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"Sri Lanka's construction industry contributing over 8% to its GDP requires over seven million cubic meters of sand annually (expanded in the short term due to additional demands of post tsunami construction) which is obtained from the countrys river beds, river sides or mined from previous riverbeds and sand dunes. Though until recently manual harvesting was the norm, increasing mechanized and often illegal, river sand harvesting has caused major loss of water security and ecosystem damage due to lowering of water tables, bank erosion, land degradation and salinity intrusion; damage to infrastructure; increased health hazards and negative impacts on women. The steep cost increase of sand (over 250% over the last decade) has encouraged the growth of a politically powerful 'Sand Mafia' operating uncontrolled in a country already saddled with a plethora of laws and regulations covering of natural resource use, within a poor regulatory environment which is further complicated by the prevailing security concerns. A womens volunteer organisation, NetWwater (Network of Women Water Professionals) who engaged in a Gender and Water Dialogue in North Western Province in 2005 was initially requested by affected community groups to initiate an advocacy program to highlight damage due to river sand mining (RSM). Women, who previously had access to drinking water literally at their doorstep, now were forced to travel 3-4 kms in search of water due to impacts of RSM. After studying the extent of negative impacts in Deduru Oya, NetWwater activists catalyzed the formation of an awareness and advocacy network through intensive national media coverage (which uptil then had been intermittent), building critical mass among activists, building national profile for the issue and enhancing awareness on the need for alternatives. A linkup with other active civil society groups, religious institutions and universities led to the linkage of RSM action committees for three affected rivers, the staging of two National Sand Mining Dialogues in 2006 and 2007, highlighting the issue at national level through media programs and profiling community needs with political decisionmakers. Two video documentaries were produced; school, community, agency as well as Police RSM related awareness programs were carried out and inter-community, inter-river linkages fostered. Though RSM continues to be a major threat to water and livelihood security, the control of which varies with the rise and fall of the politically motivated pressure groups, the networking initiative thus established with its media linkages continues to give a platform for RSM affected groups." |
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