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Item Institutional Robustness of Culture-based Fisheries in Perennial Reservoirs of Sri Lanka(Asian Fisheries Society, 2020) Pushpalatha, K.B.C.; Kularatne, M.G.; Amarasinghe, U.S.The utilisation of irrigation reservoirs for culture-based fisheries (CBF) development is a recent development in Sri Lanka. The trends in CBF development in five reservoirs were investigated, to identify the robustness of institutional arrangements in the rural fisheries organisations (RFOs) for the sustainability of CBF. Basic socio-economic characteristics of five fisher communities showed enabling features for implementing CBF through community participation. After the introduction of CBF, fish species composition in the landings changed with the occurrence of stocked species in the landings, resulting remarkablyelevated fishers’ income ranging from 194% to 2187% in Urusita and Ampara reservoirs respectively. The CBF management options of RFOs in two reservoirs, viz. Ampara and Jayanthi were at high compliance levels of Ostrom’s modified design principles, where fishers enjoyed increased mean annual income registering 2187% in Ampara and 409% in Jayanthi reservoirs after introduction of CBF. In Senanayake Samudra, where there was moderate compliance, there was 249% increase in CBF income. However, the lowest increase of income (194%) in Urusita reservoir was due to high annual fisheries income even during pre-CBF period. In Hambegamuwa reservoir, where levels of compliance of RFOs with design principles were relatively poor compared to other four fisher communities, increase of fishers’ CBF income, compared to that of pre-CBF period, was marginal (202%). Economic gains of RFOs due to increased levels of compliance with design principles through improving leadership qualities and empowering fishers for management decision-making would,therefore,ensure sustainability of CBF.Item Harmonizing water allocation for multiple uses in irrigation reservoirs of the Kala Oya river basin, Sri Lanka(Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wimalasena, S.S.; Kularatne, M.G.; Jayasinghe-Mudalige, U.K.; Amarasinghe, U.S.The primary use of many lowland reservoirs in Sri Lanka is to supply of water for irrigation, and inland fishery has become a secondary use. In the present study, four irrigation reservoirs in the Kala Oya river basin, namely: Dewahuwa, Kala Wewa, Siyambalangamuwa and Usgala-Siyambalangamuwa were selected to investigate the optimum water requirements for irrigation, fisheries and other small-scale economic activities such as livestock farming and brick making. A cross section (from year 2014 to 2015) of household heads (n=756) adjacent to the four reservoirs were interviewed to gather information on their degree of dependence on reservoir water for those multiple uses. General Stochastic Production Frontier Model was employed to evaluate the technical efficiency of water uses for various economic activities, and to quantify the volume of water that can be saved through more efficient uses. Water poverty index (WPI) was estimated to investigate accessibility and availability of water for multiple uses. Water valuation and optimum level of water allocation between uses were then calculated based on Marginal Value Product (MVP). The results indicated that the highest technical efficiency of water uses was for fisheries followed by livestock farming, rice farming and brick making, mainly due to nonconsumptive use of reservoir water for fisheries. The lowest WPI was in Dewahuwa reservoir situated in the upper region of Kala Oya river basin followed by Kalawewa, Usgla-Siyambanagamuwa and Siyambalangamuwa, which were located in the lower regions of the river basin where water uses for irrigation and other consumptive uses are much higher. In terms of MVP, the value of product for a unit of water use was higher for livestock farming and brick making. However, these economic activities are less significant compared to agriculture and fisheries. As such, this analysis highlights the need for concerted action of reservoir water management through cooperation between irrigation and fisheries authorities.Item Assessment of water poverty of agricultural farming communities adjacent to Kala Wewa and Siyambalangamuwa reservoirs(Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 2015) Wimalasena, S.S.; Kularatne, M.G.; Amarasinghe, U.S.; Jayasinghe-Mudalige, U.K.Provision of safe water in sufficient quantities has become a major upcoming issue globally, because water is considered as one of the most critically stressed natural resources and act as a major livelihood capital. Lack of access to water is directly associated with the nature and state of poverty; thus, it becomes a necessity that water is allocated in more equitable manner at every level, i.e. from individual household to the national. The root causes associated with water poverty and reservoir water management and the areas of greatest need to facilitate the prioritization of action towards integrated water management aiming equity and transparency in the Kala Wewa (2,914 ha) and Siyambalangamuwa reservoirs (788 ha) in the North-Western Province of Sri Lanka were investigated using the Water Poverty Index (WPI) – a multifaceted index with its values range from ‘0’ (minimum) to ‘100’ (maximum) and is estimated by taking the weighted sum of scores provided by respondents to five major components, including: (1) Resources; (2) Access; (3) Capacity; (4) Use, and (5) Environment, and each is characterized by several sub components. The data were collected from agricultural farming communities adjacent to these reservoirs by means of a series of in-depth personal interviews supported by a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Principal Component Analysis was employed to select the components with a large variance and to discard those with a smaller variance, and those indicators retained (i.e. the 1st Principal Components associated with Eigenvalues greater than 0.7) were combined using an additive aggregation. The estimated WPI was 76.24 to which the contribution of each component was, in their order: Capacity (17.79), Access (17.75), Use (15.47), Resources (12.93), and Environment (12.30). It was revealed that the severe drought condition prevailed in 2013 and 2014; chronic kidney disease, and the low rate of water quality assessment have led into low contribution from Environment component. The outcome of analysis implies that the information generated through WPI can be used effectively at the ‘ground level’ to assess the relationships between water and poverty that enables implementation of new strategies aiming integrated water management in reservoir-based communities in Sri Lanka.Item Influence of socioeconomic heterogeneity on culture-based fisheries in non-perennial reservoirs of Sri Lanka(Sri Lanka Association for Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, 2008) Kularatne, M.G.; Amarasinghe, U.S.; de Silva, S.S.For culture-based fisheries (CBF) development in non-perennial reservoirs of Sri Lanka, importance of integration of economic, socio-cultural, political/institutional and ecological domains needs to be recognized. Farmer communities of 47 randomly selected non-perennial reservoirs in five districts were chosen for the present study. Reservoirs were stratified into three groups on the basis of the interest expressed by communities (i.e., disagree, somewhat agree and fully agree to get involved in CBF) during a preliminary questionnaire-survey. Attempts were then made to examine the significance of socioeconomic heterogeneity for decision-making in CBF activity with particular emphasis on the group characteristics and attitudes of communities towards state-sponsored services for the development of CBF. The community groups, which are in full agreement to take part in CBF are small in size (23) compared to those which disagreed (42). Level of education in office bearers also influences the decision-making process for involvement in CBF. Leadership qualities of members of communities positively influenced decision-making. The functional groups in CBF in various reservoirs are either all members of the farmer organization (FO), a sub-group of FO, community based organizations (CBO) or participation on individual basis. In reservoirs where FO or a sub-group of FO is involved in culture-based fisheries, socioeconomic heterogeneity influences the decision-making. Mean equality percentage of the active members of the fully agreed group is the highest (80%) when compared with the other two groups (< 73%). Homogeneity of the age, caste, kinship, political ideology also positively influenced decision making in these communities. Communities with high proportions of younger (<40 years of age) members have a positive attitude towards development of CBF. Farming communities with several sources of income in a household are highest in the group of full agreement, which perhaps indicates an attitude of each community to maximize household income. Level of satisfaction about the government services varied among the communities. The group of communities, which disagreed with CBF development, is more satisfied with the existing government services than the other two groups indicating their poor attitude towards social uplifting. The present analysis shows that homogeneity of the group characteristics facilitates the collective decision-making. As such, socioeconomic heterogeneity in communities has an important impact on collective decision-making as regards to this development activity.Item Investigation of Socioeconomic Characteristics of Agricultural Communities in Relation to the Development of Culture-Based Fisheries in Non-Perennial Reservoirs of Sri Lanka(IFET 2006 Portsmouth, 2006) Kularatne, M.G.; Amarasinghe, U.S.; de Silva, S.S.Item Assessment and Management of Irrigation Impacts on Tropical Inland Fisheries: A Case Study from Sri Lanka(2003) Khoa, S.N.; Smith, L.; Lorenzen, K.; Garaway, C.; Perera, L.R.; de Silva, S.; Kumara, M.M.C.; Amarasinghe, U.S.; Kularatne, M.G.; Bandara, H.M.S.C.