Hydrosolidarity in Sri Lankas
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14 SIWI’s call for hydrosolidarity within a river catchment is taking on a new and innovative meaning in Sri Lanka, where NetWater (Network of Women Water Pro- fessionals), a grass roots organization led by Ms. Kusum Athukorala, has stressed the importance of intergenera- tional equity for sustainable development of water resources. In particular, NetWater’s current action platform, the Women, Water and Wisdom Program, has through its youth and water awareness program promoted water litera- cy and hydrosolidarity among secondary school children in a critical catchment of the country’s Mahaweli River and its main tributary river, the Pinga Oya. Physical and Ethnic Tensions The Pinga Oya flows through the highly populated multi ethnic areas of Akurana and Poojapitiya divisions. This catch- ment has a diversity of economic activities including industries which cause pollution such as paddy mills, saw mills and facto- ries. There are also considerable encroach- ments of the Mahaweli reservation along Pinga Oya, which is heavily built over. Raw sewage is discharged into the river – a ma- jor health hazard, since the same water is used for bathing and washing. In addition to causing cases of typhoid in one year, uncontrolled pollution has also led to pro- blems at Polgolla dam and tunnel. Indiscri- minate filling of paddy lands has not only reduced food production capacity but also given rise to flooding. The Pinga Oya’s history of environme- ntal degradation is due to a combination of politically supported encroachments on the river, an increasingly negative attitude of the community towards the Pinga Oya, (once the source of life, now treated as a sink and dumping ground) and the correspon- ding negligence of regulatory authorities. For the first time in recent history there has been a recent flare up of ethnically re- lat-ed tensions among the Muslim and Sin- hala communities in the Central region. While this disturbance has its roots in poli- tical divides, it points to the need to reduce and eliminate further possible tensions which may arise in the multi-ethnic catchment. “The Pinga Oya area has not been di- rectly affected by this ethnic tension yet, but there is neverthelessadisruptionofpre- vious harmony between the two groups and upstream-downstream tensions are exacer- bated by the environmental crisis,” says At- hukorala. Hydrosolidarity in Sri Lanka’s Pinga Oya Basin Women Take the Initiative to Bridge Religious and Ethnic Divides Children record the condition of the river through tran-sect walks. Inter-ethnic groups of stakeholders discuss a plan to save Pinga Oya.
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Un rayito de Luz en la TVLa noche del 28 de julio de 1971 fue diferente. Se tornó una noche histórica para Sao Paulo ypara Brasil. Mucha gente hasta hoy se pregunta por qué estaba ante un aparato de televisión,esperando el “Pinga Fogo” del Canal 4. Y la respuesta es difícil. Francisco Cándido Xavier, elmédium psicógrafo de Uberaba, iba a someterse a los entrevistadores. Tanto el programacomo el médium eran por demás conocidos. Hace 40 años Chico Xavier viene siendosometido a entrevistas de periódicos, revistas, emisoras y televisión. De todo se ha hecho yacon Chico, hasta entrevistas sensacionalistas buscando someterlo al ridículo. Nada habíademás en que Chico Xavier apareciese de nuevo en el Canal 4. Pero, a pesar de eso, la ciudadde Sao Paulo estuvo expectante sobre el video. Y no sólo la ciudad, sino todo el Estado y susalrededores, como el sur de Minas y el norte de ParanáLa cosa más difícil de comprender es ese interés anticipado. Católicos, protestantes, ateos,materialistas, gente que no es nada y gente que es de todo, personas indiferentes y espíritasindecisos, todos estaban atentos. Era como si fuese a acontecer algo inesperado. Y realmenteaconteció. Chico Xavier entró al palco de la TV Tupi con su gesto humilde y simple de siempre.Se escondió de prisa detrás de la mesa. Le habían puesto una peluca, (tal vez para atraparlo)que junto a sus gafas negras le daban un aire extraño, parecía otro. Pero cuando comenzó ahablar todos supieron que era el mismo. El Chico de antes, de hoy y de siempre.Al principio de la fila de los entrevistadores estaba un católico ilustre, periodista, escritor,profesor universitario, miembro de instituciones filosóficas del país y del exterior. Se esperabaque lanzaría una serie de preguntas confusas contra el pobre Chico. Los demás eran figurasconocidas de nuestra empresa y de nuestras letras. Había reporteros entre ellos, podríanembrollar al médium.Pero luego se verificó que Chico Xavier tenía asesores. Él mismo lo declaró muchas veces. Nohablaba por sí, sino con la asistencia y la orientación de su guía espiritual Emmanuel, ademásde otras entidades que lo ayudaban. Asesores invisibles, y bien que valieron. Hasta un asesorcientífico parecía haber entre ellos, pues Chico, a veces, parecía un médico y, a veces, unfísico y hasta un cosmonauta.Eso muestra que el pueblo tiene intuiciones colectivas muy serias. Toda aquella genteexpectante en el video de millares de televisores había percibido con anterioridad, pero conabsoluta certeza, que Chico iba a dar un espectáculo mediúmnico aquella noche. Y sí que lodio. No sólo un espectáculo personal, sino colectivo, porque dio también un baile a losentrevistadores. Un baile en regla, con mucha elegancia y delicadeza, con una clase queasustaba. Chico oía, atento y respondía después con su voz de campesino mineiro, comoquien no quiere nada, en un tono de conversación tímida. Y el espectáculo mayor, entonces,atrapó a Sao Paulo y después a Brasil. Un verdadero espectáculo de luces. Rayitos de lucesen la TV, en vez de fuego Llamas por todas partesNunca un “Pinga Fogo”, después de realizado en vivo,
Transcript of Hydrosolidarity in Sri Lankas
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SIWI’s call for hydrosolidarity within a river catchment is taking on a new and innovative meaning in Sri Lanka, where NetWater (Network of Women Water Pro-fessionals), a grass roots organization led by Ms. Kusum Athukorala, has stressed the importance of intergenera-tional equity for sustainable development of water resources.
In particular, NetWater’s current action platform, the Women, Water and Wisdom Program, has through its youth and water awareness program promoted water litera-cy and hydrosolidarity among secondary school children in a critical catchment of the country’s Mahaweli River and its main tributary river, the Pinga Oya.
Physical and Ethnic TensionsThe Pinga Oya fl ows through the highly populated multi ethnic areas of Akurana and Poojapitiya divisions. This catch-ment has a diversity of economic activities including industries which cause pollution such as paddy mills, saw mills and facto-ries. There are also considerable encroach-ments of the Mahaweli reservation along Pinga Oya, which is heavily built over. Raw sewage is discharged into the river – a ma-jor health hazard, since the same water is used for bathing and washing. In addition to causing cases of typhoid in one year, uncontrolled pollution has also led to pro-blems at Polgolla dam and tunnel. Indiscri-minate fi lling of paddy lands has not only reduced food production capacity but also given rise to fl ooding.
The Pinga Oya’s history of environme-ntal degradation is due to a combination of politically supported encroachments on the river, an increasingly negative attitude of the community towards the Pinga Oya, (once the source of life, now treated as a sink and dumping ground) and the correspon-ding negligence of regulatory authorities.
For the fi rst time in recent history there has been a recent fl are up of ethnically re-lat-ed tensions among the Muslim and Sin-hala communities in the Central region. While this disturbance has its roots in poli-tical divides, it points to the need to reduce and eliminate further possible tensions which
may arise in the multi-ethnic catchment. “The Pinga Oya area has not been di-
rectly affected by this ethnic tension yet, but there is nevertheless a disruption of pre-
vious harmony between the two groups and upstream-downstream tensions are exacer-bated by the environmental crisis,” says At-hukorala.
Hydrosolidarity in Sri Lanka’s Pinga Oya Basin Women Take the Initiative to Bridge Religious and Ethnic Divides
Children record the condition of the river through tran-sect walks.
Inter-ethnic groups of stakeholders discuss a plan to save Pinga Oya.
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Water as a Catalyst for CooperationQuoting Professor Malin Falkenmark, Ms. Athukorala says NetWater’s grassroots Jala Hamuwa (”Water Meeting”) program is seeking to make water “the catalyst for co-operation rather than a cause for confl ict.” Mobilization and action by students in the Pinga Oya catchment have helped change
attitudes and behaviors in the Sinhala-do-minated upstream communities and the Muslim-dominated downstream areas in the Pinga Oya watershed.
”This was set within a culturally sensi-tive framework of action,” says Ms. Athu-korala. ”Bilingual multiethnic programs sought to mobilize the children as conduits
for water-related development information to the community.”
Youth Support from Below; Political Support from AboveA special mobilization effort was required to make the more conservative Islamic schools enthusiastic about the Jala Hamu-wa programs. A leading school for girls in the area, the Akurana Muslim Balika Maha Vidyalaya, aided NetWater in the effort. There, in August , the fi rst outreach program for parents (who were encouraged to attend by the students) in Pinga Oya drew participants.
In addition, a critical turning point for NetWater was achieving the personal sup-port of Hon. Gamini Jayewickreme Perera, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Minister of Irrigation and Water Management. Here, NetWater achieved the Hague’s World Water Vision’s objective of ”Accessing Political Decision-makers ().”
With pressure from above, the local bu-reaucracy was encouraged to take steps that, for the fi rst time, stopped a construc-tion project from encroaching on the river bed. Other successes include:
• The local government’s decision to for-mally demarcate the river reservation
• A survey of the encroachments and a report on causes and consequences of fl ooding
• Private sector sponsorship for a series of environmental message boards buil-ding on religious texts to be set up on the banks of the Pinga Oya
• Support from local religious leaders and educators
Most importantly, the Jala Hamuwa meet-ings have become a rallying point for con-cerned citizens in Akurana who had op-posed environmental degradation, parti-cularly those who had initiated legal action (albeit unsuccessful) against illegal cons-truction on the river bed.
Now that NetWater’s initiative has set in motion a combination of political commit-ment propelling an energized bureaucracy and, to a certain extent, a more conscien-tious community, the next step will be the setting up of a multi-stakeholder dialogue within the catchment to carry out the ne-cessary remedial action.
”Much more effort will be needed before the strangled river fl ows free again for the children, but a good beginning has been made,” says Ms. Athukorala.To learn more, contact Ms. Athukorala at
Construction of houses from both banks almost obliterates Pinga Oya, and river constriction causes major fl ood damage.
The Honorable Gamini Jayewickreme Perera, Cabinet Minister for Irrigation and Water Management studies an environmental message board with Ms Kusum Athukorala, Founder and President, NetWater.
