Drive five hours north of the capital, Colombo, and the air hangs dry with a sun that seems to scorch just about anything it touches. The so-called Dry Zone is the agricultural heartland of Sri Lanka where life revolves around a single, most-precious resource: water.
For decades, farming communities here have looked to the skies waiting for the rains to break droughts, or lamenting lost harvests destroyed by floods. Now, climate change is bringing cascading and devastating social impacts, entrenching generations of rural communities in cycles of poverty and debt. Speak to farmers in the area and the conversation will undoubtedly turn to water.
The recent Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) report, co-published by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, reveals a stark reality: more than half the population (55.7 percent) in Sri Lanka – about 12.3 million people – experience multidimensional vulnerability. For more than a third of the country, lack of access to water means a daily struggle. Its impact is most acute in the Dry Zone, with communities struggling to meet their daily needs, support livelihoods and protect nature as a resource.
It wasn’t always this way. Sri Lanka’s Dry Zone was once home to a sophisticated civilization that thrived on a hydraulic-based system, an ancient irrigation network designed to manage alternating wet and dry seasons. The intricate “cascade system” a framework of interconnected reservoirs, ensured a delicate balance between communities and their environment, making the region a thriving agricultural hub.
Over the past two centuries, however, neglect and degradation of the system upended this delicate balance, disrupting the flow of water and leaving communities exposed to the worsening impacts of climate change. Unsustainable agricultural practices, such as over-cultivation, improper land use, and the clearing of forests, have severely degraded the environment in the Dry Zone. These practices have disrupted natural water cycles, reduced soil fertility, and eroded the once-vibrant landscape, making it even more vulnerable to the worsening impacts of climate change. Today, they face a myriad of challenges to their livelihoods, health, and food security, making resilience to climate change more critical than ever.
So, what is the solution?
The Climate Resilient Integrated Water Management Project (CRIWMP) financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a nature-based, home-grown approach to addressing climate risks in vulnerable communities like the Dry Zone. Implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka, with support from UNDP, it is reviving the old irrigation systems in three river basins of Mee Oya, Yan Oya and the Malwathu Oya.
Now in its eighth year, the impacts are tangible. The project has adopted a community-based approach, engaging men, women, and youth, in its implementation, turning communities into active partners in decision-making and empowering them to take charge of their development.
By adopting an ecosystem-based approach, the Project is restoring the cascade system to simultaneously support irrigation, provide drinking water, enhance agriculture, and nurture surrounding biodiversity. This approach brings the delicate balance of nature and livelihoods back into harmony, creating a resilient, self-sustaining model that empowers communities to withstand changing climates.
By restoring water channels with sustainable features like reforesting watersheds to trap contaminants, restoring the reservoir bund, spillways, sluices, and canals, and desilting the reservoir to increase water storage, the project has improved water management, enhanced groundwater recharge, and reduced ecosystem degradation. A combination of climate-resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, and climate information services ensure that water is available around the year, ensuring that communities are better equipped to face current and future challenges.
Rewriting the story of resilience, now over 15,000 hectares of farmland thrive with reliable irrigation, thanks to the rehabilitation of 325 Village Irrigation Systems (VIS). Support to agricultural communities in 436 VISs led to the cultivation of 10,000+ hectares, with 6,400 hectares achieving a cropping intensity above 1.6—enabling farmers to grow more, earn more, and break free from cycles of poverty. For 125,000+ people, access to safe drinking water is no longer a dream, with advanced filtration systems and pipelines reaching 54,000+ in underserved areas in 2024 alone.
The project’s impacts have spread well beyond its focus on providing water. Through climate-smart innovations, digital tools & enhanced early warning systems, CRIWMP has empowered 500,000+ people to build resilience, reduce disaster risks, and thrive in the face of climate uncertainty. It has helped improve health outcomes and boosted agricultural productivity, with farmers’ incomes rising year on year. In 2024, 16,500+ farmers cultivated 17,500+ ha, earning US$18.3M across multiple seasons. The benefits ripple even further, advancing economic opportunities, empowering women, fostering value chain development, and attracting private sector engagement.
The strength of the project lies in its adaptability and community-driven approach, making it scalable and effective across diverse contexts, and a blueprint for broader climate resilience and development initiatives. Locally known as the ‘wew gam pubuduwa’ — which directly translates to a revival of reservoirs and villages – the initiative has lived up to its name, by bringing transformative change to lives of children, youth, women and people with disabilities, across the region.
This integrated water management model offers more than just a plan for water and food security, it lays the foundation for reviving a stagnant rural economy and harmonizing the sustenance of rural livelihoods and ecosystems.
Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that development assistance continues to empower homegrown, community-led, nature-based solutions. Such initiatives represent a transformation that brings hope for generations to come.
By Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, UNDP in Sri Lanka
Azusa Kubota was appointed the UNDP resident Representative in Sri Lanka in January 2023. Previously, she served as the Resident Representative for UNDP in Bhutan (2019–2022), leading the COVID-19 response, and held leadership roles with UNDP in the Solomon Islands, Lao PDR, and the Maldives. From 2008 to 2011, she managed independent evaluations of country programs for UNDP. Her career began as a Programme Analyst in Malawi in 2002 after working at the International Law Institute in Washington, DC.
A Japanese national, Kubota holds a Master’s in international affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s from Smith College. She also studied at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar in Senegal.
