HSBC and IUCN partner to restore Anuradhapura cascade tank system
View(s):By Duruthu Edirimuni Chandrasekera
Over 60,000 people will have access to safe water for everyday living and livelihood development with HSBC’s strategic partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to invest in the restoration of a cascade tank system in the North Central Province.
A memorandum of understanding (M0U) for this purpose was signed between the two parties recently. Nick Nicolaou, Chief Executive Officer, HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives and Shamen Vidanage, Acting Country Representative, IUCN Sri Lanka Country Office signed the M0U.
The project is part of HSBC’s Global Water Programme, which highlights the importance of water as an essential resource in the daily lives of communities.
HSBC believes that rapid collaborative action is needed worldwide, to enhance water resource management, which is essential for global economic growth, Mr. Nicolaou said. As such, this programme will benefit communities, and enable economies to prosper, at a time when aid for water access and sanitation has, in fact declined.
Mr. Vidanage told the Business Times on the sidelines of the media conference that the primary objective of this project is the restoration of a cascade tank system that is unique and traditional; a mechanism used for over 2,500 years to collect rainwater for agriculture, rural livelihoods and environmental benefits. The project will involve the scientific restoration of the Kapirikgama cascade tank system, and the development of a sustainable management mechanism, with the full participation of local communities and regulatory bodies. It will also restore its watershed, contributing to the sustainability of the system and its biodiversity.
The primary benefit arising from this restoration is that beneficiaries will have access to a steady supply of water throughout the year, enabling them to cultivate in both seasons. It is expected that this project will contribute substantially to the provincial GDP of the North Central Province. Other objectives of the project, which will be implemented with the direct involvement of farmers and local communities, include improved access to freshwater for domestic purposes, groundwater management and conservation, sustainable management of natural habitats and the biodiversity they support, and the development of livelihoods.
Mr. Nicolaou stated that “water has become a scarce resource” which needs efficient management in order to provide communities with proper irrigation facilities for daily survival, be it in rural or urban expanses. “We are happy to partner with IUCN and invest in a project that will benefit over 60,000 people with access to safe water for everyday living and livelihood development. It is also a great opportunity for us to be involved in the physical rehabilitation of a tank cascade system that will assist in economic upliftment,” he added.
HSBC’s Global Water Programme is a new US$100 million, 5-year partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), WaterAid and Earthwatch, to tackle water risks in river basins, bring safe water and improved sanitation to over a million people, and raise awareness about the global water challenge. In 2010, nearly 800 million people were without access to safe water, with 2.5 billion lacking access to basic sanitation. The HSBC Water Programme was launched worldwide in June 2012, and awareness on its launch was created in Sri Lanka with the support of a public exhibition titled “Deliverance” by renowned artist Anoma Wijesinghe, which aimed to highlight the importance of managing water resources and climate change.
The IUCN Sri Lanka Country Office, the main implementing partner for the project, has built a strong team of advocates to facilitate the implementation and coordination of the project. This team will include the Department of Agrarian Development, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Irrigation, the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, the Department of Agricultural Engineering at the University of Peradeniya, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), key local governing bodies and farmer cooperative societies.
The project will also provide volunteering opportunities for employees of HSBC, as well as customers, including involvement in restoration and conservation activities, awareness and capacity building programmes, project management, monitoring and evaluation. The project will draw on expertise from partner agencies, individual experts who have worked previously on cascade tank systems, and local communities, in its planning and implementation.
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