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colombo@acted.org Headquarters 33, rue Godot de Mauroy 75009 Paris France Tel: +33 1 42653333 paris@acted.org www.acted.org
As the 26-year civil war finally came to an end in 2009, newfound stability offers an incredible opportunity for Sri Lanka to harness its untapped development potential and build a strong foundation for long-term peace and prosperity across the island. With a brighter and more stable future on the horizon, a long-term country strategy for ACTED Sri Lanka is now fully warranted. Since the 2004 Tsunami, our presence mainly focused on responding to the succession of emergencies which shook the countrys Eastern and Northern provinces and support the recovery efforts of affected populations. While retaining the capacity to react to urgent needs as they emerge, in case of a natural disaster for instance, our strategy for the next three years will strive to stay in line with the countrys longterm potential, needs and opportunities. To achieve this, our actions will focus on promoting equitable economic development and pro-poor growth in vulnerable areas, to help reduce poverty while
Andr Krummacher
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1. About ACTED
ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1993 with Headquarters in Paris, France. Independent, private and not-for-profit, ACTED respects a strict political and religious impartiality and operates according to principles of nondiscrimination and transparency in 27 countries around the world.
Our Vision: To guarantee the link between Emergency, Rehabilitation and Development ACTEDs vision is to establish a link between emergency, rehabilitation and development. Once basic needs have been covered, the populations living conditions remain critical as our areas of intervention are among the poorest in the world. We guarantee the sustainability of our interventions carried out during crises, through remaining on the field after the emergency and involving the communities, ACTED engages in a long-term support with a continued presence in the field to break the poverty cycle and accompany the populations on their way to development. Our Experience ACTED strives to share experiences and expertise with other actors working in development cooperation, with whom we share common values. ACTED has joined Alliance2015 (www.alliance2015.org), a partnership of seven likeminded non-government organizations working in the field of development cooperation and for the Millennium Development Goals (CESVI from Italy, Concern Worldwide from Ireland, Welthungerhilfe from Germany, Hivos from the Netherlands, IBIS from Denmark, People in Need from the Czech Republic). ACTED is also member of Voice (www.ngovoice.org), the European network representing 85 European non-governmental organizations active in humanitarian aid worldwide, as well of CoordinationSud (www.coordinationsud.org), the French network for relief agencies.
Our Mission: Providing Adapted Responses ACTEDs vocation is to support vulnerable populations affected by wars, natural disasters and/or economic and social crises, and to accompany them in building a better future; thus contributing to the Millennium Development Goals. The programs implemented by ACTED in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, aim to address the needs of populations affected by wars, natural disasters and/or economic and social crises. Our interventions seek to cover the multiple aspects of humanitarian and development crises through a multidisciplinary approach which is both global and local, and adapted to each context. ACTED is committed to meeting the highest standards of accountability and strives to meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations by delivering the adequate humanitarian service in each situation. As a charity, we will intervene whenever and wherever needs arise, guaranteeing the compliance and relevance of our interventions and innovating whenever possible. ACTED is a member of HAP International which supports humanitarian accountability and quality management.
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With the end of the war, the government of Sri Lanka called for the redevelopment of the nation and there are many reconstruction opportunities in the North and East of the island. By the end of 2010, the authorities, together with the international community, had resettled approximately 330,000 persons to their areas of origin and only 20,000 IDPs were still in camps with the remaining in host families.1 The resettlement process is expected to be completed by mid-2011. However, people returning to the Vanni are facing dire living conditions in their war-ravaged home region: widespread destruction of infrastructure, a prevalent mine risk and a lack of resources and social services to meet basic needs in food, water, shelter, sanitation and education, all of which are not sufficiently mitigated by the limited aid which has so far trickled into the area. 1,000 km of Sri Lankas Eastern and Southern coast line was hit by the 2004 Tsunami which killed 35,000 people and displaced 450,000. The country needed about 2.2 billion USD to effectively
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implement a recovery and reconstruction strategy which can be considered as successfully accomplished by now. Despite Sri Lankas almost three decades of civil war, the devastating 2004 Tsunami and the 2008 global financial crisis (which required the country to take an IMF loan), economic growth has experienced healthy and impressive rates of about 5.5% per annum for most of this centurys first decade. The GDP growth in 2010 even peaked at 7.5%. Sri Lankas Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is 2,013 USD (2008) and therefore the country is characterized as a lower-middle income country. Its life expectancy of 74.4 years and literacy rate of 91 percent are far higher than most of its South-Asian neighbors. However, the economic growth has been uneven and many provinces, especially the Eastern and Northern Province, are lagging behind. High growth rate is mainly in the Western province and accounts for a 50% GDP contribution reflecting uneven distribution of employment and income.
Source: UNHCR
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Selected Human Development Index Indicators Human Development Index (HDI) Value GDP Per Capita, PPP (in US$) GNI Per Capita (in US$) Live Expectancy at Birth Adult Literacy Rate % Maternal Mortality Rate per 100,000 Live Births % of Population living below Poverty Line of 1.25 US$ Average Annual Population Growth % Expenditure on Health Per Capita, PPP (in US$)
Source: Human Development Report 2010
Sri Lanka 0.658 (91) 4,886 2,013 74.4 90.6 58 14.0 0.7 179
South Asia 0.516 3,417 954 65.1 62.4 454 N/A 1.4 123
World 0.624 10,631 664 69.3 N/A 273 N/A 1.1 869
The outlook for Sri Lanka in 2011 2015 is considered by many as positive as the country will profit from a peace dividend following the end of the civil war. GDP growth between 2011 and 2015 is expected to average 6.6% a year. The agricultural sector will be supported by increased cultivation in the formerly conflict-affected Northern and Eastern Provinces. The recovery in consumer and business confidence is also expected to stimulate economic activity while private consumption growth is set to become the main driver of economic expansion, fuelled by rising incomes - notably among agricultural workers - and remittances from expatriate Sri Lankans.
Four pillars are thought to support investment: large scale reconstruction efforts in the North and East; public investment in infrastructure which was long neglected during the civil war; business investment, as companies seek to capture market share amid the economic growth and rising real-estate investment.2 Given this positive outlook, Sri Lanka however needs to bridge the gap between the regions and facilitate Pro-Poor Growth (PPG) to eradicate poverty, especially among the rural population outside the Western Province. ACTEDs 2011 2013 Sri Lanka Country Strategy is geared towards this need.
Sri Lanka's Progress on Achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) Millennium Development Goals Target To halve the number of people who live on less than $1 a day To halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, girls and boys alike, will be able to complete a full primary schooling Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education and in all levels of education no later than 2015 Reduce by two-thirds, the under-five mortality rate Reduce by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 the maternal mortality rate Have halted by 2015, and begun to reverse, the spread of HIV/AIDS Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse, the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
Progress Not on track Not on track On track Partly on track On track On track On track Partly on track
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programs and Not on track reverse the loss of environmental resources Halve by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and On track basic sanitation.
Source: National Council for Economic Development
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However, while the situation calmed down in the East and interventions were slowly shifting towards longer-term development, the violence spread to the North in 2008, causing the displacement of over 280,000 people and prompting ACTED to expand its operations and address the critical basic needs of IDPs in camps. The scope of ACTEDs operations in 2009 therefore spanned both the East through projects geared towards economic development, food security and civil society strengthening, and the North with a focus on emergency relief through water, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities. With the end of the conflict in May 2009 and the fast-moving return process under way, ACTED adapted its strategy once more in 2010 by covering short-term relief and rehabilitation interventions for returnees in the North combined with longerterm development activities in the East. In the North, activities focused largely on ensuring livelihood and food security through Cash-for-Work, micro-enterprise development, distribution of boats and fishing gear and shelter provision, while building the foundation for long-term sustainable recovery. This included the rehabilitation and construction of productive infrastructure. ACTEDs 2010 activities in the North amounted to 210 Mill. LKR - 8.5% of the overall total amount spent by the NGO sector on the resettlement process. Cash-based rehabilitation of
productive assets
As the government took control of the East in mid2007 and civilians returned to their homes, ACTED once more shifted its focus and began implementing post-conflict reconstruction projects along with the last major Tsunami-related reconstruction activities, both of which focused on the provision of livelihood support and rehabilitation of critical infrastructure.
In the East, ACTEDs longer-term development activities aimed at strengthening Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in representing public needs and engaging in local development planning and management while monitoring service delivery of state actors thus contributing to improved local governance in the area. ACTED also supported community-led socio-economic development through a holistic, multi-pronged approach including infrastructure, livelihood, psychosocial and conflict mitigation components, with special attention paid to persons with disabilities.
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Decades of blockades and access restrictions in former conflict-affected areas, combined with poor roads, limited storage facilities and high transportation costs have prevented the formation of extensive local, national and regional market linkages, trapping the farming population in a vicious cycle of subsistence agriculture with few export-focused cash crops and limited capacity for value addition. In the North in particular, the realization of economies of scale through a system of common marketing or collective transportation is problematic due to the widespread destruction of community infrastructure, making such initiatives more difficult to organize. In addition, the persistent state of isolation of the area from the rest of the country has prevented farmers from accessing better quality inputs (including better fertilizers and seeds) as well as improved technology and innovative cultivation methods. Income diversification is equally difficult given the lack of opportunities for vocational training and business expansion, compounded by limited access to credit, especially in the North. Agricultural households that also operate a small business experience a 50% reduction in their poverty rate, according to the World Bank4, reflecting the dire need to support small and medium business creation and market linkages in former conflict areas. Increasing productivity and diversifying income is all the more important as food remains the main household expenditure, with the majority of returned households in the North still spending 65% of their income on food as of December 20105, more than 18 months after the end of the conflict. Economic growth in the North and East has therefore significantly lagged behind the rest of the country as it moves towards achieving middleincome status and opens up to global markets and foreign investment. The biggest challenge is therefore to empower populations excluded from this process to move beyond subsistence agriculture, establish sustainable livelihoods with substantial potential for growth, and profit from the wealth of economic opportunities which have accrued to Sri Lanka since the war ended.
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Source: World Bank Sri Lanka Country Assistance Strategy 2011-2013 5 Source: World Food Programme
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through facilitating sustainable linkages between farmer organizations and national institutions of technology generation and dissemination. Crop yield competitions which create a healthy, competitive spirit among farmers and develop motivation for the adoption of new technologies which are essential for increasing the productivity of crops. Also, it encourages farmers participation in extension programs. Water resource management with a focus on local solutions to seasonal water shortages and the promotion of water saving technology such as drip irrigation and rain water harvesting systems. This component also includes the rehabilitation of existing agricultural water facilities.
2. Improving market linkages resulting in higher and more regular incomes for farmers Building the capacity of farmer organizations to take advantage of market opportunities (promotion of pooling systems and creation of economies of scale, facilitation of buy-back arrangements, link with private sector, agrimarketing information system). Rehabilitation and construction of storage facilities. Value addition of agriculture based products. 3. Small and medium enterprise (SME) development Transformation of mainly CBO or cooperativebased production and value addition into privately and professionally run small and medium sized businesses which create formal
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employment opportunities enabling the poorest to access work. Facilitate business registration. Provision of small-scale start-up and/or expansion capital. Developing business, managerial, accounting and technical skills.
Municipal and Urban Councils (MC/UC) and the Pradeshiya Sabhas at the local level. However, in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, decades of conflict hampered if not stopped the local government in playing its assigned roles and responsibilities in delivery of development and administrative services, yet the administration was largely in place during the conflict and maintains a high degree of institutional capacity. In addition, the conflict has weakened links between state and non-state actors and eroded populations trust in these sub-units of governance. With the end of the war, the civil administration began to re-establish itself, in order to oversee the on-the-ground planning, delivery, coordination and monitoring of the return effort. There is now need to ensure increased and more predictable access to key government services with a special attention to functionality of service, delivery timelines, transparency and accountability, and attention to the needs of the most vulnerable which will generate a peace dividend benefitting the people of the Northern and Eastern Province.6 In addition, the planning processes of the local governments are currently fragmented and despite the formal existence of a participatory process through the GN function, there is very limited involvement of and accountability towards the population when preparing local plans and budgets. As such, policies and programs are often not relevant, representative and inclusive and therefore may not address the real issues faced by local communities and their most vulnerable members.7 Sri Lanka has a long history of village-level Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) formed to identify and address shared problems. These groups have demonstrated potential to drive a grassroots development process, improve rural access to services and markets, and contribute to a more equitable, democratic and peaceful society, but they continue to face a number of constraints: The conflict has left the majority of the registered CBOs either inactive, weak and ineffective, or politicized. In addition, most established CBOs face institutional and operational challenges to follow their original
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4. Facilitating access to micro-credit Internal: Promotion of minimal risk, savingsbased approaches to financial resource mobilization. External: Creating linkages with Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and/or banks.
Source: Joint Plan for Assistance for the Northern Province 2011. 7 Source: UNDP Local Governance Project
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mandate, as well as minimal ability to access financial resources, preventing them from becoming powerful change actors in their communities. Consequently, there has been a marked decrease in lobbying at the government level for development initiatives, and corresponding failure to hold government accountable to its actions. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and especially CBOs are not well connected to local authorities and do not actively demand improvements to government service provision. The CBO leaders are often not familiar with the CBO coordination processes and with working with the state agents to meet their needs. In addition, CBOs continue acting independently of each other and fail to pool their interests in order to amplify their vis--vis the government. CBO coordination bodies with the mandate to organize collective CBO interests are weak, resource poor and unaware of relevant procedures for incorporating CBO needs into government plans. Therefore, there is an urgent need to support local civil society organizations and link them effectively to the local administration to ensure their voices are heard.
participation and group dynamics, and e) external linkages. Enhancing CBO financial self-sustainability by a) promoting minimal risk, savings-based approaches to financial resource mobilization (such as internal savings and loan associations), b) supporting CBO-based small and medium enterprise development; c) facilitating access to credit. Supporting community-led planning and development through the creation of Village Development Plans (VDPs). The plans identify constraints and root problems faced by the communities the CBOs represent and outline a clear action plan to address these issues using resources from the community itself and from state and non-state actors. To a limited scale, and as an incentive for kick starting the VDP implementation process, small grants of between $5,000 and $10,000 may be allocated to CBOs through a competitive process. Enhancing CBO understanding of financial resources with a particular focus on assisting CBOs to access financial resources both public and private in order to implement a greater number of the development activities identified by their representative communities.
2. Promoting networking among civil society groups and develop the capacity of CBO networks and coordination bodies to pool CBO interests in order to amplify their voice and influence vis--vis the local government
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3. Promoting linkages between state and non-state actors to improve the quality of service delivery and enhance accountability Strengthening the ability of local government units to interact with civil society. On a limited scale, this includes the provision of necessary equipment. Promoting the inclusion of CBO-created VDPs into local level government planning and management (Divisional and District Development Plans) in order to strengthen the relevance of grassroots and district level public policies and ensure that their implementation fits the needs of the local communities. In addition, specific assistance to strengthen planning and coordination functions of the District and Divisional Secretariats, especially in the area of information management, GIS mapping and monitoring will be provided. Publishing Service Providers Handbooks. Local government institutions and private sector actors have substantial pools of expertise and deliver a number of important services. Through CBO networks, Service Providers Handbook will be created and widely distributed so as to increase community awareness of available services and increase the legitimacy of the networks as representatives of CBOs.
1940s, the island had a 45% forest cover but by 2010 this had fallen to approximately 29% according to FAO. Between 1990 and 2010, Sri Lanka lost 20.9% of its forest cover (around 490,000 ha), at an average of 24,500 ha or 1.04% per year. Sri Lanka has had one of the highest deforestation rates of primary forests in the world. This has a considerable impact on livelihoods and the economy as deforestation contributes to landslides, flooding, soil loss, and productivity losses.8 The soils suffer from varying degrees of erosion and degradation mainly due to rapid rates of deforestation, poor irrigation and drainage practice, inadequate soil conservation, chena cultivation and vegetable cultivation in steep slopes and overgrazing. It has been estimated that about 46% of the land in the country has been affected by soil erosion. The coastal environment has been threatened due to the erosion of coastal areas (about 1 meter per year) due to river damming, sand mining, collection of coral rubble and removal of costal vegetation. Salinisation of paddy land has become a trend due to the reduction of flood buffering capacity of mangroves, lagoons and estuaries. Coral reefs have been degraded as a result of human activities (including tourism) and increased sea temperatures. Proper management of solid and liquid waste is critical issue, particularly in urban areas around industrial sites as well as former IDP camp and newly-resettled areas after the conflict. However, the present method of solid waste disposal is mainly open discarding in low-lying lands. Lack of sites for use for waste disposal has been a major impediment in resolving the issue. The impact of this practice is pollution of wetland habitats, pollution of surface and ground water and creation of environments facilitating insect/mosquito breeding. Although well endowed with water resources, waters are getting increasingly polluted especially due to unsustainable agricultural and fishing practices with extensive use of agro-chemical and fertilizers, urbanization and industrialization.9
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Source: FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment (2010) and FAO State of the Worlds Forests (2009) 9 Source: Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
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excreta. This therefore creates a valuable resource rather than a mere waste product, which can reduce the need for artificial fertilizers in agriculture. 2. Community-based rehabilitation and restoration of degraded land areas to improve income and reduce risks of disaster such as flooding and soil erosion Tree planting, especially multi-purpose tree species which promote agro-forestry such as Palmyra, coconut and fruit trees. These trees also have great potential for value-added productive activities, thus contributing to the economic development of the area. 3. Promotion of Green Entrepreneurship among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) Cleaner production by introducing technical innovations, where possible with indigenous or locally produced technology and improved resource efficiency (materials, water, energy). Greening the supply chain by inducing environmental practices as part of the market push-pull mechanism in the whole chain of production. Consumer awareness raising and marketing of eco-products.
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Woman Empowerment and Gender Equality ACTED Sri Lanka systematically considers gender equality in all its interventions. It is not only a question of rights, but when women are given opportunities, the benefits are large for their families, their communities and ultimately for national development efforts. Womens economic empowerment puts poverty reduction on the fast track and supports progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Advocacy A key to pro poor growth and poverty reduction is the analysis of how the external environment affects the livelihood options of vulnerable communities. ACTED strives to explore the impact of these external factors for local and national level advocacy work.
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