Environment- DRR- Livelihoods

A Holistic Approach to Disaster Risk Reduction

Background

Andaragasyaya Grama Niladhari Division is located in the Tissamaharama Divisional Secretariat Area in the Hambantota District. Pattiyawelayaya , Andaragaayaya and Kirindagodana are villages which constitute the Andaragasyaya GND belonging to historic Magam Pattuwa in the Dry zone of Southern Province. Andaragasyaya Grama Niladhari Division spreads over 950 acres of land. The village is frequently prone to floods and drought. The 2004 tsunami destroyed village livelihoods, infrastructure and 2 hectares of mangrove habitat in the village. The main livelihoods of the community are sea fishing, paddy farming, and chena cultivation (home gardens). 20 acres of paddy land is affected by flooding every year, due to continuing hazard the community had abandoned farming within the 20 acres. The existing canal system is 6 feet wide, and brings down spillage water from a cascade of five irrigation tanks (Tissa tank, Weeravila tank, Pattegamuwa tank, Debarawawa tank, and Yogawawa tank) through Andaragsayaya. The canal falls in to the sea from Andaragsayaya G.N. Division. When tank gates of the cascade opens after heavy rains the Andaragasyaya village get flooded.

Strategic Approach to DRR

During the Disaster preparedness workshops, and Disaster Management Planning meetings, the community had a higher emphasis on flood mitigation. The Village Coastal resources Management (CRM) plan also suggested how the majority of abandoned paddy land can be re-cultivated through managing the canal system of the village. Considering the environmental, livelihood and disaster mitigation factors and their benefits, the SRTAC project intervened in the very much neglected village infrastructure development issue.

Ground work
Several community consultation meeting had to be held with the village CBOs, and the community. The village framers were a direct beneficiary of the implementation, as well as people living in the flood prone areas. The village local government agent, Grama Niladari, became the leader of the development process. Consultation meeting were held with Irrigation department, and Disaster management centre to draft the best way forward. Finally a village Canal Development committee was formed by volunteer from the village, where the Grama Niladari was appointed as the president. The irrigation officer explained the process for the constructing the canal, and prepared the plan for the canals. The Village Canal Development Committee (VCDC) appointed a village tender board to facilitate the equipment procurement and service outsourcing process. The VCDC gave their volunteer labor clear the bushes, and thicket. The VDCD then outsourced the heavy duty earth excavation work to selected service provider.

Benefits of the Project

Primary Benefits

Flood Mitigation
The canal was excavated 30 feet wide and 1700 meter long, and the canal mouth was widened. During the recent flooding in November 2008, the flood water seized rapidly with in a day. Normally the flood water would have stagnated for 3- 4 days continuously.

Restoring Paddy Cultivation
Farmers who had abandoned 20 acres of Paddy land had started cultivating in the new season. The SRTAC project has introduced organically grown saline resistant traditional paddy farming to the community as disaster resistant livelihood. This was the first time the community was exposed to the benefits of traditional paddy.

Mangrove Restoration and habitat conservation
Adjacent to the main canal, we have tried to demonstrate novel approach to mangrove planting. The project has tried replicating the MSSRF’s concept of canal based mangrove planting. Over *****hectares of land have been planted mangroves. Planting locally growing species of mangroves was an initiative to restore the tsunami destroyed 2 hectare of mangrove habitat. The mangrove thickets at andragasyaya are habitat for crustaceans, fish, birds and crocodiles.

The sustainability and Maintenance of the Canal
In order to ensure future maintenance of the canal a canal maintenance fund will be created in a fix deposit under the Authority of Divisional Secretariat of Kirinda. When requirement for de-silting the canal arise, the community can maintain the canal using the interest earned from the fix deposit. Funds will only be released under the recommendation of Irrigation department, DMC. The decision at the village level is made by G.N. of the village, and the Village Disaster Management Committee for canal maintenance. Finally when work is completed the G.N. and the Sarvodaya district coordinator will certify the actual expenditure for the Divisional Secretariat of Kirinda to give permission to release funds.

Such community based, and de-centralized approaches DRR has created much enthusiasm about DRR with in the community. The whole exercise has improved community volunteerism creating harmony among village CBOs. As a secondary benefit the activity has establishing better links with government department (DMC. CCD, Irrigation Dep.). As result of the canal construction process the community was empowered request form the Road Development Authority to mend the long neglected broken bridge in the village.

The People’s Movement> SPIRIT OF SHRAMADANA

The 2004 tsunami swept away lives of over 40,000 people in Sri Lanka, leaving the survived in a physically and economically vulnerable situation.  Many coastal livelihoods sectors were severly affected by the disaster. 

In the Thalalla village in the Matara district, 72 acres of rice cultivation was destroyed due salinity and this caused many rice farmers to loose their livelihoods. Even though there had been projects to rebuild the barriers for saline water intrusion but due to two years of abandoning of rice farming the farm land was invaded by a common reed species, and the 2 km long irrigation canal got buried under clay and weed. Today the Thalalla rice farmer’s are at the brink of loosing there livelihood inheritance. 

Thalalla being a project site for the SRTAC, the project intervened by helping the village to re-excavate  the 2Km long irrigation canal in order to restore disaster affected paddy sector. The uniqueness of this intervention is not due to mere livelihood restoration, but also due to introducing of disaster resilient livelihoods as a Disaster Risk Reduction measure to the village. Saline resistant traditional paddy varieties has found to be yielding successfully in saline affected soils. After the canal restoration traditional paddy varieties will be introduced to the fields as a solution for salinity.

On the 10^th of May 2008, the village Sarvodaya Shramadana Society and the Thalalla Farmer Associations, in collaboration with the Department of Irrigation and Disaster Management Centre will officially start work on the canal excavation. The Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Society and Practical Action south Asia fascilitated the resources and the technical support for the implementation.  This collaborative approach has united a 250 volunteer village labor force to support the process through a “Shramadana”.  The Canal excavation will start with a three day village campaign that will host about 350 village, government and private stakeholders’ collaborating in the spirit of “Shramadana”. The villagers contributed to the project volunteering  through their unskilled labour by sharing 20%of the Direct Project Expenditure. This is another example of development through community participation and empowering the grass roots.  This is  another event which marks the 50^th anniversary of the Lanka Jathika Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya, the  largest people’s movement in Sri Lanka.

 

Strengthening Fishing Communities > KARATHIVU

 In the Karathivu village in Ampara district, the fisheries sector is a key player in the village economy. After the Tsunmai the had many problems due to not replacing the Tsunami damaged fishing nets. There are three main fisheries societies in the village. We have discussed with all groups and fisheries department officers on issue related to the development of the sector. Damage net replacement was identified as the priority of the fishermen to improve their livelihoods. We were able to replace the damaged nets by use the funds from another Practical Action livelihood project. Licensed nets to the registered fishermen at the site. Due to strengthening of the fisheries sector nearly 150 families engaged in large scale fisheries and 50 families engaged in small scale fishing have been directly benefited.

Story to Tell > Village and the Bio-Shield

New Approach to Coastal Resource Management.

A Village Coastal Resource Management Plan that is village specific is a New concept to the Coastal Conservation sector of Sri Lanka. Even though there are divisional and District plans developed by the Coastal Conservation Department of Sri Lanka. Due to their generic nature, certain practicality issues arise at implementation stages. There are two reasons for devisional plans to be unsucessful, first being the top to bottom approach and second being the generic nature of the plans. These particular CRM plans thats were prepared by the SRTAC project, through the mediation of the consultant Mr. B.H.J. Premathilake. These plans are unique because we have used the bottom to top community based approach, addressing real life coastal resource issues on livelihoods, disaster management, and development. Such community based Coastal Resource Management plans can challenge CRM Policy makers at a national level. The approach that we have developed through this project can be shared as a lesson with other government and non government agencies working in the coastal belt of Sri Lanka.

Methodology >

The Consultant Mr. B.H.J. Premathilake initially drafted a CRM plan based on the inputs gathered from PRA reports, community meetings with the village developmental committee, and other stake holders. After drafting the ten CRM plans, workshops were organized in each village to present the drafted CRM plan to al relevant stakeholders (i.e. the community, the CBO and community leaders, NGOs in the village, Disaster Management Centre etc). During this workshop the consultant presented the drafted CRM plan to the village. Especially the key points on livelihood development, Disaster Management, and Social Development were highlighted. Any objections or comments from the audience were taken in to consideration and the plan was finalized. The SRTAC project’s Community based approach can be adapted by policy makers, and developmental agencies in the future.