The tank cascade system (Sinhala: එල්ලංගාව, romanized: ellaṅgāva) is an ancient irrigation system spanning the island of Sri Lanka. It is a network of thousands of small irrigation tanks (Sinhala: වැව, romanized: wewa) draining to large reservoirs that store rainwater and surface runoff for later use. They make agriculture possible in the dry-zone, where periods of drought and flooding otherwise make it difficult to support paddy fields and livestock.[1][2]
Originating in the 1st millennium BCE,[3][4] the system was designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2017.[5] Centralized bureaucratic management of large-scale systems was implemented from the 3rd to the 13th centuries.[2] Small-scale systems continued to be well-maintained up until the abolishment of compulsory labor, following British consolidation of control over the island. Efforts since independence to rehabilitate the tanks have resulted in much of the system being restored, as well as the addition and integration of new reservoirs. The reservoirs total to 2.7% of the country's surface area and have a significant effect on the ecology of the island.[6]
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islandcultureswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "Tanks in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka". Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin. 29 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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terminologywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Vidanage, Shamen (17 August 2018). "Ecological Restoration of Small Tank Cascade Systems". International Union of Forest Research Organizations - International Knowledge Sharing Workshop. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): The Cascaded Tank-Village System (CTVS) in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
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Romewas invoked but never defined (see the help page).