Conference on “Recognizing Climate Change Risk of Dry Zone Farmers”
Small-scale farmers in developing countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change. The research project Agricultural Decision Making and Adaptation to Precipitation Trends in Sri Lanka (ADAPT-SL) aims at gaining a better understanding of how farmers in Sri Lanka, in particular, are adjusting their practices to deal with climate change effects. Since 2010, researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Energy and Environment (VIEE) have partnered with the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) in Sri Lanka to examine the connections between agricultural adaptation and climate change in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. This project is completed by September this year and a conference was organized to share the findings of the ADAPT-SL project with relevant stakeholders and obtain their comments.
Conference on “Recognizing Climate Change Risk of Dry Zone Farmers” was held at Hotel Ozo-Colombo 04 on 10th August 2017. Mr. S.S. Miyanawala, Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. At the Innagural Session, Eng. (Dr.) Asiri Karunawardena, Director General, National Building Research Organisation, welcomed the participants and Prof. George Hornberger, Director, Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment of the Vanderbilt University, USA delivered the keynote address on “Interdisciplinary research is essential for addressing water security”. Prof. Jonathan Gilligan, Associate Professor, Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the Vanderbilt University addressed the gathering on the topic of “understanding and adapting to water scarcity at the community level”.
Technical Sessions commenced after the inaugural sessions with the following experts chairing;
Technical Session 1: Drought Forecasting - Session Chair: Prof. Amanda Carrico, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder
Technical Session 2: Drought Resilient Agriculture - Session Chair: Dr.Udeni Nawagamuwa, Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa
Technical Session 3: Policies, Institutions and Communities - Session Chair: Dr. Lanka Thabrew, Senior Standards and Technology Engineer at Western Power, Perth, Australia
Conference concluded in the evening with the vote of thanks delivered by Mr. Winson Gnanatheepan, Scientist, NBRO.
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