There is ample evidence to suggest that Sri Lanka’s climate has already changed. However, the bigger question of national importance is what Sri Lanka’s climate will look like in 50 or 100 years and how prepared the country is to face such changes. This report reviews the status of climate change (CC) research/activities in Sri Lanka in terms of observed and projected climatic changes, their impacts on water resources and agriculture, CC mitigation and adaptation, and research needs.

This report synthesizes the experience of micro-hydro developments in Sri Lanka, Peru, Nepal, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. It attempts to draw out the best practices from this experience. Micro-hydro plants are defined as having a capacity between 10 kW and 200 kW. The report provides a rigorous comparative microeconomic analysis of the cost and financial returns of a sample of plants across the five countries. It draws out the macroeconomic, financial and other institutional arrangements that appear important to the scaling-up of micro-hydro investments.

Sri Lanka has an annual rainfall between 750 and 6,000 millimeters (mm), with large spatial and temporal variation. The availability of clean drinking water is a national imperative, but agriculture consumes the bulk of available water resources. Economic development, population pressure and rising demands from different sectors are placing increasing pressure on available water resources. With climate change threatening, there is a danger that the demand for water will outstrip supply - particularly in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka where most irrigation schemes are located.

This guideline jointly published by The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), in partnership with the Urban Design Lab of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, provides practical tools for city planners and decision makers to reform urban planning and infrastructure design according to the principles of eco-efficiency and social inclusiveness.

Paper examining four case studies to demonstrate uncertainty management approaches in short- and long-term adaptation planning.

This is the first volume on the proceedings of the national conference on ‘Water for Food and Environment’, which was held from June 9–11, 2009 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The volumes two and three have been produced as separate documents of this report series. In response to a call for abstracts, 81 abstracts were received from government institutes dealing with water resources and agriculture development, also from universities, other freelance researchers and researchers from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

This is the third volume of the proceedings of the national conference on ‘Water for Food and Environment’, which was held from June 9 –11, 2009 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The volumes 1 and 2 have been produced as separate documents of this report series. In response to a call for abstracts, 81 abstracts were received from government institutes dealing with water resources and agriculture development, universities, other freelance researchers and researchers from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

This is the second volume of the proceedings of the National Conference on ‘Water for Food and Environment’, which was held from June 9 –11, 2009 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The volumes 1 and 3 have been produced as separate documents of this report series. In response to a call for abstracts, 81 abstracts were received from government institutes dealing with water resources and agriculture development, universities, other freelance researchers and researchers from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

This paper discusses the research conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) which explored the likely impacts of climate change on agriculture and water resources in Sri Lanka. The recommendations contained in the research report were consequently adopted as part of the National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy which had been under discussion since 2009.