One of the most comprehensive activities was initiated under our “Enhancing Community Resilience on Climate Change and Disaster Management in Four Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Sabaragamuwa Province” project. Under this we successfully drafted three by-laws related to Climate Change and Disaster Management pertaining to four councils in the Sabaragamuwa Province. The Sabaragamuwa Province is a geographically vulnerable area that is riddled with disasters like landslides, floods, strong winds etc. Despite this predicament, the legal capacity to deal with these disasters is slight. Hence, we facilitated our collaborative initiative in drafting by-laws related to three key areas of disaster and climate risk in the area: unauthorized excavations, contamination of water sources that provide drinking water and the cutting of hazardous trees.
Prior to the drafting we established advisory committees in each council, known as the ‘Climate Change and Disaster Management Committee’. Members of these committees, along with officials from the Department of Local Government in the Sabaragamuwa Province and a legal expert participated in the drafting process. Following weeks of discussion, the officials collaboratively finalised by-laws which are both practical and feasible in implementation.
Through this initiative we anticipate to formalise the need to address these topics by enshrining it in into the law. By-laws give the officials clear guidelines, it sets the precedent for future programs and ensures accountability.
Our hope is that more partners and stakeholders will collaborate with us in our effort to strengthen Sri Lanka’s local government sector.
