Watershed Sub-System Restoration in Rideemaliyadda DSD, Badulla District, Sri Lanka

The ACCESS – Mihikatha Lanka Project aims to restore 13 priority watershed sub-systems within the Rideemaliyadda Divisional Secretariat Division, Badulla District, Sri Lanka. Physical activities include the rehabilitation and improvement of existing small-scale irrigation infrastructure such as village tanks, bunds, spillways, sluices, irrigation canals, Farm Turn-Outs (FTOs), anicuts (small diversion weirs), and associated access and crossing structures. The works involve desilting, bank and slope stabilization, repair and strengthening of hydraulic structures, and improvements to water flow regulation, without constructing new reservoirs or expanding irrigation networks. The project also includes activities such as watershed restoration, reforestation, soil conservation, invasive species management, strengthening of water governance systems, and climate-resilient livelihood development.

The project area is located in a rural agricultural landscape highly dependent on irrigation systems and characterized by degraded watersheds, significant erosion and sedimentation, aging irrigation infrastructure, increasing climate variability, remnant forest patches, riparian habitats, artificial water reservoirs, and predominantly rice-based agricultural lands.