• How does water resource development for irrigation affect local floral and faunal biodiversity, based on comparisons of the construction and irrigation phases of scheme development with reference (pre-development) conditions?
• What is the current extent of reliance of rural communities on the agro-ecological system and its biodiversity, and how and in what ways are socioeconomic conditions and livelihoods systems altered by the different stages of irrigation development?
• Which ecoagriculture strategies can be employed to ensure that the land-use system is appropriately managed for both agricultural production and wild biodiversity conservation and how can they best be promoted for uptake?

Objectives

The primary project objective is to support the formulation of strategies for biodiversity conservation with large-scale water resource development while protecting or enhancing the livelihoods of the rural poor, on the basis of comprehensive scientific assessments.

Specific Objectives

• To document the status of biodiversity in the Walawe Left Bank Irrigation Upgrading and Extension Project area, southern Sri Lanka, and evaluate trends in select floral and faunal taxonomic groups linked to ecosystem change with irrigation development.
• To assess the effects of different stages of irrigation development on the socioeconomic conditions and livelihoods systems of local communities, with particular reference to reliance on natural resources and implications for biodiversity conservation.
• To understand the attitudes, perceptions and knowledge of Mahaweli Agency officials, farmers and other stakeholders regarding biodiversity conservation, enhance stakeholder understanding of the importance of conserving biodiversity in irrigation development and management projects, and promote the adoption of ecoagriculture strategies.
• To identify important areas for biodiversity protection and other appropriate types of ecoagriculture strategies, and the mechanisms for their uptake with irrigation scheme development and management.

Methods

• An interdisciplinary approach was adopted, steered by interactive bimonthly project meetings among the irrigation agency, consulting engineers and researchers. A range of standard field sampling methods (quadrats, transects, rapid bioassessment, sampling local catches, etc.) was used for biodiversity assessment, based on individual taxonomic groups, with routine monitoring of 42 sites representing the range of biophysical/development contexts within the study area.
• Habitat dynamics were assessed using remote sensing methods, while water quality sampling and hydrological analyses were also performed using standard tools. An integrated methodological framework was developed and applied to assess socioeconomic conditions and livelihoods systems of local communities, using participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and other tools for primary and secondary data collection for sites representing the range of irrigation development contexts: reconnaissance visits, focus groups discussions (FGDs), formal interviews with officers and other stakeholders, transect walks, a comprehensive household questionnaire survey (HHS), a natural resources survey, and social mobilization and awareness workshops with stakeholders and media.

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