HSBC Sri Lanka wins the Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Awards 2016 (Social Empowerment category) for the model Kapiriggama tank cascade restoration

In 2013, HSBC partnered with IUCN Sri Lanka on the design and implementation of a USD 500,000/= water initiative. The project objective was to ecologically restore  the traditional Kapiriggama tank system in the North-central Province of Sri Lanka, that comprised of 22 inter linked tanks functioning like one cascade. The project focused on the key issues of the Kapiriggama cascade system such as low cropping intensity, tank sedimentation, high tank water loss, low productivity of land etc. and provided an integrated and multi-stakeholder approach to address them.  The restoration continued for three years and successfully completed in early 2016 with inputs from IUCN, Department of Agrarian Development, a technical steering committee comprised of national experts and farmer organizations in the area. Six hundred farmer families with 2,500 family members directly benefitted from the project while over 60,000 individuals benefitted indirectly. This model cascade restoration approach has  up-scaling potential to cover over 1,000 other small tank cascades in the dry zone of Sri Lanka.

Key project achievements in this HSBC-IUCN partnership included restoration of 18 tanks; restoration of damaged or malfunctioning sluice gates in 15 tanks, repair of tank bunds in 17 tanks, spill ways in eight tanks and repair of distribution canals in 14 tanks, partial de-siltation in five (5) tanks and arresting a leak in the toe of a bund in one tank which caused a continued loss of about 50% of tank water capacity, since 2004. The project also established more than 20,000 meters of soil conservation bunds in over 100 acres of farm lands, which are upstream of the tanks, to prevent soil erosion and planted over 7,500 saplings around 13 tanks as wind barriers and ecosystem restoration measures.  

Awareness raising programmes on cascade environment and the importance of its conservation were conducted for over 300 farmers and 350 school children representing all the schools in the project area.  Topics of other awareness programmes conducted include Chronic Kidney Disease - unknown etiology (for 300 farmers), sustainable farming and soil conservation (250 farmers), capacity building on irrigation water management (190 farmers and 25 officers) and traditional rice farming (104 farmers). Also conducted was a tailor-made capacity building programme for 58 officers from government institutions on watershed management, environmental protection and sustainable agriculture in tank cascade systems.

Community empowerment to promote farmer organizations and the community to take a lead in restoration activities was a key element in the process. As such eighteen ’shramadana’ (voluntary participation) programmes were carried out involving 700 villagers from ten villages. A Cascade Management Committee, which consists of farmer representatives and local administrative officers was also formed as a result of the project. .

Twenty groups of HSBC staff totaling 175 staff members visited the project site and worked closely with the community during baseline surveys and shramadana programmes in clearing up of foliage and invasive plants, restoring an irrigation drainage canal, gravelling tank bunds and access roads and stabilizing and turfing the soil conservation bunds. During  the project period HSBC staff has counted over 1,500 hours of voluntary service.

Knowledge material produced during the project  available at IUCN Sri Lanka web site include seven technical notes, eight fact sheets, a policy brief with recommendations for restoring traditional small tank cascades in Sri Lanka and a comprehensive training manual on irrigation water management of small tanks.

https://www.iucn.org/about/union/secretariat/offices/asia/asia_where_work/srilanka/publication.

IUCN is proud to be the trusted partner and congratulates HSBC for winning the prestigious “Asia Responsible Entrepreneur Award – 2016”.