Sri Lanka invests in natural disaster protection

According to a statement, released by World Bank, Sri Lanka is the first South Asian country to receive funding for natural disaster protection works. The development policy loian of $102mn comes with a Catastrophe Differed Drawdown Option, meaning that credit can be drawn partially or in full if the country declares a state of disaster. 

The project involves the improvement of 716km of distribution canals, 399km of flood bunds, 109km of link-roads, and 778 distribution structures, as well as the rehabilitation of 100 of culverts and bridges. Additionally, slope stability works in 18 school locations susceptible to landslides are scheduled, protecting about 30,000 students from potential hazards. According to World Bank, "this analytical work will create the background for climate resilience investments in the future and will help the government to understand the risk and adopt required risk mitigation measures". It is believed that the natural disaster protection project will directly protect around 450,000 people and will have an indirect impact on approximately 11.5mn residents in the country.

Another $110mn, also from the World Bank, is going to be invested in a Climate Resilience Improvement Project. The project aims in long term capital development planning and involves the modeling of flood and drought risks in nine major river basins across the country. The ultimate purpose will be to explore and define the existing mechanisms behind the floods and droughts, taking into account rainfall variability and land use changes.