The year 2017 marks the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Sri Lanka. Located in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is a small island nation with a population of about 20 million. The country has seen high economic growth and poverty reduction since 2009, when the civil war ended after 30 years. Elected in 2015, President Sirisena of Sri Lanka is pursuing national development that focuses on sustainable growth. In this regard, President Sirisena recognizes climate change as a major challenge in the implementation of national development initiatives. In particular, atypical rainfall patterns have intensified over the last three years, causing damage to agricultural productivity, hydro power generation, and water-related health sectors.
  Since the opening of diplomatic relations in 1977, Korea and Sri Lanka have continued active human and material exchanges. Sri Lanka is also one of Korea’s ODA priority partnership countries. Thus, the Korean government has formulated a detailed strategy on cooperation with Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is one of the top 10 ODA recipients for Korea. Likewise, Korea is the second largest bilateral donor for Sri Lanka. At the summit held in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of relations between the two nations, Korea pledged to expand its bilateral cooperation, in the form of EDCF assistance and grant activities through KOICA, with Sri Lanka by 2019.
  Under such circumstances, this study was conducted to guide further cooperation with Sri Lanka, mitigating the adverse impact of climate change and promoting sustainable development. The study focuses on Sri Lanka’s climate change policies and related needs, as well as its national development priorities. We also conducted a thorough review on major donors’ cooperation activities and policies, including those of Korea. Most importantly, detailed on-site interviews with major stakeholders were carried out. Through in-depth case analyses of major bilateral and multilateral donor organizations, we attempted to seek the policy direction for climate change assistance and formulate a performance management framework for Korea.
  The report is composed of the following chapters: In Chapter 2, we first provide an overview of Sri Lanka's national economic, social, and environment circumstances. We scrutinize recent development plans in Sri Lanka, such as the National Economic Development Plan for Sustainable Era, the Public Investment Plan 2014-2020, and Vision 2025. By reviewing the documents, we sought to observe how climate change is received and integrated into the policies. Our results indicate that Sri Lanka perceives climate change as a cross-sectoral issue. Sri Lankans recognize the adverse impact of climate change and are pursuing countermeasures in various areas.
  Chapter 3 identifies projections and vulnerabilities to climate change in Sri Lanka. We analyzed the climate policies and climate-related needs of Sri Lanka accordingly. Sri Lanka has drafted detailed climate change policy documents to implement the agreements made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Vulnerabilities and areas demanding support were identified through a rich analysis of documents, including national climate change policies, greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation plans, technology needs assessments, and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). We were able to conclude that Sri Lanka has a more urgent need to adapt to climate change than to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The areas significantly impacted were the food sector – including agriculture and fisheries, water resources, health, coastal and marine environment – and biodiversity.
  In Chapter 4, we reviewed the status of international support to Sri Lanka and examined various related issues. The chapter first looks at ODA support to Sri Lanka, including in regards to climate change, through the OECD DAC Rio Markers. In the following section, we analyzed the assistance policies implemented by donors, namely Japan, the United States, Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, and United Nations Development Program (UNDP). All of the donors recognized Sri Lanka as being vulnerable to climate change and identified climate change as a barrier to the country’s development. Furthermore, we observed that climate change is often addressed as a cross-sectoral issue which the donors treated with different weight, measures and strategies.
  Chapter 5 provides an overview of existing bilateral cooperation between Korea and Sri Lanka and examines performance in this area. Korea has identified Sri Lanka as a priority cooperation partner and, therefore, developed a dedicated cooperation strategy. The first and second Country Partnership Strategies (CPS) for Sri Lanka consider climate change as a risk factor. Nevertheless, climate change is supported in an ad hoc basis, without a systematic assistance framework. Consequently, the amount provided to climate-related aid is nominal.
  Building on the lessons gained from the previous chapters, Chapter 6 seeks to lay out a direction for Korea’s future cooperation with Sri Lanka, with emphasis placed on climate change. We also suggest that a proper performance management framework is essential to increase climate-related support to Sri Lanka. The main points of Chapter 6 include the following.
  First, we proposed agriculture, water supply and management, and disaster management as the most significant and prospective sectors for bilateral cooperation. We also suggested to consider a multi-sectoral and integrated approach where projects with a focus on mitigation and adaptation can merge with one another. Potential projects and programs can take the form of partnerships with active bilateral and multilateral donors in Sri Lanka. Such partnerships will facilitate the use of expertise and experience by these donors and also improve the accessibility of significant climate funds, such as the Green Climate Fund.
  Moreover, it will be necessary to establish a performance framework for climate-related aid, learning from the previous and current CPS for Sri Lanka, which lacked specific goals, baselines, targets, and climate consideration. Some donors, namely the United States, identified climate risks from the design-phase, carried out impact assessments, and took appropriate measures, if deemed necessary. In addition, indicators specific to climate change can be produced and utilized to enable effective management of performance.
  In the long-term perspective, Korea should progress toward the mainstreaming of climate change in its international development cooperation. Korea must also establish a system for performance management. Such actions are the starting point for quantitatively increasing climate-related aid to Sri Lanka. More importantly, it is a crucial transition that Korea must achieve in order to enhance the effectiveness of its activities in international development cooperation.