The Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP) celebrated World Environment Day 2015 on Friday 5 June with a tree planting ceremony at the Biodiversity Study Park in Talawatugoda.
About 15 fruit trees including mango, kumbuk and mee, were planted as an initial step. SLWP was partnered by the Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and Development Corporation in this event, in which IWMI also participated. “We strongly support catchment and river bank conservation. World Environment Day gave us the opportunity to actively promote this commitment,” said Ranjith Ratnayake, Country Coordinator, SLWP.
SLWP also organized tree planting campaigns simultaneously with their partner organizations in five other locations: in Deduru Oya
with the Deduru Oya Area Water Partnership in Gatalawa, Bingiriya; at the Historic Balana Fort, Kandy, with NetWater and the Lions Club, Pilimatalawe; in Gin Ganga with the Department of Irrigation; in the Nilwala Ganga, Matara with the Nilawala Area Water Partnership; and at the Deniyaya Composting Project with the Deniyaya Pradeshiya Saba.
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the
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