Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Sri Lanka

The Western Province of Sri Lanka is utilizing urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry to enhance climate resilience, specifically through the rehabilitation of abandoned paddy lands and the intensification of home gardening. Pilot projects in Kesbewa demonstrate that these interventions can reduce flood risks by improving storm water infiltration and lower greenhouse gas emissions by reducing food transport needs. The document argues for a 'green mosaic' urban design and the alignment of local, provincial, and national policies—including the revision of the Paddy Act—to scale these low-cost adaptation strategies.

• The Western Province is the first provincial government in Sri Lanka to incorporate urban and peri-urban agriculture and forestry into its climate change adaptation action strategy.
• Rehabilitating abandoned paddy lands in medium- to high-risk flood zones serves as a buffer to store water and control drainage, thereby reducing flood risks for surrounding areas.
• Intensifying home gardening in Kesbewa can lower household vulnerability by diversifying income and food sources, while potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 tons per year by replacing food imports with local production of crops like gourd, cucumber, and eggplant.
• Scaling these interventions requires a 'green mosaic' approach to urban design, which combines urban densification in specific zones with the protection of productive green spaces to manage storm water and reduce farm-to-table transport emissions.
• Policy integration is needed across three levels: local zoning for urban agriculture in development plans, a provincial climate change adaptation action plan covering five sectors, and a national revision of the Paddy Act to support mixed cultivation of rice and vegetables.
• The effectiveness of urban agriculture as a climate tool depends on the ability of researchers to provide data that is meaningful to policy-makers, such as comparing GHG reductions to the energy equivalent of households rather than just tons of CO2.

APA

Dubbeling, M. (2014). Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Sri Lanka. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SriLanka_Inside_Story_final_web-res.pdf

Chicago

Dubbeling, Marielle. Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Sri Lanka. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2014. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SriLanka_Inside_Story_final_web-res.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dubbeling |first1=Marielle |title=Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Sri Lanka |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=May 2014 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SriLanka_Inside_Story_final_web-res.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dubbeling2014integrating, author = {Dubbeling, Marielle}, title = {{Integrating urban agriculture and forestry into climate change action plans: Lessons from Sri Lanka}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/SriLanka_Inside_Story_final_web-res.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }