Business
Monaragala wilting under the scorching impact of climate change
Sri Lanka’s agricultural backbone, the Monaragala District, is buckling under the weight of climate change, according to the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ). Executive Director, Dilena Pathragoda, speaking to The Island Financial Review said that their study outlines a stark warning that the district’s economic survival is in grave danger unless urgent action is taken.
Speaking on the findings of a new study, he stated, “The impacts of climate change are no longer distant predictions. They are happening here and now; devastating crops, livelihoods and the economic lifeblood of Monaragala.”
The report paints a worrying picture. Monaragala, traditionally a region reliant on rice, sugarcane and seasonal crops, is seeing shifts in temperature and rainfall that severely disrupt agricultural activities. The district’s average temperature has already risen by one degree Celsius over the past four decades, a trend that is expected to accelerate. Future climate projections suggest that, without substantial mitigation efforts, the region could experience temperature increases that make traditional farming almost impossible during key growing seasons.
Rainfall, once predictable and sufficient to sustain farming cycles, is becoming increasingly erratic. Extended dry spells and unseasonal rains are throwing planting schedules into chaos. The report notes that the first inter-monsoon and Northeast monsoon periods, critical to both paddy and seasonal crop cultivation, are seeing decreased rainfall in key areas. This reduction is contributing to an alarming depletion of groundwater and reservoir levels, threatening both crop irrigation and drinking water supplies.
Pathragoda emphasized that the economic consequences of these changes are already being felt. Farmers, particularly in areas like Siyambalanduwa and Buttala, are struggling to maintain their livelihoods. Loss of crops not only reduces household incomes but also increases food insecurity and triggers wider economic instability. With agriculture employing a significant majority of Monaragala’s working population, the ripple effects of climate failures are profound, reaching into every sector from local markets to transportation and small industries.
Compounding the issue is the poor state of local irrigation systems. According to the study, many of the district’s small and medium-scale tanks, once critical sources of irrigation, have been abandoned or fallen into disrepair. Water shortages have led to fierce competition among farmers and the need to adopt costly alternatives, such as deep-well pumping systems, is pushing many into debt. Meanwhile, the lack of access to drought-resistant crop varieties and modern water conservation technologies is leaving the majority of smallholder farmers dangerously exposed.
The Centre for Environmental Justice is calling for an immediate, coordinated response. Pathragoda insists that restoration of water storage infrastructure, adoption of climate-resilient agriculture techniques and the empowerment of local farming communities must become national priorities. He pointed out that the survival of Monaragala’s economy, and indeed its social stability, depends on whether these adaptation measures are rolled out quickly and effectively.
“The time for abstract discussions is over,” Pathragoda said. “We must bring national policies down to the village level, equipping farmers with real tools to adapt and survive. Otherwise, we risk witnessing an irreversible collapse not only of livelihoods but of entire communities.”
The situation in Monaragala serves as a grim warning for other districts in Sri Lanka. Without decisive action, the economic heart of rural Sri Lanka could wither under the harsh new realities of a changing climate, leaving devastation in its wake.
By Ifham Nizam
Sri Lanka has launched a National Digital Signing Framework, a foundational initiative paving the way for paperless governance. This strategic move eliminates the need for physical signatures and documents in government transactions, aiming to dramatically enhance efficiency, transparency, and accessibility for citizens and businesses. An analyst said that this could accelerate Sri Lanka’s governance and commercial relationships with other countries as traditional signatures make room for digitally signed documents accepted by the government.
In this significant step toward accelerating Sri Lanka’s digital transformation, eMudhra, a global leader in digital identity and security solutions, has entered into a strategic partnership with LankaSign the only Certification Service Provider (CSP) in the country that complies with the Electronic Transactions Act No. 19 of 2006, operated by LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s national payment network during recently held inauguration of INFOTEL 2025 ICT exhibition at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Hall.
The LankaSign–eMudhra partnership brings together the strengths of LankaPay’s legally recognized digital signing certificates issued via LankaSign – the pioneering digital Certification Service Provider in Sri Lanka established in 2009 – and eMudhra’s globally trusted emSigner platform, which has enabled secure digital document signing across more than 68 countries since 2008. Through this collaboration, Sri Lankan citizens and businesses will be able to experience a seamless, secure, and user-friendly digital signing solution, enabling documents to be signed anytime, anywhere using iOS, Android, or web-based applications.
This partnership with eMudhra aligns with the national agenda to promote adoption of digital documents, reduce dependency on paper-based processes, and facilitate a more efficient, transparent, and secure digital economy. This collaboration aims to support the government’s long-term digitalization roadmap by enabling a secure digital documentation layer essential for e-government services, digital finance, and digital transformation.
By Sanath Nanayakkare
In a significant move to accelerate technological innovation in Sri Lanka, Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, and the Dialog-University of Moratuwa (UoM) Research Lab, has announced the release of SinhalaVITS, a state-of-the-art, open-source Text-to-Speech (TTS) model for the Sinhala language.
This non-commercial initiative delivers a powerful, high-quality, and natural-sounding Sinhala voice model to the public, making it freely accessible to developers, researchers, and students. The model is available for download on Hugging Face, the world’s largest open-source AI community, empowering anyone to build and experiment with advanced voice technology.
The SinhalaVITS model is the result of a deep-rooted collaboration that unites Dialog’s industry leadership with the academic excellence of the Dialog–UoM Mobile Communications Research Lab, fulfilling a vital need within Sri Lanka’s tech community for accessible, high-performance tools that drive innovation. By removing cost and licensing barriers tied to proprietary software, Dialog is empowering developers and researchers while fostering a more inclusive, collaborative, and future-ready AI ecosystem. This initiative further reinforces Dialog’s commitment to advancing Sri Lanka’s digital future—investing in open-source technology and academic partnerships to nurture local talent and lay the foundation for next-generation digital services built by Sri Lankans, for Sri Lankans.
The Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB PLC) commemorated raising LKR 10 bn with its first ever issuance of sustainable bonds by way of a market opening ceremony conducted on the trading floor of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) last week.
The 9th December issuance of 100 mn listed, rated, unsecured senior sustainable bonds, in five year and seven-year tenors, with a par value of LKR 100/- and rated “AA-(lka)” By Fitch Ratings Lanka Limited, was oversubscribed on the same day, raising LKR 10 bn.
Sustainable bonds, which were launched in Sri Lanka for the first time this year, are part of a series of GSS+ (Green, Social, Sustainable & Sustainability Linked) debt instruments. The proceeds of the sustainable bond issuance will be used by HNB PLC to fund the development and installation of solar, wind, biomass and hydropower projects, improve energy efficiency through retrofits, fund the construction of recognized ‘green’ buildings, fund investment infrastructure for water treatment, water conservation and efficient agricultural water technologies, finance housing development, healthcare and education for low- and middle-income families, promote women entrepreneurship, amongst others initiatives.
Damith Pallewatte, Managing Director and CEO of HNB PLC, who was the ceremony’s keynote speaker remarked upon the issuance of sustainable bonds commenting: “HNB’s LKR 10 bn sustainable bond issuance is a landmark step in advancing Sri Lanka’s sustainability agenda.”
Delivering his welcome address at the event, Rajeeva Bandaranaike, CEO of CSE, remarked upon rising corporate engagement in CSE’s GSS+ debt instruments stating: “HNB’s Sustainable Bond represents a welcome new addition to the list of leading Sri Lankan financial instruments that have set the example for the success of CSE’s GSS+ Bond framework which have allowed the capital market to operate as a financing vehicle for sustainable and socially equitable projects.”
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