23rd Select Committee Meeting - 8 June 2005

The Deputy Ambassador of Italy, Prof Ferruchchi from the University of Calabria, Prof Deheragoda, Head of Geography, University of Peradeniya and representatives from the Irrigation Department, Mahaweli and River Basin Development Authority and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) were present at the 23rd Select Committee meeting.

The Deputy Ambassador of Italy introduced Prof Ferruchchi for a follow up of the project proposal he presented to the Select Committee in March 2005. The Deputy Ambassador of Italy explained the status of the project proposals the Italian delegation, which Prof Ferruchchi was a part of made to the Select Committee and the Government of Sri Lanka.

“Ambassador Salvatore Zotta presented three substantive project proposals, which were agreed upon with the consultation of Tissa Vitharana, Minister of Science and Technology, and professors from the universities of Colombo, Ruhuna and Moratuwa. We are also looking at how to go on with a programme of academia - with high-level cooperation between the governments of Italy and Sri Lanka. We are looking to broaching Prof Ferruchchi’s project proposal. We want to have it done as soon as possible. This will have no link to the debt moratorium. Prof Ferruchchi’s will discuss the proposal. I believe it is called digital mapping of the coast or Hyper Dam. It will study coastal areas especially tsunami-affected areas,” the Deputy Ambassador of Italy stated.

Prof Ferruchchi made a presentation to the Select Committee on the need for a digital model construction, focusing on geomorphological studies on the coastal belt of Sri Lanka in March of this year. He expressed that the Italian government would like to extend their cooperation to Sri Lanka in going forward with digital monitoring of a country, which can be done by an overhead satellite and can identify areas vulnerable to natural disasters.

This high technology impact assessment aimed at providing Sri Lankan experts with the technology needed for emergency management and natural disaster mitigation - particularly from meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic hazards. This technology is imperative when it comes to advance territorial planning - helping to identify areas vulnerable to natural disasters.

Prof Ferruchchi introduced the preliminary stage of the project to the Select Committee informing them that after the MoU was signed with the Government of Sri Lanka, the project could begin.

“The focus of the project is the mapping of the coastal areas. We will start a preliminary survey from space. This is already being done through space borne radar or spatial technique. There will be no need to use topography on the ground. This is the fastest, easiest and cheapest method to use. The second survey will be done through the digital surface model - 1 square km resolution in width and 10 square km in height. This will be a space borne survey. It is done with special equipment like laser scans. It will include everything between Galle and Jaffna anti-clockwise,” Ferruchchi stated.

Further explaining the project he stated that it could be done in three parts.

It will carry out infrared lasers to make a model to look into vegetation inclusive of houses and such and the map of the coast. It will help to design a better defense from natural disasters and the like. This can be done in three parts:

“Space borne technique, which will be done as soon as the MoU is signed, the air borne technique, which needs to be done in clear weather. We have been in touch with the Meteorology Department who says that Sri Lanka is in the middle of a monsoon. So we will have to do it between mid July and mid September, if everything goes according to plan. The third is the specialized radar borne laser survey - this will help us to observe the coast better. This equipment is state of the art - the patents are exclusively owned by Italy,” he said.