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Drought portal - Knowledge resources on integrated drought management

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Sri Lanka

HISTORICAL DROUGHT – Sri Lanka is an island nation located at the southern point of the Indian subcontinent in Asia. Topographically, the island consists of a southcentral mountainous region that rises to an elevation of 2 500 meters, surrounded by broad lowland plains at 0–75 meters above sea level.

The historical records of Sri Lanka, such as the Mahawamsa, Sammohavinodini, and Culawamsa, registered the occurrence of drought once every hundred years during the Common Era (CE) period, except for a gap of 600 years between 600 and 1200 CE. 

In the last century, drought events in 1908 and 1911 were recorded as the most extensive, affecting more than 20 districts in the “Yala” agricultural season (April–September). Meanwhile, during the same period, the most widespread drought during the “Maha” agricultural season (October–March) occurred in 1938 and affected 20 districts. In the twenty-first century, drought occurrences have become frequent in Sri Lanka, with the latest event recorded in 2023. A spatial analysis of drought events between 1974 and 2007 showed that the districts most prone to droughts in the country included Kurunegala Hambantota, Moneragala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Ratnapura, Ampara, Matara, and Nuwara Eliya. 

 

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DROUGHT IMPACT PATHWAY – Drought substantially directly impacts the economy of Sri Lanka, especially in the energy and agriculture sectors. An additional burden on the country’s foreign exchange reserves is an indirect impact of drought, when hydropower generation is severely reduced, prompting a heavier reliance on thermal power generation and fuel importation. The agricultural export sector is also indirectly affected when there are reductions in the production of perennial plantation crops such as tea, rubber, and coconut, which are considered as main export products of the country. Severe and prolonged drought events have serious impacts on the welfare of the population in terms of food security and family conditions. 

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Highlights of drought vulnerability dimensions

  • 22 million population, with 80.8% living in rural areas (2023).
  • 100% of the population in Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Polonnaruwa districts, and more than 90% of the population in Hambantota, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Monaragala, and Kegalle are in rural areas (2012).
  • 91.8% female literacy rate (aged 15+) compared to 93.3% male literacy rate (2022).
  • Male literacy rates are relatively much more significant than female literacy rates (district level): Hambantota (92.7% vs 89.3%), Vavuniya (87.8% vs 84.2), Kilinochchi (89.8% vs 86.3%), Ampara (92.7% vs 87.3%), Trincomalee (94.3% vs 90.3%), and Badulla (90.3% vs 86.7%) (2019).
  • National poverty rate is 14.3%, and poverty is concentrated in rural areas (around 82.2%) (2019).
  • Provincial poverty rates more significant than national: Uva (28.3%), Northern (23.8%), Sabaragamuwa (23.1%), Central (18.7%), Eastern (18.6%) (2019).
  • Highest poverty rates at district level: Mullaitivu (44.5%), Badulla (32.3%), Kilinochchi (26.4%), Nuwara Eliya (26.3%), Jaffna (25.8%), Ratnapura (24.9%) (2019).

  • Agriculture comprises 8.2% of GDP (2023), and 26.4% of total employment (2022).
  • Agriculture comprises 15%–19% of the economic outputs in the districts of Ampara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa Ratnapura, and Kegalle (2019).
  • 28.1% of employed women are in agriculture, compared to 25.6% of employed men (2022).
  • 33.2% of the total labor force is comprised of women (2023).
  • 36.0% female labor force participation rate, compared to 71.9% male labor force participation rate (2023).
  • 10.3% female unemployment rate, compared to 4.8% male unemployment rate (2023).
  • Sri Lanka has three significant sources of electricity generation: thermal power (coal and fuel oil), hydropower, and other renewable energy sources (solar power, wind power, bioenergy).
  • 51% of electricity generation from renewable resources (hydro and marine 43%; solar 3%; wind 4%; bioenergy 1%) (2021).
  • Renewable electricity capacity: 65.0% hydropower; 25.0% solar; 9% wind; 2% bioenergy (2022).

  • Most irrigation structures (tanks and anicuts) in Sri Lanka are available in districts within the dry and intermediate zones. Since the wet zone receives fairly distributed rainfall during the year, irrigation facilities are typically unavailable except for the areas supported by domestic wells or agro-wells for irrigation.
  • Percentage of irrigated lands among districts with relatively high economic dependence on agriculture: Ampara 80.1%; Anuradhapura 89.4%; Polonnaruwa 96.1%; Ratnapura 99.7%; Kegalle 20.8% (2019).
  • Percentage of irrigated lands among districts with highest poverty rates: Mullaitivu 67.5%; Badulla 65.4%; Kilinochchi 80.8%; Nuwara Eliya 87.2%; Jaffna 42.2%; Ratnapura 99.7% (2019).
  • 1,857 MW hydropower installed capacity (2021).
  • 95.1% of the total population and 94.9% of the rural population use at least basic sanitation services (2022).
  • 89.3% of the total population and 87.2% of the rural population use at least basic drinking water services (2022).
  • 47.1% of the total population and 38.7% of the rural population use safely managed drinking water services (2022).

  • The wet zone covers the southwestern region; the dry one covers the plains in the northern, north-central, southeastern, and eastern parts of the country; the intermediate zone covers the central highlands except in the Southwest.
  • The dry zone gets a mean annual rainfall of less than 1 750 mm, compared to the 2 500 mm mean annual rainfall received by the wet zone. The intermediate zone receives a mean annual rainfall of 1 750–2 500 mm.
  • Major rice growing areas in the country are located in the dry and intermediate zones. 
  • 103 river basin systems of different sizes originate from central mountains and are radially distributed towards the coastal plains.
  • Rivers radiate from the central highlands and are less than 160 km in length, except the Mahaweli River, which is 335 km long.
  • Forest cover in the country is 29.2% of the land area, and a significant area of the forest lands is found in the dry zone.
  • Land use as a percentage of total land: plantation crops (tea, rubber, coconut) 9.5%; other plantations (palm oil, cinnamon etc.) 2.39%; paddy 14.99%; field crops (seasonal crops). 4.68%; other cultivation (banana, pineapple etc.), 0.66%.

  • Sri Lanka developed the National Drought Plan in 2020 to improve drought risk management. 
  • Government agencies relevant to drought risk management: Disaster Management Centre, International Water Management Institute, Lanka Rain Water Harvesting Forum, Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Management División of the Ministry of Environment, National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Water Resources Board, Department of Agriculture.
  • Early warning systems have been established by the Department of Meteorology and Disaster Management Canter to provide timely information and alerts about impending droughts, water shortages, and related hazards.
  • Institutional laws and regulations related to water, drought risk management, disaster risk reduction, climate change: National Drinking Water Policy (2001), Sri Lanka Disaster Management Act No.13 of 2005, The National Rainwater Policy and Strategies of 2005, National Climate Change Policy of Sri Lanka (2012), National Policy on Protection and Conservation of Water Sources, their Catchments and Reservations in Sri Lanka of 2014, National Environment Policy of 2022.
  • Plans related to drought risk management, disaster risk reduction, climate change: Sri Lanka Comprehensive Disaster Management Program 2014-2018, National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change Impacts in Sri Lanka: 2016-2025, National Action Program for Combating the Land Degradation: 2015-2024, Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Program (2017-2030), National environmental action Plan 2022-2030.

 

Asian Disaster Reduction Center. 2024. Disaster Information Archive. [Cited 31 July 2024]. https://www.adrc.asia/latest_disaster.php?country%5B%5D=144&event%5B%5D=5&word=&duration_start=&duration_end=&order=1&per_page=25 

Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. 2024. In: Emergency Events Database EM-DAT. [Cited 31 July 2024]. https://www.emdat.be/

Department of Census and Statistics. 2012. Island-wide Census of Housing. Colombo, Department of Census and Statistics.

Department of Census and Statistics. 2022. Poverty indicators-2019. [Cited 1 August 2024]. http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Poverty/StaticalInformation/PovertyIndicators-2019 

Disaster Management Centre. 2007. Historical Disaster Information System in Sri Lanka. https://www.preventionweb.net/files/1231_SriLankaFinalReport200707.pdf 

International Hydropower Organization. 2022. 2022 Hydropower Status Report Sector: trends and insights. [Cited 11 April 2024]. https://www.hydropower.org/publications/2022-hydropower-status-report 

International Renewable energy Agency. 2023. Energy Profile: Sri Lanka. [Cited 1 August 2024]. https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Statistics/Statistical_Profiles/Asia/Sri-Lanka_Asia_RE_SP.pdf?rev=f2d843253d9b4b3280998aeabff4137e 

Ministry of Environment. 2020. National Drought Plan for Sri Lanka. Colombo, Ministry of Environment.

International Trade Administration. 2024. Sri Lanka - Country Commercial Guide: Energy. [Cited 1 August 2024]. https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/sri-lanka-energy 

World Bank. 2024. In: World Bank Open Data. [Cited 1 August 2024]. https://data.worldbank.org/ 

 

FOCUS ON VULNERABILITY

Economic sectors: agriculture, energy, agricultural exports, foreign exchange reserves.

Social groups: agricultural households and communities, people employed in agriculture, women population, poor population, rural poor, rural population. 

Geographical areas: northern, northcentral, southeastern, and eastern parts of the country (dry zone), districts of Mullaitivu, Badulla, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Ratnapura, Nuwara Eliya, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, and Kegalle.