Expertise: Watershed Management, Natural Resource Management, Forestry, Environmental Science, Climate Change, Water Resources Management
Expertise Group: Biological Sciences & Ecology
Consultant Source: National
TOR Keywords:
Objective and Purpose of the Assignment
Sri Lanka’s Upper Watershed Area (UWA) is a critical natural asset that supports the country’s water,
food, energy, biodiversity, and climate resilience. However, increasing land degradation, unsustainable
land use practices, biodiversity loss, and climate change impacts are threatening watershed functions
and ecosystem services.
To address these challenges, the Government of Sri Lanka with the support from the Asian Development
Bank (ADB) is preparing the proposed Sri Lanka Upper Watershed Ecological Restoration Program (SUWERP).
The program aims to restore, protect, and sustainably manage the Upper Watershed Area through
institutional reforms, sustainable financing mechanisms, and investments in sustainable land management
and biodiversity conservation.
As part of the program, the Government intends to establish the: (i) Upper Watershed Management
Authority (UWMA) to lead watershed governance and coordination, and (ii) the Climate Action and Nature
Positive Investment (CANOPI) Fund to mobilize and channel financing for watershed restoration, climate
adaptation, and biodiversity conservation investments. Dedicated Technical Committees have been
established under the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance to guide the establishment of
these institutions.
The assignment will support the Government in coordinating activities in support of identification,
assessment, prioritization, and design of practical watershed restoration, biodiversity conservation,
and sustainable land management interventions within priority watersheds and landscapes identified under
SUWERP, and to facilitate stakeholder consultations necessary for development of the program.
Scope of Work
The consultant will serve as the coordinator of the expert team designing the watershed restoration and
sustainable land management interventions. The consultant will work closely with the Watershed
Institutional and Investment Planning Specialist, other experts, the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry
of Finance, Government Technical Committees, development partners, academic institutions, and other
stakeholders to support the preparation of SUWERP.
Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output
Overall Coordination
• Coordinate the overall assignment, including preparation of the workplan, monitoring progress, and
ensuring timely delivery of outputs.
• Serve as the focal point for coordination with the Presidential Secretariat, Ministry of Finance,
Technical Committees, government agencies, development partners, and other stakeholders.
• Organize and facilitate meetings, consultations, workshops, field missions, and stakeholder engagement
activities, and maintain records and action points.
• Support integration and quality assurance of consultant outputs, including consolidation of
stakeholder feedback, preparation of progress reports, presentations, briefing materials, and
consolidated recommendations.
Review of Existing Watershed Restoration Initiatives
• Review existing and ongoing watershed restoration, sustainable land management, biodiversity
conservation, climate adaptation, and landscape restoration initiatives relevant to the Upper Watershed
Area.
• Review and extract lessons learned, implementation approaches, and technical models from:
o World Bank Integrated Watershed and Water Resources Management Project (IWWRMP);
o Watershed and micro-catchment management plans prepared under IWWRMP;
o Green Climate Fund Knuckles Climate Resilience Project;
o The International Union for Conservation of Nature-supported watershed and ecosystem restoration
initiatives;
o IWMI assessment work;
o Government watershed management programs;
o Regional Plantation Company restoration programs; and
o Other relevant initiatives.
Stakeholder Mapping and Consultations
• Identify and map key stakeholders involved in management and restoration of the CUWA, including:
o Government agencies
o Provincial and local authorities
o Regional Plantation Companies
o Land Reform Commission
o State Plantation Corporation
o Smallholder farmer groups
o Community-based organizations
o Civil society organizations
o Universities and research institutions
o Development partners
• Develop a stakeholder consultation plan.
• Organize and facilitate stakeholder consultations, focus group discussions, technical workshops, and
field visits.
• Document stakeholder perspectives, implementation challenges, and opportunities for participation in
SUWERP.
Identification of Watershed Management Interventions
• In coordination with IWMI, support field validation and ground-truthing of priority watershed hot
spots identified by the Watershed Institutional and Investment Planning Specialist.
• Identify and assess suitable watershed management interventions for different land-use systems and
stakeholder groups.
• Develop technical intervention packages for watershed management actions such as: regenerative
agriculture; Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT); soil conservation measures; agroforestry
systems; forest landscape restoration; assisted natural regeneration; riparian restoration; stream-bank
stabilization; biodiversity corridor restoration; nature-based solutions for erosion and landslide
management and flood protection; climate-resilient livelihood activities; water harvesting and ground
water management measures.
Support to SUWERP Preparation
• Provide technical inputs to watershed hotspot prioritization, watershed investment strategy, and
financing window design.
• Project Concept Note
• Technical Committee deliberations
• Work closely with the Sustainable Finance Specialist to ensure interventions are compatible with
proposed financing mechanisms.
• Work closely with the Watershed Institutional and Investment Planning Specialist to ensure that
proposed interventions support institutional and operational arrangements of the proposed UWMA.
• Prepare technical notes, presentations, maps, consultation summaries, and inputs requested by ADB, the
Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Finance, and the Government Technical Committees.
• Prepare and submit a consolidated final report.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
• Master’s degree in Natural Resource Management, Watershed Management, Forestry, Environmental Science,
Agriculture, Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Land Management, or related discipline.
• At least 10 years of professional experience in watershed management, landscape restoration, natural
resource management, biodiversity conservation, or climate adaptation.
• Demonstrated experience in field-based watershed restoration programs and stakeholder consultation
processes.
• Familiarity with Sri Lanka’s watershed, forestry, agriculture, plantation, and environmental sectors.
• Experience working with government agencies and development partner-funded projects.
• Strong facilitation, consultation, analytical, and report-writing skills.
Minimum General Experience: 12 Years
Minimum Specific Experience (relevant to assignment): 12 Years
