Once again, note the causes that the author gives at the end of the report. He does not attribute everything to deforestation.

The author does not assume a worst-case scenario, like you do. And he does not say that deforestation is the only reason for temperature and rainfall decrease.

“The temperature has risen a few degrees over a period of about a century and quarter in the hill country stations, while rainfall has declined significantly at some stations. These changes seem to be a result of the interaction of both global and local factors. Although some of these changes would have been a result of global warming, land use change would also have contributed to regional disparities.”

Summary

1. Global and local factors
2. Global warming
3. Land use change

Try harder Off the Cuff! As I said, the key word here is statistics. Even though there is a decline, only statistics can indicate the extent of the decline. In the absence of such statistics, your assumptions about deforestation amount to nothing.

“I am looking hard, but I see no statistics to back up your claim. If you can provide statistics, then you will have made a point” you wrote

Looks like you are very myopic indeed. I am afraid corrective lenses wont be able to help you with this sort of Myopia.

Intellectual Dishonesty seems to be deeply ingrained with you.

Wasn’t it you who quoted the Scholarly Report?

That Scholar from the Peradeniya University has given the conclusions in the report you quoted AFTER studying statistics. That is why he is writing about TRENDS

The claim about Rainfall and Temperature rise is not mine, it’s in the University don’s report that You Quoted.

Having difficulty in reading?

Hope you understand how a Scholar arrives at Trends or is that too much to expect from you ?

If you don’t know what a Trend means, Analysis of Statistics would be way out of reach of your intellectual capacity or the lack of it.

You are now trying in vain to contest the report you yourself quoted.
Hyperbole at it’s best

I am looking hard, but I see no statistics to back up your claim. If you can provide statistics, then you will have made a point. Your argument is essentially this:

Because event A has happened, event A has happened in the worst way possible

My argument is this:

Event A has happened, but no conclusion can be drawn to imply that it has happened in the worst way possible.

Please provide statistics for the following:

Resulting in Low Rainfall
Higher Temperatures
Higher Evaporation of surface water (due to elevated temperature)
Reduced water volume of rivers
Reduced inflow to down stream Reservoirs
Reduced hydro power generation
Reduced water collection in down stream Agricultural Reservoirs
Reduced water availability for Cultivation
Reduced Crop Yields due to lower availability of water
Reduced water availability for Human consumption

If you cannot provide statistics, then it is logical to assume your argument is based on unproved assumptions. On the other hand, if your argument is based onunproved assumptions , then the possibility exists that such assumptions are in fact wrong.

You are just trying to play Hide & Seek.

Please tell us what you understand by the following extract from the report quoted by you.

The forest cover in the hill country river catchment areas of Sri Lanka has been reduced to isolated patches on hilltops and a handful of reserves above the 1524 m (5000 ft) contour. Most of the land that was under forest cover at the turn of the nineteenth century is now covered with plantation crops.

I understand it as an EXTENSIVE Destruction of Catchment Area of Rivers.
Resulting in Low Rainfall
Higher Temperatures
Higher Evaporation of surface water (due to elevated temperature)
Reduced water volume of rivers
Reduced inflow to down stream Reservoirs
Reduced hydro power generation
Reduced water collection in down stream Agricultural Reservoirs
Reduced water availability for Cultivation
Reduced Crop Yields due to lower availability of water
Reduced water availability for Human consumption

Alpha, can you contest anyone of those statements using Logic or Science? If you can, please provide your reasons for EACH of the above that you reject.

If you cannot dispute the above, is it not destruction?
How can it be termed Exaggeration?

This is another extract from the same report “During the period of large-scale deforestation in the hill country, the climate also underwent changes as exemplified by rainfall and temperature trends. However, these trends are not uniform everywhere in the plantation areas of the hill country. The temperature has risen a few degrees over a period of about a century and quarter in the hill country stations, while rainfall has declined significantly at some stations.”

Hence how do you propose to maintain the charge that you made which is copied below?

“The above report mentions nothing about damage to the pre-existing agriculture of the time.” and your previous comment “I am pretty sure that you are exaggerating the rest of the so-called destruction.”

Copying from “scholarly sources” is useless, unless you possess the Intelligence to interpret them.

If you have ever visited a Tea Estate or have even seen one with an observing mind you could not have failed to note that there is No Undergrowth under Tea

Absence of Undergrowth on a slope results in continuous soil erosion.
When such erosion takes place over an Area in excess of 111336 ha (the figure in 1878 and today its 2010) that erosion is Massive.

What are you interested in, a TRUTHFUL discussion or Hyperbole?

Your claim was that the British destroyed the agricultural industry in SL.

This is what you said:

” “Off the Cuff said,

February 13, 2010 @ 2:39 am

My contention is that the destruction that was done to the Existing Agricultural economy in order to establish that Tea economy does not compensate for the destruction done. “”

—————————–

The above report mentions nothing about damage to the pre-existing agriculture of the time. You have added your personal conclusion to the argument:

“As a Result of Denuding Forest cover in catchment areas, Rivers get less water
With lower volume of water, down stream reservoirs get less water for irrigation and power generation
With less water Agriculture produces lower yields
There is no UNDERGROWTH in a Tea Plantation which results in Soil Erosion (any Tamil who worked in an estate will confirm it)
Loss of top soil makes the land unsuitable for cultivation.”

You have merely made the contention that deforestation leads to soil erosion. However, the extent of the soil erosion can vary greatly… you have not proved that such soil erosion had any significant impact on the agricultural economy of SL. In fact, clearing away forests for cultivation would actually increase the size of the agricultural economy, not decrease it. Less water does not lead to lower agricultural yields; ever heard of dry farming? In any case, why don’t you post the levels of annual rainfall in SL during the British times, in the Hill Country, over a large number of years…. let us see if there is a significant decline. If there is not, then you have no case. Also, there was never any famine or other such disaster in SL during the British time.

Like I said before, your claim that the British destroyed the agricultural industry is false. And you do not have any scholarly sources to back up your claim. Adding your own conclusions to a report about deforestation is rather dishonest.

It appears your dishonesty in extracting what you wanted and leaving out the sections that reinforces what I said about Denuding the Forests in the river catchment area AND then Fraudulently accusing me by stating I am pretty sure that you are exaggerating the rest of the so-called destruction. is degrading to say the least. I have copied the full abstract below for reference and I believe no other “SCHOLARLY” reference would be required.

The forest cover in the hill country river catchment areas of Sri Lanka has been reduced to isolated patches on hilltops and a handful of reserves above the 1524 m (5000 ft) contour. Most of the land that was under forest cover at the turn of the nineteenth century is now covered with plantation crops.

The districts of Kandy, Matale, Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Ratnapura and Kegalle are the main hill country plantation areas. Within a period of less than half a century most of the forests in the hill country were cleared for plantation crops. Shifting cultivation was responsible for deforestation in the drier parts of the hill country. At the time of the British conquest of the hill country, the population of the whole island was not more than 3/4 to 1 million and they had settled in isolated villages at elevations below 1066 m. Subsistence agriculture was the main occupation of this predominantly rural population. During the first phase (1830-1880) of the plantation industry, large tracts of mostly forest land were cleared for coffee cultivation. By 1878, the extent of the coffee plantations reached its maximum of 111336 ha most of which was situated in the wet zone hill country.

The second phase of plantation agriculture began as the coffee industry was completely wiped out by a leaf disease. Most of the abandoned coffee plantations and the remaining forests were converted to tea, rubber and cinchona estates. The first two crops managed to survive price fluctuations in the world market, while the latter collapsed because of over production. During the period of large-scale deforestation in the hill country, the climate also underwent changes as exemplified by rainfall and temperature trends.

However, these trends are not uniform everywhere in the plantation areas of the hill country. The temperature has risen a few degrees over a period of about a century and quarter in the hill country stations, while rainfall has declined significantly at some stations. These changes seem to be a result of the interaction of both global and local factors. Although some of these changes would have been a result of global warming, land use change would also have contributed to regional disparities.

As a Result of Denuding Forest cover in catchment areas, Rivers get less water
With lower volume of water, down stream reservoirs get less water for irrigation and power generation
With less water Agriculture produces lower yields
There is no UNDERGROWTH in a Tea Plantation which results in Soil Erosion (any Tamil who worked in an estate will confirm it)
Loss of top soil makes the land unsuitable for cultivation.

Do you agree to the above? Please give your reasons if you do not agree.

You wrote “The British simply destroyed the forest cover in the Hill Country. Read the link I gave above from Peradeniya”

Did you read it?

Alpha, thank you for providing the link to the above document
Quirk of fate that it proved the depth of your dishonesty

This is part 1 ….more will follow

- The British did not destroy the agricultural economy of the island

- The British are responsible for massive deforestation in the Hill Country

- The native S. Lankans have continued deforestation even after the British left

- Most S. Lankans relied on subsistence farming to earn a living, before colonial times

- It was the British and other colonials who made it possible for S. Lankans to move beyond the barriers of caste/class and thereby achieve a higher economic/social status

I cannot find any credible references in regards to the impact on agriculture, as per the introduction of tea by the British.

Forest Cover

When the British took over the island in the early in the early 19th century it is
likely that Sri Lanka’s forest cover probably was as high as 90%. Starting in
the 1830s the British cleared large tracts of forest mostly in the hilly central
region forest for cinchona and coffee and later for tea and rubber plantations.
In the 1880s after the British had spent fifty years clearing jungle for
plantations the forest cover was estimated to be around 80%. By the time the
Births left the island in 1948 the forest cover was down to about 54% to 50%.

—–

So if we go by statistics, the decline in forest cover by the British is from 90% to 50%, or 40%. On the other hand, the decline in the forest cover continued even after the British left:

“According to Data Ranking, SriLanka had forest cover of 30.0%
in 2000″

In fact, deforestation by the native Sri Lankan population continues today at an unprecedented rate:

“Between 1990 and 2000, Sri Lanka lost an average of 26,800 hectares of forest per year. This amounts to an average annual deforestation
rate of 1.14%.

The forest reserve of nearly 80% in 1886 was reduced to 70% in 1900,
44% in 1956, and is nearly 25% at present.

“The government has made its own contribution to forest clearance for
reasons that are connected to the war. To prevent the insurgents from
posing a threat to the safety of security personnel traveling on the main
roads in the north and east the government has cleared thousands of acres
bordering the roads in the war areas. More recently the government has
cleared jungle land to house IDPs from the war.”

The author is a Research Fellow at Global Vision. He is Senior Lecturer
in Geography, Peradeniya University and currently Visiting Professor
at Buffalo University, New York.

http://www.gvglobalvision.org/publications/Earth%20Day%202009.pdf

“Especially because as communication improved superior technology would get exported and imported”

So you are admitting that ancient Lankan engineering is not enough to take the country (economy) forward? Thanks. What you didn’t mention is that the British brought quite a lot of that superior technology to colonial SL.

“Have you forgotten that you have to use DATA at a point of time before the Agricultural industry was affected by Tea? So what do you think was the EXCHANGE rate for ‘Kahavanu’, ‘Masu’, ‘Ran’ and ‘Kahapanas’ or Portuguese currency the various monetary units used in SL in the 16 th century? I of course have no idea.”

According to you, self-sufficiency in food is the only valid economic indicator. In which case, if the British had not “destroyed” the agricultural economy, the quantity produced before pre-colonial times should equal the quantity produced after/during colonial times and therefore the exchange rate should be similar. Of course this is assuming that only the superior brick and mortar technology of Lankan engineering is used in any irrigation process.

” Income from Tea was ZERO at that time (no tea remember). So how do you start the comparison? ”

We can look at some of the technology which was used back then for planting and harvesting:

1. Water buffalo
2. Spades
3. Hoe
4. Men, women, and children

Now we can look at technology that is used in modern farming:

1. Tractor
2. Feed grinder/mixer/processor
3. Planters/Row units
4. Auger
5. Bale Processor
6. Skid Steers
7. Disc Mower
8. Rotary Mower
9. Aerial crop dusting

Which set of technologies will lead to increased GDP? The answer is pretty obvious.

“Remember that we were totally self sufficient in food
We did not import food but exported it
These are the two economic indicators that we know from that period”

That does not adequately describe the standard of living at the time. Even when people had slaves (e.g. USA) the slaves did not starve to death – they had enough to eat. Having enough to eat, by itself, does not describe the well-being of a society.

“What twisted logic did you use to classify a country exporting food as doing “Subsistence” farming? Probably you don’t understand the meaning of the word. Check it out.”

My source is WICKRAMAGAMAGE P, from the Department of Geography, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, SRI LANKA. Unfortunately, he totally contradicts your Mahavamsa fantasy about a self-sufficient Buddhist kingdom:

“”At the time of the British conquest of the hill country, the population of the whole island was not more than 3/4 to 1 million and they had settled in isolated villages at elevations below 1066 m. Subsistence agriculture was the main occupation of this predominantly rural population.”"

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1615386

”
I wouldn’t know about the land, would you? Land was not measured by “Acres” in that period but by the extent of grain that is sowed, such as “Amuna”, “Pela”, “Kuruni” etc. Some would have owned more land than others or may be there were large tracts of State owned Land cultivated as common land or may be all land was state owned. Not that all this matters to the discussion in hand.”

Actually it DOES matter. You have forgotten all about the class system in place at the time.

——-

Caste as we know it today appears to have been introduced to Sri Lanka by Prakrit-language-speakers from North India. Whether the similar Jā ti like separation of society existed prior to this invasion is unknown. There is evidence, in early historical chronicles, of the main vedic castes in the early Anuradhapura era, although it is possible that these categories were used as a literary convention. It has been posited by Bryce Ryan and others that the system as it exists in Sri Lanka is a preservation of that of early or pre-Vedic India, which bore little relation to the classic varna model.
The introduction of Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE blunted the edge of the system somewhat. However, there is a reference to King Dutugemunu Abhaya`s son, Saliya choosing to lose caste by marrying Asokamala, a Chandala or outcaste woman, in the 2nd century BC, indicating that caste taboos remained in place.
The later caste system seems to have evolved as much through waves of ethnic migration as by delineation by occupation. Also Sri Lankan monarchs seem to have overwhelmingly depended on South Indian manpower for functional needs such as menial tasks, weaving, crafts and ritual drumming.
Sinhalese Castes
================
As a result of the Mudaliyar class created by the British in the 19th century, the majority caste among the Sinhalese population now is the Goyigama. It appears that the Govigama comprise at least half the Sinhalese population. The traditional occupation of this caste is cultivation, and most members are still farmers in villages almost everywhere in Sri Lanka. In traditional Sinhalese society, they were the peasants but their status improved dramatically after the collapse of Sri Lanka`s traditional feudal system. Changes to land ownership concepts introduced by the Dutch liberated them from their bonds to the land. The Sinhalese system is divided between the Kandyan and Low country.

In the Kandy District of the highlands live the Batgama or Padu, another caste of agricultural laborers who have escaped the British period consolidation of the cultivator caste. Also untouchable Rodiya and the Kinnaraya who display the vestiges of a hunter gather tribe, were traditionally segregated from other groups because of their menial status. Living in all areas are service groups, such as the Hena or Rada, traditional washermen who still dominate the laundry trade the Berava, traditional temple drummers who work as cultivators in many villages and the Navandanna or Acari types are traditional artisans. The highland interior is home to the Vahumpura, or traditional makers of jaggery (a sugar made from palm sap), who have spread throughout the country in a wide variety of occupations, especially agriculture.
Southern Castes
===============
There are still major differences between the caste structures of the highlands and those of the low country, although some service groups are common to both. The southwest coast is home to three major castes other than the majority Goyigama common to both Low Country and Up Country, whose ancestors are believed have migrated from South India but who have become important actors in the Sinhalese social system: the Karave, the Durava and the Salagama.

These groups have exploited their traditional occupations and their coastal positions to accumulate wealth and influence during the colonial period. By the late twentieth century, members of southern castes, especially by the karavas, had moved to all parts of the country, occupied high business and academic positions. Formerly untouchable Rodiya and Kinnaraya are also found in the low country.

http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2008/1/24067_space.html

———————–

So this is the part of the history you like to deny: the fact that most Sinhalese owned very little land, performed subsistence farming, and were able to improve their status only during colonial times!

“If you mean Bushels per Acre, I would have to ask you to provide the figures in the units used in SL, Kuruni per Amuna of land as I don’t know how to convert between the Western and SL systems.”

And yet, know that the amount of land owned by the average Sinhalese peasant was so negligible that it is a foregone conclusion how much land they owned!

”
Don’t put your intelligence (or lack of it) on public display by trying to “IMAGINE” with your puny knowledge, what a people whose expertise is recognized by professionals in the relevant fields would have done. I don’t know what your field of expertise is, but Engineering is not one of them. ”

Anyone can LOOK at the structures assembled and all he will see are mechanical devices made out of NATURAL materials. You don’t need an engineering degree for that.

“BTW the Agriculture that SL practiced is “Sustainable Agriculture” or to use the modern equivalent “Organic Agriculture” sans Pesticides and types of fertilizer which destroy the fertility of the land over time. Organic farming is the trend now isn’t it?”

The word is subsistence farming, as per the geology guy from Peradeniya.

”
Meet the points raised in my post “One by One” if you can justify the destruction of a self sufficient Agricultural economy which provided COMPLETE Food Security to the country and exported the surplus food, into an economy exporting a non essential item to the world and becoming a prisoner of a fickle global Tea market ”

The British simply destroyed the forest cover in the Hill Country. Read the link I gave above from Peradeniya. I am pretty sure that you are exaggerating the rest of the so-called destruction. Why don’t you provide a few scholarly references to back up your claims?

I say no such thing and I suspect that Alpha isnt either. All I am saying is that Tea economy is a fact of life and no credible Sinhalese politician has ever had the guts demand that the tea economy should be reversed back to subsistence or even small farm agriculture.

The closest an SL Government came to change the status quo was to nationalize the tea estates. It was an unmitigated disaster.

I hope you have the decency to admit that if not for the indentured (but not in name) labor of the estate tamils would not have had the trade surplusus that came from Tea estates.

And SL did not invest and upgrade their tea growing technology. Kenya in the last 30 years has passed SL to become the 3rd largest tea exporter. One can either blame the british after 62 years or accept reality and join the race.

Standing on the sidelines and complaining is a waste of time

Sri Lanka’s infrastructure is 19th century, basically the same as what the British left us, 1948 and in most cases much worse.

Are you telling me with all the technological engineering skills (ancient and modern that Sri Lanka has, the Armugam plan could not have been implemented in the 54 years? How long did it take Mahasena to build his masterworks 2000 years ago?

It was the refusal of the successive Sinhalese governments to delolp the infrastructure in the North and east!

If you admit that we can start getting somewhere otherwise this discussion is an exercise in futility. As for Rajapakse allocating 100 million or 100 billion, that does not mean anything! One measures success of a project by its outcomes, not the alleged inputs!

I thought you had the intelligence to understand the statements copied below. Looks like I have been wrong. If you did, you would not be writing about the superior Technology of the West.

You and JT are the two people who are arguing that the Destruction of the Agricultural economy to establish a Tea economy was justified. Hence I hoped you and he both would be reading my replies to each of you. If you have not done so yet, please read my replies to Jaffna Tamil before you decide to put your foot in the mouth.

Time does not stand still for Sri Lanka while it moves ahead for the rest…. My post to you on February 13, 2010 @ 2:39 am

….In short we need to marry the best of both worlds … my post to JT February 14, 2010 @ 12:46 am

You have ignored my point about the fall of the Tea market in Russia and its repercussions to SL

You have ignored my point about the “Complete Absence” of any Indentured Indian Labour and the burden of their descendants on the SL economy

You have ignored the fact that every country strives to achieve self sufficiency in food (food security)….which was where we were before Tea came in.

Now you state
I noticed that you did not back up your assertions with any economic data or economic indicators, e.g. GDP, GNP, exchange rates, etc

Have you forgotten that you have to use DATA at a point of time before the Agricultural industry was affected by Tea? So what do you think was the EXCHANGE rate for ‘Kahavanu’, ‘Masu’, ‘Ran’ and ‘Kahapanas’ or Portuguese currency the various monetary units used in SL in the 16 th century? I of course have no idea.

Income from Tea was ZERO at that time (no tea remember). So how do you start the comparison?

Remember that we were totally self sufficient in food
We did not import food but exported it
These are the two economic indicators that we know from that period

What twisted logic did you use to classify a country exporting food as doing “Subsistence” farming? Probably you don’t understand the meaning of the word. Check it out.

You say why don’t you tell us exactly how many acres of land each family owned?

I wouldn’t know about the land, would you? Land was not measured by “Acres” in that period but by the extent of grain that is sowed, such as “Amuna”, “Pela”, “Kuruni” etc. Some would have owned more land than others or may be there were large tracts of State owned Land cultivated as common land or may be all land was state owned. Not that all this matters to the discussion in hand.

You say What was the exact crop yield per bushel of land?

We are talking about the 16th century. Can you specify the EXACT details that you are asking from me in relation to the West? You are asking me in units of “Bushel of land” which is an unknown unit by the way. Land is not measured in Bushels or is it?

If you mean Bushels per Acre, I would have to ask you to provide the figures in the units used in SL, Kuruni per Amuna of land as I don’t know how to convert between the Western and SL systems.

Don’t pose silly questions about GDP, GNP, Exchange Rate etc you won’t have those Statistics for the 16th Century and neither would I.

You state For example, you can stack some rocks in such a way as to control the flow of water. That is what your Lankan engineers would have done.

Don’t put your intelligence (or lack of it) on public display by trying to “IMAGINE” with your puny knowledge, what a people whose expertise is recognized by professionals in the relevant fields would have done. I don’t know what your field of expertise is, but Engineering is not one of them.

BTW the Agriculture that SL practiced is “Sustainable Agriculture” or to use the modern equivalent “Organic Agriculture” sans Pesticides and types of fertilizer which destroy the fertility of the land over time. Organic farming is the trend now isn’t it?

I requested you to keep the discussion at an “Objective level” but you come out with semantics like …. Instead, you have spouted some poppycock…. I believe that you are thinking of something sans the poppy.

Meet the points raised in my post “One by One” if you can justify the destruction of a self sufficient Agricultural economy which provided COMPLETE Food Security to the country and exported the surplus food, into an economy exporting a non essential item to the world and becoming a prisoner of a fickle global Tea market

I noticed that you did not back up your assertions with any economic data or economic indicators, e.g. GDP, GNP, exchange rates, etc. Instead, you have spouted some poppycock about a medieval economy based on subsistence agriculture… the key word there is “subsistence.” Regardless of the engineering marvels you keep referring to, why don’t you tell us exactly how many acres of land each family owned? What was the exact crop yield per bushel of land? Let us compare the yield from back then to what is possible now. As much as you go on about irrigation methods, irrigation is only one aspect of farming. There is also the *planting* aspect. Please mention all the forms of Sinhala-Buddhist technology around at the time which greatly accelerated and enhanced the planting process… Answer: none. There you go.

All of the other engineering feats you mention have easily been surpassed by modern *Western* technologies. Once again, if you disagree, all you have to do is post the data for crop yields and other agriculture output pertaining to the time. Unfortunately, the engineering capability at the time, as you know, was not enough to replace the water buffalo. Do you really think the water buffalo could compete with a modern tractor?

Now, you say the agricultural methods would have improved if the colonials had not come. I agree. Your Lankan engineers would have borrowed electricity, modern vehicles, modern tools, etc from the WEST. As you know, electricity was invented in the West. Regardless of how clever or ingenious the MECHANICAL devices built by Lankan engineers were, they cannot compete with their electrical equivalents. For example, you can stack some rocks in such a way as to control the flow of water. That is what your Lankan engineers would have done. But the output is limited. On the other hand, one can use a well-designed system of pipes, whose valves are controlled by microprocessors, to fine-tune the flow rate of water, achieving much greater efficiency.

Perhaps you still think that Lankan engineering, which did not rely on any electrical devices, can compete with modern technologies. I doubt most people would agree.

Lacking large fresh water reservoirs on the surface, Jaffna residents had to depend on water drawn from underground for her sustenance. Hence the Underground Water Table assumed vital importance to life in Jaffna.

There is a limestone aquifer that holds fresh water underground and for millennia the residents depended on it for a fresh water supply. However as agriculture and population increased and the demand for fresh water correspondingly increased, manual drawing of water was replaced by mechanized pumping. This proved disastrous to the water table as saline water seeped in and contaminated the wells. About 30% of wells were so contaminated along with the Agricultural land watered by them.

Jaffna receives about 50 inches of rainfall annually. Almost 90% of this is concentrated in the months of October, November and December and comes from the NE monsoon. The water that is not collected in the inland lakes or gets absorbed to the ground, run off to the sea and is lost. Nine months in a year they are at the mercy of the underground fresh water table.

The Elephant Pass lagoon has two openings to the sea. The one at the East Coast is at Chundikkulam. The one in the North West is to the Jaffna Lagoon at Elephant Pass. Straddling this Lagoon is the Chundikkulam Sanctuary. Blocking both these openings with a Bund would prevent Sea water ingress and would convert the lagoon to a fresh water lake with a water level higher than the sea level. Sluice gates and a spill way would control the amount of water. This water would then be delivered to the Vadamarachchi lagoon which would be converted to a lake by having a Dam with Sluice gates and a spillway at Thondamanaru. This will bring the water level of the new Vadamarachchi Lake higher than sea level

This essentially is the basic plan. It is a brilliant plan and is proof that Lanka’s Irrigation Engineering prowess is still alive. Perhaps one day the Jaffna lagoon will also get converted and eliminate for ever the fresh water problem in the North.

The longest Canal in the Arumugam plan is 4.02 Km
In comparison the Yoda Ela (Canal) is 89.6 Km

It is unfortunate that the implementation of the plan has taken so long, over 50 years. For three decades this area was out of reach but the conversion of the Vadamarachchi lagoon could have progressed.

I hope that the Tamil Diaspora would support this project in whatever way they could and make sure that the Northerners have an abundance of Fresh Water for their Agricultural and Daily needs.

Tamil Diaspora, will you rise to the challenge and do something to raise the living conditions of the Northern population this time, by providing them the most basic need for life, Fresh Water.

You said But to say that they were the best in The world, or in Asia or even in South Asia is a bit too much.

It was not I who commented on the greatness … I merely provided an extract from a report on an FAO website

Here is the relevant passage

“It was this (=biso-kotuwa) invention alone which permitted the Sinhalese to proceed boldly with the construction of reservoirs that still rank among the finest and greatest work of its kind in the world” (Parker, 1909, in Parker, 1981). ”

H. Parker is British and was employed by the Colonial Govt in the Dept of Irrigation of SL from 1873 to 1904. His book was first published in 1909 and the fourth (Indian) reprint was in 1999

Notice his words “…that still rank among the finest and greatest work of its kind in the world”

This was his assessment as an Irrigation Professional less than a Century ago not my own.

You further state
I enjoyed reading about ancient engineering expertise of the ancient Ceylonese. They did have magnificent engineering skills. …… The Romans of 2000 years ago had wonderful water suppy and irrigation systems. The Mayans of south americans had great systems, to mention a few. Romans built water aqueducts, some of which are still in operation.

I am glad you did. At last we have an “Edanda” the Snhala word for a Pole put across a stream for crossing it., a primitive bridge. Hope we can improve on it and build a bridge.

What you say about the Romans and the Mayans is true but the Lankan systems are older and far more complex with a network of interconnected reservoirs dating to 300 BCE (the Yoda Ela is unpaved but has an unbelievable gradient). Most of the Reservoirs and Canals are still functioning to this day.

You say I think here lies the problem. Everyone things that their culture is the best,

I don’t think that you have got my message here. It’s not about culture.

This discussion is about the Tea economy and the old Agricultural economy

The point I wanted conveyed is the existence of a Human Resource that is innovative, intelligent and second to none. All the Engineering that I mentioned was to prove this point. This is why Lankan’s were able to conquer the Dry Zone and Turn it into a fertile Agricultural Land. We still have the people as you yourself stated. We need to get out of the inferiority complex bred into us by centuries of Colonialism. We did it before and we can do it now.

Any Sri Lankan knows that there are aspects of Indigenous Medicine that are superior to Western Medicine. Treatment of fractures is a case in point. In short we need to marry the best of both worlds. What is required is a change of attitude.

Regarding the Mahavali Project, we needed financial help not engineering help. Unfortunately the loans came with attached strings that bleed a good part of the loan back to the lending country. The sub contracting for these projects were by Lankans.

Arumugam Plan

Eng. S Arumugam published a plan entitled “A River for Jaffna” in 1954 which became known as the Arumugam plan. His son Eng. Thiru provided a synopsis of the plan for a Pugwash workshop on “Learning from ancient hydraulic civilizations to combat climate change”, in Nov. 2007.

Notice the words Learning from ancient hydraulic civilizations

The plan was to use the Elephant Pass lagoon that has a surface area of about 30 square miles to hold the rainfall from the Vanni catchment area of about 363 square miles in the mainland. This is the Kanakarayan Aru basin and three smaller streams. A channel was to link the Vadamarachchi basin to the Elephant pass lagoon. The distance from Elephant Pass Lagoon to Vadamarachchi lagoon was 2.5 miles.

The work proceeded as follows
* Openings in the road and rail bridges in Elephant Pass causeway at the Western end of Elephant Pass lagoon were closed
* A bund was built in the 1950s, at the eastern end of Elephant Pass lagoon at Chundikulam. Unfortunately the Chundikulam bund was breached by heavy floods
* A 40 foot wide 2.25 mile long channel was built and only another 1/4 mile remained to be built to link Vadamarachchi lagoon to Elephant Pass lagoon. Then funds dried up.
* A barrage was built at Thondamanaru to close the exit to the sea and completed in 1953.
* Windmills were erected to draw water for cultivation.
* A barrage was built where the Upparu lagoon connects to the sea, to make Upparu a fresh water lagoon and completed in 1955. These gates are leaking at present
* Another channel linking Uppuru to Vadamarachchi was also built
* In 2007 President MR, released Rs: 100 million for restoration of Thondamannar barrage on the recommendation of Institute of Engineers SL .This is also completed now.

You probably did not see the significance of the opening statement

Time does not stand still for Sri Lanka while it moves ahead for the rest.

You are making comparisons of the present USA and SL or present UK and SL which does not meet the logic of this discussion.

Your contention was about the Tea economy that the Brits introduced.

My contention is that the destruction that was done to the Existing Agricultural economy in order to establish that Tea economy does not compensate for the destruction done.

Hence in order to assess what “ could have been the state of the local Agricultural economy in the present, you have to start the comparison at a point of time just before the destruction took place and estimate the probable state of development the Agricultural Economy would have reached today and then do the comparison.

That is the reason why the Lankan Technological capabilities of the past were mentioned.

Please remember that Lanka would continue to develop as it did before the destruction if left alone because our people had the intelligence and the engineering skills needed for that development. It is a proven fact, not conjecture.

Let me put into perspective the Technical skills that we possessed.
A gradient of 1:10,000 means 1.2 Thousands of an inch to the foot. Hence we had the capability of measuring at least to a Thousand of an inch. To maintain that sort of gradient for over 30 Km our engineers would have possessed equipment similar to the modern day Theodolite. To build Massive Reservoirs. They needed to have Mathematical knowledge and ability to analyze rainfall, catchment area, Erosion, seepage, dam strength, spill size to accommodate peak rainfall, water pressure on Sluice gates and much more. Even equations for the flow rate such as Q/s = v*A have been used in designing the outlet.

It is inconceivable the depth of understanding and mastery they had at such an early age. If development continued without interruption we would be second to non in these fields. This is why your point about primitive tools fail. You did not consider the development that would continue which would have kept pace with that of the west. Especially because as communication improved superior technology would get exported and imported. We had the people who could understand and use Technology.

You say that You say tea is not essential; that is absolute foolishness.

Please answer this question, Is Tea essential to Life?

I say no, it is not essential for supporting life.
On the other hand Food is essential for life.
Hence if the world economy goes into recession and the countries that buy Tea gets in to financial difficulties the first thing that gets Axed will be the Non essentials to life. It happened to us when the Rusian economy crashed. Why did you overlook what I stated about the Russian Tea market?

Remember how the Natural Rubber Market fell when Synthetic Rubber was produced?

You say The GDP of Sri Lanka in 2008 was $39.6 billion. The revenue from tea was $1.22 billion in 2008

You comparison has not COMPENSATED for the destruction caused by the introduction of Tea. You need to start from a point before that destruction occurred. Hence ALL what you say about Tea is based on erroneous assumptions and hence your conclusions are in error.

You ask me about employment.
The people would not be employed in the Tea industry as it would be extinct but they would be employed in Agriculture, Water management, Infrastructure Development and Maintenance, and many other support fields. Additionally Medical, Education, Commerce etc would employ many more.

In the absence of the Tea Industry Indian Labour would not have been indentured. The SL population would be less by about 6%. The SL Economy will not have to carry the burden of an Indian population and hence the SL population would be almost totally employed.

You say It does not really matter what primitive S. Lankan engineering methods produced. Regardless of whatever value they may have had 1000′s of years ago, they cannot compete with modern technology.

The Engineering Technology in SL was NOT primitive (please read what I wrote with care). At that point of time, it was World Class. In other words it was modern. It was more modern than most countries in the West (if not all) in the Fields SL excelled in. If we were not interrupted and our development continued today we would be on a par with the world in Modern Technology in the fields that we specialize in.

What is important to remember is that we had Human resources with brain power that was capable of improving on what we had.

You say Time to get out of your Mahavamsa fantasy world!

I did not quote the Mahavamsa which appears to be a thorn on your side. I quoted the British Governor General of SL Sir Henry Ward, Brohier (1934, 1937), Fernando, A.D.N. (1979), Parker (1981) and Perera (1984). Arumugam (1969). Read what I write without jumping into conclusions.

Three of them are British, One is a Tamil and only two are Sinhalese. I hope you can keep the discussion at an objective level.

If you want I can even quote from the Library of Congress in the USA but the results would be the same. So open your eyes to facts without allowing your prejudice to colour them

–No Frames said,
February 12, 2010 @ 11:03 pm
@ Burning Issue
Sorry, that will not happen, and that will be the imagination of some. SL most of the time had one strong ruler with whom others made peace with–

Do you know your history? There was no single dominant kingdom or ruler that dominated the WHOLE ISLAND OF CEYLON other than the British. Some were more powerful than others, and once in a while managed to rule the whole island for a few years (I cant think of anyone, perhaps Duttagemnu, but I am sure you will be able to illuminate me) but none ruled 150 years.

Sorry, that will not happen, and that will be the imagination of some. SL most of the time had one strong ruler with whom others made peace with

I apolgize for my TYPO –….
-When Tiny TIm asked about my sexperiences during the 1983 riots. I wrote them down-.

Of course I meant experiences.

I hang my head in shame.