sri lanka country strategy paper 2011 - 2013 - acted
TRANSCRIPT
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Sri Lanka Country Strategy Paper
2011 - 2013
Sri Lanka Country Office
146, Reid Avenue
Bambalapitiya
Colombo 4
Tel: +94 11 2502743
Fax: +94 11 [email protected]
Headquarters
33, rue Godot de Mauroy
75009 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 42653333
www.acted.org
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Foreword by the ACTED Sri Lanka
Country Director
As the 26-year civil war finally came to an end in
2009, newfound stability offers an incredible
opportunity for Sri Lanka to harness its untapped
development potential and build a strong
foundation for long-term peace and prosperity
across the island.
With a brighter and more stable future on the
horizon, a long-term country strategy for ACTED Sri
Lanka is now fully warranted. Since the 2004
Tsunami, our presence mainly focused on
responding to the succession of emergencies which
shook the countrys Eastern and Northern provinces
and support the recovery efforts of affected
populations.
While retaining the capacity to react to urgent
needs as they emerge, in case of a natural disaster
for instance, our strategy for the next three years
will strive to stay in line with the countrys long-
term potential, needs and opportunities. To achieve
this, our actions will focus on promoting equitable
economic development and pro-poor growth
in vulnerable areas, to help reduce poverty while
alleviating potential sources of conflict resulting
from socio-economic inequalities. In parallel, we
will support community-driven development
management as a way to ensure more democratic
and participatory local development processes. Last
but not least, we will focus on encouraging the
protection and sustainable use of environmental
resources, as these represent one of Sri Lankas
most precious and crucial assets, as well as its most
threatened due to the increasing impact of climatechange.
On behalf of ACTED, I would like to extend a warm
thank you to our partners, donors and national and
local level authorities for the support they provided
to us over the past five years. We look forward to a
continued good cooperation in the future.
Andr Krummacher
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1. About ACTED
ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation andDevelopment) is a non-governmental organization
founded in 1993 with Headquarters in Paris, France.
Independent, private and not-for-profit, ACTED
respects a strict political and religious impartiality
and operates according to principles of non-
discrimination and transparency in 27 countries
around the world.
Our M ission: Providing Adapted Responses
ACTEDs vocation is to support vulnerable
populations affected by wars, natural disasters
and/or economic and social crises, and to
accompany them in building a better future; thus
contributing to the Millennium Development Goals.
The programs implemented by ACTED in Africa,
Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the
Caribbean, aim to address the needs of populations
affected by wars, natural disasters and/or economic
and social crises. Our interventions seek to cover
the multiple aspects of humanitarian and
development crises through a multidisciplinary
approach which is both global and local, andadapted to each context.
ACTED is committed to meeting the highest
standards of accountability and strives to meet the
needs of the most vulnerable populations by
delivering the adequate humanitarian service in
each situation. As a charity, we will intervene
whenever and wherever needs arise, guaranteeing
the compliance and relevance of our interventions
and innovating whenever possible. ACTED is a
member of HAP International which supportshumanitarian accountability and quality
management.
Our Vision: To guarantee the link between
Emergency, Rehabili tat ion and Development
ACTEDs vision is to establish a link between
emergency, rehabilitation and development. Oncebasic needs have been covered, the populations
living conditions remain critical as our areas of
intervention are among the poorest in the world.
We guarantee the sustainability of our
interventions carried out during crises, through
remaining on the field after the emergency and
involving the communities, ACTED engages in a
long-term support with a continued presence in the
field to break the poverty cycle and accompany the
populations on their way to development.
Our Experience
ACTED strives to share experiences and expertise
with other actors working in development
cooperation, with whom we share common values.
ACTED has joined Alliance2015
(www.alliance2015.org), a partnership of seven like-
minded non-government organizations working in
the field of development cooperation and for the
Millennium Development Goals (CESVI from Italy,
Concern Worldwide from Ireland, Welthungerhilfe
from Germany, Hivos from the Netherlands, IBIS
from Denmark, People in Need from the Czech
Republic). ACTED is also member of Voice
(www.ngovoice.org), the European network
representing 85 European non-governmental
organizations active in humanitarian aid
worldwide, as well of CoordinationSud
(www.coordinationsud.org), the French network for
relief agencies.
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2. Sri Lanka Country Profile and Outlook
Sri Lanka is an island country of 65,610 sq km
located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern
cost of India. Its population is estimated to be
approximately 20 Mill in 2010 with an annual
population growth rate of 0.7%.
Sri Lanka gained independence from the United
Kingdom in 1948 after nearly 450 years of
colonization by various western powers. Since
independence national politics have been
characterized by tensions between the Sinhalese
majority and the Tamil minority. The Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) undertook military and
terrorist operations in pursuit of an independent
homeland in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka for the
Tamil minority from the early 1980s until their
defeat in May 2009. The final stages of the war saw
intense fighting resulting in the mass displacement
of about 280,000 people living in the heavy conflict
affected mainland area of the Northern Province
(also called the Vanni) to Internally Displaced
People (IDP) camps.
With the end of the war, the government of SriLanka called for the redevelopment of the nation
and there are many reconstruction opportunities in
the North and East of the island. By the end of
2010, the authorities, together with the
international community, had resettled
approximately 330,000 persons to their areas of
origin and only 20,000 IDPs were still in camps with
the remaining in host families.1 The resettlement
process is expected to be completed by mid-2011.
However, people returning to the Vanni are facing
dire living conditions in their war-ravaged homeregion: widespread destruction of infrastructure, a
prevalent mine risk and a lack of resources and
social services to meet basic needs in food, water,
shelter, sanitation and education, all of which are
not sufficiently mitigated by the limited aid which
has so far trickled into the area.
1,000 km of Sri Lankas Eastern and Southern coast
line was hit by the 2004 Tsunami which killed
35,000 people and displaced 450,000. The
country needed about 2.2 billion USD to effectively
1Source: UNHCR
Map of Sri Lanka
implement a recovery and reconstruction strategy
which can be considered as successfully
accomplished by now.
Despite Sri Lankas almost three decades of civil
war, the devastating 2004 Tsunami and the 2008
global financial crisis (which required the country to
take an IMF loan), economic growth has
experienced healthy and impressive rates of about
5.5% per annum for most of this centurys first
decade. The GDP growth in 2010 even peaked at
7.5%. Sri Lankas Gross National Income (GNI) percapita is 2,013 USD (2008) and therefore the
country is characterized as a lower-middle income
country. Its life expectancy of 74.4 years and
literacy rate of 91 percent are far higher than most
of its South-Asian neighbors. However, the
economic growth has been uneven and many
provinces, especially the Eastern and Northern
Province, are lagging behind. High growth rate is
mainly in the Western province and accounts for a
50% GDP contribution reflecting uneven
distribution of employment and income.
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Selected Human Development Index Indicators Sri Lanka South Asia World
Human Development Index (HDI) Value 0.658 (91) 0.516 0.624
GDP Per Capita, PPP (in US$) 4,886 3,417 10,631
GNI Per Capita (in US$) 2,013 954 664
Live Expectancy at Birth 74.4 65.1 69.3
Adult Literacy Rate % 90.6 62.4 N/A
Maternal Mortality Rate per 100,000 Live Births 58 454 273
% of Population living below Poverty Line of 1.25 US$ 14.0 N/A N/A
Average Annual Population Growth % 0.7 1.4 1.1
Expenditure on Health Per Capita, PPP (in US$) 179 123 869
Source: Human Development Report 2010
Sri Lanka's Progress on Achieving t he Mi llenium Development Goals (MDGs)
Millennium Development Goals Target Progress
To halve the number of people who live on less than $1 a day Not on track
To halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger Not on track
Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, girls and boys alike, will be able to complete a full
primary schoolingOn track
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education and in all levels of education no
later than 2015Partly on track
Reduce by two-thirds, the under-five mortality rate On track
Reduce by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 the maternal mortality rate On track
Have halted by 2015, and begun to reverse, the spread of HIV/AIDS On track
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse, the incidence of malaria and other major diseasesPartly on track
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and
reverse the loss of environmental resourcesNot on track
Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation.On track
Source: National Council for Economic Development
The outlook for Sri Lanka in 2011 2015 is
considered by many as positive as the country will
profit from a peace dividend following the end of
the civil war. GDP growth between 2011 and 2015 is
expected to average 6.6% a year. The agricultural
sector will be supported by increased cultivation in
the formerly conflict-affected Northern and Eastern
Provinces. The recovery in consumer and business
confidence is also expected to stimulate economic
activity while private consumption growth is set to
become the main driver of economic expansion,
fuelled by rising incomes - notably among
agricultural workers - and remittances from
expatriate Sri Lankans.
Four pillars
are thought to support investment: large scale
reconstruction efforts in the North and East; public
investment in infrastructure which was long
neglected during the civil war; business investment,
as companies seek to capture market share amid
the economic growth and rising real-estate
investment.2 Given this positive outlook, Sri Lanka
however needs to bridge the gap between the
regions and facilitate Pro-Poor Growth (PPG) to
eradicate poverty, especially among the rural
population outside the Western Province. ACTEDs
2011 2013 Sri Lanka Country Strategy is geared
towards this need.
2Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, Nov. 2010
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3. ACTED in Sri Lanka
3.1. A Short History of ACTED in Sri Lanka
ACTED Sri Lanka launched its operations in January
2005, in the immediate aftermath of the December
2004 Tsunami. Interventions in 2005 and early 2006
were focused on providing immediate disaster relief
followed by rehabilitation activities to Tsunami-
affected populations in the Eastern Province.
However, the massive internal displacement which
resulted from the resumption of the conflict
between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government in
the East in August 2006 required ACTED to adapt itsstrategy to the
changing context and
needs of the
population. ACTED
therefore took a lead
role in implementing
emergency water,
sanitation and
hygiene interventions
for 16,000 IDPs,
alongside its Tsunami-related rehabilitation
activities.Wat er provision in IDP Camps
As the government took control of the East in mid-
2007 and civilians returned to their homes, ACTED
once more shifted its focus and began
implementing post-conflict reconstruction projects
along with the last major Tsunami-related
reconstruction activities, both of which focused on
the provision of livelihood support and
rehabilitation of critical infrastructure.
Livelihood Suppor t in Batt icaloa District
However, while the situation calmed down in the
East and interventions were slowly shifting towards
longer-term development, the violence spread to
the North in 2008, causing the displacement of over280,000 people and prompting ACTED to expand its
operations and address the critical basic needs of
IDPs in camps. The scope of ACTEDs operations in
2009 therefore spanned both the East through
projects geared towards economic development,
food security and civil society strengthening, and
the North with a focus on emergency relief through
water, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities.
With the end of the conflict in May 2009 and the
fast-moving return process under way, ACTEDadapted its strategy once more in 2010 by covering
short-term relief and rehabilitation interventions
for returnees in the North combined with longer-
term development activities in the East. In the
North, activities focused largely on ensuring
livelihood and food security through Cash-for-Work,
micro-enterprise development, distribution of boats
and fishing gear and shelter provision, while
building the foundation
for long-term
sustainable recovery.This included the re-
habilitation and con-
struction of pro-
ductive infrastructure.
ACTEDs 2010 activities
in the North amounted
to 210 Mill. LKR - 8.5%
of the overall total
amount spent by the
NGO sector on the
resettlement process. Cash-based rehabili tati on ofproductive assets
In the East, ACTEDs longer-term development
activities aimed at strengthening Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs) in representing public needs
and engaging in local development planning and
management while monitoring service delivery of
state actors thus contributing to improved local
governance in the area. ACTED also supported
community-led socio-economic development
through a holistic, multi-pronged approach
including infrastructure, livelihood, psychosocial
and conflict mitigation components, with special
attention paid to persons with disabilities.
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0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
2007 2008 2009 2010
Total
Budget
ACTED
Direct
Implementation
by ACTED
Implementation
throughPartners
ACTED Sri Lanka Budget Evolution 2007 - 2010 (in EUR)
3.2. ACTEDs Presence in Sri Lanka since 2010
3.3. ACTEDs Donors in 2010
3.4. ACTEDs Partners in 2010
3.5. Financial Resources
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4. ACTED Sri Lanka Strategy 2011 2013
4.1. M ission Statement
ACTED aims to contribute to the eradication of
poverty in Sri Lanka by facilitating equitable pro-
poor economic growth and decentralized
development management while promoting
sustainable environmental resource use.
4.2. Strat egic Sectors of Intervention
ACTEDs 2011-2013 strategy in Sri Lanka is focused
on four pillars: Pillar 1: Agricultural Livelihoods and Economic
Development;
Pillar 2: Local Governance; Pillar 3: Environment and Natural Resource
Management;
Pillar 4: Cross-Cutting and Other Aspects.
4.2.1. Pillar 1: Agricultural Livelihoods and
Economic Development
Sector AnalysisOver 70% of the rural population in Sri Lanka
depends on agriculture for their livelihoods, a figure
in stark contrast with the relatively meager
contribution of the agricultural sector to national
GDP, valued at 11.7% in 20103. Low GDP value
reflects the fact that 90% of the population living
under the poverty rate is part of the rural
agricultural economy, illustrating the need for
rapidly increasing agricultural productivity to reduce
poverty. Most affected are the former conflict-affected regions in the North and East, where over
60% of the population relies on cultivation,
livestock rearing or fishing for food and income
security. Almost three decades of conflict took a
heavy toll on critical infrastructure, land, livelihood
assets and access to services, leaving the East and
North isolated from national and regional markets,
distribution channels and development
opportunities. Smallholder agriculture remains
predominant with an average of 60% of households
owning less than a hectare of land.
3Source: World Food Programme
Decades of blockades and access restrictions in
former conflict-affected areas, combined with poor
roads, limited storage facilities and high
transportation costs have prevented the formationof extensive local, national and regional market
linkages, trapping the farming population in a
vicious cycle of subsistence agriculture with few
export-focused cash crops and limited capacity for
value addition. In the North in particular, the
realization of economies of scale through a system
of common marketing or collective transportation is
problematic due to the widespread destruction of
community infrastructure, making such initiatives
more difficult to organize. In addition, the
persistent state of isolation of the area from therest of the country has prevented farmers from
accessing better quality inputs (including better
fertilizers and seeds) as well as improved
technology and innovative cultivation methods.
Income diversification is equally difficult given the
lack of opportunities for vocational training and
business expansion, compounded by limited access
to credit, especially in the North. Agricultural
households that also operate a small business
experience a 50% reduction in their poverty rate,according to the World Bank4, reflecting the dire
need to support small and medium business
creation and market linkages in former conflict
areas. Increasing productivity and diversifying
income is all the more important as food remains
the main household expenditure, with the majority
of returned households in the North still spending
65% of their income on food as of December 20105,
more than 18 months after the end of the conflict.
Economic growth in the North and East hastherefore significantly lagged behind the rest of the
country as it moves towards achieving middle-
income status and opens up to global markets and
foreign investment. The biggest challenge is
therefore to empower populations excluded from
this process to move beyond subsistence
agriculture, establish sustainable livelihoods with
substantial potential for growth, and profit from the
wealth of economic opportunities which have
accrued to Sri Lanka since the war ended.
4Source: World Bank Sri Lanka Country Assistance
Strategy 2011-20135
Source: World Food Programme
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ACTED Response Strategy
Sector Objective
ACTED Sri Lanka recognises that pro-poor economicgrowth involves promoting competitive
agriculturally focused interventions along with
labour-intensive industrialisation that encourages
adding value to local produce, promotes trade links
and encourages a business-friendly environment for
the poor. ACTED Sri Lanka considers agriculture as a
key sector due to a number of factors including: a)
the number of people making a living from it as well
as its overall contribution to the GDP; b) the
importance of supplying agricultural products to
urban areas; c) its potential for generating savingsto invest in non-farm sectors; and d) its contribution
to the overall food security and nutrition of the Sri
Lankan population.
In addition, agriculture and natural resources will
have an increasingly important role to play in the
context of climate change and rising food prices.
Far-reaching changes in Sri Lankas domestic market
but also in global markets are creating
opportunities for farmers and agribusinessentrepreneurs. The demand for high-value primary
and processed products is quickly increasing, driven
by rising incomes, faster urbanisation, liberalised
trade, foreign investment and advancing
technology. But the new markets demand quality,
timely deliveries and economies of scale, posing
special challenges for smallholders.
Activities
1. Increasing agricultural productivity ofsmallholder farmers through the adoption ofeffective, locally appropriate and
environmentally sustainable agricultural
technologies
Introduction of improved cropping systems,including promotion of System of Rice
Intensification (SRI), Rice Good Agricultural
Practice (Rice GAP), Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) and Integrated Plant
Nutrition System (IPNS) in paddy cultivation.
This component also includes crop
diversification, the promotion of organicfarming to exploit niche markets and soil
fertility management. It will be achieved
through facilitating sustainable linkages
between farmer organizations and national
institutions of technology generation and
dissemination. Crop yield competitions which create a
healthy, competitive spirit among farmers
and develop motivation for the adoption of
new technologies which are essential for
increasing the productivity of crops. Also, it
encourages farmers participation in
extension programs.
Water resource management with a focus onlocal solutions to seasonal water shortages
and the promotion of water saving
technology such as drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting systems. This component
also includes the rehabilitation of existing
agricultural water facilities.
A farmer showing his paddy
2. Improving market linkages resulting in higherand more regular incomes for farmers
Building the capacity of farmer organizationsto take advantage of market opportunities(promotion of pooling systems and creation
of economies of scale, facilitation of buy-back
arrangements, link with private sector, agri-
marketing information system).
Rehabilitation and construction of storagefacilities.
Value addition of agriculture based products.3.Small and medium enterprise (SME)
development
Transformation of mainly CBO or cooperative-based production and value addition into
privately and professionally run small and
medium sized businesses which create formal
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employment opportunities enabling the
poorest to access work.
Facilitate business registration. Provision of small-scale start-up and/or
expansion capital.
Developing business, managerial, accountingand technical skills.
Grocery store owner support ed by ACTED
4. Facilitating access to micro-credit Internal: Promotion of minimal risk, savings-
based approaches to financial resource
mobilization. External: Creating linkages with Microfinance
Institutions (MFIs) and/or banks.
4.2.2. Pil lar 2: Local Governance
Sector AnalysisThe local government system of Sri Lanka has a very
long history. Village level governance was a mainfeature of Sri Lankas system of governance and
dates back to the Sinhalese kingdoms in the fourth
century B.C. Todays system of local governance is
based on the 13th
constitutional amendment of
1987 which stipulates a dichotomous service
delivery system whereby the responsibility of
service delivery is shared between a) line ministries
and agencies of the central government, through
their local administration at the district (District
Secretariats) and local governments at the
divisional level (Divisional Secretary Divisions), andb) the devolved government structure, comprising
elected local governments at the provincial and
local level: the Provincial Councils (PCs), the
Municipal and Urban Councils (MC/UC) and the
Pradeshiya Sabhasat the local level.
However, in the Northern and Eastern Provinces,decades of conflict hampered if not stopped the
local government in playing its assigned roles and
responsibilities in delivery of development and
administrative services, yet the administration was
largely in place during the conflict and maintains a
high degree of institutional capacity. In addition,
the conflict has weakened links between state and
non-state actors and eroded populations trust in
these sub-units of governance. With the end of the
war, the civil administration began to re-establish
itself, in order to oversee the on-the-groundplanning, delivery, coordination and monitoring of
the return effort. There is now need to ensure
increased and more predictable access to key
government services with a special attention to
functionality of service, delivery timelines,
transparency and accountability, and attention to
the needs of the most vulnerable which will
generate a peace dividend benefitting the people of
the Northern and Eastern Province.6
In addition, the planning processes of the localgovernments are currently fragmented and despite
the formal existence of a participatory process
through the GN function, there is very limited
involvement of and accountability towards the
population when preparing local plans and budgets.
As such, policies and programs are often not
relevant, representative and inclusive and therefore
may not address the real issues faced by local
communities and their most vulnerable members.7
Sri Lanka has a long history of village-level
Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) formed toidentify and address shared problems. These groups
have demonstrated potential to drive a grassroots
development process, improve rural access to
services and markets, and contribute to a more
equitable, democratic and peaceful society, but
they continue to face a number of constraints: The
conflict has left the majority of the registered CBOs
either inactive, weak and ineffective, or politicized.
In addition, most established CBOs face institutional
and operational challenges to follow their original
6Source: Joint Plan for Assistance for the Northern
Province 2011.7
Source: UNDP Local Governance Project
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mandate, as well as minimal ability to access
financial resources, preventing them from
becoming powerful change actors in their
communities. Consequently, there has been amarked decrease in lobbying at the government
level for development initiatives, and corresponding
failure to hold government accountable to its
actions. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and
especially CBOs are not well connected to local
authorities and do not actively demand
improvements to government service provision.
The CBO leaders are often not familiar with the CBO
coordination processes and with working with the
state agents to meet their needs. In addition, CBOs
continue acting independently of each other andfail to pool their interests in order to amplify their
vis--vis the government. CBO coordination bodies
with the mandate to organize collective CBO
interests are weak, resource poor and unaware of
relevant procedures for incorporating CBO needs
into government plans. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to support local civil society
organizations and link them effectively to the local
administration to ensure their voices are heard.
ACTED Response Strategy
Sector Objective
ACTED Sri Lanka believes that decentralized
development management and the promotion of
good local governance produces producing a
favorable environment to effectively address the
various manifestations of rural poverty. Therefore,
ACTED Sri Lanka aims at strengthening civil society
in representing public needs and engaging in local
development management while monitoring
service delivery of state actors.
Activities
1. Developing the capacity of CBOs to act asaccountable and transparent service providers
that complement government functions and to
represent their communities needs vis--vis
state actors
Strengthening the institutional andoperational capacity of CBOs in the following
aspects: a) capacity to plan and implement
community action, b) financial management,c) administrative management, d)
participation and group dynamics, and e)
external linkages.
Enhancing CBO financial self-sustainability bya) promoting minimal risk, savings-basedapproaches to financial resource mobilization
(such as internal savings and loan
associations), b) supporting CBO-based small
and medium enterprise development; c)
facilitating access to credit.
Supporting community-led planning anddevelopment through the creation of Village
Development Plans (VDPs). The plans identify
constraints and root problems faced by the
communities the CBOs represent and outline
a clear action plan to address these issuesusing resources from the community itself
and from state and non-state actors. To a
limited scale, and as an incentive for kick
starting the VDP implementation process,
small grants of between $5,000 and $10,000
may be allocated to CBOs through a
competitive process.
Enhancing CBO understanding of financialresources with a particular focus on assisting
CBOs to access financial resources both
public and private in order to implement agreater number of the development activities
identified by their representative
communities.
CBO members conducting a SWOT analysis
2. Promoting networking among civil societygroups and develop the capacity of CBO
networks and coordination bodies to pool CBO
interests in order to amplify their voice andinfluence vis--vis the local government
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3. Promoting linkages between state and non-stateactors to improve the quality of service delivery
and enhance accountability
Strengthening the ability of local governmentunits to interact with civil society. On a
limited scale, this includes the provision of
necessary equipment.
Promoting the inclusion of CBO-created VDPsinto local level government planning and
management (Divisional and District
Development Plans) in order to strengthen
the relevance of grassroots and district level
public policies and ensure that their
implementation fits the needs of the local
communities. In addition, specific assistanceto strengthen planning and coordination
functions of the District and Divisional
Secretariats, especially in the area of
information management, GIS mapping and
monitoring will be provided.
Publishing Service Providers Handbooks. Localgovernment institutions and private sector
actors have substantial pools of expertise and
deliver a number of important services.
Through CBO networks, Service Providers
Handbook will be created and widelydistributed so as to increase community
awareness of available services and increase
the legitimacy of the networks as
representatives of CBOs.
4.2.3. Pillar 3: Environment and Natural
Resource M anagement
Sector AnalysisSri Lanka is endowed with many natural resources
whose management is critical to the rural poors
ability to improve livelihoods and to exit from
poverty. However, the countrys natural resource
base has been threatened by unsustainable
agricultural and fishing activities, population
pressure, rising industrial demand, the impact of
years of conflict as well as increasing dependence of
rural communities on natural resources.
Intensification of agricultural production has
contributed to serious degradation of land and
coastal resources. Deforestation is one of the most
serious environmental issues in Sri Lanka. In the
1940s, the island had a 45% forest cover but by
2010 this had fallen to approximately 29%
according to FAO. Between 1990 and 2010, Sri
Lanka lost 20.9% of its forest cover (around 490,000ha), at an average of 24,500 ha or 1.04% per year.
Sri Lanka has had one of the highest deforestation
rates of primary forests in the world. This has a
considerable impact on livelihoods and the
economy as deforestation contributes to landslides,
flooding, soil loss, and productivity losses.8
The soils suffer from varying degrees of erosion and
degradation mainly due to rapid rates of
deforestation, poor irrigation and drainage practice,
inadequate soil conservation, chena cultivation andvegetable cultivation in steep slopes and
overgrazing. It has been estimated that about 46%
of the land in the country has been affected by soil
erosion.
The coastal environment has been threatened due
to the erosion of coastal areas (about 1 meter per
year) due to river damming, sand mining, collection
of coral rubble and removal of costal vegetation.
Salinisation of paddy land has become a trend due
to the reduction of flood buffering capacity ofmangroves, lagoons and estuaries. Coral reefs have
been degraded as a result of human activities
(including tourism) and increased sea temperatures.
Proper management of solid and liquid waste is
critical issue, particularly in urban areas around
industrial sites as well as former IDP camp and
newly-resettled areas after the conflict. However,
the present method of solid waste disposal is
mainly open discarding in low-lying lands. Lack of
sites for use for waste disposal has been a major
impediment in resolving the issue. The impact ofthis practice is pollution of wetland habitats,
pollution of surface and ground water and creation
of environments facilitating insect/mosquito
breeding.
Although well endowed with water resources,
waters are getting increasingly polluted especially
due to unsustainable agricultural and fishing
practices with extensive use of agro-chemical and
fertilizers, urbanization and industrialization.9
8Source: FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment (2010)
and FAO State of the Worlds Forests (2009)9
Source: Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
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ACTED Response Strategy
Sector Objective
The majority of Sri Lankas most vulnerable peoplelive in marginalised rural areas, depending on
natural resources and the environment for their
livelihoods. Natural resources also often provide a
means of survival during emergencies. ACTED
believes that sustainable and efficient
environmental resource management and
preservation are crucial elements of poverty
alleviation in rural and coastal areas and should
therefore be integrated into any interventions
aimed at reducing socio-economic vulnerability
ACTEDs objective is to increase equitable access toand sustainably control of natural resources
through community management. This reflects both
a conservation as well as a rural development
strategy.
There are strong links between components in this
sector and components in the agricultural
livelihoods and economic development pillar. Also,
some of the activities are closely linked to Disaster
Risk Reduction (DRR) as poor environmental
resource management can intensify the impact ofnatural disasters, contributing to entrenched
poverty.
Activities
1. Improve liquid and solid waste management inrural areas by emphasizing the economic value
of waste thereby facilitating the improvement of
sanitation and livelihoods without contaminating
land and water resources
Conversion of the biodegradable componentof the households garbage to compost sothat it could be utilized as a garden soil
fertilizer.
Promotion of ECOSAN latrines as analternative approach for healthy and
economically sustainable sanitation. By
separating solid and liquid human waste, this
latrine offers a safe sanitation solution that
prevents disease and promotes health by
successfully and hygienically removing
pathogen-rich excreta from the immediate
environment. It is environmentally sound as itdoes not contaminate groundwater and also
recovers and recycles the nutrients from the
excreta. This therefore creates a valuable
resource rather than a mere waste product,
which can reduce the need for artificial
fertilizers in agriculture.
2.Community-based rehabilitation and restorationof degraded land areas to improve income and
reduce risks of disaster such as flooding and soil
erosion
Tree planting, especially multi-purpose treespecies which promote agro-forestry such as
Palmyra, coconut and fruit trees. These trees
also have great potential for value-added
productive activities, thus contributing to the
economic development of the area.
3.Promotion of Green Entrepreneurship amongsmall and medium enterprises (SMEs)
Cleaner production by introducing technicalinnovations, where possible with indigenous
or locally produced technology and improved
resource efficiency (materials, water, energy).
Greening the supply chain by inducingenvironmental practices as part of the market
push-pull mechanism in the whole chain of
production. Consumer awareness raising and marketing of
eco-products.
4.2.4. Pillar 4: Cross-Cutting and Other
Aspects
Emergency Response
ACTED will maintain its capacity to provide timely
and reliable humanitarian assistance to victims ofnatural and/or human-made disasters in Sri Lanka.
During its presence in Sri Lanka, and the disasters
ACTED has responded to from the Tsunami to the
IDP crisis in the East and North ACTED Sri Lanka
has particular in-house experience in the following
activities:
Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion; Improving short-term access to food and non-
food relief items (free distributions);
Rapid shelter provision; Protecting and restoring livelihood assets(provision of tools, seeds, fishing gear, etc); Building of community infrastructure and
assets through cash-based programmes.
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Woman Empowerment and Gender Equalit y
ACTED Sri Lanka systematically considers gender
equality in all its interventions. It is not only a
question of rights, but when women are givenopportunities, the benefits are large for their
families, their communities and ultimately for
national development efforts. Womens economic
empowerment puts poverty reduction on the fast
track and supports progress towards achieving the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Advocacy
A key to pro poor growth and poverty reduction is
the analysis of how the external environment
affects the livelihood options of vulnerablecommunities. ACTED strives to explore the impact
of these external factors for local and national level
advocacy work.
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4. ACTED Sri Lanka Principles
Ownership
All of ACTEDs intervention are developed with the
active participation of all stakeholders and
especially those whom the interventions aim to
benefit. ACTED always aims to ensure that
vulnerable populations are central to and own the
process and benefits that derives from our
activities.
Sustainability
ACTEDs intervention aim to be sustainable. We are
striving to help vulnerable communities meet their
needs independently and sustainably through local
involvement in, and ownership of our interventions,
while preserving environmental resources so that
these needs can be met not only in the present, but
also for generations to come.
Empowerment
ACTED focuses on mobilizing the self-help efforts of
vulnerable communities, rather than providing free
social welfare. We are supporting vulnerable
communities to develop their own capacities and
capabilities to address root factors of vulnerabilityaffecting them.
Equality
When necessary, ACTEDs intervention may
challenge social structures, norms and relations
if they impede livelihood security and pro-poor
growth, particularly for women and extremely
vulnerable individuals such as Female-Headed
Households and Persons with Disability.
Appropriateness
ACTEDs interventions of building stocks of capital
aim to be appropriate, practical and achievable
without exposing our primary stakeholders to
excessive new risks.
Working in Partnerships
ACTED works with a wide array of partners. ACTED
closely coordinates and collaborates with lineministries and national and local authorities.
Whenever possible and where an added value is
realized, ACTED implements with and through local
partners. This helps us ensure that our programs
meet local needs and are sustainable due to local
involvement in and ownership of the interventions.
The partners benefit from technical assistance,
capacity building, administrative structures and
resources provided by ACTED.
Micro-to-Macro SynergiesACTEDs interventions, often implemented at micro-
level, aim, where appropriate, at informing policy
and contribute to local and national policies where
they exist. Influencing macro-level policy can have
an impact on the lives of the most vulnerable.
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