Combined impacts of transformative adaptation and multiscale polycentric governance for enhancing climate resilience: a case study from Sri Lanka

This study focused on assessing the ex-ante combined impacts of multiscale governance and three key transformative adaptation options (TAOs): river basin​​​ planning with a climate change focus, forming cascade management committees (CMCs) with tank rehabilitation, and diversifying to high-value crops with climate-smart practices, aiming to enhance climate resilience. The study, conducted across four river basins in Sri Lanka’s North Western, North Central, Northern, and Eastern provinces, used perception data of 178 stakeholders, including farmers and officials from various sectors and scales.

The major policy strategies emerged are to ensure that the CMCs have comprehensive land use and water availability plans for the cascade, and individual tanks, which are critical for maximizing crop diversification benefits; and to enhance collaboration across institutions (at different sectors and scales); strengthen the role of private actors by enhancing value chains by creating opportunities for rural service providers, and increasing corporate sector participation; consider structural institutions—such as land tenure, traditional practices, and livestock composition—as vital for the success of transformative adaptation options for climate change; reform existing agricultural wage structures, land tenure systems, and food policies; and enhance water infrastructure in parallel to improving collaboration among water institutions to maximize the impacts of TAOs on impact transmission factors and policy goals.

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