A delegation from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) comprising Mark Smith, Director General, Prathap Ramanujam, Senior Advisor to the Director General, Syon Niyogi, Chief Operating Officer, and Lal Mutuwatte, Deputy Country Manager, met with Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Harini Amarasuriya, to discuss key areas of collaboration in water management and sustainable development.
“As the only international organization headquartered in Sri Lanka, IWMI takes pride in our 40-year partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka,” Smith said. “Our diverse team of specialists, including irrigation and agricultural engineers, economists, agronomists, remote sensing and spatial analysts, wetland ecologists, water quality and health experts, and social scientists, remains committed to advancing science-based solutions for the country’s water and development challenges.”
A key theme of the meeting was IWMI’s 2024–2030 Strategy: Driving Action, Propelling Change, and its alignment with Sri Lanka’s development goals. The Prime Minister shared her appreciation of IWMI’s internship and capacity-building programs, emphasizing their importance for national development. Amarasuriya expressed the government’s readiness to expand partnerships with IWMI, particularly in addressing gaps in reliable data for agriculture. IWMI responded by reaffirming its commitment to improving paddy area mapping and yield prediction to enhance decision support in the sector.
Flood control also emerged as a top priority. The Prime Minister stressed the need for enhanced data collection to manage flooding in vulnerable areas near Colombo. Additionally, she highlighted urgent water quality concerns and the critical need for mitigation efforts to safeguard public health and ecosystems.
“IWMI remains dedicated to supporting evidence-based policymaking and sustainable water management solutions,” Smith noted. “This meeting reinforced our shared mission of building long-term resilience in Sri Lanka’s water resources through data-driven approaches and capacity development.”
As one of 15 centers of CGIAR, the world’s largest public research network focused on food, land and water systems, IWMI has played a key role over the past 40 years in advancing sustainable development through innovative science and strategic partnerships in Sri Lanka and partner countries in the Global South.
