The Young Researchers Forum 2012 20th & 21st January, 2012 Western Province Aesthetic Resort, Colombo

Session: Environmental Concerns and Challenges Date: 21st January, 2012 Time: 9.00am-10.00am
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The Young Researchers Forum 2012 The Impact of the War on Water Resources and Its Implications for Post-War Sri Lanka W.A.Upul Wickramasinghe. upulkw@gmail.com Date of Research: September 2011 to January 2012

The specific issue: The effect of the war on water resources and the quality of the water in the Jaffna district.

Core argument: Research has shown that water resources such as tanks, wells, streams etc have been severely damaged during conflict. This has led to the lack of water which can be used. Also deforestation and damage to natural flora and biota was generally observed, which may have a long-term effect on water resources. At the same time, due to the armed conflict, potable water is polluted due to the presence of mines as well as due to the release of chemicals in to the environment. The return of refugees to their places of origin has led to an over-exploitation of resources to meet food and energy needs. Furthermore, munitions that have not been defused and unexploded mines contaminate the soil and water in the long run. The pollution of rivers and lakes also occurs when the human bodies that are deposited in them begin to decompose. Unofficial reports suggest that close to 40000 people were killed during the final stage of the war in Sri Lanka and due to this there is a large possibility that this will result in the above mentioned impact on the water resources in Northern and Eastern provinces.

The Young Researchers Forum 2012 The resettlement of internally displaced people in their places of origin and the provision of necessary facilities and infrastructure has been a huge challenge for the Government in post-war Sri Lanka. However, environmental considerations fall by the wayside and as a result poorly placed or badly designed latrines or medical facilities contaminate water and soil. In some cases, the environmental impacts of these practices come become apparent only a long period of time after the dismantling of refugee camps. Thus it is essential that policy makers consider potential environmental impacts when planning and implementing the solutions.

Relevance to theme: In the context of post-war, the economic and environmental governance in war-affected areas has collapsed or is malfunctioning. This will lead to the breakdown of waste collection arrangement which in turn will result in the contamination of water resources and the risk of contracting infectious diseases. Generally because of the humans behaviors, environment gets severely damaged. The situation would be more serious in the post-war context with the additional impact of the war. Thus the protection of environment would be very important but at the same time would be a huge challenge. The damage of these processes will have a larger impact on the future generation rather than the present one. In other words youth and children will be the main victims of this. Moreover it is widely acknowledged that any social group has a right to participate in the decision-making processes on issues that affect them. Therefore, particularly youth voices are more progressive in producing alternative ways to address this issue. Thus empowering youth participation would be a further step in social transformation.

The Young Researchers Forum 2012 Relevance to the Post-war context: Most of the scholars, analysts, researchers and activists are analyzing and criticizing the political, social and economical impacts of the war. But it is hard to find the analysis or critics about the environmental effects of the war in Sri Lanka. Careful analysis shows that there are a number of impacts of war on the environment: water, air, soil and natural flora and biota. Among the disastrous consequences of the war; the destruction of infrastructure, the pollution of water supplies, the poisoning of soils and fields, the destruction of crops and forests, the over-exploitation of natural resourcesetc can take place. The effect of these changes can be either short- term or long-term. Destroying the environment means destroying ourselves, since the existence of the humans and environment is interdependent. After the armed conflict, assessments about the damage to the human beings and properties are carried out, but unfortunately the assessments of the impact on the environment are yet to be considered seriously in Sri Lanka. There are lot of examples that can be found from all over the world about the negative influence of war on environment such as, conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, armed conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Lebanonetc.

Innovativeness and Solutions: The most important thing is, within this two and half year period of time (post-war period), there has been no comprehensive research that has been carried out to assess the impact of armed conflict on environment particularly on water resources. So that, as the first thing it is essential to carry out a comprehensive and in-depth research which covers all the water resources in the affected areas. Then it is possible to carry out a comparative analysis with the other areas of the country and if possible with the previous research which has been carried out in the same areas before the war.

The Young Researchers Forum 2012 Ensure more Northern youth participation in decision-making processes and reforming mechanisms of participation accordingly. This would build trust in democratic process among Northern youth. Thus there will be no room for undemocratic ways of emancipating politics.

Methodology: This study involves both positivist and post-positivist traditions of knowledge productions. Methods such as sample analysis, statistical analysis, Interviews and archival research have been used in this research.

Policy recommendations: Draft and declare a comprehensive National policy on water resource management. This policy should encapsulate voices of marginalized groups including youth. Take steps to raise the awareness among individuals about the quality of water. Make more accessible portable water to public.

Potential impact of research for change: This study is a contribution to the existing knowledge of water resource management. Raise public awareness about the finding of the research by sharing it with different social groups. Ensure that the youth voices are been heard in research on issues which affect them. Provide an alternative vision for marginalized ideas to mobilize for better water resources.
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The Young Researchers Forum 2012