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by Maithripala Sirisena

Minister of Mahaweli and River Basin Development and Rajarata Development

Excerpts from the speech delivered at the inaugural session of the Third International Workshop on "Integrating Wetland Economic Values into River Basin Management"

Sri Lanka is one of the world's foremost countries that has utilized water stored in man made tanks for agricultural purposes as well as for all other human requirements.

The thousands of tanks which to date are being utilized by the people are an essential part of the civilization of this small island of only 25,000 sq. miles surrounded by the Indian Ocean.

As a person born and bred in a village nourished by a tank and as a person so fortunate as to represent an area dependent on tank water, I have very special reasons to be happy about the attention you pay to the small tanks.

As such, I wish to place before you a brief overview of the salient features of tanks and the social organization based on small tanks.

Sri Lanka has been divided into two zones based on rainfall. One of these zones receiving less than 75 inches of rainfall annually is known as the Dry Zone. The other with higher rainfall is known as the Wet Zone. The central highlands of the island are a determining factor in the division of the country into these two zones.

Before the commencement of coffee plantations and thereafter the tea plantations by the British, the central highlands were almost entirely covered with forests.

These forests served as a watersheds for the multiplicity of rivers that originated in the central massif, which served as a hub for the rivers flowing in all directions to enter the sea from the lowlands.

In this geographical background, our civilization, which is more than 5,000 years old, was born. The human settlements that began in the river basins of the dry zone extended gradually to Northern and South Eastern lowlands.

Their livelihood based on agriculture was dependent on water. Water was the most important life giving resource of our civilization.

Rainfall in the Dry Zone was limited and therefore the people had to find ways of storing water for agriculture. The 'tank' was the answer the people found for the need for water during the dry season of the year.

We are not in a position to determine the period in which the first tank in Sri Lanka was constructed. However, we can say that the art of tank construction was known over a period of 5,000 years in Sri Lanka.

There is no doubt that, when the Aryans arrived in Sri Lanka during 5-6 B C, people in Sri Lanka knew the techniques of tank construction and the means of diverting water to designated areas.

The oldest tank identified in Sri Lanka is Abaya weva (Basawakkulama) in Anuradhapura, constructed during the 5th century B C by king Pandukabaya. It is apparent that the techniques adopted in the construction of Abayaweva would have evolved over a period of two or three centuries.

Abayaweva continues to serve the people. You may see in Anuradhapura during the next few days, Abayaweva releasing its life giving waters to the fields close by. Within a period of about three centuries after the construction of Abayaweva, the technicians in Sri Lanka were able to construct very large tanks like Minneriya.

Minneriya constructed by King Mahasena, Kalaweva constructed by king Datusena and Parakrama Samudra constructed by king Parakramabahu, are among the most magnificent among the tanks constructed during the long history of tank construction in Sri Lanka.

Even though large tanks were constructed, the value of the village tank remained undiminished. Based on the small tank, the village and the paddy fields that fed the village came into being. With the lapse of time, with increase in population and the development of the State covering the Dry Zone, the need for water increased.

As a result, supply of water to the people began to be recognized as the bounden duty of kings. Hence the construction of large tanks with royal patronage. The Sri Lankan technicians knew the art of conveying water through canals for these tanks by damming rivers thousands of years back.

We now inherit three types of tanks as result; village tanks, medium size tanks and large tanks.

The basic unit of ancient hydraulic civilization was the village tank. Government investigations have identified 15,373 village tanks that have been in existence. Out of these over 7,000 tanks are still in operation. When we take note of the tanks that have been filled by natural causes or by human intervention for different purposes, we can surmise that there may have been over 25,000 tanks in existence.

Tank was a life-giving source of the national economy. Village life and customs were tank related. Tank, village and paddy cultivation in the fields were all inter twined as one entity. This was the traditional economic system that prevailed over thousands of years.

Village tanks are all parts of a system. Often, a few or several of them are connected to each other. The water released by one tank collects in another tank below to be used again. This system enables the optimum use of water.

A tank is a magnificent creation. I was born in a village sustained by a tank and I grew up in a tank related environment. Tank is the most important single factor that has influenced me.

Tank, a splendid example of engineering skills, has exerted a profound influence on the development of human civilization. The tank provided most of everyday needs of society and served as a life-giving source. The people in turn consider the tank as the foundation of their existence.

Polonnaruwa, where I was born and bread and the adjoining Anuradhapura are together known as 'Wev-bandi rajjaya'. This region is also known as 'Rajarata' or the land of kings. This shows that the tank and kingship were both linked together.

The lifestyle of the people is also based on the tank. It is in fact a different culture-a tank culture. The tank is so deeply ingrained in the life of the people that it is venerated, as it was then, as an entity with divine qualities.

The tank not only meets the water requirements of the cultivated paddy land, but also all the other water requirements of the village. However all these requirements were met in accordance with age old custom.

There were separate points at which water was used for different purposes; water for drinking was taken from 'Diya Mankada', bathing was done at the 'Nana Mankada' and cattle were bathed at the "Bora Diya Mankada'. These customs are still observed by the people living in the tank environments.

The bio-diversity of the tank and the tank environment ensure the continuity of the tank and serve the people in many different ways. The most important component of the tank environment is the watershed of the tank. The village people consider the protection of the forest in the tank watershed a prime obligation.

The land in between the water of the tank and the watershed is considered a 'perahana' or a filter. It filters and cleans the water collecting into the tank. This land is covered with natural grasslands.

The land between the tank and the fields receiving water from the tank is known as the 'kattakaduwa'. It is a wetland covered with trees and plants like 'kumbuk', reeds and 'kohila', serving the purpose of absorbing the salinity of the water released to the fields.

The close relationship of the tank with the environment and the trees is evident from the names of most of the tanks. A tank situated in a land where 'divul' (wood apple) trees dominate is known as 'Divul Weva', if the most conspicuous trees in the vicinity are 'kumbuk' trees, it is known as 'Kumbuk Weva'.

Cattle rearing was another important rural industry. Grass for the cattle was provided by the 'perahana' or the 'thavulla'. Cattle were used to plough the fields and to provide milk.

The tank, the bio-diversity associated with the tank and the cultivated fields were managed with mutual cooperation and understanding. In the past, not only the water in the tank and the fields cultivated with water from the tank but also the fish in the tank were considered common property owned by the entire village.

The maintenance of the tank and the canals was done through mutual cooperation in the most appropriate manner.

The traditional system of tanks and canals, that nourished our nation over thousands of years and bequeathed a hydraulic civilization, is today being underestimated. Sad to say, some intellectuals now argue that water should be used for the generation of electricity, rather than cultivation.

We have to remind these intellectuals that the traditional system of tanks was not based entirely on economic benefits; it had as its base the entire social system and the economy of the village.

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