Community participation for climate change adaptation: participatory approach for planning and design of coastal green belts In Batticaloa.

Abstract

Coastal green belts are considered as an appropriate solution to mitigate the adverse impacts of natural coastal hazards on human lives and properties in the context of climate change. Yet, Coastal green belt practices are criticized at many occasions due to the ignorance of local community at the planning and designing stages. In this context, the need of participatory approach to plan and design the coastal green belts is important. This research paper explains such methodology that was tested in five sites of Batticaloa to design and plan a coastal green belt by adapting participatory approach. The study concluded that adopting the participatory approach facilitates the development of best design solutions and expedites planning of the greenbelt with the consensus of all stakeholders of the site to adapt climate change.