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The major challenge for the dry-zone farmers in non-irrigated areas in Sri Lanka is water scarcity. This situation is a major barrier to the sustainable use of resources and maintaining income generation activities throughout the year. In this context, these farmers realized the need for another source of water. The strategy was the construction of...
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The Bundelkhand region of central India is prone to drought and is the hotspot of water scarcity, land degradation, poor productivity, poor permanent vegetal cover and miserable socioeconomic status. Natural resource management through watershed development interventions with major emphasis on agroforestry appears an effective tool to make the regi...
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... Further, a majority of the farmers did not hesitate to excavate in their low lands, with or without governmental support. Thus, a number of minor and major irrigation schemes as well as a large extent of low lands in small inland valleys, in the dry zone of Sri Lanka were converted in to the "Agro-well lands" [9]. Consequently the number of Agro-wells has been increased approximately up to 120,000 [11]. ...
Agro-well development in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka has been accelerated recently. Accordingly a significant land proportion has been converted to Agro-well based lands. This matter has been attracting the attention of policy makers as well as researchers because the understanding of the real situation has been a national level requirement. Therefore the current study was launched in the North Central part of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka during the period of 2014-2015. It was a comparative assessment of the salinity levels of the Agro-well lands and rain-fed lands. Further, the soil salinity data was correlated with the cropping duration of the Agro-well lands. The first part of this study has revealed that the soil salinity levels of Agro-well lands were in the 'very low category' (< 0.15 dS/m). Comparatively, salinity status has been developed in 66% of Agro-well lands, than of rain-fed lands. However, it has been revealed that soil salinity has increased with the increase of cropping duration in Agro-well lands. Accordingly, after the next 25 years E/C values can be increased up to 'medium salinity level' (up to 0.4 dS/m).
... These communities were fostered by traditions and practices aimed at conserving forest cover of the watersheds, conserving soil and water, preserving the rich bio-diversity and maintaining responsible social structures". Dharmasena and Goodwill (1999), Aheeyar, andAriyabandu (2002), Pathmarajah, (2002), and Perera (2009) revealed that due to the limited alternatives to the continuous agricultural activities in the dry season as well as due to the economic feasibility, the farmers were continuing this Agro-well based land use practices. Further Perera and Nianthi (2016) revealed that there were evidences for the development of floral diversity due to the Agro-well development in the dry zone. ...
A number of strategies have been launched to grasp the farmers' perceptions including PRA, RRA, and PSS methods. Some of the techniques were difficult to analyze quantitatively. Further, some were not a rapid review or an overall assessment. Especially in tank cascade studies there should be an overall rapid impact assessment strategy covering hydrological and ecological aspects for research purposes as well as planning purposes. Therefore, this study has been introduced a new participatory assessment method named as " Hydro-Ecological Impact Assessment Scoring Method (HEIAS) " and it has been checked in the field. The investigation was identifying the hydrological and ecological impacts of Agro-well development in tank cascades in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. It was revealed that there were considerable ecological impacts than the hydrological impacts. Further, the difference of the impacts between high Agro-well density tank cascades and low Agro-well density tank cascades was significant.
... Integrating agroforestry characteristics into Agro-well-based agriculture in the Yan Oya in dry zone of Sri Lanka has led to the development of canopy cover and helped to conserve soil moisture, reduce soil erosion, and maintain bio-diversity. Areas with perennial canopies have been increasing over all well-based lands from a mere 0.3% in 1994 to 6% in 2004 with the decrease of shifting cultivation lands from 30% to 22% during the same period (Perera, 2010). ...
Despite its low emissions of greenhouse gasses (GHGs), Sri Lanka is considered as a vulnerable small island nation under climate change. Agroforestry, which uniquely integrates trees into land use systems, has historically contributed to climate change adaptation in Sri Lanka. Hence, the promotion of agroforestry practices is vitally important to enhance the resiliency of the country to future climate change. This paper reviews the literature and discusses the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture and forestry, the effects of adapting agroforestry on climate changes, and important policies for promoting agroforestry adaptation in Sri Lanka. The adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture and forestry are identified as follows: endangerment of natural assets ; prevalence of pests, diseases and invasive species; agriculture and forest damage; and high levels of food insecurity. The adaptation of agroforestry impacts climate change by increasing the tree cover outside forests, enhancing forest carbon stocks, conserving biodiversity, reducing risks and damage intensity, maintaining health and vitality, and scaling up multiple benefits. Changing regulations and legislation, developing awareness and capacity, planning for climate-smart agro-forest landscapes, offering no-regret options and implementing climate change adjustment programs are discussed as important policy measures. It is concluded that agroforestry, along with favourable policy, has an important role in climate change adaptation by enhancing resilience to climate impacts on farming systems.
The Tank Cascade System is one of the unique and socially accepted land-use practices in the dry zone of Sri Lanka which is evolved from 600 B.C. The small tank builders of the historical period had a profound and unified understanding of the natural resources, regional landscape, landforms, and hydrology. Tanks and irrigation canal systems, environmental zoning, forest reservations, agro-well based land utilization, land-sharing system (Bethma), traditional soil conservation measures, have been still maintaining well in some rural areas in the dry zone. Newly developed agro-well based agro-forestry systems and some participatory techniques are also counted as few of sustainable land-use practices. This study has provided many valuable lessons of land use planning and management from the ancient hydraulic civilization and proving that the ancient system is still appropriate for the dry zone agricultural community rather than inadequately coordinated modern efforts of land use practices.
This paper shows that winds of change are blowing in the dry zones of north-central Sri Lanka, the original hydraulic civilisation of the world. The social organisation of tank irrigation – which for centuries had combined a stylised land-use pattern, a system of highly differentiated property rights, and elaborate rules of community management of tank irrigation –has now been morphing in response to demographic pressures, market signals, technical change and modernisation. What are the lessons for south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa?
