Sri Lanka

Country Code
LK
Region
SAR
Country Flag
Knowledge Provider
2
Knowledge Receiver
2
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LKA

From transport to health, food to construction and textiles, plastics are among the most abundant materials in our economy. Globally, the plastic industry is valued at USD 600 billion and provides employment to millions of people worldwide. But plastic pollution has become a crisis of monumental proportions, with 8 million tons ending up in oceans annually. Around the world, different regions face unique challenges ranging from community awareness to waste and recycling capacity, to weak stakeholder engagement.

Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE) is a forum for peer learning, knowledge sharing, and mutual advisory support. It brings together ministers and senior technical specialists from finance ministries across the world, as well as World Bank staff and other international experts, to discuss the fiscal challenges involved in implementing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) established under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The Government of Sri Lanka sought to develop a national skills development strategy and improve technical and vocational education (TVET). The World Bank helped organize an exchange with Malaysia, which had developed successful TVET programs. As part of a broader technical assistance program, the exchange raised the awareness of officials about how to undertake TVET reforms in a middle income country.

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Challenge

As in many other East Asian countries, the number of people living in poverty in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam has declined in the past decade. However, persisting poverty in less advantaged geographic areas and ethnic groups is still a challenge. The governments of the three countries were eager to gain practical lessons on innovative Community Driven Development (CDD) models that have been successful in several South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.

The Internet has become an integral part of the delivery of quality education nearly worldwide, except in countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal that lack easy, cost-effective Internet access. Wanting to address this academic isolation and improve higher education, these four countries approached the World Bank for help. In response, the World Bank organized a South-South Knowledge Exchange with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam to share information on how to establish and manage National Research and Education Networks (NRENs).

With support of a Bank project, Sri Lankan officials sought to strengthen local governments’ capacity to provide roads, schools, and other infrastructure, and to involve citizens in development planning and programs. Through exchanges with counterparts in the Indian provinces of Kerala and Karnataka, officials enhanced their skills in local government management and participatory approaches to development.

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