Cascaded Tank-Village System: Present Status and Prospects

Dharmasena, P. B.

doi:10.1007/978-981-15-2152-2_3

Cited by 17 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…To what extent traditional approaches to tanks and agriculture, even if restored and well managed [58], provide adequate livelihoods for the CTVS community, and 'whether the rising aspirations of societies could be satisfied through a tank based economy alone?' are still not been answered holistically [59], [60]. This is a significant challenge to be investigated in the future.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience Thinking and Strategies to Reclaim Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Cascade Tank-Village System (CTVS) in Sri Lanka

Melles¹,

Perera²

2020

Preprint

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Cascading Tank Village Systems (CTVSs) of Sri Lanka historically provided a resilient community-based social-ecological water management system in the rural dryzone of Sri Lanka [1]. The CTVS has been described as the ‘lifeblood’ of communities in the rural dry zone [2] and as a globally important Agricultural Heritage System by the FAO [3]. After being abandoned for many centuries, their restoration is now being pursued by different national and international actors as a key to climate change mitigation and sustainable livelihoods for communities [4]. Rural livelihoods in the dry zone are at risk due to multiple factors, poor access and management of water, economic and health pressures, as well as resource limitations and degradation [5]. Despite recent efforts to restore CTVS systems, no social-ecological approach (SES) nor sustainable livelihoods framework (SLF) focused approach to ensuring resilient and sustainable livelihood outcomes has been taken [6]. As part of an on-going PhD project, this paper describes the background, current challenges and potential for an SES focused resilience thinking approach to CTVS combined with a focus on sustainable livelihoods for future sustainable livelihood opportunities and outcomes. The study finds current restoration efforts are at a crossroads between restoring the past (system adaptability) or transforming for the future. It introduces relevant SES and resilience thinking concepts and analyses the CTVS from this perspective. A particular contribution of this study is to point to the significant overlaps and complementarities in social-ecological (SES) resilience thinking and SLF approaches to analysis and proposals for resilient rural development. Employing resilience thinking principles it recommends strategies to create positive livelihood outcomes for communities and households. Keywords: cascading tank village system; sustainable livelihoods; resilience thinking; Sri Lanka; rural dry zone; community rural development

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience Thinking and Strategies to Reclaim Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Cascade Tank-Village System (CTVS) in Sri Lanka

Melles¹,

Perera²

2020

Preprint

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“…There are 1,162 VTCSs identified in Sri Lanka, of which more than 85% of the VTCSs are found at an elevation range of 100-300 m amsl. The majority of VTCSs (90%) are clustered into three major zones, namely North and North-central, North-western, and South and South-eastern [6]. The zones are characterized by hills and valleys supported by water movement, shape and the size of the micro-watersheds.…”

Section: Spatial Distribution Of Vtcss In Sri Lankamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The whole ecological and agricultural productivity in the VTCS is governed by these features. [6], ** GIS spatial analysis.…”

Section: Spatial Distribution Of Vtcss In Sri Lankamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it was found that the functionality and concept of the VTCS go beyond its water-based ecosystem services. Considering its ecological functions and socio-ecological production outcomes, a new interpretation has been provided by Dharmasena [6] as 'an ecosystem where water and land resources are organized within the micro-catchments of the dry zone landscape, providing basic needs to human, floral and faunal communities through water, soil, air and vegetation with human intervention on sustainable basis'. VTCS is considered one of the oldest and most advanced agricultural irrigation systems that has evolved in the world [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…VTCS is considered one of the oldest and most advanced agricultural irrigation systems that has evolved in the world [7,8]. More than 14,000 small village tanks are still in use in the Dry and Intermediate Zones of Sri Lanka, with an irrigation potential of about 246,540 ha of paddy lands [6,9]. Revitalization of VTCSs is essential for achieving climate resilience and food security in these peasant communities of Sri Lanka.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainability of Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka: Exploring Cascade Anatomy and Socio-Ecological Nexus for Ecological Restoration Planning

Ratnayake

Kumar²,

Dharmasena

et al. 2021

Challenges

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Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCSs) in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka have evolved as sustainable ecosystems through human interventions to ensure water availability and other services for people and their environs during the last few millennia. However, VTCSs are vulnerable to global environmental changes resulting in continual deterioration of ecological health and hydro-socio-ecological status, crucial for the food and livelihood security of rural farming communities in the dry zone. This paper seeks to explore resource systems of the Mahakanumulla VTCS located in Anuradhapura district of Sri Lanka to (i) identify the spatial metrics linked to the sustainability and socio-ecological resilience of the VTCS, and (ii) determine interactions among system elements and their impacts on productivity and restoration challenges. The spatial analysis was conducted using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), recent digital topographic map layers and Google Earth images to understand the spatial distribution and ensemble of tank environs. Participatory field assessment data were also used to determine socio-ecological nexus and factors that contribute to the reduction of ecological productivity of VTCS. The study revealed that the ensemble of tank environs is significant for providing regulatory and supporting ecosystem services (ES) and synergistic relationships with provisional ES of the VTCS. Results also revealed that the complex land-water-biodiversity-climate and food nexus that determines the productivity of the VTCS could be adopted in VTCS ecological restoration planning. The study presents a comprehensive framework to analyse causal factors and processes leading to reduction of overall productivity linked with variables of socio-ecological properties, vulnerability and resilience of the VTCS landscape.

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A Sustainability Index for Assessing Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCs) in Sri Lanka

Hemachandra

Dayawansa

Silva

2022

Water Management: A View From Multidisciplinary Perspectives

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Cascaded Tank-Village System: Present Status and Prospects

Cited by 17 publications

References 6 publications

Resilience Thinking and Strategies to Reclaim Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Cascade Tank-Village System (CTVS) in Sri Lanka

Resilience Thinking and Strategies to Reclaim Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Cascade Tank-Village System (CTVS) in Sri Lanka

Sustainability of Village Tank Cascade Systems of Sri Lanka: Exploring Cascade Anatomy and Socio-Ecological Nexus for Ecological Restoration Planning

A Sustainability Index for Assessing Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCs) in Sri Lanka

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