Establishing institutional coordination mechanism for integrated drought management in Sri Lanka

 

Background

The project “Enabling Activities for Implementing UNCCD COP Drought Decisions” funded by the Global Environment Facility, jointly implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United  Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD, aims to support the operationalization of national drought plans according to the principles of integrated drought management. Amongst its objectives, the project supports countries in the definition of optimal institutional coordination mechanisms that can enable the implementation of the plans.

Drought is the most threatening and emerging international natural disaster, affecting all sectors in Sri Lanka, including agriculture, water supply, energy, ecosystem, and the overall welfare of the population. Therefore, as the national focal point to the UNCCD in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Environment has initiated adaptation strategies and other necessary steps. As the initial part of this program, the Ministry of Environment has formulated the National Drought Plan with the support of UNCCD in 2020. The Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka, with the contribution of FAO, set the goal to review what has been taken to the ground so far and to establish the coordination mechanism that can provide an efficient and effective implementation. The 2^nd national workshop is the successive event of the first national workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 15^th November 2023. It builds on the achievements and reinforces the commitment of the stakeholders towards building drought resilience in cooperation.

Objective

The objective of the workshop is to review the status of the implementation of the National Drought Plan and to evaluate
options for agreed-upon coordination mechanisms in a participatory manner.

The workshop involves two sessions. The first session reviews the planning process and sets an action plan for the implementation. The second session presents the options for coordination mechanisms, built on an interactive discussion and stakeholder involvement.

Full agenda

Introduction

• 08.45 - 09.00: Registration of participants
• 09.00 - 09.10: Welcoming remarks - Vimlendra Sharan, FAO Country Representative, Sri Lanka & Maldives
• 09.10 - 09.20: Welcoming remarks - B.K. Prabath Chandrakeerthi (Attorney at law), Secretary, Ministry of Environment
  
• 09.20 - 09.35: Objectives of the workshops – Nilmini Wickramarachchi, Director, Natural Resources management,
  Ministry of Environment
• 09.35 - 09.50: Introduction of FAO’s drought programme – Maher Salman, Senior Land and Water Officer, Lead of Agricultural Water Management Team, FAO

Session 1 – Planning for drought management

• 09.50 - 10.05: Report on the review of the implementation of the National Drought Plan: the outcomes of the first National Workshop - Nimal Gunawardena, Emeritus Professor, University of Peradeniya
• 10.05 - 10.20: Alignment with the national regulatory framework: integrating the National Drought plan to the National Action Plan under the UNCCD - Maher Salman, Senior Land and Water Officer, Lead of Agricultural Water Management Team, FAO
• 10.20 - 10.40: Tea break
  
• 10.40 - 11.30: Panel discussion: planning into action - moderated by Buddhi Marambe, Senior Professor, University of Peradeniya. Panelists:
  • Disaster Risk Management Center Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
  • Meteorological Department
  • Ministry of Environment
  • National Disasater Relief Service Centre

Session 2 – Coordination mechanism for drought management

• 11.30 - 11.45: Existing coordination mechanism for disaster risk management in Sri Lanka - Disaster Risk Management Center
• 11.40 - 12.00: Coordination mechanism in the National Drought Plan: an analysis of the proposed mechanism - Nimal Gunawardena, Emeritus Professor, University of Peradeniya
  
• 12.00 - 12.15: A global overview of institutional coordination mechanisms: a taxonomy – Maher Salman, Senior Land and Water Officer, Lead of Agricultural Water Management Team, FAO
• 12.15 - 13.30: Lunch 
• 13.30 - 13.45: Options for an agreed-upon coordination mechanism: the keynote –  Nimal Gunawardena, Emeritus Professor, University of Peradeniya
• 13.45 - 14.50: Participatory session: Group discussion on the coordination mechanism, Group presentations - moderated by Maher Salman, Senior Land and Water Officer, Lead of Agricultural Water Management Team, FAO
• 14.50 - 15.00: Communication as an instrument of institutional coordination -  Nimal Gunawardena, Emeritus Professor, University of Peradeniya
• 15.00 - 15.15: The way forward: an action plan towards the implementation of the National Drought Plan -  W.D.S.C. Weliwatta, Additional Secretary, Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment
  
• 15.15 - 15.30: One-breath feedback
• 15.30 - 15.40: Vote of Thanks - Sepali De Silva, Assistant Director, Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment