EFFECT OF LOWER MALWATHU OYA RESERVOIR PROJECT ON KIMBUL WEWA VILLAGE TANK SYSTEM IN ANURADHAPURA, SRI LANKA

Abstract

he village tank cascade system is on the lead as an excellent small sus- tainable system in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. It refers to the old art of irrigation that made of a series of tanks interconnected within a micro-catchment in order to store and distribute water to areas. However, mega development projects (MDPs) like the Lower Malwathu Oya Reservoir Project may harm these cascades while creating land use changes, deforestation and forest degradation, habitat loss, environmental pollu- tion, and social and cultural destruction. The main objective of this study is to identify how the MDPs affect on village tank cascade systems and human lifestyles associated with tanks. Under qualitative research methodology, semi-structured interviews and field observation were used to collect primary data from 15 locals selected by pur- posive sampling. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Kimbul Wewa cascade consists of 10 tanks and Maha Kimbul Wewa is the largest and directly inundated by this project. The inundation of segments of cascade like Gasgommana, Thisbambe, Kattakaduwa, Potawetiya, and tank bed can lead to loss of habitat, feed- ing and breeding grounds, and water resources for animals, as well as loss of trees and medicinal plants, increasing the human-elephant conflict and eventually collapse the entire cascade system while creating the future risk of flood in this area. The in- terrelationship between people, animals, the environment, culture, religious beliefs, norms, and traditional knowledge of these systems are at great risk due to the collapse of cascades. Social stress, deterioration of social ties, and loss of livelihood and ex- isting income are the direct impacts of socioeconomic profile. Therefore, this study emphasizes the sustainable development comprised of the participatory rural ap- proach, bottom-up development, and social forestry while balancing national and lo- cal requirements to minimize the eternal impacts of MDPs.