This year’s Water Professionals’ Day Symposium was organised on the 1st of October by Cap-Net Lanka, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture & Geo-Informatics Society of Sri Lanka (GISSL). The theme of the symposium is the Water – Food – Ecosystem Nexus, with the aim to increase the understanding of inter-sectoral linkages for sustainable water management
Population growth, economic development, increased demand for food and energy have exerted a great pressure on the ecosystems all over the world. More and more agricultural lands are required to cater to the increasing demand for food hence, important ecosystems such as forests, mangroves, wetlands are converted into agricultural lands at alarming rates. Most of these sectors attempt to achieve their goals individually without realizing the existing connectivity between them and the ecosystems. However, it is important that these common development goals should be achieved without compromising the functions of valuable ecosystems which play an important role in ensuring water and food security. Establishment of inter-sectoral linkages is vital for the integrated management of water and other natural resources at local, national and transboundary scales.
Doubling in global food demand projected for the next 50 years poses huge challenges for the sustainability of the agricultural, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and the services they provide to the society. Heavy usage of fertilizers and agro chemicals has started producing harmful impacts on the vital ecosystems all over the world. The watersheds loose their forest cover for agriculture and industries. All these anthropogenic activities have created imbalances in the natural ecosystems which in turn bring negative consequences such as soil and water pollution, reduction of water quantity, pest attacks on crops, floods and landslides, human health issues, etc. Within this context, it is important to understand the connectivity between all water related sectors and the ecosystems when making alterations in one sector without compromising the needs of the other sectors. Gaining knowledge about inter-sectoral linkages will eventually help to achieve the sustainability in water, food and other important sectors while maintaining the functions of the ecosystems.
The Water Professionals’ Day symposium is reaching its 13th milestone in 2015. It was initiated in 2003 with the objective of promoting water resources research in Sri Lanka by providing a platform for the water professionals and the students to present and discuss their research findings related to water. The Water Professionals’ Day Symposium – 2015 will be held under the theme of ‘Water-Food-Ecosystem Nexus: Understanding the inter-sectoral linkages for sustainable water management’.
Major Themes
- Water productivity in agriculture
- Sustainablewater usetechniques
- Integrated Water Resources Management
- Improving efficiency in irrigation systems Water pollution
- Land, water and ecosystems
- Climate change, water and food security
- Groundwater and agriculture
To find out more, please contact Dr. (Ms.) N.D.K. Dayawansa. ')}
