The Economic Development Ministry has signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to support the Divi Neguma Livelihood Development Programme to withstand climate related shocks.

The agreement was signed between Ministry Secretary, Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka and UNDP Country Director, Sri Lanka Razina Bilgrami to implement a four year project worth 410 million. It will strengthen the existing government investments in rural livelihood development.

The project titled, “Strengthening the Resilience of Post Conflict Recovery and Development to Climate Change Risks in Sri Lanka,’ will focus on building models of climate change adaptation in three districts- Puttalam, Kurunegala and Ratnapura.

The project seeks to address the climate-related problems such as frequent drought, floods, landslides and coastal storms, posing a serious threat to the government’s objective of developing strong rural economies to bridge the urban-rural income disparity, particularly in post conflict zones.