Northern Province Water Availability, Security, Usage and Governance
Key Aspects to Consider for Prospective Project Developers
• Though falling within the Dry Zone, part of which is the Arid
Zone of Sri Lanka, the climate regimes, topography, soils and
water availability of the Northern Province, especially the
Jaffna Peninsula, display unique characteristics.
• The province in general, the Jaffna Peninsula in particular, is
underlain by Miocene Limestone formed 23 million to 5 billion
years BP (before present), overlain by rich soils and extensive
surface sand spits.
• The populace of the Northern Province is almost entirely
dependent on groundwater, with seasonal recharge during the
Northeast and to a lesser extent, the Southwest Monsoons.
• It is imperative to supplement this stock by storing as much
rainwater in ponds and holding tanks as possible to assure
year-round availability for irrigation and other uses stated
before.
• The Northern and Eastern Provinces are now in the second
decade of post-war recovery, rehabilitation, restoration and
reconstruction. Among the many challenges that have
emerged: devastated, degraded landscapes, depleted
resources, lack of education, job or training opportunities,
increasing substance abuse and behavioural issues arising from
post traumatic stress. These anomalies to be factored in when
addressing potential project design.
• World Vision Sri Lanka is our backbone Organization. [See
Mission Statement under the World Vision Sri Lanka Tab]
The primary purpose of requesting a project proposal is seek
World Vision’s advice and, if desirable, to invite their direct
involvement in bridging any gaps that may be barriers to
efficient project development by project proponents. Such
advice and involvement by World Vision could include project
scoping and planning in an integrated manner, coordinating
with stakeholders including governmental and non-governmental entities, as well as project design, budgeting and
use of best management practices and execution.
• WRLF believes in a needs-based approach to rectifying water
use-related challenges, with sustainability being the
overarching theme. Development has to bring forth short-term
benefits and long-term dividends as well. The ravages of the
27-year war have left younger generations not only malnourished, shell shocked and despondent, but left them unsure of their destiny. [See guidelines for Area Needs Planning and Asset Mapping, under the Education tab.]
• Focus Group Discussion: besides farmers, other local groups
being addressed include women’s development societies,
inland and coastal fish, shrimp and other seafood farmers,
religious or faith group leaders, local government officials like
Village Officer (Grama Niladhari) and Agricultural Service
Officer, Tank/Pond Supervisor(Vatta Vithane) and other
marginalized groups. The objective is a comprehensive
coverage of a given tank area.
• Data Collection Instruments:
Questionnaires have been developed to collect, collate,
interpret and dispense qualitative and quantitative data from the following:
• Metadata on the following for Planning Area
GPS Coordinates of ponds
Rainfall, Evapotranspiration data
Water usage by sector
Water pollution levels
Sewage, septic tank leaks
• Key Informant Interview [KII]
Agricultural Instructor
Agrarian Production and Project Coordinator
World Vision local Coordinator
Tank/Pond Supervisor
Government Officer
Other Local NGO’s
Others
• Focus Group Interview [FGI]
Agriculture, aquatic food farmers
Local community leaders
Female-Headed Households [FHH]
Women’s rural development Groups
Other rural development societies
Religious associations [temple, church, mosque]
Youth Organizations
Sports Clubs
Cooperatives [eg. MPCS, Dairy]
Other
• The questionnaires: The primary instrument will invite
proposals from prospective project developers, for
review and response by the Forum.
The second questionnaire pertaining to potential
renovation/restoration/construction of a tank/pond, will
be administered to individual farmers, with a view to
assessing local needs based on four key constructs,
namely, demographics, land resources and farming
systems, socio-economic indicators, and marketing.
Both questionnaires are posted on the WRLF website
under the Project Proposals tab.
Rajan Navaratnam
Education and
Planning