1st 
!st 

DRAFT 

An exploratory study on adapting to climate 
change in coastal areas of Sri Lanka
The views expressed in this paper/presentation are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or
policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Directors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not
guarantee the source, originality, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any statement, information, data, finding,
interpretation, advice, opinion, or view presented, nor does it make any representation concerning the same.

Shanila Athulathmudali
Amila Balasuriya
Karin Fernando
 

 
CONTENTS
 

1.  Introduction..................................................................................................................................1 

2.  Conceptual Framework...........................................................................................................2 

3.  Methodology ................................................................................................................................4 

4.  Setting the context ...................................................................................................................4 

4.1 Impacts in the Agriculture Sector.................................................................................5 

4.2 Impacts in the Fisheries Sector .....................................................................................6 

4.3 Impacts in the Tourism Sector.......................................................................................7 

5.  Modalities of addressing Climate Change Adaptation ............................................9 

5.1 Actions at the National Policy Level.............................................................................9 

5.2 Policies, implementation and stakeholder links.................................................. 11 

6.  Key Findings.............................................................................................................................. 18 

6.1 Factors that drive decision making at the ground level................................. 18 

6.2 What does this mean to promoting adaptation? ............................................... 23 

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 FIRST DRAFT: An exploratory study on adapting to climate change in coastal areas of Sri Lanka
– CEPA ADBi – delhi paper
 

1. Introduction
 
The global climate has been changing considerably due to anthropogenic activities
that are increasing the greenhouse gas emissions. Developing countries with high
populations and low economic status are more at risk to the effects of climate
change (Jayatilleke, 2008). Within these countries the poor tend to be more at risk
to climate change as they have less assets and resources to cope (IPCC, 2007).
Further more, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are “vulnerable to climate
change impacts in the context of external shocks, isolation and limited resources”
(UNEP, 2007, pg. 333). The impacts of natural hazards such as sea level rise, coastal
erosion and inundation can be adverse as it impacts lives, livelihoods and the socio-
economic development of the country.

For Sri Lanka climate change threatens to have serious consequences in sectors such
as water, agriculture and health and in geographic locations such as the coastal belt
(Munasinghe quoted in Samath 2007). Sri Lanka being an island with 25% of its
population living in coastal areas coastal communities both rural and urban, are at
risk from the effects of sea level rise, increasing temperatures, disasters and issues
such as salt water intrusion (Jayatilleke, 2008). Apart from the population density in
the coastal regions, 62% of industrial units and more than 70% of tourist
infrastructure are located on Sri Lanka’s coastal areas (Ministry of Environment
2010b). “The coastal zone accounts for about 43% of the nation’s GDP, so impacts
on coastal settlements translate into substantial impacts on the nation’s economy”
(Ministry of Environment 2010a: 9). Tourism, Fisheries and Agriculture play a
substantial role in livelihoods of coastal communities and are directly or indirectly
exposed to coastal vulnerability.

At present in Sri Lanka, there are parallel approaches to addressing climate change
vulnerability. On one side the governments are tackling it at a policy level, where the
development of climate change policies are at a very early stages of development,
and the affected communities based on their own knowledge or the support of
NGO’s and agencies are trying to adapt at the ‘ground’ level through practical
applications. These interventions encourage climate adaptation activities, a few with
that specific intention, but most as sustainable development strategies or as a part of
socio-economic development agendas (CEPA, 2008).

This study aims to explore the coping strategies of the urban and rural coastal
communities with regard to Climate Change and assess the effectiveness of what
vulnerable women and men in rural and urban areas do to cope with climate change
and to assess how these actions can be scaled up as and included in national and
sectoral strategies as adaptation measures.

One level of analysis will focus on the national and key sectoral level policies and
strategies related to climate change, coastal areas and livelihoods that are either
being developed or are already in place. It will examine how these policies are
attempting to tackle and take into consideration issues related to climate change
adaptation. Priority will be given to extract out how ground level applications are
incorporated or recommended into the policy formulation process. Data will be
collected through key person interviews and secondary data sources.

 
The second level of analysis will focus on the ‘practice’ in order to understand how
decentralised local government and government agencies, NGO’s, CBO’s and the
vulnerable communities themselves understand as coping strategies and how
communities (both urban and rural) are already coping with the adverse effects of
climate change. It will aim to draw out what drives their decisions and actions to
prioritise and select options. Information will be gathered through secondary sources
and primary sources through key person interviews and focus group discussions.

2. Conceptual Framework

Coping vs. Adaptation

Coping strategies are characterized as an immediate to short term reactive

responses to changes; it is an adaptive mechanism by way of survival in variable or
uncertain situations (Berkes and Jolly, 2001). Adaptation is a process of adjustment
to the climate stimuli and the underlying ability of a community to adjust and cope
by whether it is as a reactive response or an adjustment in anticipation of further
impacts (Schipper, 2009) (Tompkins et al., 2009) (Klein et al., 2008). It can be one
that reduces the negative impacts and or capitatilizes on opportunities (IPCC
definition)

In this study adaptive strategies will be considered as a longer term response

including a change of practices, such as changing a behavior or a change in the crop
that is cultivated based on acknowledged long term threats. Initial coping strategies
may give way to longer term adaptive strategies as a way of dealing with reoccurring
adverse events such as weather changes, storm surges, and periods of drought or
intense rainfall. “Adaptation can manifest as either building adaptive capacity, by
which we mean increasing the ability of an individual or group to implement
adaptation actions, for example by learning, reading gathering information and
research or adaptation can manifest as implementing adaptation actions i.e. taking
action in response to or in advance of a stimuli, for example through building sea
walls” (Tompkins et al., 2009. pg 12). In our study we will differentiate coping and
adaptive by examining the reason coupled with the time horizon in relation to the
strategy or practices that are employed by the individuals and groups that we aim to
study.

Adaptive Capacity

Adaptive capacity is defined as the “capabilities, resources and institutions of a

country or region to implement effective adaptation measures” (UNEP, 2009). A
more comprehensive understanding of adaptive capacity is one that ‘broadly
represents peoples latent ability to cope with and respond to a variety of shocks and
disturbances and can be defined as the preconditions necessary to enable
adaptation, including social and physical elements, and the ability to mobilize them’
(Nelson et al in Bunce et al., 2010, p. 486). Establishing adaptive capacity also cuts
across economic, social, cultural, political and environmental sub sectors that are
inter-related and act as push-pull factors that are driven by internal or external
characteristics which can be either positive or negative factors to the elements that
are critical to the adaptive capacity.

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As adaptation is a process of adjustment to the climate stimuli, the underlying ability
of a community to adjust and cope whether it is as a reactive response or an
adjustment in anticipation of further impacts will depend on the adaptive capacity of
the community (Schipper, 2009) (Tompkins et al., 2009) (Klein et al., 2008). In
addition it is also involves a multi scale process that influences what communities are
able to apply as adaptations. “Adapting to climate change involves cascading
decisions across a landscape made up of agents from individuals, firms and civil
society, to public bodies and governments at local, regional and national scales, and
international agencies” (Adger et al 2005, p 79). Given these complex relationships
this study on factors that influence adaptive capacities of communities will be based
on key elements in the literature that are seen as critical to adaptive capacity:

• Incorporating ecosystem resilience – the ability to use and work within the
natural ecosystem without damaging what is already in existence.
• Knowledge chains - access to information and information flow, capacity
building and use of technical innovations.
• The governance structure and flow- the prioritization and how integral
adaptation is to development planning.
• Socio-Economic conditions - assets, wealth and livelihood security that are
also vital in how choices are made.

Based on these definitions and the characteristics to be considered when developing

adaptive capacity the study frame is illustrated as follows:

Policy
Sectoral
(GO) Level

Civil society
(mid level)

KEY ELEMENTS
Ground
• Ecosystem Level
resilience
• Knowledge chains
• Governance
structures
• Socio -Economic
conditions
Practice

At each level of investigation, whether it is at national, sectoral, mid or ground level,

our study aims to bring to light the key elements to improving adaptive capacity.
Through our study we will investigate what the positive and negative – drivers and
pressures are at each level and how it influences adaptive capacity at the ground
level – and therefore the factors that will also affect scale up. The study aims to
answer several questions:

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 ƒ What simulates the adoption of adaptation strategies?

ƒ How do the different stakeholders aid adaptation?

ƒ What are features and issues to be addressed to aid scale up

3. Methodology

The study focused on coastal communities as they are identified as having

the highest risks to climate change in Sri Lanka. As the study is interested in
livelihoods adaptation, it also focused on three sectors - Tourism, Fisheries
and Agriculture - as these are the three most significant sectors present on
the coastal regions of Sri Lanka.

For the ground level data collection, sample sites have been selected
according to a vulnerability ranking system based on Sensitivity and Adaptive
Capacity Indices developed by the Ministry of Environment. Within these
areas and livelihoods sectors, specific communities were selected based on
prevalence of poverty among groups. Groups such as those involved in
rainfed or small scale agriculture (mainly paddy), one day fishing and near
shore fishing practices, small local guest house owners and tour boats
operators (informal businesses) tend to be poor. Such communities were
identified and used for data collection. (See Annex 1 for the sampling details).

The method of data collection was largely qualitative. The tools that were
used for data collection were focus group discussions, individual interviews,
key person interviews and literature reviews. Data was collected from all the
steps/levels from policy to practice as described in the Conceptual
frameworks.

4. Setting the context

Global warming is expected to lead to a rise in the sea level, higher

temperatures, more frequent and prolonged droughts, high intensity rainfall
and increased thunder activity. These anticipated changes in the global
context represent a significant threat to the coastal areas of Sri Lanka
through impacts to the national economy and on human health (GOSL, 2000).

The coastline of Sri Lanka is approximately 1,600 km long and hosts a

number of interrelated coastal ecosystems, including bays, beaches, dunes,
estuaries, lagoons and tidal flats. Important habitats within the coastal
regions include mangroves and coral reefs (Mangrove for the future, 2010).
These coastal areas support a range of nationally important economic
activities including tourism, fisheries, agriculture, port development and other
service sectors.

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Sri Lanka’s coastal areas is already heavily populated and is expected to
increase within the context of poorly or unplanned coastal development and
more intensive industrial activity, as well as a host human induced
environmental threats including pollution, problems related to coral and sand
mining, depletion of mangroves and climate change. Most of these issues are
underpinned by the broader problems related to governance (Mangrove for
the future, 2010).

According to the literature, Sri Lanka’s coasts will be exposed sea-level rise,
higher temperatures, prolonged droughts, high intensity of rainfall and other
changed weather patterns. The latter includes higher frequency and intensity
of extreme events such as cyclones and storm surges (GOSL, 2006). These
potential changes will result in impacts and a wide variety of changes in the
livelihoods profiles in the coastal areas.

4.1 Impacts in the Agriculture Sector

Impacts due to change in rainfall

In the dry zone rainfall patterns shows an increasing number of consecutive

dry days due to rainfall variability. In Sri Lanka where nearly 70% of the
paddy cultivated in the dry zone with an average annual rainfall of less than
1750 mm this increase in dry days can adversely affect paddy yields.
Prolonged droughts that are increasing in the dry zone also expected to lead
reduce agricultural productivity in rainfed and minor irrigated paddy lands
(Ministry of Environment, 2010). There is also considerable variation and
difference of opinions on the geographic changes as well as the degree and
severity of change to be expected (Eriyagama et al 2010).

Impacts due to increased ambient temperature

Effects of high temperature are predicted to cause damages to crops. For

example for paddy, if the plant is exposed to an ambient temperature that
exceeds 350C even for 60-90 minutes at anthesis stage (flowering) it will
result in damaging the crop (Punyawardena, 2007). Punywardena (2007)
goes on state that recent agro-meteorological observations in paddy growing
areas have shown that the frequency of such temperature events has
increase significantly in both dry and intermediate zones, especially during
Yala seasons leading to increased spikelet sterility. High temperature regimes
are also expected to increase the evapotranspiration losses that will lead to
soil moisture stress conditions in upland crops.

In addition the soil moisture stress coupled with less rain, creates conditions
of salinization that has implications for productivity of agricultural lands
especially in the dry zone coastal areas (Ministry of Environment, 2010).

Increased temperatures are likely to enhance the local scale convection and
thereby to form more cumulonimbus clouds giving rise to high intensive rains

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and run-off that wash off the fertile top soil of arable lands. It will lead to
subsequent siltation and eutrophication of downstream reservoirs and any
other surface water bodies (Punyawardena, 2007).

Impacts due to sea level rise

As a small island, sea level rise is one of the major concerns of climate
change that can lead to salt water intrusion and erosion that reduces the
productivity as well as the amount of arable land available for agriculture.
Given that in coastal areas land is a very limited resource with competing
interests for economic activities, human settlements, infrastructure, and
conservation, the effects of sea level rise threaten to exacerbate issue of land
scarcity. Sea level rise also has implications on the availability and quality of
drinking water in coastal regions by disturbing the interface between fresh
and brackish water. Studies show that it is highly likely that sea level rise will
disturb fresh water lenses in the coastal areas (especially coastal areas with
Regosol soil types) and this has consequences on the supply of irrigation
water needed for agriculture in those regions” (Punyawardena, 2007).

4.2 Impacts in the Fisheries Sector

 

There impacts or the effects of climate change on the fisheries sector has not
been assessed or quantified widely but is expected to have a wide range of
impacts from production, availability, breeding patterns (Jayatilake, 2008). As
given in the Sector Vulnerability Profile on Agriculture and Fisheries report
prepared by the Ministry of Environment that is the most recent compilation
of climate related information in Sri Lanka, possible impacts of sea level rise,
frequent storm surges and coastal flooding are stated as follows:

On marine habitats
• Loss or changes in coastal habitats and species distribution.
• Landward migration of coastal wetlands, resulting in the loss of
freshwater and brackish water habitats important for the coastal and
marine fishery and coastal aquaculture.
• Net loss of wetlands in areas where coastal wetlands are unable to
migrate to keep pace with sea level rise due to infrastructure or other
forms of land uses.
• Adverse impacts on mangroves and coral reefs that are important
breeding grounds for the marine food fishery.
• Changes in salinity of lagoons and estuaries that may affect fish and
crustaceans important for the food fishery due to saline intrusion and
coastal flooding.

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 • Increased incidence of disaster events (e.g. flooding and storm surges)
would affect near shore habitats and associated fishery resources and
near shore reefs. Storm surges can particularly affect reefs, which
could lead to more serious coastal erosion and saline intrusion due to
sea level rise.
• Damage to coastal habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves and sea
grass beds due to climate change associated natural disasters and
associated storm surges will affect availability of fish stocks for the
marine fishery as they serve as feeding and breeding grounds for food
fish.

On coastal communities
• Loss of beach area due to sea level rise will affect the beach seine
fishery, which has already been adversely affected by anthropogenic
factors that reduce beach access for fishermen. Further loss to this
traditional fishery can have a negative impact on fishers engaged in
this occupation and their social systems, necessitating alternate
livelihoods.
• Loss of beach area for beach seine operations due to sea level rise will
further affect livelihoods. The revenue from this fishery accounted for
over 40% of the total national fish landings until the early 1950s
before the advent of motorized fishing crafts, but had dropped to a
mere 5% of the total fishery by the late 1980s.
• Loss of beach area will also affect access to natural beach landing
sites used by fishers who use traditional boats and day boats.

4.3 Impacts in the Tourism Sector

 

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is predominantly driven by coastal attractions.

According to 2008 Annual Statistical Report of Sri Lanka Tourism
Development Authority, 62% of visitors to Sri Lanka have the beach as its
main reason to visit Sri Lanka. Therefore there is a range of tourism
infrastructure a related businesses and services that will be affected by
climate change.

The sector vulnerability profile on Urban Development, Human Settlements

and Economic Infrastructure prepared by the Ministry of Environment has
highlighted the following and threats to the industry:

Possible impacts of sea level rise and storm surges

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 • The coastal region (DSDs with a coastal boundary) is home to 62% of
all registered tourist hotels. As such, the industry would be heavily
exposed to potential risks from sea level rise, storm surges and related
coastal flooding.
• Within the coastal region, tourist hotels are concentrated along the
beach, where setbacks may not be adequate to address sea level rise,
or are not adequately enforced to ensure safety. Coastal hotels may
therefore be directly affected by storm surges or inundation, resulting
in loss of assets, tourism revenue, and employment opportunities in
the industry.
• The impacts of more frequent storms that can accelerate coastal
erosion and cause flooding could also negatively impact on beaches,
and disrupt coastal tourism.
• Loss of prime land in the shore front will affect the tourism industry,
particularly the beach resorts.
• A rise in sea levels and increased intensity of storm surges would
increase the cost of coastal protection works where major investments
have been made with regard to coastal tourist infrastructure. The
establishment and enforcement of realistic setback standards are seen
as more cost-effective than high spending on coastal protection
measures.
Possible impacts of temperature rise and changes in rainfall patterns
• Rising ocean temperatures and changing weather patterns could have
substantial impacts on Sri Lanka’s coastal habitats that underpin Sri
Lanka’s tourism product.
• Rising ocean temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may cause
substantial damage and alteration to Sri Lanka’s coastal wetlands –
such as coral bleaching and degradation of coral reefs and alteration
and degradation of other ecosystems that attract tourists.
• Changing temperatures may negatively impact terrestrial forest cover,
and the flora and fauna they contain, diminishing Sri Lanka’s appeal to
eco-tourists as a bio-diversity hotspot.
• Energy consumption in the tourist industry may increase, as cooling
requirements will increase with rising ambient temperatures.
Possible impacts of increased frequency/intensity of natural disasters
• Disruption of the transportation networks due to natural disasters such
as floods and landslides can significantly impact the tourism sector
when mobility is reduced periodically.

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 • Areas affected by natural hazards frequently will be avoided by tourists
who prefer less vulnerable areas.

5. Modalities of addressing Climate Change Adaptation

This section will describe current status, orientation and the manner in which the
various levels of stakeholders are attempting to address climate change.

5.1 Actions at the National Policy Level

The process of addressing climate change specifically is very new, from policy
formulation through to the implementation at the ground level. Though the
concept of tackling Climate Change related issues via policy is at it’s infancy in
Sri Lanka, it is heavily supported by the government. The Mahinda
Chinthanaya ten year development plan, the current president’s election
manifesto very strongly supports and pushes the concept of sustainable
development and concern for our environment. Further to this the Haritha
Lanka action put out through the national council for sustainable development
is under the presidential secretariat and is chaired by the president himself.
Politically environmental issues have been given a more prominent role
through the acceptance and acknowledgement issues from the highest level
of government and a pledge to address them through the development
process.

The main government entity entrusted with developing the policy for climate
change, adaptation, mitigation and CDM is the Ministry of Environment and
Natural Resources these policies are currently being development through the
Climate Change Secretariat.

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 Objectives of Climate Change Secretariat

¾ Provide a platform to address Climate Change issues at the national level.

¾ Serve as the dedicated institutional mechanism on Climate Change responses.

¾ Function as the repository databank of Climate Change information.

¾ Facilitate Climate Change related search and distribution of research results, to

trigger policy reforms and actions.

¾ Establish a mechanism, to monitor impacts of responses to Climate Change.

¾ Liaise with the Secretariat to the UNFCCC

¾ Serve as Secretariat for Designated National Authority for CDM projects.

¾ Provide a one step facility, to disseminate information, relating to the

implementation of the decisions taken at the UNFCCC/COP meetings and Meeting
of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

Source: MENR

The development of the climate change policy is currently ongoing under the
aegis of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MOENR). It
encompasses adaptation, mitigation and CDM. While the overall policy is
being formulated there are parallel initiatives taking place to develop a
national adaptation strategy and Clean Development (CDM) strategy which
are inline with the CC policy. In addition Sri Lanka is also finalizing its 2nd
National communication to the UNFCCC that is highlighting ‘gaps and
constraints’ pertaining to Climate Change in the national development agenda
while improving natural resource management and sustainable development
practices. The Second National Communication aim to do this through
“Strengthening the technical and institutional capacity of Sri Lanka in
mainstreaming climate change concerns into the country’s sectoral and
national development planning processes to meet its obligation to the
UNFCCC”(GOSLb, 2010 pg 7).

In developing the Climate Change policy which is still in the pipeline, there
are four thrust areas that have been identified which are inline with the
national development trajectory. The areas of focus in the policy development
are human settlements, economic drivers, food security and natural
resources. (National Climate Change Policy, KPI)

“The idea is to mainstream climate change through overall planning, to fix

ongoing issues and to incorporate it from the beginning” (National Climate
Change Policy KPI)

While the MOENR is responsible for the overall policy it does not have the
capacity or mandate to implement the various measures prescribed, and are
very much subject to the buy in and structures in place in other ministries and
departments to ensure that activities filter down to the ground level. This

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then becomes a participatory and negotiated process for the MOENR to
manage.

The MOENR sees its role as a regulator and promoter but is not equipped
with financial or technical resources to support activities carried out by other
ministries therefore lobbying for support and getting it to the highest level of
development planning is the route chosen. As the MOENR does not have an
implementation arm to see the prescribed policies through to practices, it will
rely on the various sectoral ministries to push through the sectorally relevant
environmental agendas to the ground level. Essentially the MOENR will be the
Sheppard of the environmentally policy responsible for the formulation,
engagement and co-ordination at the higher levels of government.

”Co-ordinating the ministries is perhaps the role of the environment ministry

to force them to work together [in order to push through the environmental
agenda]” (National Climate Change Policy KPI).

5.2 Policies, implementation and stakeholder links

Institutionally there is a push towards incorporating environmental aspects into

policy formulation and new policy development, with particular emphasis to
addressing climate change. It is widely understood that climate change will affect a
cross spectrum of areas and industry sectors; economically, socially and
environmentally. Efforts are being made to mainstream (GOSLb, 2010).

Within our study we focus on three sectors: Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism and a
brief overview of the policy and their implementation structures and the roles of the
different stakeholders are given below:

Agriculture sector

The agriculture sector plays a major role in the economic arena in Sri Lanka. It
contributes to the national economy, food security and employment. At the same
time agriculture is the livelihood of the majority in the rural sector and plays a key
role in alleviating rural poverty – with nearly 90 per cent of the poor live in the rural
agricultural economy.

The agriculture sector is under the Ministry of Agriculture whose mission is to bring
about prosperity to the nation through providing necessary guidance and co-
ordination at professional level, ensuring productivity and efficiency of the food
spices and allied agricultural crop sector through policy implementation and enacting
legislations. Under the Ministry, there are 14 institutions. These institutional
responsibilities are based on types of activities (i.e policy formulating, technology
development, trainings, providing infrastructure facilities, etc.).

Out of these institutions, Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian

Development are the key institutions which link the policies to the ground level.
Department of Agriculture is the institution involves in achieving an equitable and
sustainable agriculture development through development and dissemination of
improved agriculture technology. Department of Agrarian Development is the key

  11
institution which provides the infrastructure facilities (such as fertilizer provision,
rehabilitation of minor tanks, establishment of farmer organizations, etc.).

The policy and agriculture activities are framed under the objective of achieving food
security, the policy also acknowledges and promotes the need to address sustainable
principles as shown below:

• Increase productivity of water and land by enhancing crop production

through the application of sustainable cultivation practices.

• Cultivation of crops based on agro-climatic conditions and promoting agro-

based industries.

• Promote production and utilization of organic and bio-fertilizers to gradually

reduce the use of chemical fertilizers through Integrated Plant Nutrition
Systems (IPNS).

• Encourage the use of efficient water management and moisture retention

techniques to achieve high productivity in agriculture.

• Conserve the existing water resources for sustainable agricultural

development.

• Improve efficiency of rain-fed agriculture through water harvesting, mulching

and other appropriate techniques.

• Promote participatory irrigation management in maintaining and improving

irrigation and drainage systems.

• Promote conservation of rain water and ground water.

• Increase the water-use efficiency and promote modern and intensive

irrigation technologies for water conservation.

• Promote land conservation within watershed areas.

• Strengthen rural credit institutions connected with farmers’ investments,

savings, and risk management.

• Introduce appropriate agricultural insurance schemes to protect the farmers

from the risks associated with natural calamities.

Source: Sri Lanka National Agriculture Policy, 2007

At present the main areas in which sustainable practices and climate change
adaptation type activities undertaken within the Department of Agriculture are
focusing on research and development, training and taking the technology,
information and policy to the ground.

Box: Research on Paddy to address climate change

Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI) under the Department of Agriculture
develops rice varieties with desired characteristic for rainfed unfavorable and problematic soil
conditions such as iron toxicity, salinity, acid sulfate, low temperature, and flood and drought
situations. The total rice area under these conditions is estimated around 30% of the total
rice lands in the country and their present yield levels ranges between 2 - 2.5t/ha. Thus the
varieties developed for these areas will help increase productivity under the said abiotic
  stresses. 12

Source: KPI
When a technology or a variety identified through a research and qualified to
disseminate, the research institute disseminate it through the Assistant Director of
Agriculture (ADA) offices to the farmers. Agriculture Instructors who are based on
each Agrarian Service Centre are given training on the technology or a variety and
they contact farmers to disseminate them.

Agriculture Research and Production Officers who are attached to the Agrarian
Service Centers under the Department of Agrarian Development also help with the
information dissemination. Mainly the Department of Agrarian Development engages
in administration and coordination role. This is the institution that sets up farmer
organizations and does the coordination with them. It provides information related to
the cultivation season (planting dates according to the available water in the minor
tanks, recommendations of suitable varieties for a particular season, etc.) through
season meetings. Much of the information filtering down in based on conventional
cultivation techniques and heavily focused on maximising yield and meeting
production targets.

Other than these government institutions, some NGOs also have link with farmers to
provide information. They help farmers to address their issues. The assistance of
Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Development is sort to
support and increase the adoption of these activities.

“Technology transfer coming from academic groups sometimes not practical as in

not relevant, sometimes the research is never used- kept within academic
cupboards”. (KPI – NGO)

The case study site in Hambantota was a good example of how various stakeholders
came together to provide various inputs (merging old and new technologies, financial
investment, champions, markets etc) to promote traditional paddy growing – as a
supplementary income source in unused/saline paddy fields. This example is now
being promoted by the Agriculture Officers for the nearby areas that are also facing
issues with abandoned paddy fields due to salinity. It is capitalizing on a niche
market and also adjusting to a prevailing condition that is predicted to become
severe over time.

Fisheries Sector

The fisheries policy overseen by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, has
five objectives that stem from broad economic, social and environmental roots, as
listed below.

¾ To improve nutritional status and food security of the people by increasing

the national fish production.

¾ To minimize post-harvest losses and improve quality and safety of fish

products to acceptable standards.

¾ To increase employment opportunities in fisheries and aquatic resources

related industries, and improve the socio-economic status of the fisher
community.

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 ¾ To increase foreign exchange earnings from fish and aquatic product exports.

¾ To conserve the aquatic environment.

Source: Ministry of Fisheries

The fisheries sector contributes to the economic activity that takes place along Sri
Lanka’s coastal belt, an area which constitutes to 25% of the island’s population. The
fisheries sector directly employs 208,731 and indirectly supports 2.5 million people
and is a foreign exchange earner for the country through the export of fish,
aquaculture and other marine products (Ministry of Environment, 2010).

It is a sector that is important nationally both economically via the foreign export and
socially as it is a source of income and a form of livelihood particularly coastal
fishing. Due to the social and economic importance this sector it too has received
much attention through the Mahinda Chinthanaya ten year development plan and
recognizing the sector’s development will have an impact environmentally it has also
been highlighted in the Haritha Lanka action plan. One of the main policy directives
the fisheries sector shares with the agricultural sector is ensuring food security. The
Fisheries sector contributes to 70% of the nation’s animal protein intake (10 yr
development framework of fisheries and aquatic sector-2007) and so is a vital
contributing factor to the health of the population.

Efforts to combat environmental degradation are also taking place through policy
directives. A shift towards deep sea fishing and aquaculture as a change in
livelihoods to stop environmentally destructive near shore fishing activities has been
channeled down to the ground level through the promotion of alternative livelihoods,
however this ‘information flow’ has taken place in specific areas with the assistance
of NGO’s and is not a wide spread phenomenon.

“Management measure are needed for coastal fishing as the highest number of
people depend on coastal fisheries, it is linked to poverty, also livelihood dependence
and this has environmental links, we should focus on providing alternative livelihoods
through education and awareness and change their attitude towards the
environment” (Fisheries Sectoral Level KPI).

Within this sector attempts are being made to address environment and climate
change related issues, the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD) champions this
through policy and programmes under the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP).
The CZMP objective is for a better coastal environment through the “protection and
stabilization of erosion prone beaches, establishment of beach parks, prevention and
minimization of coastal pollution (including water pollution), preparation of shoreline
development plans, implementation of Special Areas Management Plans in
ecologically sensitive coastal sites and the conservation of coastal habitats. These
will form an integral component of the Fisheries Sector Plan” (Ministry of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources, 2007 pg 17) as way of simultaneously developing the sector
yet managing the environment

The shift away from near shore fishing has also been helped with the cessation of
the 30 year war. Due to security reasons the fishermen were restricted to certain
areas and close to the coastal belt and were allowed to carry out destructive fishing
as there was no other choice to obtain fish as income or food, this has depleted and
degraded the vicinity. Today the fishermen are able to fish with out security
restrictions and at anytime.

  14
The Fisheries sector policy is more implicit in tackling environmental issues, through
the conservation of coastal and aquatic environments through its ten year
development plan. Through programs of beach nourishment and bio-shielding at the
coast these activities can be justified as climate proofing against sea level rise and
erosion of the coast line. The ten year development policy framework for the
fisheries sector has an implementation plan that the ministry has started to act on
incorporating a heavy environmental conservation and management area, the focus
on the environmental aspects are tied in to alternative livelihoods, access to
information and building on the ecosystem resilience of the coastal regions (Ministry
of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 2007).

Through the development plan the ministry has given high priority to reduce the
vulnerabilities faced by the coastal and fishing communities. Measures such as
infrastructure development i.e. landing sites and providing basic amenities, aiding
coastal inhabitants to own the houses that they live in, strengthening their
organizations such as the co-operatives to help members access credit networks,
inputs for fishing and training, access to healthcare and education are measure that
will be addressed via the ministry’s initiative to address social security in the fisheries
sector.

The filter down within this sector is fragmented as it occurs through the ministry’s
departmental agencies and research arms such as NARA (National Acquatic
Resources and Research Development Agency) and NAQDA (National Aquaculture
Development Authority) the extension therefore is limited to the where the ground
research takes place and is specific to the location, such as areas that have lagoons
or fresh water bodies, rather than wide spread adoption of the same measures.

Tourism Sector

The tourism sector which is under the ministry of economic development is

orientated towards increasing profits from the tourist dollar. This sector is seen as a
foreign exchange earner for the country that will contribute to national development.
It is ear marked as sector of high growth potential and has been highlighted in the
Mahinda Chinthaya as a sector of high priority. The tourism strategy is geared
towards expanding the sector in Sri Lanka both to foreign and domestic tourists. The
strategy however is very modest in terms of addressing climate change and
sustainability, the focus of this policy is largely associated to reaping the economic
benefits of tourism.

The tourism strategy has ten very clearly defined targets:

¾ To build a more diverse product range

¾ To make Sri Lanka more accessible

¾ To attract 1.5 million tourist arrivals per annum

¾ To increase yield per tourist from US$80 to US$130 per day.

¾ To create an additional 7,000 rooms by 2016 with the right conditions

¾ To further develop the East & North West with the development of existing
sites and cities

  15
 ¾ To help traditional market grow and open up new markets

¾ To exceed world-class service levels and hospitality

¾ To increase domestic tourism

¾ To help the MSME (Micro Small Medium Enterprise) sector grow

The ten targets set by the strategy a largely propelled by economic generation and
improving the services provided by this sector to attract more tourists. While there is
no policy per say the strategy highlights the socio-economic benefits of developing
the tourism sector through helping the MSME and traditional markets grow.
Unfortunately it is not acknowledged in this strategy that the environment is part of
attracting the tourists. This sentiment was expressed by a guest house owner “when
the beach and shore is dirty it is difficult for the tourist to bathe and swim, the
environment is very important” (KPI- Guest house owner).

Sustainable interventions are seen more in terms of building niche markets such as
eco tourism resorts, green buildings and waste management. However this does not
tackle the wider climate proofing type activities within the policy arena at this point
in time. The strategy focus is mainly on improving the services provided by this
sector and does not explicitly push environmentally sustainable agenda. However
some of these activities for the coastal areas however are part of the Coast
conservation Department under the purview of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic
Resources, has had a more direct link to climate change resilience through
infrastructure development and coastal buffer zones and coastal management plans.

The filter down process of climate change activities therefore does not exist within
the mandate or operational modalities of the Ministry of tourism. It works mainly on
licensing and regulating ground level activities. The Ministry is also working to
streamline the large informal sector businesses and therefore capture locally owned
and small establishments while giving such industries a platform and creating better
income streams within a sector that is cornered by the ‘big’ travel and leisure
operators. Beach tourism on Sri Lanka’s south coast is an area where proportionate
to the rest of the country a large informal tourist sector is concentrated. Though
there is not data available on the number of poor households engaged in the tourism
sector, the type of work engaged in i.e. local guides, guest house owners, souvenir
vendors can be taken as those that are more likely to be poor (Fernando and
Meedeniya, 2009) and therefore more vulnerable to shocks which can be
environmental or economic. Way to alleviate or overcome such shocks, in particularly
at the coastal zone, a major tourism area has not been addressed as part of the
current tourism development strategy.

The private sector, who are also involved in the country’s tourists promotions
activities are the drivers and growth engine this sector. Private sector carry out
sustainable practices, promote ecotourism or CSR type activities, but this is not
widely practiced. The case study informants stated however that some of the beach
erosion structures put in place by the larger hotels were protecting the investments
in the area. In this sector there has been less NGO level activities, however since the
Tsunami, several NGOs (i.e IUCN, Mercy Corps, sarvodaya) have been involved in
providing tourism options (eco tourism, crafts, small enterprises) as alternative

  16
livelihoods for coastal communities and climate change interventions were not
apparent.

Beruwala is one of the traditional tourism areas with well built tourism infrastructure.
The smaller operations do not have beach front property but have capitalised on
river front and closeness to the beach. They stated that they have not observed any
changes to the beach area, stated that the erosion protections barriers are proving
protection and therefore we not seeing an urgency to change. They did however
mention that they have had trouble with pollution and waste management, while
some of the changes on weather conditions were also deterring tourists.

  17
6. Key Findings

6.1 Factors that drive decision making at the ground level

The ground level data identified that there are several factors/drivers that have lead
to changes in livelihoods decisions – either within the sectors (i.e switching crops) or
reasons to move out of this sector. Table 6.1 describes the factors and the types of
changes in each sector.

Table 6.1: Factors/drivers affect on livelihood decision making

Reasons Fisheries Agriculture Tourism

Economic / Switching to tourism Not changing Very much driven by
markets Also undertaking Practices in the economic incentive-
supplementary incomes conventional paddy have had reduced
sources – such as aloe production but some benefits during the
vera, farming, interested in war and some had
shrimp/mussels supplementary markets switched to fishing.
(i.e traditional paddy, hi
value crops)
Infrastructure Irrigation services Have sustained
development increased paddy business
In the study area –
they switched due to
increase in other
industries – i.e salterns
Post war End of war removed Study areas had no Increased focus on
Context restrictions on where difference tourism – seen as
and what time they can having much better
fish, however tighter potential under the
regulations on fishing current context.
techniques (mainly For some areas it has
near-shore) have made also diverted tourist to
some switch fishing other places earlier
techniques, to off shore inaccessible due to
as well as into tourism. the war (i.e from
New opportunity to south to east)
switch to tourism given Tourist market has
the potential in area changed (from Europe
Those with skills (i.e for to Asian tourists) and
lobster fishing) can go this has resulted in
to other areas (i.e north changes in spending
and east) –therefore and interest
increased range

Environment Near shore degradation Weather variability Pollution of water

changes (due to erosion and leading to short rotation Unusual winds limiting
destruction of crops enjoyment/time spent
mangroves) resulting in Pest/disease prevalence outdoors
loss of spawning – therefore switch crop Seasonality/weather
grounds therefore reduction in access to variability affecting
switching to off shore water limited planting tourism
or alternatives seasons and changed
Seasonal changes in chena cultivation
sea conditions (i.e Salinity reduced amount
rough seas during of land under

  18
 normally calm times conventional paddy
restricts fishing cultivation
activities
Selling of Reduces landing areas Selling of beach front
beach front to external/big
land for other developments limits
developments access to smaller
operations
Access to land Land reduced also due Land availability issues
to tourism development – due to national park
also other
developments
Migration – Younger generation Younger generation People moving into
next more interested in giving up farming to tourism businesses
generation tourism moving to the city

External They have the Outreach from agri. Have lead to greater
training and equipment and skills for extension gains to diversify
support things like diving, For supplementary crop activities (water
services dolphin watching many inputs from skiing, deep sea
therefore switching to NGOs, have undertaken fishing, whale
tourism that is more niche market crops watching)
profitable
Training on aqua
culture, agriculture
products
Incentives None available Government policies Now getting licenses
such as fertilizer and registrations to
subsidies allow farmers make the informal
to afford chemical businesses more
fertilizer that keeps recognized
them in conventional
planting systems

Source: KPIS and FGDs in sample sites

As it can be expected the common driver and priority focus for decision making of
livelihoods is economic needs and availability of markets.

For the tourism site and fisheries site another important driver has been the overall
context of pre and post war. The fisheries community (in Kalpitiya) have been in an
area where the conflict restricted movements and impacted their options. Now in the
post war era they are switching to tourism as a more popular and lucrative source of
employment – in which they can use existing skills and benefit from the change in
conditions. For the tourism site (Beruwala) a greater influx of tourists are leading to
livelihoods remaining the same.

Environmental issues have also lead to decisions – to switch practices, change crops
for both the fisheries site and the agriculture site. Here the emphasis shows that in
most cases people are coping rather than adapting as they move on short term
needs and not so much as an adjustment to a future environmental condition. The
case of the supplementary paddy, can be seen more as long term adjustment – with
a recognized decision to address a prevailing and potentially continuing problem.

Another factor has been the role played by external support services to provide
alternatives, options, and improvements. Here too in the fisheries sector the focus

  19
has been on related alternative livelihoods, while in the other two sectors the focus
has been to provide inputs into existing livelihood category. However it is noted that
for the Agriculture sector, the younger generation is interested in migrating out.

Enablers and hurdles of Adaptive capacity

As described in section 02, the adaptive capacity requires a combination of several
key components - socio-economic related, governance related,
knowledge/information flow related, environmental resilience. This section discusses
the enablers and hurdles based on these key components within the different levels
of the stakeholders.

National climate change policy level

Enabler Hurdle

Ecosystem • International concern on • Uncertainty in the science

Resilience Climate Change
Knowledge • Better understanding of Climate
chains Change and its cross cutting
impacts at the policy makers/
decision maker level
• Using consultative methods to
get stakeholder/sectoral buy in
Governance • Presidential backing for
Structure sustainable development
(Haritha Lanka Prog)
• Flexibility within the policy to
consider the uncertainty of
climate change
• Sectoral buy in and focus areas
through CC strategy
• Institutional structures and
developed administrative
systems that can be used
Socio Economic • • No finances to promote ground
Other • Cross cutting nature of CC requires ownership and buy in beyond the
scope of the Climate change policy
• Location and threat specific
nature of action to be taken
• Very new subject
• Not well understood, knowledge
confined to academic levels
• Poor coordination between the
ministries to share information
• CC policy cannot be generalized
• No implementation arm – can only
promote and lobby
• The decision making process
doesn’t focus on financial
allocation for climate change
related interventions.
• Poor coordination between the
ministries
level adaptation
• Need to balance
growth/development and
environmental requrements

  20
Sectoral
Enabler Hurdle
Ecosystem • Overall focus recognizes the • New, not well understood,
Resilience need
• Uncertainty in the science
Knowledge • Ability to carry out • Sectoral agendas determine
chains sector/product based research type of work of information that
(not for tourism) flows to the ground level.
• Access to information • There are few mechanisms to
feed information from the
• Availability of technology
ground up
Governance • Existing implementation arms • Mis-match between policy and
Structure (not the same for all sectors what is practically possible
• Institutional structures and • Balancing of objectives -
developed administrative between food security,
systems that can be used for economic growth and
information, support etc (top sustainability
down) • New area, not properly
incorporated into existing
structures, therefore limited
knowledge and capacity
• Short term planning that is also
changing with successive
ministers.
Socio Economic • Post war context • Limited designated financial
resources or fiscal incentives
Other • Success rate of what takes place on ground is not very good,
therefore lack of successful interventions to promote/learn from
• Switching a livelihood can be a long term strategy –however sectoral
policies and structures change regularly and therefore reduces long
term focus

  21
Civil society/NGO
Enabler
Ecosystem • International concern on
Resilience Climate Change
Knowledge • Better understanding of
chains Climate Change and its cross
cutting impacts at the policy
makers/ decision maker level
• Using consultative methods to
get stakeholder/sectoral buy in
Governance • Presidential backing for
Structure sustainable development
(Haritha Lanka Programme)
• Flexibility within the policy to
consider the uncertainty of
climate change
• Sectoral buy in and focus areas
through CC strategy
• Institutional structures and
developed administrative
systems that can be used
Socio Economic • •
Other Cross cutting nature of CC requires ownership and by in beyond the
scope of the Climate change policy
 
Hurdle
• Uncertainty in the science
• Location and threat specific
nature of action to be taken
• Very new subject
• Not well understood generally,
knowledge confined to
academic levels
• Poor coordination between the
ministries to share information
• CC policy cannot be
generalized
• No implementation arm – can
only promote and lobby
• Very limited finances to
promote ground level
adaptation (has to happen
sectorally)
• The decision making process
doesn’t focus on financial
allocation for climate change
related interventions.
• Poor coordination between the
ministries
No finances to promote ground
level adaptation
• Need to balance
growth/development and
environmental requrements
22
Practice/Ground level implementation

Enabler Hurdle

Ecosystem • Prevailing conditions leading to • Although climatic threats are

Resilience innovations understood the need to act
now, take preventative action
is not priority (i.e sea level
rise)

Knowledge • Champions – to be catalysts to • Types of information in the

chains take the risk to demonstrate mainstream promotes status
to others quo (agri extension, fisheries
• Able to use existing skills and regulations)
knowledge – to convert known
practices

Governance • • Existing sectoral priorities and

Structure subsidies counter argue CCA
• Limited support to promote
CCA

Socio Economic • Support from external • Economic needs drive

organizations – guidance,
finances, technology (old
/new)
• Area and problem specific
interventions
• Capitalizing on niche markets
decisions and prevent people
from taking risks, even if they
know negative long term
effects
• Limited links with green
markets

• Promotions of other benefits – • limited access to raw material

environmental, health – • Can be labour intensive
externally driven requiring time and effort

Other • Time needed for experimenting as well as to yield results – therefore

no immediate gains.

6.2 What does this mean to promoting adaptation?

Most importantly as the early stages a more clear understanding among the different
levels on the characteristics of adaptive capacity is needed– At present this is seen to
mean very different things. This type of discussion needs to take place at a
consultative level – when policies are being formulated and build consensus on the
overall goals and what types of strengthening is needed at different levels.

Trying to reconcile the specific enablers and hurdles at each level needs to be
considered. For example

ƒ There is a mis-match between what is in the policy and what is practical:

A method which cuts down the requirement of inorganic fertilizers was

introduced in the policy. It was a very good method, but not practical. This is

  23
 practicable only for the farmers who have small extent of paddy lands, but it
is not feasible for large scale farmers. Here it is difficult to find organic
matter. Though we get garbage from urban councils, it costs a lot. At least
there should be 5 year programmes to promote organic agriculture (AI
Bandagiriya).

ƒ Balancing sectoral agendas and the CCA agenda

This is one of the biggest challenges as the sectors at times although in

policy has stated the need to move inline with environmental issues, is not
able to put this in place due to the overriding interest of sector goals.

ƒ Adoption of CCA relies on the types of information and support received

For example Fertilizer subsidy – at the farmer level this is seen as essential in
order to produce needed yield from already depleted soil and that for many
farmers they cannot afford to plant without this subsidy, however it also acts
as a barrier to converting to organic fertilizer

At present the focus is on taking information to the field level but little structured
avenues exist for information to be fed bottom up

A supportive environment to continue to experiment with specific problem solvers, to

be available as options in the future

– This requires champions at each level to take the risk cannot always
be the poor, while in other levels support is also needed.

– It needs finances, technology (old and new), guidance

– Developing structured processes for information/experiences to be fed

through the levels - Needs an agreed frame to value potential for
scale up

– The recognition that the process will take time, gains are not
immediate

Sector, product specific nature and the need to think about more decentralized
systems

The recognition that the process will take time, gains are not immediate and that it
needs to be addressed in a phased manner

  24
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Annex 1 : Sampling frame used for the study
Site Selection

The sites that will be sampled have been selected according to a vulnerability
ranking system based on Sensitivity and Adaptive Capacity Indices.

Fisheries Sector (Marine Fishery)

Vulnerability to sea level rise

District DS Division Rank

Marine Sector specific indices;
Puttalam Kalpitiya 1

Puttalam Mundalama 2
Sensitivity Index:
Gampaha Negombo 3
• # of fisheries landing sites
• % of livelihoods dependent on fisheries
Matara Devinuwara 4
• AVG fishing yield over the last years
Puttalam Puttalam 5
Adaptive Capacity Index: -
Matara Weligama 6
• % of population above the poverty line
Source: ADBc, 2010. (vulnerability mapping).• % of population completing secondary
education
• % employed in sectors other than fisheries

Tourism Sector

Vulnerability to sea-level rise

District DS Division Rank Indices are based on housing and human

settlement criteria;
Galle Bentota 1

Kalutara Beruwala* 2
Sensitivity Index: -
Galle Habaraduwa 3
• % of livelihoods dependent on tourism
Gampaha Negombo 4 • Total # of guest rooms in hotels/guesthouses

Colombo Colombo 5 Adaptive Capacity Index: -

Source: ADBa, 2010 (vulnerability mapping). • % employed in sectors other than tourism
• % of population completing secondary
education
• # of hotels / guest houses with over 15 room
capacity
 

  28
Vulnerability to Floods

District DS Division Rank

Colombo Colombo 1

Kalutara Beruwala* 2

Gampaha Katana 3

Gampaha Negombo 4

Gampaha Wattala 5

Source: ADBa, 2010 (vulnerability mapping).

Agricultural Sector

Paddy is the major crop in Sri Lanka. Nearly 70% of paddy is cultivated in the dry
zone where the annual rainfall is less than 1750mm. Prolonged droughts and
variation of weather patterns due to the climate change lead to reduction or loss of
paddy production.

Vulnerability to drought - Paddy sector

Sector specific indices for paddy are
District DS Division Rank

Puttalam Anamaduwa 1
Sensitivity Index: -
Hambantota Ambalantota 2
• Area of paddy cultivation
Kurunegala Polpithigama 3
Adaptive Capacity Index: -
Ratnapura Embilipitiya 4
• % of population above the poverty line
Polonnaruwa Medirigiriya 5 • % females educated above grade 5
(among those engaged in agriculture)
Kurunegala Kuliyapitiya 6 • % of farmers’ income not earned
through agriculture
Anuradhapura Thalawa 7 • % of paddy lands fed by major irrigation

Batticaloa Eravur Pattu 8

Hambantota Suriyawewa 9

Kurunegala Panduwasnuwara 10

Source: ADBc, 2010 (vulnerability mapping).

Within these areas and livelihoods sectors, specific communities were selected based
on incidences of poverty among groups. Groups such as those involved in rainfed or
small scale agriculture (mainly paddy), one day fishing and near shore fishing
practices, small local guest house owners and tour boats operators (informal
businesses) tend to be poor. Such communities were identified and used for data
collection.

  29
  30