South Asia

Empowering women for effective climate change adaptation: the role of the private sector

Compiled from interviews by the Private Adaptation Finance component at GIZ and supplemented by desk research, this brief highlights the private sector’s potential to empower women as catalysts for climate
- 19/04/2024
- GIZ

Fisheries

Fisheries <img alt="Fisheries" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/fisheries_hl.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> As early as in the 1960s, South Indian fishermen were encouraged to use trawlers to increase fisheries exports. The use of trawlers have since boomed, resulting in the near complete extinction of fish in the Indian part of the sea. Due to the decline in catch in their own territorial zones, fishing boats from Tamil Nadu have for long coveted fishing zones in the Sri Lankan territorial waters.
Community Forestry

Community Forestry - Nepal <img alt="" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/nepal/forestry_hl.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> The most significant regulatory development in support of community forestry was the enactment of the Forest Act in 1993 by the first elected parliament after the 1990 movement for democracy. The 1993 Forest Act guaranteed the rights of local people in forest management. Nepal became the world’s first country to enact such radical forest legislation, allowing local communities to take full control of government forest patches under a community forestry program.
- - Nepal
 - South Asia
 - Forests
Privatization of Water

Privatization of Water <img alt="" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/nepal/private_water_hl.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> The World Bank initiated water sector reforms aim primarily at privatizing water utilities and commercializing water resources. The water privatization policy of the World Bank articulated in a 1992 paper entitled “Improving Water Resources Management” proceeds from the belief that water availability at low or no cost is uneconomical and inefficient.
Land Degradation

Land Degradation <img alt="Land Degradation" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/land_hl.jpg" /> Land is the most vital and heavily threatened natural resource in Sri Lanka. Degradation of land due to soil erosion is of much concern because of its consequences on agriculture, which is a major contributor to the country's GDP. It is estimated that about 5-10 mm of topsoil is lost every year.
Coastal Erosion

Coastal Erosion <img alt="" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/coastal_erosion_hl.jpg" style="width: 530px; height: 300px; border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> Sri Lanka’s experience with coastal erosion dates back to 1920. Today coastal erosion is an acute problem, disrupting fishing navigation" recreation and many other coast-based activities.
Floods

Floods - Sri Lanka <img alt="" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/floods_hl.jpg" style="width: 530px; height: 300px; border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> The principal reason for floods in the country lies in the very nature of her natural ecological systems- the monsoon. Sedimentation of river beds is not considered a major factor contributing t o flooding in Sri Lanka . However, due to land use changes in the watersheds, sediment loads could increase in the future.
Agro-chemicals

Agro-Chemical <img alt="Agro-chemical" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/agrochemical_hl.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> The Government of Sri Lanka has introduced a number of policies and programs to increase paddy production since independence. The fertilizer subsidy program is one of the longest-lasting, most expensive, and most politically sensitive policies implemented to promote rice cultivation in Sri Lanka. It was initiated in 1962 (that is, at the onset of the Green Revolution) with the main objective of encouraging farmers to switch from traditional rice varieties to high-yielding varieties (HYVs) that are highly responsive to chemical fertilizers. Since then, however, the provision of the subsidy has become customary, and successive governments have been under tremendous pressure to continue the subsidy despite budgetary constraints.
Sethusamudram ship canal project

Sethusamudram ship canal project <img alt="" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/sethusamudaram_hl.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project started by the government of India has many adverse effects on Sri Lanka . It is already proved that both India and Sri Lanka will undergo massive environmental damage as a direct result of this project. 
- - Sri Lanka
 - South Asia
Lunawa Environmental Improvement & Community Development Project

Lunawa Environmental Improvement & Community Development Project <img alt="" src="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/country/srilanka/lunawara_hl.jpg" style="border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;" /> The Lunawa Environmental Improvement & Community Development Project (2003-10), was the first ‘test’ of Sri Lanka’s National Involuntary Resettlement Policy. Today it is touted as an innovative, pro-poor model for infrastructure projects in the developing world, especially relevant for the involuntary resettlement of people from densely populated urban areas.
Ship breaking

Ship breaking <object height="398" width="530"><param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fsearch%2Fshow%2F%3Fq%3Dship%2Bbreaking%26w%3D40105063%2540N03&page_show_back_url=%2Fsearch%2F%3Fq%3Dship%2Bbreaking%26w%3D40105063%2540N03&method=flickr.photos.search&api_params_str=&api_text=ship+breaking&api_tag_mode=bool&api_user_id=40105063%40N03&api_safe_search=3&api_content_type=7&api_media=all&api_sort=relevance&jump_to=&start_index=0" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fsearch%2Fshow%2F%3Fq%3Dship%2Bbreaking%26w%3D40105063%2540N03&page_show_back_url=%2Fsearch%2F%3Fq%3Dship%2Bbreaking%26w%3D40105063%2540N03&method=flickr.photos.search&api_params_str=&api_text=ship+breaking&api_tag_mode=bool&api_user_id=40105063%40N03&api_safe_search=3&api_content_type=7&api_media=all&api_sort=relevance&jump_to=&start_index=0" height="398" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=109615" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="530"></embed></object> Until the 1960s, ship breaking was considered a highly mechanized operation, concentrated in industrialized countries, mainly in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. Over the years it has gravitated toward countries with low labor costs, weak regulations on occupational safety, and limited environmental enforcement. Currently, the global center of the ship breaking and recycling industry is located in South Asia, specifically Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. These three countries account for 70–80 percent of the international market for ship breaking of ocean-going vessels.
- - Bangladesh
 - South Asia