Traditional Water Governance Practices for Flood Mitigation in Ancient Sri Lanka

Abstract

The tank cascade system, which emerged as early as the fifth century BC in Sri Lanka’s dry zone, has been portrayed as one of the oldest water management practices in the world. However, its important function as flood management has not yet been thoroughly examined. In this paper, we argue that the main principle behind the tank cascade system is not only to recycle and reuse water resources by taking advantage of natural landscapes but also to control floods. This paper examines the evolution of traditional water management and flood mitigation techniques that flourished in pre-colonial Sri Lanka. This historical examination also sheds light on recent policies that exhibited renewed interests in revitalizing some aspects of the tank cascade system in Sri Lanka’s dry zone. This paper shows how ancient Sinhalese engineers and leaders incorporated traditional scientific and engineering knowledge into flood mitigation by engendering a series of innovations for land use planning, embankment designs, and water storage technologies. It also discusses how this system was governed by both kingdoms and local communities. Water management and flood control were among the highest priorities in urban planning and management. The paper thus discusses how, for centuries, local communities successfully sustained the tank cascade system through localized governance, which recent revitalized traditional water management projects often lack.

Integrated Water Management in Mountain Communities: The Case of Feutap in the Municipality of Bangangté, Cameroon

“…The ruling urban design paradigm is governed by the slogan "rain to the river" [148,149] in which rainwater is regarded as a "disturbing factor" (or a "running waste") to be channeled as quickly as possible to the next river. However, with issues related to the costs of drinking water, limited water resources, severity of floodings, and stormwater pollution, the role of RWH is being reassessed [150][151][152][153][154]. As learned from Ancient Sri Lanka (Section 4.3) [155][156][157] and Gansu, China [132][133][134][135][136], RWH offers a number of environmental and economic benefits which will shape the future of Feutap and other communities.…”

Domestication of water: Management of water resources in the dry zone of Sri Lanka as living cultural heritage

“…The storage function of the tanks buffers effects of climatic extreme events like floods and droughts (Emerton, 2005; Geekiyanage & Pushpakumara, 2013; Hewawasam & Matsui, 2022; Schütt et al, 2013). Already ancient chronicles mentioned frequently droughts and resulting famines and clearly refer to an increase in investment in the irrigation infrastructure as coping strategy applied by ancient kings (Siriweera, 2004 in Jayawardana & Wijithadhamma, 2015; Geiger, 1912, pp.…”

“…The storage function of the tanks buffers effects of climatic extreme events like floods and droughts (Emerton, 2005;Geekiyanage & Pushpakumara, 2013;Hewawasam & Matsui, 2022;Schütt et al, 2013). Already ancient chronicles F I G U R E 1 Distribution pattern of small tanks in Sri Lanka (modified after Cook, 1935;Domrös, 1974;Panabokke et al, 2002).…”

The Impact of Climate change on Water Resources in Northern Sri Lanka: Stakeholder Perspectives

“…Sri Lanka is among the nations that are facing the brunt of this phenomenon, with its geography and environmental makeup suffering from the effects of extreme weather events(De Silva & Kawasaki, 2018). The country's weather patterns are characterized by erratic and intense changes as well as an increased frequency of extreme events (Hewawasam & Matsui, 2022). These changes have led to numerous challenges for Sri Lanka, from agricultural and economic instability to overall social and environmental distress (Lacombe et al, 2019).…”