While Sri Lanka has reduced poverty successfully, the key concern for Sri Lanka is the vulnerability to risks arising from climate change, which could cost Sri Lanka 7.0 percent of GDP, according to a World Bank top official.
World Bank Country Director for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Dr. Idah Pswarayi-Riddihough says depending on the level of vulnerability to natural disaster risk, Sri Lanka’s progress in eliminating poverty and raising standard of living can be undone by natural disasters.
The World Bank top official expressed these views while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Conference on Adaptive Social Protection in Sri Lanka on Tuesday at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. The high level conference organized by the World Bank under the theme “Building Resilience to Disasters and Climate Change” focuses on disaster risk with the aims to prepare Sri Lanka for natural disasters and climate change.
