HUMBOLDT-UNIVERSITÄT ZU BERLIN Landwirtschaftlich-Gärtnerische Fakultät Schriftenreihe des Seminars für Ländliche Entwicklung Conflict – Threat or Opportunity? Land Use and Coping Strategies of War-affected Communities in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka CATAD Team: IFSP Team: Benedikt Korf (Team Leader) Rohini M. Singarayer (Team Leader) Tobias Flämig Rathnayake M. Abeyrathne Christine Schenk Kanagaratnam Devarajah Monika Ziebell Dharsanie Dharmarajah Julia Ziegler Thangavel Sakthivel SLE (CATAD): Integrated Food Security Programme Podbielskiallee 66 Trincomalee (IFSP) 14195 Berlin, Germany 42, Huskison Street Tel. 0049-30-314 71 334 31000 Trincomalee, Sri Lanka Fax 0049-30-314 71 409 Tel. 0094 26 22023, 22687 http: www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/sle Fax 0094 26 22294 [email protected] Berlin/Trincomalee, December 2001 SLE CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT Schriftenreihe des SLE (Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung) Publication Series by Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development Herausgeber/ SLE - Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung Editors (Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development) Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Podbielskialle 66, D-14195 Berlin, Germany E mail: [email protected] Internet: www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/sle www.berlinerseminar.de Redaktion/ Dr. Karin Fiege Managing Editor Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung Druck/ Offset-Druckerei Gerhard Weinert GmbH Printers Saalburgstraße 3, D-12099 Berlin Verlag und Vertrieb/ Margraf Verlag Publishers and Postfach 105, D-97985 Weikersheim Distributors 1. Auflage 2001/ 1-750 1st edition 2001 Copyright 2001 by SLE – Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung (Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development) ISSN 1433-4585 ISBN 3-8236-1362-6 Cover photo Front cover:Monika Ziebell Back cover: Ruth Fode FOREWORD Foreword This report is the result of the IFSP-CATAD Project 2001, a six-month joint venture, carried out by an intercultural team from the Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development (SLE), Humboldt University Berlin, and from the Integrated Food Security Programme Trincomalee (IFSP). The German team members, with the exception of the team leader, participated in the 39th annual training course. The Sri Lankan team members were made up of staff members of the IFSP or partner institutions and scientists from the Uni- versity of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. The German team was composed of a wa- ter resources engineer, an agricultural engineer, a cultural anthropologist, a nutritionist and household economist and a geographer and land use planner. The Sri Lankan counterpart to the team was composed of an agricultural ex- tension specialist, a sociologist, a civil engineer, a community mobilisation specialist and a micro enterprise specialist. The project was conducted at the request of the Integrated Food Security Programme Trincomalee (IFSP), which is funded by the Deutsche Gesell- schaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the Government of Sri Lanka through the Ministry of Plan Implementation (MPI). Interdisciplinary consultancy projects are an integral part of SLE’s training programme. The programme aims at preparing young professionals for as- signments in bilateral and multilateral development organisations. It enables participants to obtain valuable practice in the use of action- and decision- oriented appraisal methods. At the same time, projects contribute to identify- ing and solving problems in rural development. In 2001, the five groups of SLE’s 39th course simultaneously conducted pro- jects in Ecuador, Malawi, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka. Prof. Dr. Ernst Lindemann Dr. Bernd Schubert Dean Director Faculty of Agricultural and SLE – Centre for Advanced Train- Horticultural Sciences ing in Rural Development CONFLICT – THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY? ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements The IFSP-CATAD Project 2001 is a joint venture of an intercultural team of young practitioners and scientists from Germany and Sri Lanka. Such a ven- ture is always dependent on the support and encouragement of other people. Our research was largely field-focused, and we would like to express our sincere gratitude and admiration to the people, who talked to us about their lives, taking their valuable time. How they manage their living in the difficult circumstances of a war zone has deeply impressed us. We hope that our work will also be of benefit for them. We would also like to thank the large number of key informants who openly provided us with important back- ground data. First and foremost, we would like to thank Dr. Dedo Geinitz, GTZ Team Leader of the IFSP, who initiated the IFSP-CATAD Project 2001 and continu- ously encouraged our work with his keen interest and knowledgeable feed- back. The team is grateful to Prof. C. Sivayoganathan, University of Peradeniya and former IFSP Consultant, and M. Sidharthan, Lecturer, Univer- sity of Peradenyia, for their valuable support and advice during the field and analytical phase and the organisation of the round table discussion at the University of Peradeniya. The community mobilisers and engineers from the IFSP joined in the field surveys and enriched our findings with their wealth of knowledge and experience. The Chief Secretary Northern and Eastern Provinces, Mr. Kriushnamoorthy, the Deputy Chief Secretary, Mr. S. Rangarajah and the Government Agent of Trincomalee, Mr. S.D. Chandradasa as well as Mr. Kodituwakku A. Ananda, Director General, Ministry of Plan Implementation, supported us throughout the study and encouraged the counterpart institutions to co-operate with us. Our thanks include the office staff of IFSP, namely Ann Irene, Azeeza, Sher- mila, Shyamali, and Vasanthy, who always welcomed us with a smile and provided quiet but efficient support, as well as our drivers Anthony and Thanarajah. The CATAD team would especially like to thank Helen, who cooked and cared for us at Villa Ines. CONFLICT – THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY? Willi Monigatti, GTZ Senior Subject Matter Specialist on Food Security at headquarters in Eschborn, organised a discussion forum at GTZ headquarters for the presentation of the research finding. Furthermore, Willi Monigatti and Dr. Regina Birner, University of Goettingen, supported the CATAD team dur- ing the preparatory phase in Berlin with important background knowledge. Christine Bigdon, South Asia Institute, Colombo helped us in screening and contacting resource institutions in Colombo and supported us throughout the study with feedback and advice. Dr. Godfrey Gunatilleke and Basil Illanga- koon at the Marga Institute, Christoph Feyen and staff from the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA), Manfred Broenner from the German Cultural Centre - Goethe Institute and Ian Makin and K. Jinapala from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) enabled the intensive stakeholder dialogue in Colombo and provided room for discussion and exchange of ideas. Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Eberhard Bauer and Claudia Trentmann, who provided us with valuable comments for the final report, as well as Di- nali Fernando for correcting the English and Alexander Austin for the final editing. The Team ACRONYMS I Table of Contents - Main Report Table of Contents – Main Report I Table of Contents – Manual VII Acronyms IX Executive Summary XIII How to Use the Report XXI 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Sri Lanka: An Island at War 1 1.2 Conflict Mitigation through Food Security? 4 1.3 Context of Utilisation: IFSP-CATAD Project 2001 5 2. Livelihoods at Risk: Conceptual Approach 9 2.1 Complex Political Emergencies 9 2.2 The Concept of Food and Nutrition Security 11 2.3 The Livelihood System Approach (LSA) 14 2.3.1 Core Principles of the Livelihood System Approach 15 2.3.2 The Livelihood System Model 16 2.3.3 Livelihood Strategies: Coping or Adapting? 20 2.3.4 Vulnerability and Risk Management 22 2.3.5 Why Institutions Matter: Political and Social Capital 26 3. Research Approach and Methodology 29 3.1 Principles of Action- and Decision- Oriented Research 29 3.2 Knowledge Generation: Advancing in Cycles 30 3.2.1 Preparation and Conceptualisation 31 3.2.2 Empirical Fieldwork and Analysis 32 3.2.3 Process-Orientation: Stakeholder Dialogue 32 3.3 Research Methods: Qualitative Village Studies 35 3.3.1 Interdisciplinary and Inter-cultural Team Work 35 3.3.2 Sample: The Research Villages 35 3.3.3 Qualitative Field Research Methods 39 3.3.4 Traps and Pitfalls 40 3.3.5 Data Analysis 41 II CONFLICT – THREAT OR OPPORTUNITY? 4. Vulnerability Context of the Study Area 43 4.1 Perceptions and Impact of War in Trincomalee 43 4.1.1 Perceptions of the War 43 4.1.2 Economic Impact of Conflict and Violence 44 4.1.3 Malnutrition: Outcome of the Conflict 45 4.1.4 Structural Deficits and Governance Failure 47 4.1.5 Twelve Features of War Impact 48 4.2 Natural Disasters and Ecological Impacts of War 50 4.3 Research Villages: Vulnerability, Risk and Trends 51 4.3.1 Vulnerability and Risk 51 4.3.2 Trends 54 5. Livelihood Strategies of War-affected Households in Trincomalee 55 5.1 Example of a Livelihood: Highland Cultivation in Ithikulam 55 5.2 Three Pillars of Livelihood Strategies 60 5.2.1 Managing Personal Risk of Life 61 5.2.2 Managing Household Economics 63 5.2.3 Accessing External Support 68 5.3 Coping and Adapting 71 5.4 Coping with Conflict or with Poverty? 73 5.5 Institutional Arrangements and Strategic Action (Institutional Coping) 74 5.5.1 Key Actors in State Organisations 74 5.5.2 Traders and Entrepreneurs 76 5.6 Conclusions 79 6. Land Use under Threat? 81 6.1 Land Tenure and Livelihoods in Complex Emergencies 81 6.2 Impact of Vulnerability on Land Use Patterns 83 6.3 Key Issues in Land Use Rights 84 6.3.1 Forms of Land Use Rights 85 6.3.2 Tenancy Arrangements 86 6.3.3 Encroachment on Abandoned Land 89 6.3.4 Handling Land Titles 91 6.4 Case Studies on Land Use Disputes 92 6.4.1 Tank Bed Encroachment at Menkamam 93 6.4.2 Land Titles Behind a Veil: Behethkawewewa Tank 94 6.5 Conclusions 96 ACRONYMS III 7.