Divisional Secretariat Divisions Research Articles

Mapping High-Potential Areas Using Maximum Entropy Modeling Approach and Constraints Analysis of Pineapple (<em>Ananas comosus</em>) Cultivation in Sri Lanka

Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling is extensively tested high performing quantitative modeling technique which has great potential for identifying best ecological requirement of species based on “presence only data” together with environmental variables. This study was aim to model the high-potential areas for pineapple cultivation in Sri Lanka using MaxEnt model. Total of 215 locations of pineapple cultivation covering whole Sri Lanka and several environmental covariates namely monthly rainfall, monthly mean temperature, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), slope, slope aspect, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were used as model drivers. The resulting model was validated by using area under the receiver operator characteristic curve analysis. In addition to mapping, a questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of 60 farmers in four divisional secretariat divisions of Gampaha and Kurunegala districts to explore prevailing conditions and constraints for pineapple cultivation. Highly significant constraints were identified using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Probability prediction map developed by MaxEnt with high predictive power (AUC = 0.913) indicated that some parts of Ampara, Monaragala, Puttalam, Colombo, Kaluthara, Kegalle, Badulla districts as high- potential areas in addition to traditionally pineapple grown districts which are Gampaha and Kurunegala. Wilcoxon signed rank test proved that high cost of inputs, high price of mulching materials, high cost and shortage of labour, high investment, lack of government subsidy facilities, weed problem, threat of mealy bug attack as highly significant production constraints while lack of guaranteed price as the major marketing constraint for pineapple cultivation (p < 0.05). This information on high-potential areas important for investors as well as entrepreneurs to take information-based decisions and provide decisive guidance for farmers to expand their cultivation.

Perceptions of Climate Change and Adaptation of Climate Smart Technology by the Tea Smallholders: A Case Study of Ratnapura District in Sri Lanka

Climate change impacts such as rainfall variability, rise in ambient temperature, extreme dry spells and excessive wet periods cause low productivity and quality of tea. Ratnapura District in Sri Lanka, having the largest number of tea smallholders, is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and other negative impacts of climate change. This study was conducted to assess the status of climate change using long term meteorological data, to determine the perception of tea smallholders on short term changes in the climate and to assess the level of adaptation of climate-smart technologies by tea smallholders. Four Divisional Secretariat Divisions were selected for the study. Using multistage sampling, a hundred farmers were selected for the social survey. Meteorological data for 42 years was collected from the Department of Agriculture Sri Lanka. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis. Results showed that there was a significant (p<.05) increasing trend in daily maximum temperature. A slightly increasing trend in consecutive wet days was also observed. The perception of the majority of smallholders about changes in daytime temperature, number of wet days and rainfall distribution was in line with actual changes. Further, the overall level of adaptation to climate-smart technologies was at a moderate level. Shade management practices were at a higher level while moisture conservation practices were at a lower level. It was pivotal to make people aware of the severity of the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods and introduce climate-smart technologies to manage the consequences of extreme weather events.

Prevalence of canine tick-borne haemoparasites in three Divisional Secretariat Divisions (Rambewa, Tirappane, and Galenbidunuwewa) in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka

Introduction and Objectives: Ticks act as the vector for transmission of many parasitic pathogens. Several tick-borne haemoparasite infections are widespread among canines in tropical countries. However, information is scarce regarding canine tick-borne infections in Sri Lanka. The present study was therefore carried out to identify the canine tick-borne haemoparasite species and thereby assess their prevalence in three Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Anuradhapura district. Materials and methods: Blood samples were collected from dogs in three Divisional Secretariat (DS) divisions namely, Rambewa, Tirappane, and Galenbindunuwewa in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka. From each blood sample, two thin smears were prepared and stained with Giemsa. Stained slides were subsequently examined with a light microscope to detect haemoparasites. Results: Out of 319 blood samples, 139 were positive for haemoparasites. Of the positives, 51.61% were from Rambewa, 40.47% were from Galenbindunuwewa and 38.88% were from Tirappane. Three haemoprotozoan species, Hepatozoon canis, Babesia gibsoni, Babesia canis and one bacterial species, Ehrlichia canis were morphologically identified in the present study. Conclusions: Comparatively, the prevalence of ehrlichiosis (20.06%) and babesiosis (16.29%) were high in three DS divisions compared to the prevalence of H. canis infection (1.56%). The prevalence of the haemoprotozoan infections was significantly different among thee DS divisions (P

Developing a Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index Using two Agricultural Communities Exposed to Climate Change: A Case Study in Wanathawilluwa in Puttlam District of Sri Lanka

The importance of vulnerability and adaptive capacity has been frequently emphasized in explaining the societal aspects of climate change over the last few years. Developments in vulnerability research and consequent adaptation policies, have become a top priority in many countries. With the understanding of the significant importance of agriculture, numerous climate change assessments have been conducted to explore the vulnerability status of agricultural communities, whose livelihood is mostly dependent on natural resources. However, such studies are highly limited in Sri Lanka and the current study was aimed at developing a Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index (SeVI) for two climate change affected agricultural communities in Wanathawilluwa Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSD) using the concept of “Sustainable Livelihoods Approach” under five specific assets, namely (1) human; (2) social; (3) physical; (4) natural and (5) financial. Fifty households from two Grama-Niladhari Divisions (GN) were surveyed to collect data on three vulnerability dimensions and 17 socioeconomic indicators. The SeVI aggregate was developed as a composite indicator index, where a relative weight was assigned to each indicator with a view of obtaining weighted average index scores. In addition, pentagons were developed for each community by analysing the five assets under 17 indicators. Results suggested that Mangalapura farming community (GN Division) was relatively more vulnerable and most exposed to natural hazards. This study suggests SeVI as a viable approach to assist the policy-makers to identify the most vulnerable communities to climate change and thereby improve the early warning systems. Further, this SeVI can be promoted as a simple but effective tool for comparing socioeconomic vulnerability in hazard prone regions towards climate change.

Foraging Behaviour based Management Strategy to Minimize Crop Damage Caused by Indian Pea Fowl (Pavo cristatus)

Gradual increase of Indian peafowl population across low country dry zone of Sri Lanka and expansion of their distribution throughout the country caused many problems. Their omnivorous feeding habit leads to economic loss to the farmers. Objectives of the study were to investigate a management strategy based on the foraging behaviour (FB) to minimize crop damage and to understand the cultural significance in controlling them. A survey was conducted in 4 Divisional Secretariat (DS) Divisions in Vavuniya district based on a structured type questionnaire (n=160). Foraging behaviour was studied for 3 months covering morning (006-008 hrs), mid-day (11:30-13:30 hrs) and evening (1600- 1800 hrs) by direct visual scans of male, female and juvenile bird categories. There were significant differences (p<0.05) between the time of peafowl attack, the sex, the stage of peafowl with type of plant damaged. Peak activity (63%) was recorded during morning while it was 36% in the evening and 1% during mid-day. The food eaten is diverse and consisted of a mixture of plant and animal matter that includes variety of plants, beetles, snakes, snails, worms etc. in which bulk was consisted of plant parts. Rice (83.5%), cereals (62.5), spicy crops (33%) and leafy vegetables (19.5%), plantation crops (14%), vegetables (12.5 %), legumes (11%) were most affected by peafowl while less on tubers (6%). Young peafowl mostly attack (90%) lower level and adults mostly attack (67%) upper level vegetation. Furthermore, the other problems caused by peafowl recorded were as parasite spreader (40%), noisy problem (39.50%), damage vehicles (29.7%) and damage houses (6.5%). Irrespective of the ethnic group, all were respected peafowl due to religious reasons. Respondents were suggested chasing out (63.50%), hitting (9.50%), trapping (2.25%) and death (1%) as controlling measures. It is concluded that fixing water sprinklers and operate them in the morning along with cultivation of replant plants around boundaries of crops can be suggested as management strategy to minimize crop damage. Meantime it is suggested conserving them in forests by maintaining large tracts in scrub forests and associated grasslands with water bodies.

A preliminary study on Naegleria species in water bodies of Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka

Introduction and Objective: Species belonging to the genus Naegleria are free-living ubiquitous protozoa. They have been isolated from most regions of the world. N. fowleri causes an acute, fulminant and rapidly fatal infection involving the central nervous system (CNS) in humans. It is known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Infection is generally acquired while swimming, diving and total submersion for bathing in freshwater-lakes and ponds. Many inland fresh water bodies are present in Sri Lanka. These water bodies are frequently used by people for their daily needs. However, studies have not yet been conducted to determine the prevalence of Naegleria species occurring in local water bodies. The present study was therefore, carried out to isolate Naegleria species from selected water bodies located in four Divisional Secretariat (DS) divisions in the Kurunegala district, Sri Lanka. Methods: Two different sites (clear and turbid water) of each tank were selected for sampling. Two water samples (surface water and deep water) were collected from each site (4 samples from one tank). Altogether, eighty water samples were collected from 20 tanks. Culture, enflagellation test and staining were done to detect Naegleria species. ArcGIS 10.3 and MINITAB (14) software were used for the data analysis. Results: Flagella transformation was observed in 19 (47.5%) surface water samples and 11 (27.5%) deep water samples. Of 20 tanks, 10 were positive for Naegleria species. Conclusions: Findings of the present study suggest that more specific genotyping studies are needed to confirm the presence of pathogenic N. fowleri in the study area.

Use of Geographically Weighted Regression to Determine Natural Rubber Productivity and Their Driving Forces: A Case Study in the Kalutara District of Sri Lanka

The goal of this study was to analyze the productivity variation in smallholder rubber lands in Kalutara district located in the wet zone of Sri Lanka and spatial relationship of key drivers to the productivity variation. Low productivity has been a major challenge in rubber plantations in the country in recent years. In this study spatial modelling tools available in geographic information science were used to explore the spatial variability of the rubber productivity and explored the key drivers of it in spatial context. Geostatistical kriging analysis is a simple type of prediction method which includes the cross validation of prediction and error terms in forecasting techniques. The productivity of smallholder rubber lands in Kalutara district varied from 777 to 1463 kg/ha/year, while the highest average productivity was recorded in the Divisional Secretariat (DS) divisions; Palindanuwara, Beruwala and Kalutara. Low productivity was recorded in Matugama and in a few areas in Ingiriya and Bandaragama divisions. Local variation of driving forces behind the average productivity was explored using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) method. GWR explored the spatial variability of the relationship between productivity and fertilizer usage, weeding, soil conservation, number of tappable trees and age of trees under tapping. All the variables were found to present significant spatial variabilities. Apart from generating global significant value, the model resulted local variation of each parameter estimates with respect to the projected coordinates of the area. Emerge of sign change of local parameters observed in some areas cannot be observed globally. It is necessary to understand the significance level of local coefficient subject to the multicolinearity and spatial auto correlation.

Community and Industry Attitude Towardsusing Invasive Prosopisjulifloraas a Dry Matter Energy Sourcefor Small Scale Industries: A Case Study in Hambantota, Sri Lanka

Bundala is Sri Lanka’s first RAMSAR wetland declared under Ramsar Convention, and it has been declared as a national park in 1993 under Fauna and Flora Protection ordinance.At present, wide spread of P.juliflora in the Bundala National Park area has become a threat to diverse ecosystems, and the park management is removing substantial biomass of P. juliflora each year in an attempt to control this invasive species. As such, investigating the potential to utilize the removed biomass of P.juliflora has become important. This study was conducted with the objective of evaluating community and industry attitude and awareness of using P.juliflora as a dry matter energy source in Hambantota District. Two different questionnaires were used for two groups after pre testing in Ambalantota, Hambantota and Tissamaharama Divisional Secretariat Divisions. According to study findings, subsistence energy needs of community are basically fulfilled by common fuel wood species in the area such as Manilkarahexandra and Drypetessepiara. Community in the area is aware about the fast spread of P. juliflora over native species. Approximately 45% of study respondents represent brick industry and they often use rice husk ovens due to lack of firewood to be found in the area and the high availability of rice husk. Since industry and community prefer P.juliflora as a fuel, responsible agencies should make appropriate arrangements to harvest, process and make available the biomass to partially fulfill the thermal energy requirement in the area.Key words: Prosopisjuliflora, small scale industries, Bundala National Park, dry matter energy source

Temporal Changes of Land Use Land Cover and Environmental Impacts: A Case Study in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Colombo is the economic hub of Sri Lanka. Over the last two (2) decades, the physical dynamics have continually been altered to find space for urban development. Many argued that that rapid development would lead to a lot of environmental issues in Colombo. Hence, aim of this paper is to an analysis and extracts the relationship of the rapid Land Use and Land Covers (LULC) changes in six Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DS Division) in Colombo District and some of the environmental factors associated with these rapid changes: Land Surface Temperature (LST), Surface Water Quality and Soil characteristics. Primarily remote Sensing (RS) data, water quality and soil characteristic data were used. 1990 to 2015 LULC changes were an analysis based on Geographical Information System (GIS) tools (Arc GIS 10.3). Additionally, United States Geological Society (USGS) and NASA Landsat 7 and 8 data were used to investigate LST. Results show significant and accelerated land cover changes have taken place since 2010, where nearly 30% of new build-up has generated from 1990 to 2015 with large changes in wetlands and cultivated areas. Surface Water and Soil quality have degraded over the last few decades. From 2010 to 2015, the maximum LST area has increased by 30%. These results should provide the basis for the development of urban planning and regulations, holistic approaches to restore, conserve and manage the LULC, a balance of land covers demand and a sustainable human-environment and environmental and land use policies in Sri Lanka and, in particular, Colombo.

A study on the influence of Bottled Water consumption in the Hotel Industry- Reference to Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka

The hotels choose to use bottled water for drinking purpose related to various reasons such as health and safety, convenience, taste, brand recognition, reasonable price and consumer preference. The geographical locations too influence the distributional pattern of bottled water in the means of urbanization and tourism. However, the growth and popularity represent success for the bottled water industry; it forces a serious impact upon the environment. A survey was designed to study the influence of different aspects and its relationship in the hotel management in choosing bottled water in order to fulfil their customers' drinking water need and the geographical influence in the consumption pattern in the hotels of Batticaloa District. Perceptional study was conducted to evaluate the attitude of the respondents towards the bottled water. The Study was conducted in selected 6 Divisional Secretariat Divisions which are well known for its urban and tourist activities. Among the respondents, around 93% use bottled water for the drinking purpose for the ceremonies, professional programs and official meetings held in hotels. The consumption was adapted due to the reasonable price (13%), no need to carry (20%), hardness of the source water (13%) and taste better (13%). However, 73.3% of the hotels have the alternative water sources for their drinking purposes including private well (73.3%), tube well (46.7%) and water supply (13.3%). Correlational studies revealed that, a positive relationship can be observed in some factors influencing the bottled water consumption in hotels. Using chi square test in the perceptional studies, results indicated that there was no significant association in the use of alternative water sources, environmental concerns and taste with overall perception in consumption of bottled water. However, strong association was obtained between perception of health and safety and price and convenience in the consumption of bottled water in hotel industry.

Land Degradation Analysis on Coastal Area of Ampara District

The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations. Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land. This occurs mainly through soil erosion, loss of organic matter and nutrients in the soil; salinization and large scale land degradation in Sri Lanka. Its manifestations today are heavy loss of soil, siltation in the water bodies, reservoirs and coastal waters, unplanned settlements, loss of arable land leading to declining productivity in agricultural lands and intensification of impacts of natural hazards such as flooding and landslides. Land degradation is a major problem in Eastern Coastal Area from Kalmunai MC, Karaitivu and Nintavur Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs) of Ampara District. However, there is a considerable spatial heterogeneity exists within this area in terms of land use, topography, land management and socio-economic conditions. Therefore, land degradation assessment studies are very important for the sustainable development of the area. Considering the above background, this study was conducted with the objectives of developing a land degradation assessment model using a GIS based approach.

Land Degradation Analysis on Coastal Area of Ampara District

The island of Sri Lanka is free from serious natural hazards such as volcanic activity and earthquakes resulting from climatic extremes, but there are impacts of many natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and droughts, the intensity and frequency of which are increasing due to human interventions. Some areas of Sri Lanka are also periodically subject to cyclones that occur due to climatic conditions and geographical locations. Land degradation denotes all natural or anthropogenic processes that diminish or impair productivity of land. This occurs mainly through soil erosion, loss of organic matter and nutrients in the soil; salinization and large scale land degradation in Sri Lanka. Its manifestations today are heavy loss of soil, siltation in the water bodies, reservoirs and coastal waters, unplanned settlements, loss of arable land leading to declining productivity in agricultural lands and intensification of impacts of natural hazards such as flooding and landslides. Land degradation is a major problem in Eastern Coastal Area from Kalmunai MC, Karaitivu and Nintavur Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs) of Ampara District. However, there is a considerable spatial heterogeneity exists within this area in terms of land use, topography, land management and socio-economic conditions. Therefore, land degradation assessment studies are very important for the sustainable development of the area. Considering the above background, this study was conducted with the objectives of developing a land degradation assessment model using a GIS based approach.

APPRAISING THE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED IMPACTS TO CHOOSE THE MODE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT: A CASE STUDY OF COLOMBO METROPOLITAN AREA IN SRI LANKA

This study examines a model to evaluate the probability of choosing the mode of public transport with finding most significant aspects related to the characteristic of the journey, characteristic of the traveler and the personal behavior of the traveler. The study area was focused on eleven Divisional Secretariat Divisions of the Colombo Metropolitan Area in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. This area has the most economically advanced functions as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. The current transportation sector in the focusing area has impact of increasing vehicle ownership and serious inadequacies in the road network such as traffic congestions, shortfall of road capacity and low speed level on road. Hence this study attempts to encourage people for the public transport by focusing about their perception related to the mode choice as a solution for the above issues. The results showed that “Number of Earning Members”, “Vehicle Ownership”, ”Education”, “Age”, “Gender”, “Occupation”, “Trip Distance.”, “Trip Time”, “Total Cost” and “Safety” of the mode were the most significant factors for affecting to choose the public transport. The obtained logistic model with the significant variables had the 78.4% of accuracy for the prediction of probability in using public transport.

Relative Risk for TB in the Unprotected Small Industrial Environment: a case study

Tuberculosis is still continuing to be a major public health problem in Sri Lanka. About 8000 new cases of TB are notified every year. The incidences of Tuberculosis differ much within the country based on the environmental pollution and other factors such as occupation, nutrition and education levels and therefore the risk for tuberculosis also differs much within the divisional secretariat divisions. For this study the Sammanthurai divisional secretariat division which is having the small industries such as metal quarries and traditional brick manufacturing was selected to study the relative risk for tuberculosis. The relative risk for tuberculosis was estimated using linear logistic models. This studied area had 2.89 folder higher relative risk for tuberculosis compare to the national incidence. Within this studied division an area called J block was identified as more susceptible area for tuberculosis. Presence of higher number of metal quarries, traditional brick manufacturing industries, low level of education and low income might be the causes for this increased relative risks. An urgent measure to control dusts from these industries and providing safe work environment for the people working in these industries are vital. Journal of Management 2013 9(1): 39-41

Linking Plant Diversity and Dietary Diversity of Home Gardens: Examining the Nexus Through Structural Equation Modelling

Home gardens are the best solution to face global food crisis ahead. The diversified diet helps to reduce the micronutrient deficiency and the risk of chronic diseases. Purpose of this study is to identify the nexus between dietary diversity and plant diversity of the home gardens in Kandy district, Sri Lanka and to understand the determinants affecting the diversity of the home garden. One hundred and thirteen home gardens, belonging to six Divisional Secretariat divisions in Kandy district were randomly selected and data were collected by face to face interviews. Plant diversity was measured by Shannon Index (SI) and dietary diversity by an index prepared by using Food and Agriculture Organization’s Dietary Diversity Index (DD20). Data were analysed through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) method. Age of the garden owner, education level of the spouse, Health Perception Index (HPI), Constraints on Gardening Index (CGI) and Income Expectation Index (IEI) significantly affect the plant diversity of the home garden. According to the SEM results, there is a positive significant relationship between dietary diversity of the household and plant diversity of home gardens.. Journal of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka: 2015 Vol. 4 No. 2: 47-57

Marketing of subsidiary food items produced in Batticaloa district

Batticaloa District includes 14 Divisional secretariat Divisions. Out of these Divisions, Manmunai South Eruvil pattu division consists of 80% of the producers of subsidiary food items. They are engaged in producing various vegetables such as brinjals, long beans, ladies’ finger, and bitter gourd, for their livelihood. The production of these subsidiary food items play an important role in the economy of the people in this division. But, most of the producers of subsidiary food items experience heavy losses due to the problems occurring in marketing. The main aim of this research is to find out the problems faced by the producers of subsidiary food items in marketing in Batticaloa district. This research is carried out using product’s price fluctuation, intermediaries’ influence, varied nature of products, availabilityof marketing instructions and transport facilities as main variables. The hypothesis of this research is that “their is no major change in the demand and supply of subsidiary food items produced in the above district” In this research,primary data and secondary data have been used. 150 famers were selected as samples at random and Questionnaires were issued to them Villages such as Cheddipalayam, Mangkadu, Thettathivu, Kaluthavalai, and Kaluvanchikudi, which engage in the production of subsidiary food items in Batticaloa district were selected and the samples taken at random. The data gathered were subjected to analysis through SPSS and Ms Excel-2007 and the inter standard deviation are expressed through charts and figures. On the basis of this research, considerable number of producers of subsidiary food items said that they face Marketing problems and due to this their income has been decreasing .It has been found that famers in Batticaloa has been facing marketing problems because of price fluctuations that occur often ,lack of storage facilities, Varied nature of changing products, increased presence of intermediaries, and the local competition that results, non availability of business suggestions at the needed time.

A Canonical Analysis on the Relationship between Financial Risk Tolerance and Household Education Investment in Sri Lanka

This paper is aimed at examining the relationship between risk tolerance behaviour and the education investment of families in different social sectors, i.e. urban, rural, and estate, in Sri Lanka. At the initial step, the study used Binary Logistic Regression for identifying the significant variables for financial risk tolerance and for household investment on education. Having identified the two sets of variables for each domain, the second step was to apply the Canonical Analysis in order to examine the association between risk tolerance behaviour and education investment. The data for the study was obtained from a sample survey conducted in six Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs) of three districts in Sri Lanka. The sample was selected considering the social sectors as strata, using multi-stage sampling technique joined with cluster sampling. The study found that ‘social sector’ and ‘education of household head’ were the main contributors to ‘household investment on education’. It revealed that when the ‘social sector’ changes from urban to rural and rural to estate there is a tendency of households to decrease the share of expenditure on education. However, the ‘education level of the household head’ had s significant positive impact for the investment in education. It also found that ‘income quartile, decision maker’, ‘income diversification’, and ‘financial literacy’ positively contributed to ‘risk tolerance behaviour’. However, the findings show that financial risk tolerance decreases with the distance of households to a financial institute. The canonical relationship shows a negative association between ‘income quartile’ and the ‘social sector’ and the ‘income quartile’ improves with the change of the ‘social sector’ from estate to rural and rural to urban. It also revealed that ‘income quartile’ was positively associated with the ‘education of the household head’. A primary conclusion can be arrived at that income and spatial related attributes are crucial in determining the impact of risk tolerance in household education investment. In addition, the study revealed that risk tolerance and, in turn, the tendency to invest in education increases with the change of gender from female to male. Therefore, it suggests that gender related attributes are also important in the financial risk tolerance and education investment.

Structure and species diversity of traditional homegardens in Batticaloa district

A homegarden is part of a household livelihood strategy and has gained prominence as a natural asset through which sustainable use of resources, for the livelihoods of the poor, may be achieved. Despite the benefits, homegardens in the Batticaloa district have not been evaluated in-depth. This study focused on the composition, structure, diversity and different systems of homegardens in the Batticaloa district. The study was conducted in three Divisional Secretariat divisions in the district where 206 samples were collected. Results of the study revealed that average number of trees per household was 6.56. Species richness, varied from 2- 56 with the mean of 12.93. Mean Shannon index was 0.66. Two different types of systems were identified viz., Single layered and Multi layered systems. Single storied system composed only of banana or cashew or coconut trees. Only 23% homegardens were classified as single layered system while the rest were multi layered system. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.4038/jas.v9i3.7436 The Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 2014, vol.9, no3: p.139-146

Economics of urban amenities A contingent valuation approach for Bolgoda lake

Bolgoda Lake is known as the largest fresh water body in Colombo Urban Area (CUA) and situatedin the Southern boundary ofCUA. It covers 1,245 hectares. There are 14 Divisional secretariat (OS)divisions and 105 Grama Niladary (GN) divisions. Bolgoda Lake lies along the highly popularizedtownships and it provides a variety of environmental services such as natural environment for fisheriesproduction and estuary function; ground water recharge, potable water supply; recreation/ tourism;and )1atural biotic habitat. In CUA, there are very few lakes like Bolgoda, which provides aestheticvalues for the urban environment. Environment of the Bolgoda Lake is threatened by the disposal ofliquid and solid waste, agricultural run-off, sedimentation and congestion due to recreational uses.However, there wi II be an increasing demand for the environmental services produced by the BolgodaLake in the future.Objectives of the present study are to identify the environmental benefits of the Lake and estimateeconomic value of selected environmental benefits. A pilot survey was carried out and five major usergroups were identified; fishermen, hotel owners, boat owners, recreational users (for swimming andhotel visiting) and indirect users. Selected study area for the present study belongs to five GN divisionsfrom Moratuwa and Panadura OS divisions. Contingent valuation method was applied to estimate theeconomic value of the Bolgoda Lake. Users' willingness to pay (WTP) was elicited on a pre-testedhypothetical market.Depending on the WTP values, the 5 user groups were regrouped into two categories, namely User I(heavy dependency) and User 1/ (less dependency). WTP values per household per year for the UserI and User II are Rs.18, 600 and 514.3 respectively. Estimated economic value of the Bolgoda Lakefor the study area is Rs. 84,192.7 (US$ 809.55) per hectare per year. Regression analysis was carriedout to identify the socio economic characteristics of the users that affect the WTP value of the users.The results were consistent with the theory. However, the values of the study area have not beenextrapolated to the whole lake, due to the high variability of the sample mean from place to place.It was clear that the Bolgoda Lake is a valuable aesthetic asset in the CUA and it should be judiciouslymanaged for sustain the provision of environmental services. However, the ultimate decision over theusefulness of the lake has to be based on weighing the estimated value of the environmental servicesof the Lake against the value of the use of lake as a sink for domestic and industrial waste.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices relevant to malaria elimination amongst resettled populations in a post-conflict district of northern Sri Lanka

Malaria-related knowledge, preventative methods and treatment-seeking behaviours were investigated in a post-conflict district of Sri Lanka in order to guide the development of components of malaria interventions and to support future programme evaluation. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a random sample of 300 households in four Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSD) of the district where internally displaced populations were being resettled after a 30-year civil war. The surveyed community had a good overall level of knowledge of malaria. There was high bednet ownership (94.0%), although only 48.0% of households in the study had long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLIN). Most respondents reported rapid treatment-seeking behaviour (71.0%) and easy access to malaria diagnostic facilities (67.0%). The Tamil population living in Manthai West and Madhu DSDs who were displaced to refugee camps had better malaria-related knowledge and practices, probably due to the malaria control activities focused on these camps by the government. Although knowledge and practices regarding malaria amongst resettled populations in Mannar District were high, continued malaria surveillance, case management, vector control including distribution of LLINs, education and information campaigns are important not only amongst the communities affected by the conflict but the entire district.