The Wanni Region

The name Wanni expresses the election district in the North of Sri Lanka; Mannar, Mullaitivu, Killinochi and Vavuniya. The term originates from the ancient Tamil king ”Pandaran Wannian” in the 16th century that stood patronage of the area from Vavuniya till Elephant Pass. Today, the Wanni-Region is mainly used for the entire LTTE-controlled area in Sri Lanka.

The IFSP-Wanni area - the DS Division of Vavuniya North and the Northern part of the Vavuniya DS Division, characterize the social, economic and psychological damage inflicted during the conflict between the Sri Lankan Security Forces and the LTTE prior to the 2002 cease-fire agreement (MoU).

During the conflict period, the majority of the population fled these areas and took refuge within or outside of the Wanni for prolonged periods. It was only after the signing of the MoU that the internally displaced families started to return to their lands. They returned to find that all buildings and the entire infrastructure was destroyed or heavily damaged during the conflict years. Most of the returning families have no material goods or assets of any kind and are faced with completely reconstructing and rebuilding their lives and livelihoods.

Three years on, the situation in the Wanni, however, still remains complicated with many deficiencies. Roads and paths are in a catastrophic state. There is no electricity supply. Wealth of houses in the towns and villages has been destroyed, in particular in the areas on the northern and southern borderline of the LTTE administered Wanni and the centres around Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

 

Top: Destroyed building in the project area Bottom: Damage to the tailback damn.

Vavuniya North

With an area of 770 km² Vavuniya North is geographically the largest Division and with an area of 6,097 km² Vavuniya Division is the second largest of the four divisions. The North Division is divided into 20 GS Divisions covering 80 villages; all in the LTTE controlled area. The Vavuniya Division is divided into 42 GS Divisions covering 204 villages.

The project area of the two Divisions lies in the dry land area with a for Sri Lanka relatively low rainfall of approx. 1.000 mm. Rain falls mainly during the main monsoon period November to March.

The government offices in the district (Government Agents – GA), in the divisions (Additional Government Agents – AGA ) and community administrations (Grama Sewaka – GS) are playing an important role in the normalisation process. These structures are also in place in the LTTE administered part of the Wanni, although their effectiveness was limited by the strict control of their activities by the LTTE. With the opening of the Wanni their importance grows. They are a contact place for families returning to their villages, a centre for the collection of data on the situation in their areas as on the planning and coordination of all necessary aid and reconstruction activities.

Vavuniya North Division: 55% of the area is forest land. 15% of the land can be irrigated for rice cultivation and a further 20% dryland can be used agriculturally. The remaining 10% area is covered by tanks, roads and villages. Mentionable mineral resources are not known.

Vavuniya Division: This is a predominantly agricultural area. Before displacements rice was produced on approx. 7.500 hectares. The 11 major and 368 minor tanks that supported the agriculture were damaged during the conflict years and are now mostly in inoperative condition.

Agriculture, the livelihood basis of the population of the Wanni, is extremely limited. Irrigation of the fields, necessary for the cultivation of the staple - rice, is ensured through a fully developed and connected system of rainwater tanks (Tamil: Kulams and Singhalese: Wewas). The collected rainwater can be used for securing two harvests (in some cases even three). Due to the armed conflict and the long years of displacement of a large part of the population, the effectiveness of these irrigations systems has been extremely reduced. Many tanks are silted or damaged. As such, rice cultivation is mainly carried out during the North East monsoon, the Maha Season.

The supply of clean drinking water to the population is insufficient. Drinking water and irrigation wells are not functioning. These wells are of particular importance for families who do not have land for water-fed rice cultivation but cultivate for their own subsistence dry rice, sorghum, leguminosae and various vegetables. These were destroyed by the war and some have been filled in.