Cascaded Tank-Village System (CTVS)

The Cascaded Tank-Village System (CTVS) is described as a connected series of tanks organized within a micro-catchment of the dry zone landscape, storing, conveying, and utilizing water from an ephemeral rivulet. It is an ancient, widely used, and unique traditional agriculture system mainly found in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The system has evolved over a period of nearly two millennia. It provides water for irrigation, domestic purposes, animals, and ecosystems.

The CTVS takes dominance over all other systems due to its expansive coverage, unique technology, sustainability, and resilience to natural disasters (such as droughts, epidemics, floods, cyclones, and external invasions), high biodiversity, and many other beneficial characteristics. Indeed, this system has helped rural people in the dry zone of Sri Lanka to survive in isolation for several centuries of negligence due to unstable socio-political situations.