Enabling Policies for Agricultural Adaptations to Climate Change in Sri Lanka

Climate change has imposed an extra burden on the social and economic challenges faced by Sri Lanka, due to increasing vulnerability of a majority of its people whose livelihoods are dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources, mainly dealing with agriculture. The National Agriculture Policy (NAP) of 2007, National Livestock Development Policy (NLDP) of 2007, and National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Policy (NFARP) of 2006 are the key policies that govern Sri Lanka’s crops, livestock (including poultry), and fisheries sectors, respectively, under variable and changing climatic conditions. Sri Lanka has taken measures to adapt to climatic risks in these sectors at various levels. The establishment of Climate Change Secretariat of Sri Lanka is a significant step towards integrating and mainstreaming climate change adaptation activities to the development planning of the country. Sri Lanka, being a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) since 1994, has made considerable attempts in its policy framework and strategic approaches to address the impacts of climate change in crops, livestock, and fisheries sectors, which are directly related to food production. Adaptation to climate change in these three key sectors of Sri Lankan economy is supported by the National Environmental Policy (NEP) of 2003, National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) of 2012, and National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS) 2011–2016. As discussed in detail in this chapter, Sri Lanka has an enabling policy environment in supporting the adaptive strategies and building resilience to climate change. However, given the inherent complexity in adaptation to climate change, the country is facing a challenging situation especially due to the intricacy brought by the institutional coordinating mechanism in the three sectors. A significant level of capacity constraints exists in the sectoral institutes in meeting their mandates to implement policies and strategies related to climate change in Sri Lanka.