http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4267 Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:14:30 GMT 2026-10-09T16:14:30Z http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4339 Closing the Implementation Gap: A Roadmap for Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastics in Sri Lanka through Lessons from the European Union Thathsarani, A.A.D.N.; Jayawardena, U.A.; Manoj, W.D. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has emerged as an important regulatory approach for shifting responsibility for products and their post-consumer impacts towards producers. However, the rapid expansion of crossborder direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce creates regulatory challenges for EPR systems that have traditionally relied on domestic manufacturers, importers and distributors as identifiable responsible actors. The article discusses whether Sri Lanka's EPR framework is sufficient to rule out the gaps in plastic products and packaging supplied directly to Sri Lankan consumers by foreign producers through distant online selling platforms. Particular attention is given to section 23QQ of the National Environmental Act, introduced by the National Environmental (Amendment) Act, No 15 of 2026, and to the potential regulatory difficulties arising where a foreign producer has no importer, distributor or authorised representative in Sri Lanka. The article adopts a comparative legal research methodology, examining relevant Sri Lankan legislation and policy against selected European Union (EU) approaches to producer responsibility, distance selling, packaging and online commerce. There is a regulatory gap concerning the attribution, registration, monitoring and enforcement of EPR obligations in cross-border D2C transactions. EU law provides a useful comparative reference because its regulatory framework expressly addresses distance selling and, under the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40, extends regulatory attention to producers supplying packaging and packaged products through distance contracts and to online platforms facilitating such transactions. The article proposes a Sri Lankan framework based on recognition of foreign distance-selling producers, authorised local representation, digital EPR registration, online marketplace due diligence, traceability and coordination between environmental authorities and Customs. Consumer responsibility should operate as a complementary component of EPR rather than as a substitute for producer responsibility. The article argues that a legally defined and digitally traceable framework could strengthen accountability for plastics entering Sri Lanka through cross-border e-commerce and contribute to more effective post-consumer plastic management and circular-economy objectives. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4339 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4278 From Likes to Lifestyle: Exploring the Gap Between Online Environmental Advocacy and Offline Sustainable Practices Sana, Naz; Dissanayake, M. P; Hewagamage, K. P. Digital platforms are considered influential for advocacy, awareness, and collective action on environmental issues through hashtags and online campaigns. However, in everyday life, this digital environmental activism does not always translate into environmentally responsible behavior. This discrepancy raises an important question: why do people endorse environmental causes online but struggle to adopt sustainable habits offline? To explore this, the study adopted an integrative review methodology to synthesize existing evidence on sustainable behavior change in everyday life initiated by digital campaigns and engagement on global environmental issues such as plastic pollution, water conservation, recycling, sustainable consumption, and biodiversity protection. To capture multidisciplinary evidence, literature was searched from 2015 to 2026 across The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Google Scholar, Semantic Scholars, and other publicly available and published policy reports on the portals of national ministries and UN agencies. A thematic synthesis grounded in moral licensing and the theory of planned behavior was conducted to study what psychological and social factors contribute to the gap between online advocacy and offline behavior. Our findings are discussed in three interrelated themes to study this disconnect: a) convenience over commitment, b) digital participation in environmental campaigns as symbolic participation, and c) can awareness alone change behavior? The study suggested the significance of moving beyond awareness-driven campaigns towards behavior-change communication (BCC), as online environmental activism may foster awareness and symbolic engagement temporarily; yet, to translate the initiatives into meaningful and sustainable ways, the review proposed that a BCC-informed LIFE pathway may help future empirical evidence to study how digital environmental activism embedded with BCC principles can support persistent behavioral change in real-life settings. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4278 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4277 Nexus between Indigenous Knowledge and Environmental Sustainability: A Systematic Literature Review Marasinghe, M. M. I. K.; Kaushalya, V. G. S.; Abeysekera, K. H. T. The study reviews current state of knowledge and empirical research gaps on indigenous knowledge and environmental sustainability. The study followed Systematic Literature Review based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analyses (PRISMA). The review considered 173 articles relevant to South Asian region published during the period from 2015-2025 extracted from LENS.ORG, a free database. Bibliometric analysis using VOSViewer software, and thematic analysis were performed. The review identified 03 key themes 1) Conservation, Ecology and Sustainability of Ecosystems, 2) Ethnobotany, Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development and 3) Climate Change and Adaptation through Local Knowledge Systems. The findings revealed that the empirical studies are lacking in the areas of conservation, ecology, adaptation and the studies connecting the biodiversity and indigenous knowledge. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://repository.ou.ac.lk/handle/123456789/4277 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z