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Sri Lanka is facing unprecedented political turmoil, and with the economy in a tailspin it is in its weakest state in decades. The country is staring down the barrel of a sovereign debt default and is exposed to external shocks. As the country embarks on IMF bailout discussions, the main emerging risk facing Sri Lanka is the fallout of the current political instability on macroeconomic stabilisation efforts. Facing the prospect of a disorderly default, Sri Lankan officials have a decision to make — will they kow-tow to narrow political compulsions, or come together to agree on a common programme that steers the economy out of the current crisis and towards macroeconomic stability? Perhaps the current turmoil in parliament and the public’s growing recognition of the cause of the crisis will be what catalyses a political consensus for reform that has eluded Sri Lanka for so long.

In mid-January 2022, the Centre for a Smart Future - under its 'Natural Capital Forum' initiative - collaborated with the Climate Disclosure Standards Board in the UK and the Colombo Stock Exchange to bring new accounting and analytical tools to Sri Lankan corporates. With practice facilitation and outreach by CSF to the CDSB, Sri Lankan listed and unlisted companies were able to learn about new accounting, reporting and disclosure standards relating to climate risks, for the first time in the country. The Colombo Stock Exchange(CSE) organized the training programme, which saw participation of nearly 200 participants. The programme was supported by the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative(SSE)

Sri Lanka's President announced a policy directive of moving to 100% organic farming this year, and an immediate ban on importing any chemical fertilisers and agro-chemicals. Since the announcement, there has been a fervent debate on the decision, ranging from fears around food security and impacts on exports, to a celebration of the potential to create a unique value for the country. In our first video interview in the 'Smarter Sustainability' series agriculture economist Chatura Rodrigo discusses how to manage the transition better, implications for farmers, and gaps in the policymaking process.

In this interview in the 'Economics x Environment' series of Smart Future Forum (SFF), Nishan Perera - Sri Lanka's leading marine ecologist, an avid diver and underwater photographer - shares some vital insights  on. Nishan is a marine ecologist with an interest in coral reef ecology and Marine Protected Area management. He is a co-founder of Blue Resources Trust, a Sri Lankan marine research organization, where he currently heads the coral reef programme.  His recent work has included research on impacts of climate change on coral reefs, small scale fisheries management and supporting Marine Protected Area management in Sri Lanka. He has previously worked with IUCN, Project Seahorse and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.

Leonora Milan, a leading science communicator in Mexico and featured prominently in Mexican media, shares her thoughts on the shape of the public debates on science, climate change, environmental issues, and policy in Mexico. She observes that in Mexico people have a newfound interest in scientific topics than a few years ago, but there are still gaps in bridging the science-policy divide. Some 'bright spots' have emerged, however, in training young people in climate change negotiations and breeding new technical advisory on environmental  policy issues. This interview is part of the 'Global Voices' series, which brings to Sri Lanka the views of young professionals from around the world.

Sri Lanka’s apparel industry – a significant export revenue earner and employer – was substantially hit by the pandemic. Aside from the short-term supply and demand shocks, the pandemic accelerated trends that were in motion prior to the crisis, and these provide signals of change and point to the direction in which the Sri Lankan apparel industry needs to head in. Moving from recovery to resilience and a new wave of growth will be shaped by three emerging trends - attracting new investment that drives innovation (in business models and products) and plugs into new supply chains and on focussing on meeting more stringent sustainability and other compliance requirements of buyers and preferences of consumers.

Sri Lanka's tax ratio hit an all time low in 2020, with revenue losses caused by the pandemic and steep tax cuts in 2019. The budget deficit reached double digits due to high pandemic related expenditure and fall in revenue. Attempting to revive growth through public investment will be constrained by low tax revenue, and progressive tax reforms are a must to avoid further macroeconomic stress.

For too long provinces outside Sri Lanka’s Western Province have been characterized as ‘lagging regions’, due to their slower growth trajectory, smaller share of national output, and more pronounced weaknesses in development indicators. It's time to change the narrative and see them as 'Secondary Growth Hubs', to transform how all stakeholders engage in partnerships to boost prosperity there - not in terms of how they need to be helped to get out of being ‘lagging’ but rather how they need to be partnered in creating more inclusive economic growth.

Tariffs often take centre stage in discussions around market access for exporters – especially SME exporters. But this view is increasingly out of date. Standards are a new differentiator, even to markets where preferential tariff advantages are not available. Standards compliance should not be seen as a barrier, but as a way for firms to find new sources of competitiveness and branding

Trade finance is currently full of inefficiencies, and access to trade finance has proved to be a continual challenge for SME exporters. The industry is ripe for disruption, and blockchain is proving to be a key source of disruptive innovation. Several pilots have shown the way for blockchain to improve trade finance - both in reducing time and costs.