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APRIL – JUNE 2017 ● NUMBER 12 ● SRI LANKA

Project News

INSIDE

Japan Provides Relief Assistance To Victims And Expertise To Resolve Meethotamulla Garbage Crisis

Pages 1 & 2

Disaster Risk Reduction: JICA to implement Sendai framework

Page 3

Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team Assists Sri Lanka In Response To Heavy Rainfall and Flooding

Page 4 & 5

Young Leaders Training Programme for Nurses

Page 6

JICA Grants JPY 2.5 billion worth Doppler Weather Radar to strengthen the Sri Lanka’s real-time rainfall monitoring

Page 7

JICA Volunteer Supports Activities At The Dehiwala Zoo

Page 8

A Helping Hand From JICA For Upkeep Of Bridges In Sri Lanka

Page 9

Channeling Knowledge From Japan To Sri Lanka For Cascade Master Plan Project

Page 10 & 11

CEA And JICA Launch Pilot Project On Garbage Management

Page 11

JICA Volunteer Supports Early Childhood Education And Development in Sri Lanka

Page 12

Are You Interested in Studying in Japan?

Here We Offer a Great Program for You!

http://www.jds21.com/en/srilanka/

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Japan Provides Relief Assistance To Victims And Expertise To Resolve Meethotamulla Garbage Crisis

When the Meethotamulla Garbage dump collapsed

triggering a challenging humanitarian crisis for

the government of Sri Lanka, Japan was one of the first

countries to respond to the disaster with emergency

relief supplies for the victims and also the despatch of a

team of experts to help resolve the garbage crisis.

Japan sent a team of 11 technical experts in the areas

of geotechnical engineering, solid waste and landfill

management, urban development and public health,

etc. who visited the site, and held a series of meetings

with relevant stakeholders to discuss measures

for secondary disaster risk reduction and waste

management along with providing technical advice.

The team also explored the possibility of future

H.E. Kenichi Suganuma; Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Fusato Tanaka; Chief Representative of JICA Sri Lanka officially handed over the emergency relief items from Japan to the Minister of Disaster Management Hon. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa at the Ministry of Disaster Management

Contd. page 2

Japan was one of the first countries to respond to the disaster with emergency relief supplies for the victims and also the despatch of a team of experts to help resolve the garbage crisis

cooperation between Japan and Sri Lanka in the field

of solid waste management with a view to providing

a long-term solution to this recurring problem.

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At the end of their assignment, the team had a meeting with the President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena and presented their report with short-term and long-term recommendations, which Sri Lanka could consider to address the issue effectively. The report noted as Short Term measures for the safe management and prevention of secondary disaster, it is important to install early warning systems based on rainfall, maintain dump shape in the short term, un-change the shape of waste ups layers and shape waste layers only after stabilization of the dump is confirmed through all monitoring indicators. As Mid-Term measures, the team suggested the stabilization of the site through a comprehensive approach including gas control and water drainage, leachate control and treatment, assessment of soil modulus of the dump, and shaping the dump into stable slopes.The report recommended that the social and environmental aspect should be carefully taken into account for the planning and implementation of future waste management in the western province. Specifically, environmental impact that can be expected on the site and surrounding areas such as groundwater, road access and transportation plan should be carefully considered.The report also recommended that 3R activities (reduce, reuse, recycle) and intermediate processing, once properly implemented, will be an effective measure to reduce waste volume for

JICA extends helping hand to upkeep Lankan bridges

Daily Mirror 4 April 2017

Japan provides emergency relief to Meethotamulla victims

Divaina18 April 2017

Handing over of the Japanese expert team’s report on Meethotamulla

Lankadeepa25 April 2017

3R’ system to the rescue - Japanese Assessment Report

Daily Mirror3 May 2017

CEA and JICA launch a pilot project on Garbage Management

Daily Mirror19 May 2017

Access Engineering’s construction of major bridges of national road network gathers pace

Daily FT22 May 2017

Japan hands over disaster relief goods for flood and landslides victims

Daily Island1 June 2017

Japanese experts to arrive on Saturday

Daily Mirror1 June 2017

How to cope with disaster: Lessons from Japan

Sunday Times11 June 2016

JICA In theMEDIA

final disposal in Colombo Municipality and surrounding areas. The report strongly recommended prohibiting any firing activities including smoking to avoid fire at the disposal site. Once a fire breaks out at the site, it would take a very long time to be extinguished, which will significantly inhibit smooth recovery and stabilization operation of the collapsed site. It was also reported that public awareness should be raised on such issues in order to prevent further disasters. The report concluded with the assurance that Japan is willing to consider future cooperation in the field of waste management through close consultation with the Sri Lankan authorities and will be ready to continue discussion with Sri Lanka following the findings and recommendations presented in the report.

The team of Experts had a special meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena and several Ministers to report their findings. Joining the team was the Ambassador for Japan

Kenichi Suganuma

From page 1

The report recommended that the social and environmental aspect should be carefully taken into account for the planning and implementation of future waste management in the western province

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Project News

Disaster Risk Reduction: JICA To Support Implementation Of Sendai Framework

July – September 2017

July

• Signing of Concessionary Loan Agreements for Rural Infrastructure Development Project in Emerging Regions and Kalu Ganga Water Supply Expansion Project

• Reporting session of Counterpart Training Programme on Improvement of Development and Management of Tank Based Irrigation Systems

August

• Pre-detailed Planning Mission on Northern Dairy Development Project

• Public Consultation Meeting with residents in Kandy on JICA Technical Cooperation Project on ‘The Project for Formulation of Greater Kandy Urban Plan’

September

• Opening ceremony of new complex for Automobile Engineering Training Institute, funded by JICA under New Bridge Construction Project over Kelani River

Calender

JICA has been conducting a study to confirm the current situation and the priority issues

on the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) sector in Sri Lanka to implement the Sendai Framework on DRR 2015-2030 which is set as global goals on DRR at 3rd UN Conference on DRR.The Ministry of Disaster Management and agencies under its purview, as well as other relevant authorities have been discussing with JICA on the issues and drafted a Roadmap as a summary of the discussion.On 15th May, JICA jointly held a seminar with the Ministry of Disaster Management to share and exchange all important stakeholders’ opinions and views and share the roadmap for DRR efforts of the country to mainstream DRR in all development efforts.At present, Ministry is developing a new National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) 2018-2022. Based on this NDMP 2018-2022, the Sri Lanka Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (SLCDMP) is to updated. The proposed Roadmap is expected to

be referred for the formulation of NDMP.JICA is keen to support GOSL’s effort to realize a safe and resilient Sri Lanka!

Presentation at the seminar jointly conducted by JICA and Ministry of Disaster Management

The Ministry of Disaster Management and agencies under its purview, as well as other relevant authorities have been discussing with JICA on the issues and drafted a Roadmap as a summary of the discussion.

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A team of Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Experts were in Sri Lanka in

response to the damages from the floods and landslides caused by the heavy rainfall since May 24 around Southern and Western areas of the country. The floods and landslides caused by the heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in the Southern and Western provinces of the country destroying homes and livelihoods and even claiming over 200 lives. According to the Government of Sri Lanka, as at end of May, 202 people died, 96 people were missing, and over 800,000 people have been affected.The Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Expert Team arrived in Colombo and had a kick-off meeting with Hon. Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Minister of Disaster Management of Sri Lanka and

Japan Disaster Relief Expert Team Assists Sri Lanka In Response To Heavy Rainfall And Flooding

The expert team had a meeting with Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and other officials

commenced their mission with an aerial survey of the affected areas. The team then did a field survey by visiting the disaster sites this week and working closely with the officials of Ministry of Disaster Management, Irrigation Department, and the National Building Research Organization.On 9th and 10th June, the team reported the results to Secretary to the President P B Abeykoon, Hon. Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Vijith Vijayamuni Zoysa and Hon. Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadharshana Yapa. The team also participated in a media briefing arranged by the Ministry of Disaster Management with the Japanese Ambassador Kenichi Suganuma.

The floods and landslides caused by the heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in the Southern and Western provinces of the country destroying homes and livelihoods and even claiming over 200 lives.

Contd. page 5

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The Japanese Disaster Relief Expert Team concluded that Sri Lanka’s infrastructure is not strong enough to withstand a rainfall as we experienced last May. Member of the team, Takeya Kimio, noted that the country had not invested in coping with disasters of such magnitude and disasters were to be expected when the country experienced a heavy rainfall.

The team of experts inspect some of the disaster sites

From page 4

Some of the pre-disaster investment recommendations for the Sri Lankan Government were: early warning systems, methods for dissemination of information to remote areas, resettlement away from risk areas, hydrometeorology and landslide observation systems, and investing in disaster risk reduction for sustainable development.

The report noted that this disaster provided an opportunity for Sri Lanka to build a safer and more resilient country based on the ‘Build Back Better’ concept to prevent the same disasters happening in the same place every year.

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Project News

Young Leaders Training Programme For Nurses

A team of 17 young nurses attached to the Health Sector of Sri Lanka were

invited to Japan under the ‘Lifestyle-Related Diseases Prevention Course’ from 25th June to 12th July 2017.The team consisted of nurses engaged in the field of Non Communicable Diseases (NCD) Management in the country from all over the country attached to 17 healthcare institutions from Primary Healthcare Units to Tertiary hospitals.During the training the nurses got a great opportunity to understand the health system of Japan, such as roles of the national and local governments and many more topics through visits to various Japanese institutions and Ministries and lecture type lessons. JICA hopes that participants of this training program will become nation-building leaders in the future with the knowledge they have gained to develop their specialties through experiencing and learning technologies and skills in Japan.

A pre-departure orientation for the participants was held on 21st June in Colombo with the participation of representatives of Ministry of Health.

The selected trainees with JICA Senior Representative Toru Kobayakawa and other officials

A pre-departure orientation for the participants was held in Colombo with the participation of representatives of Ministry of Health.

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JICA Grants JPY 2.5 Billion Worth Doppler Weather Radar To Strengthen The Sri Lanka’s Real-time Rainfall Monitoring

JICA signed a Grant Agreement with the Government of Sri Lanka on

30 June 2017 to provide two Weather Observation Doppler Radars to the Department of Meteorology (DOM). The Project for the Establishment of a Doppler Weather Radar Network” will cover the procurement and installation of C-Band Pulse Compression Solid State Dual Polarization (Polarmetric) Meteorological Doppler Radar System and technical training.The Exchange of Notes between the Ambassador of Japan Mr. Kenichi Suganuma and Dr. R.H Samaratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and

JICA Chief Representative Fusato Tanaka and Dr Samaratunge at the signing

Mass Media was followed by the signing of Grant Agreement between Dr. R.H Samaratunga, and Mr. Fusato Tanaka, Chief Representative of JICA Sri Lanka Office. This Grant Aid Project is expected to improve capacity of DOM to accumulate, analyze the weather forecasting information such as rainfall, speed and direction of wind throughout the country as well as disseminating early warning based on those data. JICA hopes that this will contribute Sri Lanka to mitigate serious damage by weather-related disasters.

The Project will cover the procurement and installation of C-Band Pulse Compression Solid State Dual Polarization ( P o l a r m e t r i c ) Meteorological Doppler Radar System and technical training

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JICA Volunteer Supports Activities At The Dehiwala Zoo

Ms Sayo Yamao has been working for the National Zoological

Gardens (NZG) in Dehiwala for the past seven months. She is one of 71 JICA volunteers currently working in the country, in response to requests made by the Government of Sri Lanka. Her assignment at the NZG entails working on animal breeding, enrichment, animal training and healthcare.Animals in the zoo miss living in their natural habitat, and therefore, as a part of their work, zoo keepers try to conduct different types of enrichment activities such as habitat, feeding and sensory enrichment programs to uplift their natural behaviors. It is this activity that Ms Yamao is currently trying to support by using her expertise in this field. She has introduced puzzle feeding activities for Chimpanzees, Orangutans and Tigers,

where food is not directly fed to animals, but it is creatively concealed so that animals have to make an effort to find their food. The purpose of this exercise is to reduce the monotony that comes as a result of direct feeding, and stimulate the mental and physical activity of animals, whilst trying to reduce the time and motivation for misbehavior. Ms Yamao has also introduced new menus for the animals, and is currently training sea lions to perform new tricks at the daily Sea Lion Show.Ms Yamao conducts activities in collaboration with local zoo keepers, who have been motivated by her support, sharing of knowledge, and expertise. Whilst noting that the local zoo keepers are knowledgeable and experienced, she stated that the health of animals could be further enhanced if there is

increased interaction between staff at the zoo hospital and zoo keepers (which would, for example, reduce instances of over feeding of the animals). She also mentioned that improvement could be brought about by revising the feeding times, wherever appropriate, and paying more attention to cleanliness. Ms Yamao is a licensed veterinary nurse who has worked for seven years in a Japanese safari park, with both captive and non-captive animals. She certainly seems to be enjoying her assignment at the Dehiwala Zoo.

Ms Sayo Yamao trains a young seal to do tricks

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A Helping Hand From JICA For Upkeep Of Bridges In Sri Lanka

A brand new bridge maintenance vehicle from Japan was gifted

by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to the Road Development Authority (RDA) of Sri Lanka in April. The special vehicle has a working platform which could be extended from the truck to reach under the bridge deck, so that the critical but hard to reach locations could be inspected and rectified in time. The vehicle worth over 47 Million Japanese Yen (approx. 86 Million Rupees) is gifted under JICA’s technical cooperation project for Bridge management.“Maintenance of bridges is especially important not only in terms of protecting infrastructure assets constructed with public funds, but also in terms of public safety. The potential risk of grave damage is greater in bridge infrastructure.

But inspection and maintenance of bridges are more complex and difficult than on road sections, and may get postponed or disregarded. “Our technical cooperation hopes to assist RDA to address these issues by setting up a bridge management system at RDA together with equipment such as

this bridge maintenance vehicle. We hope RDA will make good use of the Japanese technology and experiences shared, and ensure a safe and smooth drive for the road users in Sri Lanka”, said Fusato Tanaka, Chief Representative of JICA Sri Lanka Office.

Fusato Tanaka, Chief Representative of JICA Sri Lanka Office hands over the keys to a new Bridge Maintenance Vehicle to the Hon. Minister of Higher Education and Highways

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Channeling Knowledge From Japan To Sri Lanka For Cascade Master Plan Project

Sri Lanka is known for a wide variety of climate zones that exist within

a rather small island. But the Shikoku island of Japan (3.4 times smaller than Sri Lanka) also has a significant variation –Kochi Prefecture received 2967mm of rainfall in 2015 (3rd highest in Japan), a staggering contrast from 1210mm (4th lowest) for the neighboring Kagawa Prefecture over a mountain range (Statistics Bureau of Japan). This gap resulted in development of the 14,619 reservoirs in Kagawa, and ultimately of Kagawa Yosui Canal of 106km that diverts water from high rainfall area to Kagawa.In Sri Lanka, dry zone area from Anuradhapura and southern Vavunia has one of the oldest cascaded reservoir systems in the country, whose origin dates back a few thousand years. Under Mahaweli Water Security Investment Program, 128 of these cascade systems will receive water from the southern wet zone after the completion of North Central Province Canal. A JICA survey team is conducting studies on cascade level water balance

Participants at a discussion with Mokokuike Water Use Association

Site visit to Shikaike Land Improvement District in Kagawa

and management, infrastructure management, agriculture, livestock and institutional development to assist the central and provincial governments to come up with a comprehensive development plan for the coming new era of irrigated agriculture in the cascade region. Considering its experiences, JICA survey team selected Kagawa Prefecture as a location for a counterpart training. From high officials to field officers, 15 project

Contd. page 11

In Sri Lanka, the dry zone area from Anuradhapura and southern Vavuniya has one of the oldest cascaded reservoir systems in the country, whose origin dates back a few thousand years

counterparts participated in the training from Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment, Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resource Management, Ministry of Agriculture and provincial governments of Northern and North Central Provinces. During this intense two-week program which took place in May 2017, they learned about Japanese technologies, institutional structures and actual experiences in order to feed back into the cascade development plan. The training was designed to give the full picture of Kagawa’s irrigated agriculture from engineering, agricultural, organizational and marketing aspects.

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Japanese team at the meeting held in Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha

Some of the participants shared their experiences:

“Japan study tour was incredible experience to me in-terms of Japanese respect, punctuality, response and specially their irrigation management technologies used for cascade system development towards sustainable agriculture development which adopted good agricultural practices”

R.Vijayakumar, Assistant Commissioner, Department of Agrarian Development, Vavuniya

“I could witness the mutual cooperation between prefecture government bodies and farmer driven Agriculture Cooperatives (NOKYO) that drives the profitable value chains for sustainable agriculture”

Mr.P.M.Jayathilaka, Assistant Director,Agriculture and Irrigation, Department of National Planning, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs

From page 10

CEA And JICA Launch Pilot Project On Garbage Management

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA) recently announced the launch of a pilot project on garbage management.The proposed garbage management project, which is a joint venture between CEA and JICA will be implemented in the Kataragama, Kurunegala and Ratnapura towns.Coordinator of the project Ms Nayana

Samaraweera said the project will be completed by the end of 2019. He said the project had been planned by JICA based on a joint research carried out by a team of researchers of the Peradeniya University and a Japanese university.Addressing a meeting held at the Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha Auditorium to create awareness among the officials involved in the project, representatives of the JICA noted that

The Japanese experts stressed that the project would not cause any environmental damage to the ground water resources, and plant and animal life

the project would be a success if it was implemented with the concerted effort of the political authority, religious organizations, state institutions, and the civil society organizations.The Japanese experts stressed that the project would not cause any environmental damage to the ground water resources, and plant and animal life.Maha Sangha and religious dignitaries of the area, senior officials of the Central Environmental Authority and Wildlife Conservation Department, officials of the Police Environmental Unit, and Pradeshiya Sabha Secretary K.L.A.L. Jayathileka were present at the meeting.

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her activities included moving children away from excessive desk work, helping children develop independent thinking, introducing outdoor physical activities, and helping children develop good habits.

JICA Volunteer Supports Early Childhood Education And Development in Sri Lanka

Ms Ryoko Omura is a JICA volunteer who worked in support of the early

childhood education and development (ECED) sector in Sri Lanka. She was assigned to the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), with the aim of transferring knowledge to teachers at its model pre-school and day care center,

as well as to students following diploma courses in ECED. However, she did not limit herself to offering her services only to the OUSL, but also worked with other institutions such as the National Institute of Education, and pre-school teacher networks in Maharagama and Moratuwa.

The objectives Ms Omura attempted to achieve through her activities included: moving children away from excessive desk work, helping children develop independent thinking, introducing outdoor physical activities, and helping children develop good habits. Ms Omura conducted several workshops in order to transfer her knowledge to various

Ms Ryoko Omura with some of her students

Editor for JICA News From Sri LankaFusato Tanaka,Chief Representative, JICA Sri Lanka

10th & 13th Floors, DHPL Building,No. 42, Nawam Mawatha, Colombo 02, Sri Lanka

Tel: (+94) 011-2300470Fax: (+94) 011-2303692Email: [email protected]: www.jica.go.jp/srilanka/english/index.html https://www.facebook.com/jicasrilanka

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groups of pre-school teachers. Those who benefitted from Ms Omura’s activities were extremely grateful to her, and greatly valued what they learnt.

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