Abstract
Water scarcity is the main constraint and it has become a serious threat in meeting domestic purposes as well as the livelihood as a whole of the resettled people in Kilinochchi district, Sri Lanka. These current scenarios, therefore, call for an investigation on challenges in livelihood due to water scarcity and its impacts on sustainable development goals. This research is carried out in Karachchi Divisional Secretariat Division that belongs to Kilinochchi district. The study manipulates a combined approach of both qualitative and quantitative methods. It relies mainly on primary data that were collected through household survey, structured interviews and observation, while secondary data from certain sources were also used. The questionnaire survey was conducted with randomly selected two hundred and fourteen households from the purposively selected five Grama Niladhari Divisions. Qualitative data and quantitative data of the study were analysed using content analysis, and descriptive statistics respectively. Frequency distribution tables, pie charts and graphs were used to display the findings of the data analysis. Findings of the study include various livelihood challenges: monthly income, cost of living, agriculture, home gardens, livestock, inland fishing, unemployment, and small business which are negatively impacted by water scarcity in the study area. Further, the study indicates that the sustainable development goals no: 1-No Poverty, 3-Good Health and Well-being, 5-Gender Equality, 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth and 9-Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure are highly constrained to achieve due to the negative impacts on livelihoods caused by water scarcity. Moreover, SDG 6-clean water and sanitation and, SDG 2-Zero Hunger are extremely threatened in the study area due to water scarcity. Therefore, relevant stakeholders should take urgent actions to ensure the availability and accessibility of water to address the challenges faced by the households in Karachchi, Kilinochchi district, in terms of livelihoods and sustainable development.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amarasinghe UA, Mutuwatta L, Sakthivadivel R (1999) Water scarcity variations within a country: a case study of Sri Lanka. International Irrigation Management Institute, Colombo
Ariyabandu, Madhavi (2005) Hazard risk and water resources management. In: Wijesekara NTS et al (eds) Proceedings of the preparatory workshop on Sri Lanka National Water Development Report, World Water Assessment Programme, Paris, France
Chandrapala L (1996) Calculation of arial precipitation of Sri Lanka on district basis using Voronoi Tessalation (Thiessen Polygen) method. In: Proceedings of the national symposium on climate change, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Chartres C, Varma S (2010) Out of water. From abundance to scarcity and how to solve the world’s water problems. FT Press, USA
De Silva KSR (2004) Water sector reforms in Sri Lanka. Seminar on water supply and sanitation challenges and opportunities. CECB, Colombo, Sri Lanka
District Secretariat Kilinochchi (2018) Statistical hand book. District Secretariat Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka
Falkenmark M, Lundqvist J, Widstrand C (1989) Macro-scale water scarcity requires micro-scale approaches: aspects of vulnerability in semi-arid development. Nat Resour Forum 13(4):258–267
FAO (2012) Coping with water scarcity: an action framework for agriculture and food security. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3015e/i3015e.pdf
FAO (2015) The state of food and agriculture social protection and agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4910e.pdf
Gleick P (2000) The world’s water, the biennial report on water resources. Island Press, Washington DC
Illangasekare et al (2006) Impacts of the 2004 tsunami on groundwater resources in Sri Lanka. Water Resour Res 42:W05201
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2001) Climate change: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Retrieved from https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/WGII_TAR_full_report-2.pdf
International Water Management Institute (2007) Water matters: news of IWMI research in Sri Lanka issues: 2. International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka. Retrieved from https://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/News_Room/Newsletters/Water_Matters/PDFs/Water%20Matters_Issue2-Final.pdf
Jayatillake HM, Chandrapala L, Basnayake BRSB, Dharmaratne GHP (2005) Water resources and climate change. In: Wijesekera NTS, Imbulana KAUS, Neupane B (eds) Proceedings of workshop on Sri Lanka, national water development report. World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP), Paris
Lefort R (1996) Down to the last drop. UNESCO sources, vol 84. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000104613
Nakagawa K, Edagawa H, Nandakumar V, Aoki M (1995) Long-term hydrometeorological data in Sri Lanka. In: Data book of hydrological cycles in humid tropical ecosystems, Part I, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Pruss et al (2002) Estimating the burden of disease from water, sanitation, and hygiene at a global level. Environ Health Perspectives 110:537–542. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1240845/pdf/ehp0110-000537.pdf
Rassul K (2011) Water scarcity, livelihood & conflict, cooperation for peace unity
Seckler D, Upali A, Amarasinghe MD, De Silva R, Baker R (1998) World water demand and supply 1990 to 2025: scenarios and issues. Research Report 19. International Irrigation Management Institute, Colombo
United Nations (2018) Sustainable development goal 6 synthesis report on water and sanitation. United Nations, New York
United Nations Environment Programme (2012) Fresh water for the future: a synopsis of UNEP activities in water. United Nations Environment Programme
UN-Water (2006) Coping with water scarcity: a strategic issue and priority for system-wide action. United Nations, New York
UN-Water (2012) Coping with water scarcity: a strategic issue and priority for system-wide action. United Nations, New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Punniyarajah, K. (2022). Challenges in Livelihood of Residents in Kilinochchi District, Sri Lanka Due to Water Scarcity. In: Jana, N.C., Singh, A., Singh, R.B. (eds) Livelihood Enhancement Through Agriculture, Tourism and Health. Advances in Geographical and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7310-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7310-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-7309-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-7310-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)