Participatory Management in Irrigation Development and Environmental Management in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Ancient irrigation systems were developed in Sri Lanka through construction of small village tanks, temporary river diversions, permanent river diversion and more sophisticated diversion-storage and water release systems. The management systems evolved together with the development. A cornerstone of the ancient management system was the active involvement of farmers in the management of irrigation systems. This management system was changed during the European colonization. Until the mid 1980s farmer participation in irrigation management was achieved through cultivation meetings held prior to the cultivation season. The deficiencies of this management arrangement resulted in the introduction of modern participatory management methodologies to irrigation in the mid 1980s. Initially, there was an attempt to recover a part of the cost of maintenance. However, this was not successful due to various reasons and the issue became a political one.
Participatory management in irrigated agriculture has achieved many positive results. Some irrigation systems have achieved better cropping intensities and higher water use efficiencies through better water management. There has been an improvement in the equity of water distribution, more transparent water allocation and better acceptance of the management strategies by the farmers. The closeness between the farmers and officers has also improved. A change in the investment patterns can also be observed, with less money being allocated to development of the infrastructure and more attention on management. However, participatory management in irrigated agriculture can not be described as a complete success. The reasons for failure include dependency of farmers on state help, inadequate change of attitudes, and inadequate finances and other resources. Therefore, despite the long-term objective of achieving self-management of irrigation systems by farmers, the current situation is that the farmer organizations are dependent on the state support.
Participatory approaches to environmental management are also of recent origin. The early attempts in this field carried out in 1990s are not considered sustainable, but have provided a few policy directions. The introduction of environmental policy and regulations has resulted in several procedures to be followed before implementing irrigation projects. The development institutions have undertaken planting new forests with the active participation of beneficiaries in the development projects. It can be seen that economic benefits to the community may serve as an incentive for the community to participate in the management of water resources and the environment. There is a need to adopt formal polices with regard to participatory management, as well.