Lessons from our kings of yore for a parched land
A tank complete with all its components. Pix courtesy UNDP
Centuries before climate change, water harvesting and water management became buzz-words, our ancient monarchs were ‘modern’ enough to see ‘sustainable development’ through their irrigation marvels.
The foresight of Kings such as Parakaramabahu, Mahasen, Wasabha and Datusena of the wewubendirajya or the kingdom of tanks is validated today more than ever before. To enable greater food production, livelihood and water security for flood and drought affected communities of the dry zone of the country, a Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project (CRIWMP) under the local banner of Wewu gam pubuduwa has been initiated.
The project covering seven districts in the Northern, Eastern, North Western and the North Central Provinces is an initiative by the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment (MMDE) with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme.
The programme is also partnered by the Ministry of Disaster Management, Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Development, National Water Supply & Drainage Board, and Department of National Community Water Supply. With a grant of USD 38.1 million by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the project aims to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers in the dry zone to climate variability and extreme levels. The Sri Lankan Government is co-financing the project by providing another 14 million USD.
The project which takes a ‘river-basin approach’ as Dr. Buddika Hapuarachchi, Chief Technical Advisor- Disaster Risk Reduction/Climate Change Adaptation, UNDP points out, is focused on Mee Oya, Yaan Oya and Malwathu Oya. Around 750,000 people living in these three river basins are to be benefited directly through investments in irrigation, drinking water and disaster risk management. “Climate risk is no longer a theory, it’s real now and our research reveals that these three river basins are the most prone to climate changes in the Dry Zone,” he notes. A bottoms-up approach with local level strategies has been developed in this seven-year project.
The project also revisits our traditional water management systems.
By restoring the natural cascading systems of the country which are meant to facilitate an integrated water management strategy, it is expected to counter climate change to a certain extent, points out Dr. Hapuarachchi. “Cascading systems are a network of tanks integrated into each other. This is actually a wonderful eco-system where you see the eco area, catchment area, locations for drinking water, for bathing etc. By restoring these cascade systems, we can actually provide water for agriculture, enhance ground water and then provide safe drinking water, especially in areas prone to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). This will also be a solution for droughts and floods.”
Rehabilitating the ancient tanks in areas covered by CRIWMP is a solution to many water problems currently faced by people of these areas, says Dr. Hapuarachchi. 120 such tanks have already been earmarked.
K. Pathmasiri Bandaranayake, 52, a villager based near Muriyakadawala tank in Anuradhapura says that the tanks need to be desilted. “The water management of the downstream is poor and both water management and the canal system needs upgrading,” says Pathmasiri.
W.M. Sunil Shantha, 42 from Sivalakulama Anuradhapura says they are cultivating after four seasons now, which means after two years due to the drought. “This wouldn’t have happened if the irrigation system was able to provide us with the necessary amount of water during the drought,” laments Sunil.
Community engagement remains core to CRIWMP. The traditional know-how of the older villagers in the area will be harnessed together with modern know-how, thereby making it a project of the people for the people, says the UNDP official. “Community awareness and education remains imperative in this regard, so that people will be responsible for their water resources,” he notes.
Increasing the access to quality drinking water is another key component of the project. This is envisaged through multi-pronged partnerships engaging stakeholders such as the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Department of National Community Water Supply, Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum and a number of other Civil Society Organizations. New community-managed water supply systems targeting 500 households, advanced purification and filtration systems targeting 131,000 people in CKD-prone areas and several schools and hospitals and 4000 rain water harvesting systems are sought under this arm of CRIWMP.
Fetching drinking water: An uphill task in the dry zone
A 29-year-old mother of two, Rajeshwari from Vavuniya awaits CRIWMP eagerly as a solution for easily accessible and safe water. Rajeshwari says that they are forced to drink untreated water as they simply cannot afford to pay three rupees for a litre of clean water!
A user perception survey of existing rain water harvesting tank-users conducted by the Lanka Rainwater Harvesting Forum (LRWHF) in the seven project districts served by the CRIWMP has revealed how the rain water systems serve them during the water disaster situations. “Contrary to the belief of many officials that the rain water systems are a failure, we find that many of these systems have been great assets to the rural communities, not only giving them easy access to water but also water security in the households in terms of availability and storage,” says the CEO of LRWHF, Dr. Tanuja Ariyananda.
These tanks also provide safe drinking water to those from CKD-prone areas. It is where the systems have not been properly installed, that the system had failed, notes Dr. Ariyananda. “Some tanks leak due to bad construction, some tanks are only half constructed. In some systems adequate gutters are not installed, no first flush or filters to prevent dirt and debris from the roof getting into the tank and no tank covers, allowing mosquitoes to breed inside. These are the results of bad contractors.”
The project is also to benefit around 565,000 people living in these districts indirectly through early warning systems. Several automated rain gauges and flood level gauges will enable community access to timely early warnings for flood and drought. This aims to avoid life and crop losses due to extremely erratic weather patterns. Community awareness programmes and capacity building sessions among local officers are in the pipeline to empower them in interpreting the information accurately. A national level technical advisory committee is also established to obtain specialist advice to ensure an integrated approach.