A Best Project Sustainability Award to HSBC-IUCN Partnership Project
The ‘Best Corporate Citizen Sustainability Award” organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce involve a separate category for “Sustainable Projects” conducted outside the core business of the companies. HSBC Sri Lanka was among the "Top 5 Best Project Sustainability Awards 2016" for the project implemented by IUCN with HSBC sponsorship named “Ecological Restoration of Kapiriggama Cascade Tank System in Anuradhapura.” The award was presented by Ceylon Chamber to HSBC at the prestigious awards ceremony at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo on 24 November, 2016, in front of a large Corporate gathering with Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as the Chief Guest.
The team with the award
Photo: HSBC
This is the second-high level award received by HSBC for the same project; the first being ‘Asia Responsible Entrepreneurship Award 2016’ in Social Empowerment Category in June of this year.
In 2013, HSBC Water Programme partnered with IUCN Sri Lanka to implement an innovative, USD 500,000 water initiative, to ecologically restore one of the traditional tank cascade systems in the North-central Province of Sri Lanka. The Kapiriggama cascade comprised of 22 inter-linked tanks. IUCN in partnership with the Department of Agrarian Development guided by a National Steering Committee of experts carried out the restoration work and the project was successfully completed in early 2016.
Key achievements of 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 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. Six hundred farmer families with 2,500 family members directly benefitted from the project while over 60,000 individuals benefitted indirectly.
A tank cascade system is a network of inter-connected man-made lakes designed to capture the North Eastern Monsoon rain, prevent floods, store water in ground and on surface and enrich the ecosystem by enhancing ecosystem services. Built in drought-prone areas in the country these systems helped to provide water all year round. In ancient times, these systems functioned sustainably, in harmony with the environment and were maintained by the communities that benefitted from them. These tanks with time were abandoned and neglected. This cascade restoration approach has the up-scaling potential to cover the 457 other cascades in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka.
This highly significant project is one of the most scientific approaches to restore the tanks in drought-prone areas in combination with community inputs while using their traditional knowledge. IUCN is proud to be the implementing partner of the project and congratulates HSBC for winning a number of prestigious awards.
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