Lalanath de Silva

Head of the Independent Redress Mechanism
Green Climate Fund
United States

Jul 12, 2021

Lalanath de Silva is the Head of the Independent Redress Mechanism of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), where he examines complaints concerning the Fund's projects and provides redress. Before joining the GCF, Lalanath led the review of grievances at the Asian Development Bank's Compliance Review Panel and directed the Environmental Democracy Practice and the Access Initiative at the World Resources Institute. He was a Legal Officer with the Environmental Claims Unit at the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC). Before his work in international organizations, Lalanath was an attorney in Sri Lanka, where he fought for improved environmental protections and drafted, in his words, “the bulk of Sri Lanka’s environmental regulations” as a legal consultant to the Ministry of Environment. When he returned to private practice, he successfully sued the ministry to enforce the regulations he had drafted. Lalanath’s educational path to this work started with graduating from the Sri Lanka Law College, followed by a master’s degree (also in law) from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Sydney.

Lalanath’s involvement in environmental peacebuilding began with his work on the UNCC’s Environmental Claims Unit. In that capacity, he processed the environmental damage and restoration claims of countries that suffered environmental damage due to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990-91. These claims from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other countries sought compensation for the terrestrial, marine, and cultural heritage damages caused by Iraq’ s military actions during the conflict. Iraq set fire to 700 Kuwaiti oil wells and poured 500 million barrels of oil into the sea to set on fire as a deterrent to a navy invasion. The oil spills resulted in widespread damage to marine life and polluted beaches, creeks, and lakes. Lalanath reflects, “This was the first time that broad-based damage to the environment was included in war reparations costs, and the environmental claims against Iraq totaled 85 billion dollars.” Major challenges in evaluating these claims included the lack of reliable data on the environmental situation prior to the war (i.e., baseline environmental conditions) and the difficulty of quantifying certain harms such as the destruction of nomadic lifestyles. To tackle these challenges, Lalanath worked with environmental economists and scientists. He presented his research to the three commissioners who decided the claims, and he then helped write the rulings. Ultimately, the UNCC held that Iraq was responsible for US$ 5.2 billion in environmental damages; it has paid for these (and other) damages through the proceeds of oil sales.

Lalanath has since applied his UNCC experience to address environmental damage grievances before they erupt in violent conflict. On the Compliance Review Panel of the Asian Development Bank, he considered compensation for damages from bank-funded power, water, and transport projects and helped codify internal procedures for grievance review. He then brought this experience to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), where he heads the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) to peacefully resolve social conflicts associated with GCF-funded projects.  At the GCF, he drafted procedures for the unit, which the Board has approved. “The most common complaints we receive concern insufficient prior information and participation,” he observes. Before investigating the complaints, his team mediates between the parties to build trust and find a mutually acceptable solution, which Lalanath notes was especially challenging to do virtually during the pandemic. However, the IRM has been able to build consensus from grievances, and no complaints have reached investigation so far.

Lalanath’s interest in resolving conflicts was in part sparked by the long-standing civil war in Sri Lanka between militant Tamil separatists and the government of the majority-Singhalese country. “Many people think this is an ethnic conflict, but if you dig deeper this is also a conflict over natural resources,” says Lalanath. “You can look across the world at different conflicts and see resources at the bottom of them. Resource reallocation is needed for lasting peace.” He believes that the environmental peacebuilding community has produced solid research on the links between resource allocation and peace but still needs to build the political will to implement these insights: “We are more homo narrans than we are homo sapiens. Our politics is not guided by rationality, so we need to build powerful, culturally compelling narratives around peacebuilding.”