The Crisis of “Neither Love nor Law”
Reflecting on Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne’s recent column, “Flies, Sparrows, and Crows,” it is evident that Sri Lanka’s development is hindered by a critical gap between physical modernisation and civic mindset. Infrastructure improvements remain futile if “Third World habits” persist, leading to the rapid decay of public assets. As the Singaporean model suggests, transitioning to “First World standards” requires more than just new buildings; it demands visionary leadership and uncompromising law enforcement to instill the internalised discipline necessary to protect and maintain a nation’s progress.
This lack of discipline is vividly illustrated by the stray animal crisis, particularly the abandonment of dogs and the prevalence of stray cattle. While 2025 saw a historic low of 14 rabies-related deaths, the persistence of this eradicable disease in the 21st century is an “archaic wound” on the nation. Authorities often hesitate to implement civilised, effective management strategies due to sentimental outcries from urban groups who prioritise animal welfare over the tangible annual loss of human life and the safety of public spaces.
Wildlife
The “wildlife menace” posed by species like the Toque Macaque, Giant Squirrel, and wild boar has escalated into a severe economic threat, destroying up to 200 million coconuts and 31,000 metric tonnes of other produce annually. This destruction drains approximately Rs. 10–12 billion from the non-coconut agricultural sector and has caused a 3.8 per cent decline in forecasted paddy production. Such massive losses create artificial supply shocks and drive-up retail prices, directly undermining national food security and eroding the “food sovereignty” essential for a stable economy.
For the rural poor, these agricultural losses function as a “hidden tax”, forcing households to divert meagre funds toward crop deterrents rather than education or health. The resulting “debt traps” and land foreclosures entrench the countryside in permanent vulnerability. Furthermore, as home gardens are abandoned due to frequent raids, rural children lose their primary sources of vitamins and proteins. This loss of “nutritional buffers” leads to increased rates of wasting and stunting, transforming a management issue into a long-term drain on human capital.
A significant structural hurdle remains the “cognitive dissonance” between urban activists and rural producers. While city-based volunteers use their social capital and the “Public Trust” doctrine to secure court injunctions against animal population control, they rarely bear the negative externalities of their advocacy. This legal gridlock allows wildlife populations to expand unchecked, creating a market failure where the sentimental benefits of conservation are enjoyed by the urban elite while the rural poor suffer the consequences of crop loss, debt, and malnutrition.
While the wildlife “menace” causes significant agricultural loss, the cost of human-driven destruction of natural and physical capital in Sri Lanka is arguably far more devastating and difficult to reverse. Human actions, such as the illegal clearing of forests, the filling of vital marshlands for unplanned construction, and the contamination of water sources with industrial waste, represent a permanent depletion of the nation’s natural capital. These actions do not just cause a single season’s crop loss; they dismantle the very ecosystems that regulate floods, maintain soil fertility, and ensure long-term climate resilience. Similarly, the damage to physical capital—evidenced by the rapid vandalism of newly refurbished infrastructure like the Pettah Bus Terminal—demonstrates a lack of “civic love” that forces the state into a perpetual cycle of costly repairs rather than new investment. Ultimately, while animal behaviour is driven by instinct, the deliberate and systemic nature of human-led destruction erodes the foundational wealth of the country, creating a much larger economic “wound” that hinders Sri Lanka’s path toward First World standards.
3-S model
The heavy reliance on the “3-S” model—Sand, Sea, and Sun—which draws nearly 90 per cent of international visitors, is being severely undermined by a lack of civic discipline and administrative neglect. While the Sri Lanka Tourism identifies “Pleasure and Vacation” as the primary driver for 85-to-90 per cent of arrivals, the actual experience is increasingly marred by accumulating litter and garbage left by local visitors and communities. Beautiful coastal ecosystems, including vital mangroves, are being choked by waste, effectively “soft killing” the tourism industry by driving away the very travellers the nation depends on for foreign exchange. The silence of local governments and voluntary organisations in the face of this environmental degradation represents a critical “wound” to the sector, where the failure to enforce First World cleanliness standards on our most valuable natural capital threatens to collapse a primary pillar of the national economy.
The persistence of environmental degradation in Sri Lanka is rooted in a dual collapse of “Law” and “Love,” where institutional failures and a lack of civic accountability intersect. Political patronage often shields those engaged in illegal sand mining or forest clearing, rendering the law selective and ineffective. This institutional decay is exacerbated by the “Tragedy of the Commons,” where a lack of strict enforcement creates a destructive race to exploit shared natural resources. Without a credible legal deterrent, individuals act out of the fear that if they do not seize a resource today, someone else will, leading to the inevitable exhaustion of the nation’s natural capital.
Addressing these deep-seated “wounds” requires a transition to “First World” governance, characterised by sustained and uncompromising enforcement of environmental regulations. However, legal mandates alone are insufficient without a parallel shift in the national psyche—moving from passive indifference toward a profound “civic love” for the environment. Only by coupling rigorous law enforcement with a long-term educational strategy to instill a sense of shared duty can Sri Lanka protect its ecosystem from being “soft killed” by neglect and greed, ensuring that the environment is preserved as a collective asset rather than a fragmented target for exploitation.
(The author acknowledges the use of artificial intelligence in the collection and synthesis of information for this work.)
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