Asia & the Pacific

Sri Lanka

• © UNESCO/ P.Coles
• Rice Paddy field, Sri Lanka

The counrty is covered by the UNESCO Office in New Delhi, India.

Sri Lanka has been an active participant of the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) since its inception in 2000. Following the tsunami that occurred in 26 December 2004, Sri Lanka provided data revealing that environmental damage to coastal ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves reduced the capacity of the natural barriers to mitigate the tsunami force and thus intensified the destruction. Consequently, the government and NGOs are in the early stages of restoring these barriers with community participation.

Below you can access the projects that are currently being implemented in the country within the framework of UNESCO’s Natural Sciences Sector.

Freshwater

- Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy programme (HELP) project in the Uda Walawe basin More

- World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) national case study More

People, biodiversity and ecology

- Biosphere Reserves (WNBRs) 

Oceans

- Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System programme (IOTWS)