Because of the relatively slow growth of industry in Sri Lanka, industrial pollution has not reached critical levels, except in a few areas. Sri Lanka suffers from resource depletion problems, such as deforestation and coastal degradation caused by the mining of coral reefs, deforestation, wildlife destruction caused by agricultural and industrial encroachment, poaching and tourism. Excess vehicle emissions, largely from reconditioned vehicles, are the main cause of air pollution.
Unleaded gas is unavailable.
Urbanization and industrialization have yielded environmental problems typical of developing countries, including land and water resources, forestry, energy, and urban and industrial pollution. The country is only beginning to address the need for a more comprehensive resource management plan, environmental regulatory and enforcement framework. With the exception of the capital city of Colombo, there is a dirth of environmental information about the remainder of the country. Therefore, this report focuses mainly on metropolitan Colombo. Colombo Metropolitan Area Sri Lanka is an island rich in natural resources.