Policy challenges in climate adaptation in Sri Lanka: Identifying major gaps

Thursday 17th April 2014 Being a tropical island located in a disaster prone region, Sri Lanka is vulnerable to i pacts o! cli ate change" The 2004 tsuna i has indicated that a large e#tent o! densely populated lo$ lying coastal areas is vulnerable to a !uture rise in the sea level" The country has !re%uently been e#periencing disaster prone $eather e#tre es such as droughts, !loods and cyclones" &redictions by global studies on cli ate change suggest that both intensity and !re%uency o! such e#tre e events are likely to increase in the !uture" As a signi!icant population o! the country is directly dependent on $eather'reliant livelihoods such as agriculture and !isheries, adverse changes in $eather patterns could lead to chaotic conditions" A ong the co unity groups that are ore vulnerable to cli ate change i pacts are residents in coastal areas, rain'!ed !ar ers in the dry (one, !ishing co unity, $orkers in the estate sector and s all'scale producers o! e#port crops" )li ate change is a co ple# challenge and $ell'designed policies !or adaptation are necessary to !ace the i pacts o! it" Adaptation is a dyna ic process o! ad*ust ent in response to changing conditions o! cli ate" A prag atic approach to$ards adaptation policy has to !ul!il a !e$ essential steps" They are+ identi!y and evaluate likely i pacts o! cli ate change, assess vulnerability-adaptive capacity o! key stakeholders, identi!y a*or gaps that a!!ect e!!ective actions against i pacts, and, appraise alternative strategies !or overco ing gaps so that the country can adapt to i pacts in a success!ul anner" .hereas so e $ork has already been done to identi!y-evaluate i pacts on at least a !e$ sectors and assess the vulnerability o!

so e key stakeholders, assess ent and evaluation o! gaps that could i pede national e!!orts !or adaptation appears to be poor so !ar" This article atte pts to !ill this void by e#ploring the a*or gaps that could a!!ect cli ate adaptation in Sri Lanka" /n!or ation !ro di!!erent sources indicates that !ive a*or gaps act as barriers to ake e!!ective adaptations against cli ate change i pacts, na ely+ in!or ation gap, technological gap, policy and governance gap, institutional and coordination gap, and resource obilisation gap A brie! discussion o! the nature and i portance o! these gaps is presented in the article" /t argues that national agenda on cli ate adaptation should !ocus on overco ing these gaps at acro level policies as $ell as in sector level policies-strategies so that the country can !ace the threat o! cli ate change success!ully" /n!or ation gap )li ate is an inherently uncertain pheno enon and anthropogenic causes o! global $ar ing increase the uncertainty even !urther" 0ncertainty lies $ith real i pacts o! cli ate change at global, regional, national and local levels and success!ul adaptation needs in!or ation that could reduce uncertainty associated $ith i pacts" 1ence, adaptation to cli ate change is essentially an in!or ation'driven process" )li ate in!or ation could range !ro advanced in!or ation products and !ro sophisticated !orecast odels to lay en2s practical e#perience about local $eather conditions" Scienti!ic cli ate !orecasts and pro*ections have a a*or role to play in bridging the cli ate in!or ation gap" The value o! reliable cli ate !orecasts is best illustrated in the recent event o! cyclone &hailin3the second strongest cyclone to strike /ndia" / proved !orecasts helped the govern ent to organise one o! the largest evacuation operations saving any lives" 4n the other hand, a high loss o! !isher en2s lives due to poor co unication o! !orecast in!or ation in Sri Lanka in 5une 2016 underscores the necessity o! a reliable syste o! cli ate in!or ation" As !ar as the situation in cli ate in!or ation is concerned, the 7epart ent o! 8eteorology 978:;the nationally andated cli ate in!or ation provider in Sri Lanka ;o!!ers a li ited port!olio o! cli ate in!or ation products 9)/&s: $hich are channelled via di!!erent public edia including its o$n $ebsite" /t includes routine short'ter $eather !orecasts on a daily basis and $arnings-advisories on bad $eather situations

such as cyclones, heavy rains, lightning and high $ind" 78 has also recently launched the <8onsoon =oru 2 $ith the ai o! providing a seasonal outlook !or a lead ti e around three to si# onths period in t$o onsoons, south'$est onsoon and north'east onsoon" Those products are based on in!or ation !ro satellites, a net$ork o! $eather stations around the country and global !orecasts issued by international $eather-cli ate research centres" /n addition, so e co ple entary products such as classi!ication o! agro' etrological (ones published by the 7epart ent o! Agriculture 97A: also e#ist" According to that, the country has been divided into a nu ber o! agro cli atic (ones based on long' ter records o! local rain!all and elevation classes 98SL:" As !ar as scienti!ic pro*ections on long'ter i pacts o! cli ate change are concerned, in!or ation so !ar available is based on basic level analysis o! local eteorological data and intellectual speculation" >eneration o! ore reliable pro*ections is ha pered by li ited scienti!ic capacity !or developing locally applied odels or do$nscaling local e!!ects !ro global odels" ?ven the !e$ atte pts ade to do$nscale in!or ation !ro global odels have li itations in ter s o! reliability and applicability o! in!or ation !or practical decision' aking" >iven the scale o! !uture challenges associated $ith cli ate change, this level o! cli ate in!or ation availability can hardly be considered as ade%uate and there are a*or gaps in the e#isting syste o! cli ate in!or ation and co unication" @ot only is the availability, but the %uality o! in!or ation is a a*or issue since the credibility o! the e#isting in!or ation has been challenged on any occasions" This situation $arrants little roo !or designing e!!ective adaptation activities against i pacts o! cli ate change" 1ence, a*or i prove ents in supply o! cli ate in!or ation products 9)/&s: are necessary to provide e!!ective guidance to adaptive actions in di!!erent sectors" Technological gap /t is $idely ackno$ledged that innovative technological options are essential !or success!ul adaptation" ?#cept !or a !e$ develop ents in areas such as agricultural technologies, $ater anage ent ethods and sources o! rene$able energy, technological i prove ents !or adaptation in any other areas re ain largely une#plored" ?ven the e#isting technologies such as drought-!lood resistant crop varieties cannot be considered as highly dependable to eet the de ands that $ill be placed upon by

uncertainties o! cli ate change in the !uture" )onsidering this gap, the )li ate )hange Secretariat 9))S: o! the 8inistry o! ?nviron ent and Aene$able ?nergy 98?A?: has initiated a pro*ect to undertake technology needs assess ent 9T@A: !or adaptation and itigation $ith the support o! 0nited @ations ?nviron ental &rogra s 90@?&: to identi!y easures and practices to decrease >1> e issions and to reduce vulnerability to cli ate change in di!!erent sectors" /t !ocussed on identi!ying priority sectors that need technology i prove ents, re oving barriers !or deploy ent and di!!usion o! technologies, increasing the capacity o! local institutions-e#perts and raising public a$areness o! cli ate change issues" The pro*ect has identi!ied !ive sectors ; !ood sector, health sector, $ater sector, coastal sector and bio'diversity sector ; as priority areas o! adaptation and three sectors ; energy sector, transport sector and industry sector ; as priority areas o! itigation to undertake technology develop ent activities" Based on the !indings o! T@A and barrier analysis, the pro*ect has developed technology develop ent action plans !or adaptation and itigation separately" .hile the outco e o! the pro*ect ay help to !ill the e#isting technological gap to a certain e#tent by identi!ying necessary actions to i prove the situation, developing a sound technological base ay need ti e and resources" 1ence, developing cli ate resilient technologies deserves priority attention o! all stakeholders that includes public, private, co unity and non'govern ent agencies" &olicy and governance gap Aecent e!!orts initiated by the 8inistry o! ?nviron ent and Aene$able ?nergy 98?A?: have helped to !ill so e gaps in policy on cli ate change at the national level" 8A? introduced the @ational )li ate )hange &olicy 9@))&: in 2012 that declared the national vision and policy principles on cli ate change" /n addition, in 2010, the 8inistry prepared the @ational )li ate )hange Adaptation Strategy 9@))AS+ 2011' 1B: that identi!ied strategic priorities and broad interventions to address the " )urrently it is $orking to$ards preparing the @ational Adaptation Action &lan 9@AA&:" Beyond the purvie$ o! 8?A?, ho$ever, cli ate change issues are yet to receive the due attention o! policy akers at acro as $ell as sector level policies" ?ven the activities o! interested researchers, acade ics, develop ent $orkers have so e$hat been restrained due to poor policy recognition o! the atter" @o priority has been assigned to identi!y the i pacts o! cli ate change on any sectors o! the econo y or to initiate necessary policy actions to overco e the " This cannot be considered as a !avourable situation !or a vulnerable country like Sri Lanka"

4verall, despite so e recent e!!orts by 8?A?, a signi!icant gap e#ists in policy and governance o! cli ate change issues in Sri Lanka that needs to be addressed through care!ully designed policies $ith the participation o! public sector as $ell as non'State actors such as co unity organisations, private sector, and civil society organisations" /nstitutional and coordination gap A decision' aking !ra e$ork on cli ate change is slo$ly e erging in Sri Lanka $ith the initiation o! li ited policy develop ents entioned earlier" The 8inistry o! ?nviron ent and Aene$able ?nergy 98?A?: plays the leading role here" The 8inistry2s activities are spearheaded by the )li ate )hange Secretariat 9))S: ; the national !ocal point !or coordinating cli ate related actions at all levels including international negotiations" 1o$ever, cli ate change is a co ple# proble that cannot be governed through e!!orts o! a single inistry or a line agency alone" / pacts o! cli ate change are spread over ultiple sectors as $ell as di!!erent regions across the country" The ulti' sector, ulti'regional i pacts i ply that no single inistry, depart ent, authority or provincial-local govern ent body can take the burden singlehandedly $ithout the cooperation o! other stakeholders" )urrently, di!!erent activities are undertaken by various agencies in an ad'hoc anner $ithout proper coordination" @ot only >overn ent agencies, but a signi!icant nu ber o! non'State actors are also undertaking various initiatives on cli ate change" These e!!orts need to be coordinated so that the desired policy outco es are achieved" >overn ent organisations and non'State actors should $ork together as a broad strategic alliance against cli ate change i pacts through a coordinated e!!ort" The gaps identi!ied above ; especially in!or ation and policy gaps ; are also contributing to so e e#tent apart !ro the coordination gap that e#ists bet$een relevant organisations and stakeholders" )urrently, ))S is trying to achieve so e level o! coordination through a syste o! inter'agency co ittees on adaptation and itigation $hich is participated by di!!erent stakeholders including acade ics" This situation needs to be i proved !urther and a proper institutional echanis that can coordinate nu erous individual initiatives has to be developed" Aesource obilisation gap A a*or constraint !aced by developing countries such as Sri Lanka $hen taking adaptive actions against cli ate change is the scarcity o! resources" The >overn ent is burdened $ith nu erous !iscal and onetary di!!iculties to !ind e#tra resources !or

!acing cli ate change issues" There!ore, conventional channels o! public !inance alone cannot be relied upon to eet the resource needs o! adaptation and itigation" /n this connection, innovative strategies o! resource obilisation should be identi!ied !or obilising resources !ro sources other than public !unds ; i"e" international and non'State local sources such as the private sector" &articular attention should be given to utilising opportunities available at international sources o! !unding available to support adaptation activities" )urrently, international echanis s have been developed to support igratory easures that reduce >1> e issions such as )lean 7evelop ent 8echanis 9)78: and progra !or Aeducing ? issions !ro 7e!orestation and 7egradation o! =orests 9A?77C:" Although e!!orts are being taken to establish ultilateral !unding !acilities !or supporting adaptation in developing countries, they are not success!ul yet" 9The $riter is Aesearch =ello$, /nstitute o! &olicy Studies o! Sri Lanka and can be reached via athulaDips"lk": )ontd" on page 12 1o$ever, any e#isting ultilateral and bilateral donors have identi!ied adaptation as a priority area o! develop ent support and there!ore international sources !or obilising resources are gradually rising" 1ence, the country should be alert on such sources and develop strategies and sound proposals to capture opportunities ade available by such sources" Such !unding are beco ing available in areas such as research on adaptation, livelihood support !or adaptation, technical support !or developing adaptive technologies and institutional capacity building" /n addition, established !unding !acilities such as >lobal ?nviron ent =acility 9>?=: also provide support !or adaptation" Besides, public'private partnership activities, co unity'based initiatives, progra s o! civil society organisations and corporate !unding !ro the private sector are other alternative sources !or channelling resources !or adaptation" Lack o! necessary resources is !unda ental to all other gaps entioned above and $ithout su!!icient resources none o! the desired i prove ents are possible" 4n the other hand, gaps created by poor in!or ation, lack o! policy !ocus and absence o! institutional echanis s could ha per the chances o! obilising resources too" 4verco ing the gaps 4verall, despite the high vulnerability, the present readiness o! the country to !ace the cli ate change i pacts can hardly be considered ade%uate" The a*or gaps concerning in!or ation, technology, policy-governance, institutions and resource obilisation can be considered as a*or barriers that act against the success!ul

adaptation to cli ate change i pacts" They reduce the adaptive capacity and increase the vulnerability o! individual citi(ens as $ell as the nation as a $hole" 1ence, overco ing the is an essential condition !or !acing the threat o! cli ate change" There!ore, all national and local initiatives on cli ate change should !ocus on creating conditions necessary to overco e these gaps" 4verco ing these gaps in a success!ul anner $ould enhance the prospects !or !acing the challenge o! cli ate change in an e!!ective anner thereby helping to achieve the long'ter goals o! sustainable develop ent o! the country too" /n essence, this situation i plies that the national agenda on cli ate change should be built upon !ive a*or pillars ; a cli ate in!or ation syste , progra !or develop ent o! adaptive technologies, policy and governance o! adaptation, $ell'coordinated institutions and a echanis !or resource obilisation" Such an agenda should be ai ed at ainstrea ing cli ate change issues $ithin the overall national goals o! sustainable develop ent" The success o! a national agenda $ould largely be deter ined by the e!!ectiveness o! easures taken to overco e the a*or gaps highlighted in this article" 9The $riter is Aesearch =ello$, /nstitute o! &olicy Studies o! Sri Lanka and can be reached via athulaDips"lk": Ae!erences )li ate )hange Secre'tariat 92011:, Second @ational )o unication on )li ate )hange, 8inistry o! ?nviron ent, )olo bo, Sri Lanka" /nstitute o! &olicy Studies o! Sri Lanka 92016: )hapter E+ =acing )li ate )hange Threats+ The / portance o! Better /n!or ation" Sri Lanka State o! the ?cono y 2016, )olo bo, Sri Lanka /nstitute o! &olicy Studies 92016: )li ate )hange /ssues in Sri Lanka" A co pilation o! articles published in )L/8AT?netblog !ro 5an'7ec" 2016, )olo bo, Sri Lanka 8inistry o! ?nviron ent 92012: @ational )li ate )hange Adaptation Strategy !or Sri Lanka+ 2011'201B, )olo bo, Sri Lanka 8inistry o! ?nviron ent 92012: The @ational )li ate )hange &olicy o! Sri Lanka, )olo bo, Sri Lanka 8inistry o! ?nviron ent and Aene$able ?nergy 92012: Technology @eeds Assess ent and Technology Action &lans !or )li ate )hange Adaptation+ Technology Action &lan, )olo bo, Sri Lanka 8inistry o! ?nviron ent and Aene$able ?nergy 92012: Technology @eeds Assess ent and Technology Action &lans !or )li ate )hange 8itigation+ Technology Action &lan, )olo bo, Sri Lanka Senaratne, A", @" &erera and F" .ickra asinghe 9200G: 8ainstrea ing )li ate )hange !or Sustainable 7evelop ent in Sri Lanka+ To$ards a @ational Agenda !or Action" .orking &aper Series @o"14,/nstitute o! &olicy Studies, )olo bo, Sri Lanka

 .orld 8eteorological 4rgani(ation 92016: State ent on the Status o! the >lobal )li ate in 2016,>eneva, S$it(erland