A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A Sustainability Index for Assessing Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCs) in Sri Lanka
Traditional Village Tank Cascade systems (VTCs) are a connected series of tanks where the excess water in upstream tanks is collected and reused by the downstream tanks. These are highly sustainable irrigation systems in the Dry zone landscape of Sri Lanka from ancient times. At present, these systems are under threat of deterioration due to continuous human interventions. Even though a number of studies have identified different parameters to assess VTCs, none of them have addressed the social, environmental and economic sustainability within a single assessment. Since the sustainability of VTCs should achieve the equilibrium of its ecological, hydrological, agricultural and social subsystems and cultural norms, it is important to incorporate all these factors in the sustainability assessment. Considering this background, the objective of this study was to develop an index to assess the sustainability of VTCs in an integrated manner. The index was developed with 8 physical-environmental parameters and 13 socioeconomic parameters. The relative importance of each parameter was identified through a Multi-Criteria Analysis. The developed index can be used in assessing the sustainability of any of the VTCs as well as the individual tanks in a 0 to 100 scale, which can be used for comparing and prioritizing the cascades for rehabilitation and development activities.
A Sustainability Index for Assessing Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCs) in Sri Lanka
Traditional Village Tank Cascade systems (VTCs) are a connected series of tanks where the excess water in upstream tanks is collected and reused by the downstream tanks. These are highly sustainable irrigation systems in the Dry zone landscape of Sri Lanka from ancient times. At present, these systems are under threat of deterioration due to continuous human interventions. Even though a number of studies have identified different parameters to assess VTCs, none of them have addressed the social, environmental and economic sustainability within a single assessment. Since the sustainability of VTCs should achieve the equilibrium of its ecological, hydrological, agricultural and social subsystems and cultural norms, it is important to incorporate all these factors in the sustainability assessment. Considering this background, the objective of this study was to develop an index to assess the sustainability of VTCs in an integrated manner. The index was developed with 8 physical-environmental parameters and 13 socioeconomic parameters. The relative importance of each parameter was identified through a Multi-Criteria Analysis. The developed index can be used in assessing the sustainability of any of the VTCs as well as the individual tanks in a 0 to 100 scale, which can be used for comparing and prioritizing the cascades for rehabilitation and development activities.
A Sustainability Index for Assessing Village Tank Cascade Systems (VTCs) in Sri Lanka
Tarekul Islam, G. M. (editor) / Shampa, Shampa (editor) / Chowdhury, Ahmed Ishtiaque Amin (editor) / Hemachandra, E. M. G. P. (author) / Dayawansa, N. D. K. (author) / De Silva, Ranjith Premalal (author)
Water Management: A View from Multidisciplinary Perspectives ; Chapter: 15 ; 299-317
2022-03-26
19 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
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