2026.03.19
On February 26, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a Record of Discussions with the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Colombo, for “The Project for Big Data Platform for Water Environment Monitoring and Data-driven Policy Implementation”, under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program. The signatures were exchanged among Secretary K.R Uduwawala of Ministry of Environment of Sri Lanka, Director General R.S.P Kapila Rajapaksha of Central Environmental Authority of Sri Lanka, and Chief Representative Kuronuma Kenji of JICA Sri Lanka Office.
The Project is a joint research initiative between Tohoku University, Central Environmental Authority, and the University of Moratuwa. In the Kelani River Basin, which flows through Colombo, the largest city in Sri Lanka, water pollution caused by industrial effluents and domestic wastewater has become a significant issue, creating an urgent need for watershed management based on scientific evidence.
This Project aims at developing methods to estimate water quantity and water quality across the entire basin by using data from a limited number of monitoring sites. By applying transfer learning with hydrological and water quality big data accumulated over many years in Japan, the Project aims to further improve the accuracy of the estimation models. Through effectively disseminating and improving water pollution data obtained through such methods, it also contributes to enhancing water environment management.
These initiatives also contribute to the realization of Society 5.0 promoted by the Government of Japan.
Kelani River Basin
The project outline is explained below.
Country (Target Areas)
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Kelani River Basin (Colombo District, Gampaha District, Nuwara Eliya District, Ratnapura District, Kegalle District)
Project Objective
A foundational system is established to observe, predict, evaluate, and disseminate real-time water environment data, which enhances water quality monitoring and information sharing.
Implementation Period (Planned)
60 months
Implementing Agency
Sri Lankan side: Central Environmental Authority, University of Moratuwa
Japanese side: Tohoku University
Contribution to SDGs
Goal 6 (Clean water and sanitation)
Goal 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)
Goal 13 (Climate Action)
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