Environmental policy and administrative management

This project is designed to address the urgent need for conservation measures to protect the ground water for the use of the community within the Bingiriya and Arachchikattuwa divisions, belonging to the North Western Province. The deepening of the main water source, Daduru Oya , by over-extracting river deposits and damaging the river banks, has been identified as the main reason why ground water has declined. Extensive sand mining has increased the depth of the river bed which caused the ground water to rise, seeping into the river and drying out the villagers wells during most of the year. In addition, some of the wells are also being contaminated by salt water. Navodha Farmer Organization (NFO) plans to combat this by growing Kumbuk and other water-retaining trees on the bank, creating a thick mat of roots that they hope will be able to minimize soil erosion and retain the ground water. Another method used by NFO to combat soil erosion is placing nets made of coir, a coarse fiber extracted from the outer shell of a coconut, on the river banks. The nets will be laid on the banks, with Gliricidia trees planted to firm the edges of the nets. Endemic trees and grasses will be planted on top of the net to further keep it in place. Therefore, during the rainy season the rain will not directly fall on the top soil and so run off should be minimized. A sloping agricultural land technique (SALT) hedge composed of Gliricidia trees will also be established at the top, preventing soil from running over the slope. In order to prevent the river from eroding the bank, NFO has placed sand bags on the edge of the river and has also placed poles in rows along the river to minimize the impact of the water hitting the bank. By taking these measures, the community s ground water should be protected.

Sri lanka