Environmental cooperation between India, Sri Lanka matter of survival: Justice Surya Kant

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New Delhi, Oct 22 (PTI) Supreme Court judge Justice Surya Kant on Wednesday said environmental cooperation between India and Sri Lanka is not a matter of charity or diplomacy but a matter of survival.

Speaking at an event at the Faculty of Law in University of Colombo on the topic of 'Indo-Sri Lanka Policy Dialogue: Advancing Environmental Sustainability and Regional Cooperation', Justice Kant said the Bay of Bengal "does not divide us but binds the two countries through a shared ecological fate".

He said the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar are biodiversity hotspots, home to coral reefs, seagrass meadows and endangered species but these regions are under severe stress due to overfishing, destructive trawling practices and unregulated coastal construction that have caused ecosystem collapse in parts of this marine environment.

In the face of various pressing issues, the time is ripe for the Indian and Sri Lankan judiciaries to champion a model of regional environmental constitutionalism, recognising that certain imminent environmental rights and duties transcend borders, he said.

Justice said that in his opinion, the routine confrontation between Indian trawlers and Sri Lankan fishers epitomises a deeper ecological tragedy - competition for an exhausted resource base.

"Environmental cooperation between India and Sri Lanka is not a matter of charity or diplomacy -- it is a matter of survival. The Bay of Bengal does not divide us; it binds us through a shared ecological fate," he said.

The senior-most Supreme Court judge, who is set to become the Chief Justice of India on November 24, said that the judiciary, through its moral authority and interpretive ability, has shown how justice can be ecological, inter-generational and regional.

"What remains is for policy frameworks to match this judicial vision. Let us, therefore, reimagine the Indo–Sri Lankan partnership not merely as a bilateral relationship but as a collective guardianship of the Indian Ocean commons -- where our cooperation is measured not in treaties signed, but in ecosystems restored and communities made resilient," he underscored.

He said that India and Sri Lanka have, for centuries, been closely connected not merely by culture and trade, but by the ecology of the Indian Ocean itself and as the environmental degradation accelerates, the shared geography imposes a collective responsibility.

Justice Kant expressed concern over ecological fragility -- oil spills drifting from one shore to another, coral reefs bleaching under common warming currents, and fishing communities whose livelihoods depend on decisions made in two capitals.

"The impact of climate change and, consequently, rising sea levels threatens coastal zones in both Tamil Nadu and Northern Sri Lanka. The most immediate effect of this disturbing shift has been on agriculture due to saltwater intrusion and unpredictable monsoons, which have disrupted fisheries.

"Similarly, microplastics, oil residue from shipping lanes, and agricultural runoff accumulate in the same marine currents that circulate between the two nations," he said, while emphasising the need for joint monitoring and data sharing to tackle problems that have remained scattered and untracked.

He added that from the 2004 tsunami to recurring cyclones, both countries have experienced how environmental disasters transcend political borders.

"These are phenomena that do not recognise national boundaries and have prompted cooperation in disaster management, yet ecological restoration continues to remain fragmented," Justice Kant said.

On the Indo–Sri Lankan policy framework for environmental cooperation, Justice Kant said that the region between the two countries has, in recent times, re-emerged as a strategic corridor, rich in marine resources but ecologically stressed.

"Initiatives like BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) reflect this burgeoning recognition that environmental security is integral to regional stability," he said.

Justice Kant said that despite these measures, there is a lack of an integrated transboundary environmental governance mechanism, which may be a result of multiple factors, including inconsistent data collection, considering that environmental impact assessments rarely take cross-border effects into account.

On the role of the judiciary in environmental governance, Justice Kant said both the Supreme Court of India and the Sri Lankan judiciary have increasingly drawn on international environmental norms, illustrating a nascent regional environmental constitutionalism.

"Although there has not been regular formal dialogue between the Indian and Sri Lankan judiciaries in the past, their jurisprudence reflects a converging moral imagination about environmental stewardship," he said.

Justice Kant said that in the face of these pressing issues, the time is ripe for the Indian and Sri Lankan judiciaries to champion a model of regional environmental constitutionalism.

"Sustained environmental cooperation also depends on informed citizen engagement. Universities, legal institutes, and non-governmental organisations can function as transnational epistemic communities—generating data, influencing litigation, and cultivating ecological consciousness," he said. PTI MNL MNL RT RT