ngs of the Workshop on ATION AND "AQW//Am VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE TRANSMISSiON WHO FAO UNEP , 77 - 00 44 Proceedings of the Workshop on IRRIGATION AND VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE TRANSMISSION December 1986 INTERNATIONAL IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE SRI LANKA Citation: I/MI pub 86-02 International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) and the Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP Panel of Experts on Environmental Manage- ment and Vector Control (PEEM). 1986. Proceedings of the Workshop on Irrigation and Vector-Borne Disease Transmission. Digana Village, Sri Lanka: IIMI Pub. /diSErssn vectors/irriipstion rran:iqurrierit/environrneritol coiitrol/ /developinq counlries/healtd/malsrii/filariosis / Mah:iweli prOject DDC 631 7 ir Summary: Vector-borne diseases continue to be one of the pre- dominant public health problems in Sri Lanka and other develop- ing countries Diseases such as malaria and filariasis pose an undeniable threat to the success of water resource development, and the role of preventive or mitigating measures is discussed as a priority in the planning, implementation, and management of irrigation projects. Please direct inquiries and comments to the: Communication and Publication Office INTERNATIONAL IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE Digana Village via Kandy. Sri Lanka Tel. 74274, 74334, 74251; TIx. 22318 IlMI HQCE I lie contents of this puhhcation do not necessarily reflect the stated pcI es or decisions of WHO. FAQ. UNEP. or 11MI Authors alon care responsible for views expressed in signed articles. All rights reserved PRINTED AT KANDY OFFOIl PRLNTCRS LTD CONTENTS PREFACE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: WORKSHOP ON IRRIGATION AND VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE TRANSMISSION RobertBos ............................................................................ 1 THE PRESENT MALARIA SITUATION IN SRI LANKA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO AREAS WHERE IRRIGATION HAS RECENTLY BEEN INTRODUCED M . U. L. P. Samarasinghe .............................................................. STUDY OF MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES IN SOME NEW IRRIGATiON SCHEMES IN SRI LANKA, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO FILARIASIS AND ARBOVIRAL DISEASES Tissa Vitarana, Pushpa Herath, Kingsley Kalpage, Nalini Jayasekera, Mervyn Wickremasinghe, and Varuni Gunatilake ....................................... 9 CURRENT STUDIES ON VECTOR POPULATIONS IN AREAS UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN MAHAWELI SYSTEM C F . P. Amarasinghe .................................................................... 1 4 STUDY OF VECTOR ASPECTS OF MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES IN SOME IRRIGATION SCHEMES IN SRI LANKA P.R.J. Herath, N. Jayasekera, K. Kalpage, M.B. Wickremasinghe, V. Gunatilake, W.M. Nanayakkara .............................. 22 INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS BETWEEN THE HEALTH AND IRRIGATION SECTORS: PRESENT STATUS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT J . Bandaragoda ....................................................................... 33 ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER MANAGEMENT FOR VECTOR CONTROL JosephK. Shisler ..................................................................... 40 TECHNICAL iRRiGATiON FEATURES RELATED TO VECTOR-HABITAT CREATION J . J. Speelman and G. M. van den Top ................................................. 44 IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH: A PERSPECTIVE FROM 11MI LeslieSmall ........................................................................... 55 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PEEM AND LIMI DavidJ. Bradley ...................................................................... 5 9 PROGRAM OF WORK ................................................................ 63 LIST OF PARTICIPANTS .............................................................. 64 Joint WHO/FAO/UNEP Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control The WHO/FAO/UNEP Panel of experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control (PEEM) was established in 1981 according to the Arrangements agreed upon by the three participating organizations. The objective of PEEM is to create an institutional framework for effective interagency and intersectoral collaboration by bringing together various organizations and institutions involved in health, water and land development and the protection of the environment, with a view to promoting the extended use of environ- mental management measures for vector control in health programmes and in development projects as health and environmental safeguards. International Irrigation Management Institute The International Irrigation Management Institute (LIMI) is an autonomous, non-profit international organ- ization chartered in Sri Lanka in 1984 to conduct research, provide opportunities for professional develop- ment, and communicate information about irrigation management. Through collaboration, IIMI seeks ways to strengthen independent national capacity to improve the management and performance of irrigation sys- tems in developing countries. IIMI's research program aims at deriving methodologies and conceptual understandings that result in better management of irrigation resources. The training program is designed to strengthen leadership and manage- ment skills among professionals responsible for planning and managing irrigation systems. The information program supports IIMI researchers and an international network of people interested in irrigation manage- ment by providing publication, library, and documentation services. IIMI's headquarters is in Digana Village near Kandy, about 130 km east of Colombo and central to some of Sri Lanka's extensive irrigation projects. Preface Throughout the long history of Sri Lanka irrigation has been of vital importance. In ancient days, it formed the basis on which the Sinhalese culture flourished. The extensive network of canals and reservoirs, con- structed by the kings of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa brought prosperity to their people. Yet the irrigation works were also a vulnerable target in time of war, and their destruction led more than once to acute crisis with famine and disease, and finally to a general decline. The role of malaria epidemics in this decline is disputable. It is not clear at which moment in time malaria reached the island. Nor is it known to what extent the engineers who served the ancient rulers were aware of the relation between certain environmental conditions and the prevalence of the disease. It would seem that their engineering practices were "environmentally sound," as it would be called nowadays, and did not create major adverse health effects. In modern times, the people of Sri Lanka face the challenge of bringing the areas of the dry zone, so notoriously malarious, under cultivation again. The country needs to feed a growing population. Lacking fossil fuels, it has to resort to hydropower to generate sufficient energy. And its economy has to expand to create better employment conditions. Efforts over the past decade include the reservoir and resettlement projects of lnginimitiya, Kirindi Oya, Muthukandiya, and Mahadivulwewa. They also include flood protection schemes and village irrigation reha- bilitation projects. But the national and international focus is of course on the Accelerated Mahaweli Project. Vector-borne diseases continue to be one of the predominant public health problems in Sri Lanka. Mea- sured by morbity and mortality, malaria certainly is the most important. Others, including filariasis and Japanese encephalitis, contribute their share to ill health. Vector-borne diseases pose an undeniable threat to the success of water resource development, and the consideration of possible preventive or mitigating mea- sures remains a priority item in the planning and implementation of irrigation and other water projects. Since 1981 the WHO/FAO/UNEP Panel of Experts on Environmental Management for Vector Control (PEEM) has been promoting the use of environmental management measires as a contribution to sustainable economic development. Improved water management is a key component of such an approach. Research in the field of water management is also a priority issue in the mandate of the International Irrigation Manage- ment Institute (LIMI), with the objective to obtain methodologies to secure a maximum agricultural yield with a given amount of water. The ultimate objectives may differ, but the concrete research questions to be solved show great overlap. If improvement of water management techniques, from an agricultural point of view, leads to adverse health implications, it will in the end fail to contribute to the intended improvement of the quality of life. Consider- ing the above, it was decided to organize a workshop on irrigation and vector-borne disease transmission, to stimulate a dialogue between the irrigation, health and environment sectors in Sri Lanka and to explore whether a basis could be found for further collaboration between PEEM and JIM!. The organizers believe the workshop reached both goals. They hope that these proceedings will contribute to a continued dialogue in Sri Lanka, and they envisage promising opportunities for the future PEEM/IIMI collaboration. These proceedings of the workshop on irrigation and vector-borne disease transmission, which was held at the International Irrigation Management Institute (lIMI) in October 1985, were prepared by IIMI and are a joint publication of ILMI and PEEM. The workshop stimulated a dialogue between the various sectors in Sri Lanka involved in irrigation development, health and the environment, and this publication aims at further promoting intersectoral collaboration in this field. The organizers wish to acknowledge and thank the editors: Mrs. Verla