing Day, is reportedly one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent human history.
Over 35,000 persons were killed in Sri Lanka, while two thirds of the island’s coastline was affected. The death toll was second only to Indonesia, where the epicentre of the earthquake was. Over 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged displacing over 500,000 persons. Approximately 150,000 people, mainly from the coastal communities, lost their livelihoods.
Railway officials in Sri Lanka were able to stop 8 trains that run on the coastal line when reports of a tsunami reached them, with the exception of one. They were not able to stop the Southern Express Train, Ruhunu Kumari, which was devoured by the deadly waves, bringing death to 1700 passengers on board, making it the largest single rail disaster in world history by death toll.
In the midst of these harrowing stories of death and destruction, there have also been many stories of resilience, of survivors who built back their lives, and learnt to deal with the trauma experienced, while others have become drivers for change to minimise the impact of future disasters.
They have become champions of the cause for restoration and rehabilitation, awareness and training, and environmental conservation.
Although the lives lost cannot be brought back, the tsunami taught us many lessons: among the most important being resilience and preparedness, and the need to secure the coastline to mitigate the impact of such natural disasters.
The degradation of the coastline, particularly the destruction of mangroves, has been cited as a reason for the high death toll during the tsunami in certain parts of Sri Lanka, as there was no protective cover to break the force of the killer waves as they gushed inland.
Sri Lanka’s National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), which was established after the 2004 tsunami, has taken the lead in tsunami awareness and mitigation activities, through preventive education, early warning systems and resilient infrastructure, working in partnership with national, regional and international partners. Regular drills are conducted in coastal areas with the participation of local actors, schools, and communities. The NDMC also works with the Coast Conservation Department to restore and rebuild the natural protective cover provided by mangroves. The protective function of this valuable ecosystem was made starkly clear during the 2004 tsunami.
Sri Lanka’s mangrove replanting, restoration and rehabilitation programme was born through the realisation that mangrove ecosystems can mitigate the devastating effect of climate change including tsunamis. This realisation led to the mass drive to restore the mangroves.
In 2015 Sri Lanka became the first country to legally protect all its mangrove forests. In February this year, the UN’s World Restoration Flagship, led by UNEP and FAO, recognised Sri Lanka’s mangrove regeneration programme as one of the best examples of large-scale and long-term ecosystem restorations. This initiative is aimed at increasing the mangrove cover across Sri Lanka by more than 50 per cent through nurturing the mangroves and creating the conditions for their natural regeneration. It is also providing sustainable livelihood support to coastal communities in multiple ways.
Furthermore, under the Commonwealth Blue Charter, Sri Lanka also took the initiative to champion the Action Group on Mangrove Restoration, undertaking to replant mangroves and to create awareness of their value, to share best practices and expand mutual cooperation in conservation and the sustainable use of mangroves. Today local communities have taken ownership of protecting and nurturing the mangroves, so vital for coastal protection.
In 2004, the tsunami brought death and destruction. Today, it has become a driver to protect Sri Lanka´s mangroves and to help build back better. This story of resilience of the coastal communities in Sri Lanka, who were the most affected in the tsunami, is what I wish to leave you with, today.
Thank you.
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