My first case study is from IRIN News (http://www.irinnews.org/node/255779) and it discusses how Sri Lanka planning a $675 million dollar project on floods. The project involves capturing rainfall to be used as irrigation as well as generating electricity. Reservoirs will be built across Sri Lanka’s dry zone which is in the northern part of the country and the extra water from those reservoirs will be funneled into hydroelectric dams to produce electricity. Currently, Sri Lanka does not have any infrastructure that allows the country to use rainfall effectively. This project is important because it will help irrigate 350,000 acres and 70 percent of the population in that region is involved in agriculture. It is also important because it will help the country adapt to climate change and help save food and water sources. This type of development is much different than development in a first world country because first world countries normally do not have to worry about their food and water supplies.

My second case study is from Gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/case-studies/dr-congo-at-50-rebuilding-roads) and it discusses rebuilding roads in DR Congo. The DR Congo has a large main road called Route Nationale 1 that connects its capital Kinshasa with Lubumbashi and a large city, Mbuji Mayi. This road is supposed to connect the country but in reality it is in poor condition and journeys along it take much longer than they should. Lorries will slide off of the road and end up in ravines. It is one of many roads that have deteriorated and need to be rebuilt. The consequences of this is literally a matter of life and death because poor roads force people to take longer or more hazards routes. One woman talks about how the only source of water is a two hour walk down a mountain that is infested with worms. Her brother became sick from this but could not get to a hospital because no ambulance could get there due to the roads and he passed away. A scenario like this is something you would only see in a developing country as developed countries have the means to prevent situations like this.

I’m connecting both of these studies to my hometown of Blue Bell, Pa which is outside Philadelphia. With the case of Sri Lanka, the region of the United States I live in does not have dry zones but could be prone to flooding. Sri Lanka is taking active measures to control flooding and harvest the water and energy from it. Although we have measures to control flooding now, we don’t have anything that could be strong enough to protect us from climate change. Since Blue Bell is fairly close to the Delaware River and the Atlantic ocean, if sea levels were to rise, there is nothing to protect from that. With the case of DR Congo, our roads are maintained but they are constantly under construction. This construction creates traffic jams and prevents us from going about our day to day lives quicker. It could potentially prevent emergency services from reaching a person in need.