Some insight into the land use issues in the irrigated settlements in Sri Lanka: a study at East-Peraru Colony in the Kanthale Divisional Secretariat

Abstract

Land has been man?s habitat, living space and a matter of life and death of survival or starvation. Being one of the most scare resource in the world, the demand for land has been accelerating due to continuous growth of population and providing them with shelter, food production, commercial activities, infrastructural facilities and cultural requirements etc. Land utilization at different levels and scales has also been changing temporally and spatially to satisfy those human needs. In a country like Sri Lanka, where the population density is high and small size of the country, land fragmentation is very much evident in the context of changing land use pattern. In particular, the process of land fragmentation along with encroachments and unsuitable land use practices persist in the irrigation settlements in the Dry zone of the country in response to emerging pressure on land. The objective of the study was to find out the prevailing land use issues in the East-Peraru village of the Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka. Field level data were obtained from the sample of farmers by administering structured questionnaires and conducting individual discussions. Land use changes were examined by using 1:50,000 maps which have been prepared by the Department of Survey and field level observations. It was further analyze by using GPS and GIS methodologies. The major outcomes of the study are (a). Encroachers of state land are higher among farm families, (b). Nearly 35 percent of lands are yet underutilized and (c). Land productivity is below the optimum level. A systematic land use plans and land ownership regulation measures are needed to overcome the present issues. Attention of the Government officials as well as peasants of the area should be focused to maintain sustainable land management system.