Climate Change & Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is vulnerable to climate change due to its geographic location & dependence on climate-sensitive sectors like energy, agriculture, livestock, industries, waste & transport. It experiences frequent extreme weather events (erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, flash floods, rising temperatures) threatening food security, livelihoods & biodiversity, disrupting farming cycles, damaging infrastructure & intensifying vector-borne diseases affecting public health. Coastal erosion, sea level rise & saltwater intrusion affect freshwater & arable land. Sri Lanka commits to transitioning to a low-carbon, net zero & climate-resilient development via sustainable practices.
Agriculture Sector: Agriculture sector which strengthens the food security of the Country, employed 26.1% of Sri Lanka’s workforce in 2023 while contributing 9.3% to the GDP. The provisional values of agricultural land use & cost of agriculture & dairy related imports of Sri Lanka in 2023 provide a snapshot of the country’s agriculture & livestock sectors (Sri Lanka Annual Economic Review 2024 & Socio Economic Data 2023, Central Bank of Sri Lanka; Department of Census & Statistics- DC&S). The contribution of the livestock sector in terms of livestock farmers in 2024 (Provisional) were: Cattle: 144,642; Buffalo: 19,291; Goat: 56,108; Swine: 5,393; & Poultry: 230,439 (DC&S).
The livestock sector makes a significant contribution to food security & nutrition of the Sri Lankan populace. It also is a key driver of national economic growth while providing rural livelihoods. This sector made a contribution of 1.4% to the country’s GDP in 2023, with the strength of over 427,500 livestock farms spread across the country.
Waste in Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka generates about 9,810 metric tons (MT) of municipal solid waste daily of which 3,760 MT are collected (March 2021). Country’s Local Government Authorities are responsible for collection, segregation, treatment, & disposal of waste generated by residents. Rapid urbanization, industrialization & higher per-capita consumption exacerbate waste management issues often resulting in their sub-optimal treatment & unregulated dumping (Tennakoon et, 2025), leading to social issues, bad odour, methane emissions, water contamination & posing health hazards. Among technical options for waste management, Biogas Systems are suitable for treating organic wastes with high moisture content & biodegradability.
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