Sri Lanka’s Central Environment Authority (CEA) had a 200 ton problem.  Each day, textile factories discharged over 200 tons of organic pollutants into the nation’s waterways, and the CEA had no real power to halt or significantly reduce the flow.  While the agency had issued national standards and licensed textile factories discharging into surface waters, chronic under-funding and limited enforcement powers meant that most polluters went undetected or worse, unpunished.  Since significant new funding for the agency was unlikely, the CEA needed a new approach that would create economic incentives for industry to install new technologies and reduce pollution.

Initiative

In its search for new solutions, CEA turned to AECEN, of which CEA is a member, for help.  AECEN conducted an assessment of the textile industry and the capacity of CEA to take on new regulatory responsibilities.  AECEN also worked with CEA to develop legal amendments and enabling regulations that establish a wastewater discharge fee program which taxes a factory in proportion to how much it pollutes.  In formulating the new program, AECEN drew on best practices of agencies that operate similar wastewater discharge fee programs in China, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Results

With AECEN help, CEA has established a new legal and regulatory apparatus for reducing pollution from the textile industry, which can be expanded to other priority industrial sectors. The CEA is gearing up to implement the new program that both creates economic incentives for industry compliance, and generates revenues that the agency can use to strengthen its capabilities.  To help jumpstart the program, AECEN has organized a “twinning” partnership with the Lake Laguna Development Authority in the Philippines, to facilitate the sharing of lessons learned on program operations.