A working paper from the ODI outlines water development policy in the 1990s.
Published on: 06/11/2008
"In recent decades, policy reforms for water resource management nationally -demanded but designed by external actors - have generated intense controversy and become both a tool and a victim of national politics", says Rajindra Ariyabandu in a new ODI working paper. Ariyabandu tells the "tells the difficult story of a set of Asian Development Bank (ADB) projects in the 1990s which were designed to streamline water resource management arrangements and introduce demand management to the country. In spite of a decade of investment and effort these arrangements have never been implemented. This failure is largely attributable to a lack of understanding of the Sri Lankan context: a multi-party system with governments often held together in fragile coalitions, strong cultural values attached to water, a vocal civil society fearful of water privatisation and a politicised media willing to exploit controversies". In 2004, the ADB suspended funding to the Comprehensive Water Resources Management (CWRM) project, which it had supported since its inception in 1992.
Ariyabandu, R. (2008). Swings and roundabouts : a narrative on water policy development in Sri Lanka. (Working paper / ODI ; 296). London, UK, Overseas Development Institute. vi, 18 p. ISBN 978 0 85003 890 3. Download here
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