SRI LANKA – INDIA Colombo: environmentalists concerned about the canal promoted by India in the north

Implementation of the project would allow commercial vessels to avoid circumnavigating Sri Lanka and save fuel. But it would also be an opportunity for India to position itself geopolitically. Experts argue that the environmental risks were underestimated.

Colombo () – According to environmentalists, the project to create a commercial maritime route between India and Sri Lanka will have a great environmental impact on the island country. The project, dubbed the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP), would traverse the Palk Strait, which separates the southern tip of India, Tamil Nadu, from Sri Lanka. Currently, circumnavigating the island cannot be avoided: the waters are less than 10 meters deep in almost the entire length of the strait, to the point that even a strip of land, called the Adam or Rama bridge, joins the two countries

On January 12, the Tamil Nadu State Assembly urged the central government to launch the project after years of indecision.

“The creation of a canal would save travel time from coast to coast and promote the development of Tamil Nadu,” several specialists told . “The distance between Cape Comorin and Chennai would be reduced from the current 755 nautical miles to 402 and navigation time would decrease by 36 hours, which would mean savings in fuel costs. The SCSP, being on one of the maritime routes strategic and busiest in the world, would give India a strong geopolitical position”, while “today, ships coming from the west coast of India or from western countries bound for the east coast of India, Bangladesh or China are forced to circumnavigate Sri Lanka”.

Environmentalist Manishka Ranaraja noted that “Sri Lanka has an environmental impact assessment procedure for coastal conservation, but the SSCP did not submit to this jurisdiction because it is located in Indian territorial waters.” India’s draft environmental impact assessment mentions Sri Lanka only in passing. For their part, Sri Lankan environmental groups called for a joint assessment of the two countries on the environmental and social impact of the project.”

Research published in 2016 by the General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University, (administered by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence) outlined the environmental impacts of the canal. He noted that Indian research institutes “failed to take into account the latest studies by specialist groups on sedimentation dynamics in Palk Bay,” neglecting “the great risks inherent in this cyclone-prone area.” The researchers cited Article 15 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, recalling the need to protect the environment and apply precautionary measures.

In 2005, Sri Lanka had called for the establishment of a permanent joint mechanism to exchange information on the SSPC through the creation of a common database on hydrodynamic modelling, environmental measures and the impact on fishery resources.

The academics also insist that “the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS] there is a breach on the proposed project and if the SSCP goes through, Sri Lanka could seek compensation.”

According to academic Shirantha Weerakoon, in the Palk Strait “there are more than 3,600 species of plants and animals, including 117 types of corals and 17 mangroves, sea turtles, whales and dolphins. Dredging the channel could remove dust and toxins under the seabed, affecting marine life. SSPC presents significant problems that should not be ignored.”