Climate locals | Colombo, Sri Lanka

16 October 2024, Category: All insights, News

By, Malki Rodrigo

Welcome to our latest series, Climate locals. We’re spotlighting members of the E Co. team and how climate change is impacting their hometowns. We are proud to be a global team that draws on first-hand experience from cities around the world. This week, we’re heading to Colombo with our Senior analyst, Malki Rodrigo…

I was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where I spent over 20 years of my life. When I think of the city, I remember the endless blue skies, gentle sea breeze, dramatic sunsets and evenings filled with live music.

Growing up in Colombo, a tropical city no stranger to heavy rains, I remember occasionally hoping for those torrential downpours —because as kids, floods often meant no school! Back then, without sophisticated early warning systems, we’d wait for the call from our school bus driver, letting us know the route to the school was flooded and that we had the day off. What came next was pure childhood bliss: crafting paper boats to sail in the waterlogged garden and watching the paddy fields near our house flood. 

Colombo was built on top of a sprawling wetland, a fragile foundation that was repeatedly engineered by many outside regimes: the Portuguese built lakes, the Dutch constructed canals, and the British added breakwaters, adding piecemeal infrastructure to the city.

Population and economic growth triggered mass migration, leading to what could now be seen as a growing urban chaos. This is visible in parts of the city’s housing, public spaces, and transport systems. This unchecked growth persists today with the controversial $15 billion Chinese-financed Port City project. Dredging up 269 hectares of artificial land from the Indian Ocean could devastate the local ecology and destabilise coastal water management.

Map source : Colombo’s urban expansion from 1995 to 2017, showing the spread of the city outwards, as well as the increasing density within the city. Photo credit: UN-Habitat.

Flooding has become a persistent issue in Colombo, like in other parts of Sri Lanka, due to the alarming rate of wetlands destruction in the name of development. Climate change, coastal erosion, and  urbanisation have magnified the problem. “Over the last 30 years, an estimated 40% of the city’s wetlands have vanished due to the direct and indirect impacts of urbanisation, and they continue to disappear at a rate of 1.2% per year. If the city were to lose all its wetlands”. Flood damage could cost Colombo as much as 1% of its GDP.

Expressway surrounding Colombo | Floods around the Outer Circular Expressway surrounding Colombo. Chaminda Silva.

Similarly, floods remain one of the largest drivers of property damage in the capital’s metropolitan area. At least 1.5 million people have been affected by floods over the past 40 years. In 2023 alone, floods affected around 5,000 people. The country’s last major flood in 2017 affected around 15,000 people in the city. Flooding in Colombo and its suburbs can sometimes become fatal. For instance, the floods in 2023 caused five deaths and landslides just outside the city created further casualties and destroyed homes. 

Research shows that the most vulnerable groups to flooding in Colombo are the residents of underserved settlements. Slum dwellers, in particular, who live in houses built along riverbanks, are especially susceptible to flooding. These communities also bear the highest cost when floods occur, and most do not have legal title to their properties, making it impossible for them to insure their homes. Their living conditions are already dire, with inadequate drainage and infrastructure, and flooding only worsens their hardships.

Although I wasn’t directly affected by the floods, transportation disruptions during those times did cause interruptions to my school and university commute. Every year, there would be days that floods prevented teachers and students from attending class. Some mornings we’d get to school without any issue, only to face heavy rains by the afternoon and the roads would flood, causing massive traffic jams due to vehicles breaking down. It was such a common occurrence that I’d often see it on television—security officers navigating boats to rescue people stranded in their homes during the monsoon floods.

Various projects have been implemented by different local authorities to enhance flood resilience across Colombo. The Metro Colombo Urban Development Project is one such initiative, aimed at improving public spaces, wetlands, and infrastructure, providing flood protection for 232,000 residents and benefiting more than 6 million people. 

Another notable project is Urban Wetlands Management, which focuses on preserving both natural and man-made wetlands to help retain floodwater. This project also includes the creation of two urban wetland parks, combining recreation with flood resilience as part of a wider climate and disaster strategy.

Colombo’s fragmented network of wetlands, yuneshshalika on Unsplash

Additionally, Colombo has also been recognised with the prestigious Ramsar Wetland City Accreditation, marking a significant step in the right direction.

While these steps are going in the right direction, much more needs to be done to make the city adapt to climate change. The city must focus on improved planning, especially in terms of adopting smart urban technologies and sustainable development practices, to create a more equitable and resilient future for all residents.

Cities worldwide face similar flooding challenges but have implemented advanced strategies to tackle them. The Netherlands is often cited as a global leader in flood prevention. With projects like the “Room for River” scheme, which cost $2.8 billion, relocating dykes and residents to better manage water flow. In Buenos Aires, the Hydraulic Master Plan has protected over 300,000 people since 2011. China’s “Sponge City” concept, used in 30 cities, incorporates permeable urban designs to absorb rainwater, and Xalapa, Mexico, focuses on reforestation as part of the CityAdapt initiative.

These examples show that flood management requires significant investment and innovative planning, which remains a challenge for Sri Lanka, as there is still a pressing need for more ambitious and strategic planning as well as targeted funding opportunities for flood management.