http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/45 Tue, 12 May 2026 16:17:16 GMT 2026-05-12T16:17:16Z http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/419 Newspaper coverage of water security issues in the water-stressed Northern Province of Sri Lanka: An explorative study of three Tamil dailies Rubini, S.; Kumarendran, B.; Raguram, S.; Sriskandarajah, N. Newspapers remain as an effective medium for circulating information among the public in the North of Sri Lanka and have the potential to influence public opinion and people’s behavior regarding sustainable use of groundwater. This study investigated the extent and scope of newspaper coverage on the subject of water security in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Three newspapers, namely, Yarl Thinakkural, Uthayan, and Valampuri were chosen on the basis of readership, circulation in print form, and for being daily local or regional papers in Tamil. The content analysis of 1214 articles published in 2019 and 2020 in the three papers indicated that asmuchas80%of space in the papers was allocated to reporting general news items and events in the community related to new water projects, rain and floods or drought events and announcements of allocation of irrigation water for farming. Only20% of newspapers pace was taken up by non-news articles including advertisements related to water. We conclude by saying that the effect of these newspapers on their audiences would merely be to inform rather than to set agendas or frame the discourse in society, let alone persuade readers enough to make changes. The study revealed the significant potential that exists for newspapers to shift their culture of simply reporting of facts in a dispassionate way to one of environmental journalism with a degree of advocacy in view of the critical nature of the security of groundwater in the Northern Province. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/419 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/415 Enabling polluter-pays principle: Integrating valuation for groundwater pollution in Chunnakam-Jaffna Jayamini Champika, P. A. Background and Objective: One of the main bottlenecks in estimating polluter-pays values is revealing the total private cost of environmental deterioration for every affected individual. Consequently, this study aims to present a precise methodological approach for evaluating the comprehensive cost of water pollution in Chunnakam-Jaffna. Materials and Methods: To assess the pollution’s impact on the WTA value, a representative sample was selected, encompassing around 10% of the population within each 0.25 km radius of the pollution source. Assuming uniform pollution levels within each 0.25 km area, a list of 200 permanent residents obtained from the divisional secretariat was used. Prior to the questionnaire survey, conducting focus group discussions within the communities is essential to estimate the precise bid value. Results: Eleven variables were identified as independent factors that could influence the determination of the WTA value. Among these, six variables were expected to exhibit a positive relationship with WTA, including the level of education, income, monthly medical expenditure, cost of aversion activities, loss of earnings and family size. Conclusion: The calculation of WTA is one of the most effective techniques for comprehensively assessing the true cost of environmental pollution. Therefore, victims could be compensated using WTA values rather than relying on an underestimated blanket value for the entire area. Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/415 2024-01-02T00:00:00Z http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/414 The impact of climate change on water resources in Northern Sri Lanka: Stakeholder perspectives Nagamuthu, P Climate change is a global phenomenon affecting the entire planet, including Sri Lanka. The Northern Province of Sri Lanka is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, especially regarding water resources. Public awareness of climate change and its impact on water resources is crucial for sustainable water management practices in the study area. In this context, this study attempted to analyze public perception of the climate change impact on the water resources of Northern Sri Lanka. There are different groups of water users in the study area. They were stratified as agriculture water users, industrial water users, fishing water users and domestic and drinking water users. Accordingly, a questionnaire survey was conducted using a stratified sampling method to identify consumer perceptions, and the collected data were analyzed using the SPSS tool. 87% of the consumers believe that climate change has a significant impact on water resources, and 50% of the people expressed vulnerability of the agriculture sector to the climate change impact on water resources. Water scarcity during the yala season became a crucial threat to paddy cultivation in the study area. Other kind of water users such as industrial water users, fishing water users and drinking and domestic water users face difficulties in obtaining water resources for their needs during the SWMS and FIMS. Furthermore, drinking and domestic water users mentioned that they face water quality issues especially during July, August and September. During the southwest monsoon season, water users face difficulties in obtaining water for their domestic needs due to water scarcity. Majority of the water users know about climate change, but many of them don’t know how climate change affects their water sources. Water suppliers should implement special projects regarding climate change impacts on water resources in the study area. This will lead the water users to use water efficiently and protect the water sources sustainably. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/414 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/409 Engaging school students for enabling water security: Systemic challenges and search for opportunities Coonghe, P. A.D.; Srikanthan, S.; Shivany, S.; Karthiga, I.; Dishalini, V. Student engagement is one of the key means to enhance water security in developing countries where water crisis is a prominent issue for the development of the regions. In terms of water security, educational and policy interventions at the school system level can drive the goals of water security and sustainability in water usage. The multifaceted relationship among education system, water pollution, waste management and environmental squalor requires multiple initiatives for ensuring water security in the Northern Province (NP) of Sri Lanka. As a step towards making NP secure for cleaner water consumption, a community-based action research project was set to foster the development of a model for engaging students whom in turn would enable water security. The present study attempted to analyze the opportunities and systemic challenges in engaging school students for water security in the NP of Sri Lanka. The data for this study were collected through systematic interactions using the World Café as a method for discussion with selected stakeholders of the educational sectors in the three divisions of the NP: Nallur, Kopay and Akkarayan. Thematic analysis of workshop records was the primary method used. This revealed that following four themes had been important to workshop participants: water in the curriculum, awareness programs, water administration, and student stewardship in the school system. From the perspective of the school stakeholders in the system, school curriculum shall be designed with creative works for enabling water security, awareness lessons for students to learn the pros and cons of the existing school water supply system, and the students’ own individual responsibilities. Other findings from analysis of the data indicated that participants expressing that awareness should be given to all categories of people on sustainable consumption, effective irrigation methods, and the importance of planting trees. The third important theme identified in this action research was water administration, which they argued should be integrated with waste disposal and wastewater management at schools, motivation for sustainable consumption via effective monitoring and evaluation processes, rainwater harvesting, and involvement in research related to water security. The fourth theme identified was to enable water security through engaging students via some form of students, stewardship. This study identified lack of integrated participation of all water stakeholders with the school system, inefficient water resource management, unbefitting approaches existing in the system, unsuitable policy making, lack of awareness about the findings derived by researchers in the school water system, and lack of motivation for individual leaders who work towards water security, are also the contributing factors. From the school stakeholders’ point of view, negative attitudes towards school-level participation, academic work overload, exam-oriented education system and current economic crisis are main challenges for engaging students, however it was exposed that there are opportunities as the WASPAR’s (Water Security through Participatory Action Research project) initiatives motivate many people in the school system to engage in water security. The intellectuals with experience and exposure are interested to engage in water security with the university community through collaborative research work and engaging students via student, stewardship program. Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT http://drw.jfn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/409 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z