A 24-month project funded by the European Union and run by the UN Development Programme will review Sri Lanka’s disaster risk management laws and institutions, and pilot a government-led local preparedness model in Badulla and Matara.
The project, “Strengthening Sri Lanka’s Disaster Risk Management Framework”, is funded through the EU’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and implemented by UNDP with the Disaster Management Division of the Ministry of Defence, the Disaster Management Centre and Save the Children International, Lanka Business Online reported.
The shift being attempted
The stated aim is to move Sri Lanka’s disaster system from reaction towards anticipation — acting on early warnings before a hazard becomes a disaster.
“While emergency response and relief remain essential, experience has shown that we must also place greater emphasis on anticipating risks, preparing in advance and ensuring that early warnings lead to appropriate and timely action,” said Mahinda Gunaratne, Director General–Planning at the Disaster Management Division.
At national level the project will work with the Disaster Management Division, the Disaster Management Centre and the National Disaster Relief Services Centre to review the country’s disaster risk management legal, institutional and coordination arrangements, strengthen standard operating procedures and “warning-to-action” mechanisms, and build anticipatory action into the system.
Pradeep Kodippili, Director–Training and Awareness at the Disaster Management Centre, said the initiative would “review existing disaster risk management arrangements, strengthen coordination mechanisms, and enhance preparedness capacities at both national and local levels.”
The pilot
Save the Children International leads the sub-national component, working with district and divisional authorities, schools and communities in Badulla and Matara on preparedness planning, early-warning dissemination, coordination, simulation exercises and early action.
The project expects to benefit about 3,260 community members in the two pilot districts and to engage roughly 3,200 government officials and technical personnel nationwide. Preparedness work is to be made gender-responsive, age-sensitive and disability-inclusive, including through accessible risk communication.
The design is explicitly to work through existing government systems “rather than establish parallel structures”, with lessons from the two districts feeding back into national policy.
Context
Marina Ten, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Sri Lanka, tied the project directly to the last major disaster: “Recovery from Cyclone Ditwah offers an opportunity not only to rebuild, but to strengthen the systems that protect communities from future disasters.”
Seuwandi Yapa, Programme Manager in the Cooperation Section of the EU Delegation in Sri Lanka, said disaster preparedness was “a critical investment in protecting lives, livelihoods and development gains.”
The timing is pointed. Sri Lanka is still funding Ditwah repairs through the 2027 Budget presented the following day, which carries Rs 21 billion for cyclone-damaged tank systems alone, and the Meteorology Department is currently tracking a depression in the Bay of Bengal.
Sourcing note
This report rests on a single verified newsroom. Searches returned the same announcement on Newswire.lk and OnLanka, neither of which counts as a verified source under this desk’s standards, and no verified outlet other than Lanka Business Online had filed on it. The filing reads as a reproduced partner statement rather than independent reporting — it carries no byline and consists largely of quotes from the four implementing organisations.
The announcement is also undated beyond the filing itself: Lanka Business Online says the project was announced at an inception workshop “recently” without giving a date, and search results indicate a first project board meeting was held in October. The total project budget is not stated anywhere in the filing.
Not reported
The filing gives no euro or rupee value for the project, no start or end date for the 24 months, and no explanation of why Badulla and Matara were chosen. It does not say what the review of the legal framework might change, or how the pilot model would be funded if extended nationally.
