Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in local-level flood risk management: a study in the Deduru Oya basin in Sri Lanka
International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment
ISSN: 1759-5908
Article publication date: 6 June 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Disasters are occurring worldwide, and Sri Lanka has also become a victim of multiple disasters. Though there is a disaster management mechanism from the national level to the local level in Sri Lanka, several gaps are identified in pre- and postdisaster management activities. Among them, the responsibilities of local-level stakeholders in flood management activities are not performing at a satisfactory level. Therefore, the flood damage from the previous events was too great. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to assess the roles, responsibilities and performance of stakeholders involved in local-level flood risk management activities.
Design/methodology/approach
The Deduru Oya basin in Sri Lanka was selected as the study area. The study hypothesized that “ineffective roles, responsibilities and performance of local level stakeholders have weakened the flood risk management in the Deduru Oya basin.” The stratified random sampling method selected the sample (n = 425) from the flood-vulnerable population. Primary data were collected through a questionnaire survey, key informant interviews and field observations. Secondary data were collected from reports, work plans, journal papers and published maps. Descriptive data analysis methods and thematic data analysis methods were used in the study.
Findings
About 69% of the respondents state that they are not satisfied with the involvement of government agencies in local-level flood risk management activities, while 10% of the respondents state that they are satisfied. The thematic analysis reveals several gaps, such as the lack of reservations in the Deduru Oya, improper land use practices, no inundation areas are identified and mapped out and the effects of illegal sand mining in the Deduru Oya. In addition to that, the lack of legal power vested in local governments in disaster management and the weaknesses of current legislation on flood risk management are the other major courses of local-level ineffectiveness.
Research limitations/implications
The current research was limited to studying the involvement of local-level stakeholders in flood risk management, but the involvement of subnational and national-level stakeholders should be studied in future research.
Originality/value
This paper examines the involvement of local-level stakeholders in flood risk management. The results of the study confirm that the roles and responsibilities of local-level stakeholders are not well-defined and mandated, and therefore, the performance of stakeholders involved is minimal. Therefore, the results highlight the need for a well-established community-based flood risk management mechanism.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was done as a part of the PhD degree program conducted at the Postgraduate Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (PGIHS), University of Peradeniya. The continuous support given during the whole process of the degree program by the PGIHS is gratefully acknowledged. The Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (RUSL) has supported me by giving the study leave to conduct the PhD degree program. Many others helped me in this task, and all of them are greatly acknowledged.
Citation
Wanninayake, S.B., Nianthi, R. and Dayarathne Banda, O.G. (2024), "Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in local-level flood risk management: a study in the Deduru Oya basin in Sri Lanka", International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-12-2023-0128
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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