Hull university to lead Sri Lanka wetlands project

The University of Hull is leading a new project supporting the management of wetlands in Sri Lanka.

The collaboration started on Monday and will run for two years after the university's Stewart Mottram, professor for literature and environment, was approached by the International Water Management Institute in Colombo.

Mottram said the approach came about due to the university's research on water and climate adaptation.

"The lessons we learn can inform flood resilience and climate adaptation in wetland cities around the world, including here in the Humber," he said.

The university said Colombo had "globally significant" wetlands for biodiversity, but factors such as rapid development, pollution and climate pressures were putting them under threat.

Mottram and co-investigator Prof Briony McDonagh will work with wetland communities in Colombo's Kotte District. Researchers from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka will support the work toexplore how cultural heritage, memory and storytelling can inform help wetland management.

The project is being funded by The British Academy.

"We hope that this work will support inclusive, community-led approaches to wetland management in Colombo," said Mottram.

"What we realised very quickly was that the methods we developed with communities in the Humber could help inform approaches to a different cultural context, while still addressing the same fundamental challenge: how people live with water in places shaped by flooding."

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