The Concept of Regional Development in the Indigenous Irrigation Systems of Ceylon (1969)

The Concept of Regional Development in the Indigenous Irrigation Systems of Ceylon Gerard J. Foster* The success of the Tennessee Valley Authority in developing a formerly backward part of the United States has led to the widespread adoption of total river basin developmental concepts. Particularly among the less affluent countries of the world, the development of entire basins has been seized upon as a means of bridging the gap between the more and the less advanced countries. The reasons for such enthusiasm are not hard to find. Increasingly, the techniques of survey and of data collection have progressed to the point where a basis for large-scale planning exists. Since World War II the various social sciences have created the theoretical methodology by which the effects of elaborate planning can be analyzed and the results reasonably predicted. With the tools and techniques now at their disposal, planners can develop proposals of such magnitude and complexity and in such fine detail that the simple massiveness of the presentation gives an aura of authenticity. Such detail is, of course, needed before financing can be obtained, and since the source of such funds is almost invariably external to the underdeveloped countries, an elaborate and complex plan is more apt to receive favorable attention from agencies which themselves are dedicated to long-range, planned objectives. Perhaps the basic reason for the enthusiasm, though, is that progress in the underdeveloped part of the world is conceived as a transition to the urban industrial society which has arisen in the developed countries. National pride demands at least the symbols of such progress. Unfortunately, the achievement of such symbolic advancement seems to have become * Dr. Foster is Associate Professor of Geography at California State College at Long Beach 90804. This paper was read at the 31st annual meeting of the Association. Dr. Foster was in Ceylon from 1955 to 1958. 91 92ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS the prime goal or, atleast, the visible outcome ofmany of the planned projects. Planning has become almost an end in itself; grandiose schemes fire the imagination and provide a psychological catharsis for a people who can point to no other measure of achievement than a plan for development by which they, too, can become "advanced." Increasingly, though, as proposed developments have become ever more complex and all-embracing, the costs have soared beyond the opportunities to obtain financing. As a result, attainable immediate objectives have been lost or deferred until such time as the whole plan can be implemented. In this paper the large-scale irrigation works of Ceylon are examined to show the confusion between projected goals and realistic opportunities. Ceylon has a history of planned river basin development which began about two thousand years ago. While most of the installations fell into disuse long ago, some are still operating after a thousand or more years. They were planned solely for irrigation; colonization was of the self-sufficient, peasant village sort; ancillary occupations followed automatically in response to need; and trial and error produced an economically harmonious local society without the detailed logistical planning which accompanies current efforts to reach the same ends. The questions may be posed: "What were the resources which were exploited by the Singhalese so successfully and for so long," and "Can this exploitation be repeated?" Two aspects of the physical geography of Ceylon, topography and climate, combine to produce both the need for and the opportunities to provide irrigation water. Ceylon is not large (a matter of 25,000 square miles), but it is compact in shape. It has a central highland surrounded by coastal lowlands. Its basic drainage is radially outward from the central mountains. These highlands are a complex of small physiographic units: a variety of basins, plateaus, high plains, and mountainous ridges which act as rain-catches for the monsoon rains. The lowlands are equally complex but are primarily composed of linear ridges and narrow valleys and vary from subdued topography to sharply rough country. In the south the alignments tend to parallel the coast and antecedent streams cross the resistant outcrops. In the north, structural control over the streams is strong. VOLUME 31 1 YEARBOOK 1 196993 The southwest quadrant of...