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Extreme weather boosts poverty in Sri Lanka – report
Posted by AlertNet: Amantha Perera on April 8th, 2013
AlertNet: Without fail, Somadasa Gamage has prayed for one thing every year before he plants his crops.
"Rain,' says the 47-year-old vegetable farmer, who has farmed for three and a half decades in Sri Lanka's remote south eastern Tanamalvilla area, a dry area where rain can be frustratingly scarce.
Last year, for almost six months, Gamage did not plant any crops because a severe drought had dried out the river from which he draws water. When the drought ended, Gamage was relieved -- but not for long....
Extreme weather forces Sri Lankans to rethink rice farming
Posted by AlertNet: Amantha Perera on January 18th, 2013
AlertNet: The year's end is usually a good time for wholesale rice suppliers in Sri Lanka. Customers are busy stocking up, particularly in wealthier urban areas like the capital, Colombo.
But for two years running now, some suppliers have struggled to keep enough rice on hand as the year draws to a close. Changing weather patterns -- including droughts and flooding, and at times both in one year -- mean supplies are increasingly uncertain.
"The weather has been so fickle that paddy harvests keep going...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Extreme weather forces Sri Lankans to rethink rice farmingWomen ‘are the foot soldiers of climate change adaptation’ – expert
Posted by AlertNet: Amantha Perera on August 2nd, 2012
AlertNet: In 2006, when the Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to launch a multi-million dollar rural water project in eastern and north central regions of Sri Lanka, there was one overriding requirement -- women would be placed in key positions.
As a result, experts say, the $263 million program, aimed at providing drinking water to over 900,000 people by 2011, has been a particular success.
In the village of Talpothta, in the rural north-central Polonnaruwa District, the village women's association...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Women ‘are the foot soldiers of climate change adaptation’ – expertErratic rainfall in Sri Lanka hitting rice crop, power production
Posted by AlertNet: Amantha Perera on July 13th, 2012
AlertNet: When it is full, the Parakarama Samudaraya irrigation tank in Sri Lanka's North Central province is an impressive sight. With its waters gently lapping the shores, this ancient reservoir --which covers more than 20 sq km (8 sq miles) - lives up to its name, which means the Parakarama sea.
But these days, it might as well be renamed the Parakarama puddle. The failure of seasonal rains has caused water levels to drop so badly that by the first week of July the reservoir was at less than 8 percent...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Erratic rainfall in Sri Lanka hitting rice crop, power productionSri Lanka using fines to beat dengue amid rising climate risk
Posted by AlertNet: Amantha Perera on March 2nd, 2011
AlertNet: Dengue fever, a potentially fatal disease that has infected more than 70,000 people and killed over 500 in Sri Lanka since January 2009, has shown the first signs of abating in two years as the government steps up a campaign that includes fines against people and businesses that fail to remove mosquito breeding areas.
The fall in cases comes despite extensive flooding this year, which can encourage dengue-carrying mosquitoes to breed in standing water.
Dengue, a severe, flu-like illness, is...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sri Lanka using fines to beat dengue amid rising climate risk