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The Second Technical Dialogue on Accessing and Scaling Up Climate and Disaster Risk Finance in Sri Lanka was hosted by SLYCAN Trust on September 1st, 2022. The event brought together over 35 entities with the aim to engage and identify interventions, including key stakeholders from Sri Lanka’s finance, agriculture, tourism, and trade sectors as well as other key economic sectors.

Speaking at the event, the Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr. Anura Dissanayake, highlighted the importance of focusing on building Sri Lanka’s climate resilience. “Sri Lanka is recognized as vulnerable to climate change impacts. It is important to consider how policy-makers and relevant stakeholders are involved in addressing the impacts of climate change and working towards collective action to build climate resilience at local and national level,” he noted. 

The technical session focused on multi-actor partnerships for climate and disaster risk finance, which includes accessing climate and disaster risk finance by building on existing mechanisms and entry points as well as options for scaling up risk transfer options in the country.

Speaking at the event, SLYCAN Trust’s Executive Director, Ms. Vositha Wijenayake, highlighted how climate action could contribute to scaling up climate resilience in Sri Lanka. She also stated the need for identifying key opportunities to better understand climate risks in the country and identify indicators for building resilience and assessing impacts.

“It is important to identify opportunities on which we could build climate and disaster resilience in the country. Efforts for scaling up climate and disaster risk finance in Sri Lanka could contribute to overall environmental, social, and economic resilience of the country as well as generate collective actions through multi-actor partnerships and climate-friendly entrepreneurship,” she added.

Other aspects emphasized during the discussions include the need for interventions which contribute to a stable financial system; enhancement of foreign exchange flows; measures to enhance food security in the country; actions for risk reduction and effective risk transfer mechanisms in the business sector; and entrepreneurial efforts.

The technical dialogue brought together stakeholders from the Prime Minister's office and several ministries, including agriculture, irrigation, fisheries, plantation industries, labor and foreign employment, and water supply, as well as other government departments and institutions, the banking sector, the insurance industry, and representatives from tourism and trade.

The discussion identified avenues for engagement among key stakeholders including actions which are based on the identified roles of policy-makers and the private sector in tackling the issue of climate and disaster risk finance for Sri Lanka; scaling up inclusion and participation of multiple stakeholder in climate and disaster risk management; addressing capacity needs on climate and disaster risk finance and insurance; and developing collective actions and proposals for climate finance for different sectors building on existing efforts and mechanisms.

The event is organized as a part of the project "Multi-Actor Partnership on Climate and Disaster Risk Financing and Preparedness in the Context of the InsuResilience Global Partnership,” which is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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