Groundwater by the domestic wells has been used in Kuchchaveli area of Trincomalee district for the use of domestic purpose, home gardening and cultivation. The demand for the ground water has been increased rapidly due to intensive high population growth and more industrialization.The main purpose of this study is to identify the seasonal changes of ground water quantity and quality from the domestic wells.The study was carried outby using primary and secondary data. Primary data has been gathered through the sampling of 50 usersandthe water level changes for50 domestic wells from 24 GN divisions. Meteorological and irrigation department’s repots, images were utilized for this study, published reports and statistical records were employed to collect as secondary data.In addition, rainfall data of 143 years from the meteorological department was used for the analysis. MSExcel, SPSS, GIS software were used for data analysis.The water level was observed during the dryand rainyseasons, the ground water level in this area decreases due to over use of ground water. Run-off has increased dueto low infiltration, which leads to low ground water storage.The following recommendations could be made from the results of study. Rainfall water should be saved for future use. Optimum use of rainfall, the re-use of irrigated water and avoiding the construction of deep wells help to prevent salinity
Conserving biodiversity is a major necessity, as human interference causes loss of this. Tourism is not exempt from this. Still, ecotourism, a sub-component of the field of sustainable tourism, has more positive effects. The primary objective of this work is to ascertain the condition of ecotourism in the study area. The secondary objectives are to identify the challenges and progress of biodiversity by way of ecotourist activity, and to suggest solutions to promote best outcome and to overcome the challenges of ecotourism. China Bay (Marble Beach), Kanniya Hot Wells, Nilaveli Beach, Pullmottai Beach (Arisimalai), Lanka Patina and Trincomalee Beach are renown places for tourism in Trincomalee District. The condition of the ecotourism industry in Trincomalee District was identified by means of questionnaire survey and direct observation. Our work shows that the coastal areas are particularly rich in biodiversity and in offering scenic values. Many environmental challenges were identified and remedial measures, suggested.
This study was conducted using secondary data from the Meteorological Department obtained from five stations in Ratnapura District: Ratnapura, Eheliyagoda, Balangoda, Lellopitiya and Embilipitiya. The objective of the study was ‘to identify rainfall trend and variability analysis in the study area and to find the impact of climate changes on rainfall variability in the study area’. The average rainfall in the selected stations are: in Embilipitiya - between 112 mm to 170 mm, in Balangoda - from 170 mm to 230 mm, Lellopitiya – from 230 mm - 290 mm and both Ratnapura and Eheliyagoda - 290 mm to 360 mm. To identify the rainfall variability, the moving average technique was employed, using 7 years of data. According to the result of this study, climate change has impact on rainfall variability in the Ratnapura District.
The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations. Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land. This occurs mainly through soil erosion, loss of organic matter and nutrients in the soil; salinization and large scale land degradation in Sri Lanka. Its manifestations today are heavy loss of soil, siltation in the water bodies, reservoirs and coastal waters, unplanned settlements, loss of arable land leading to declining productivity in agricultural lands and intensification of impacts of natural hazards such as flooding and landslides. Land degradation is a major problem in Eastern Coastal Area from Kalmunai MC, Karaitivu and Nintavur Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs) of Ampara District. However, there is a considerable spatial heterogeneity exists within this area in terms of land use, topography, land management and socio-economic conditions. Therefore, land degradation assessment studies are very important for the sustainable development of the area. Considering the above background, this study was conducted with the objectives of developing a land degradation assessment model using a GIS based approach.
This study under the title of “the environmental challenges of declining mangroves: a study based on Puttalam District in Sri Lanka” was undertaken to attain the primary objective ‘to identify the factors for the declining of the mangroves in the study area’ and the secondary objectives ‘identify the environmental challenges due to the mangroves declining in the study area and to suggest was to control the decline and to provide awareness of this problem among the inhabitants’. Both, primary and secondary data were collected for this study. As primary data, questionnaire survey, direct observation and constructed discussion were used. As secondary data, statistic reports, previous researches, books and magazines were employed. According to the analysis, major environmental challenges were encountered. These included ‘land fragmentation, biodiversity destruction, decreasing endemism in mangrove, loss of herbs and coastal soil erosion’. To overcome these challenges, many recommendations were put forward.
The major objective of this study is to identify the flood severity level of the study area using GIS applications. By employing this map, safer habitation zones were established. Direct personal observation and face-to-face interview was done to gather the primary data and Disaster Management center reports, Census reports of Sri Lanka, images and published research reports were used as secondary data. The severity level of flooding in this area was analyzed using SRTM imagery in ArcGIS and overlaid on a Google Earth pro map. The findings of the study established that the highly affected area consisted of around 8.953003 sq·km, the moderately affected area was around 9.190781 sq·km and the lowly affected area was approximately 9.31039 sq·km within the study area. The major causes for flood disaster in this area are the lack of drainage systems in some potential flood regions, the low landscape, poorly maintained drainage systems and the geographical arrangement of the road network. By creating this map, the inhabitants will be aware of danger areas and can relocate accordingly [3, 5-9].
Rainfall is of primary importance to both the physical and cultural landscape of any region. The objective of this study is to find the trends for rainfall variability on climate change in Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka, by analyzing 146 years of monthly data of rainfall received during the period 1869-2014 from the meteorological station of the Department of Meteorology. Some studies attribute extreme events to rainfall variability due to climate change induced by global warming. However, there is a dearth of climatological studies addressing the trends in rainfall over Sri Lanka in support of such attribution. In our study, statistical analysis such as linear and standard deviation for 3 year, 5 year, 11 year and 21 year periods were utilized to examine periodic rainfall changes in both annual and seasonal contexts. The study finds that the 3, 5 year moving average shows high drier seasons, but the 11, 21 years moving average show higher wet seasons during the period of study. The changes of rainfall are known to have led to disasters such as flood and drought. Annual rainfall varies from 864 mm to 3081 mm, the distribution of which has sight variation throughout the district.
In the global context, about 1.25 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. Moreover, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among young people, aged 15–29 years. Furthermore, 90% of the world's road fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries (WHO, 2017). In Sri Lanka, the accident rate is increasing rapidly. According to the transport and civil aviation report, 2801 deaths, 2590 fatal accidents, 13,095 minor accidents, and 7719 critical accidents occurred in Sri Lanka in 2015. The trend of the accidents has been increasing due to many factors. Physical features of the roads and roadsides, behaviour of drivers and pedestrians are the main influence on the occurrence of accidents. Central province has many accidents-prone areas due to its spatial and temporal patterns. Landform and climatic factors such as fog, snow and rainfall trigger accident potentials. Therefore, this study, “Spatial and temporal patterns of road accidents and their challenges: a study on Nuwara-Eliya District” investigates reasons for the enhanced rate of traffic mishaps. This is the first such study of this phenomenon. Herein, we used primary and secondary data. The results indicate that physical features are mainly to blame.