Title

Sri Lanka: Disaster Risk Reduction through Climate Change Adaptation in Aranayake
Country
Sri Lanka
Summary

Aranayake, a secluded agricultural area known mainly for tea and spice cultivation, came to the limelight for tragic reasons with the Samasara landslide of May 2015. Caused partly due to climate change and partly due to anthropogenic influences, the landslide was a result of 6 days of constant high intensity rains. The incident also caused the highest number of casualties ever recorded in a Sri Lankan landslide.
Related IWRM Tools
  • Climate Change Policies (
    A1.03
    )
  • Communities of Practice (
    B4.03
    )
  • WASH and Gender (
    B5.06
    )
  • Stakeholder Analysis (
    C1.03
    )
Keywords
Climate Change Floods and Droughts Maha Oya River
Lessons Learned

This intervention addressed a real issue impacting the lives of communities in Sri Lanka’s Central Province. The complexity of this disaster has highlighted the need for operationalizing SDGs in future activities and moving from disaster relief to disaster risk reduction.

Consensus measures were taken to improve soil conservation in relation to tea smallholdings and reforestation which induced strong possibility of another landslide. Engaging community helps to identify the important form of Disaster Risk Reduction – a participatory model supported by local.

In a scenario where DRR is of critical importance, schoolchildren can be the most important conduit of DRR information. A non-supportive environment for ecosystem protection is caused by a school system, which does little to foster encounters with ground conditions.

Schools that received RWH tanks are expected to use this for maintenance of school attendance especially for girl children. Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) calls for properly maintained, preferably girl friendly toilets.
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