Sri Lanka | Understanding Climate Risks to Design Local Solutions for Resilience
Launched in July 2023, the project “Promoting Disaster Risk Reduction for Livelihood Resilience via Community-led, Area-based Approaches in Sri Lanka”, backed by USAID’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, and in partnership with Acted and CEFE Net Sri Lanka, uses the AGORA approach to empower communities and local governance actors to invest on the most pressing resilience priorities. The AGORA model drives projects anchored in local territories and local knowledge to better support people in crisis-affected contexts.
In Sri Lanka, this two-year initiative focuses on reducing disaster risks in the Northern and Eastern regions of Sri Lanka, where extreme climate events and environmental fragility coupled with low socio-economic indicators heighten people’s vulnerabilities to climate change and disasters.
We spoke with field staff from Acted and IMPACT to understand how the two organizations have come together and used data to shape the AGORA project’s community-based resilience efforts.
The project aims to Empower Local Communities with Data, can you tell us what you mean by that?
IMPACT: A lot of data on climate and weather exists at the scale of the country. However, it is rarely the case for districts, divisions and even more, for grama nilhadari, which are the smallest administrative units in Sri Lanka. This is problematic given that the impacts of climate shocks and hazards are very different in magnitude from one area to the next within the country. As a consequence, local communities and district officials have limited access to information which is necessary to manage risks in their area. It also makes coordination between departments challenging when it comes to preparing adequately to respond to a disaster or develop preparedness plans. For instance, only one of the eight selected regions has a disaster risk reduction plan, underscoring the need for localized data and solutions.
Acted: IMPACT Initiatives is supporting the AGORA program by providing data and risk analysis that did not previously exist. This has been particularly important in the beginning of the project, running the AGORA program in selected areas that are most exposed to risks to develop targeted resilience strategies. The idea was also to explore ways in which data can be used in planning, emergency and recovery by local actors.
What conclusions of the study were most interesting for the program?
IMPACT: Interestingly, the findings highlighted the severity of the human-elephant conflict (HEC), an issue we would not have expected to be so central in communities’ concerns!
Acted: It has also shed light on the fact that local officials and Community-based organizations had solid capacities to respond to emergencies, but proportionally very little disaster risk reduction interventions, particularly for those most vulnerable. Capturing this reality helped the program to develop dedicated activities to address this, focusing efforts on what was most important to local communities.
In your experience, what was most and least useful to local authorities?
IMPACT: Local authorities confirmed the vast majority of the risk analysis we shared. Given they experience risks on a day-to-day basis, many conclusions were not new to them. However, they engaged a lot with the maps, which helped them visualize the scale and scope of areas and infrastructures most at risk. Very detailed maps for each village would be even more helpful!
Recommended by LinkedIn
Acted: Given how well the collaboration went with district authorities during the first phase, and how difficult it is for non-data and disaster risk experts to use this information, we decided to organize specific trainings on loss and damage and rapid post disaster assessments for district and village authorities.
How do you foresee the data will be used by local authorities after the project ends?
IMPACT: We have already received requests from all Area-based Risk assessment (ABRA) targeted districts to print the ABRA maps in large-formats, which they intend to display in city halls to raise community awareness about local risks. Additionally, these maps are intended to serve as critical tools for emergency planning, such as outlining evacuation routes to ensure timely response to hazards.
Acted: The ABRA maps have effectively showcased the value of open-source GIS data and tools, sparking strong interest from local authorities who are eager to build their own capacity for such analyses. Local authorities are planning to use analysis such as the flood risk mapping with other aid partners and WFP in one region to guide emergency preparedness strategies for the upcoming flood season.
What would you recommend other data and disaster risk reduction actors to consider for similar programs?
IMPACT: In the data collection phase, engaging community members is truly key to capture their concerns. In the analysis phase, it is important to consider a wide range of hazards relevant to the context beyond flood and drought – which are the most common, such as tropical cyclones, landslides, and deforestation. Furthermore, making the project’s findings more accessible through interactive visualization tools like story maps and dashboards could facilitate greater community engagement and understanding than long technical reports.
Acted: By simplifying the methodologies and training local authorities to update the data themselves, the project can ensure lasting impact and empower communities to continue building resilience long after the project .
Further reading:
Contractual disclaimer:
This report/visual/other information/ is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of ACTED/IMPACT Initiatives and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government” This report/visual/other information/ is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of ACTED/IMPACT Initiatives and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.