Beyond Monetary Compensation: Memory and Space After Ditwah
Photo courtesy of Greenpeace
Some climate related impacts are irreversible. In some cases permanent, such that no amount of monetary compensation can rebuild or recover what has been lost. Cyclone Ditwah exposed failures that might otherwise have remained hidden for years. And when human systems fail, nature asserts its consequences. These damages, therefore, are not the result of an environment arbitrarily turning hostile but rather reflect years of neglect, the sidelining of environmental issues and a failure to take timely action.
While Cyclone Ditwah affected the entire country, the central highlands took the heaviest hit from devastating landslides. For example, the Malaiyaha Tamil community – most of whom reside in the plantation areas in the Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa Provinces – has endured social, political and economic marginalisation for more than two centuries. Throughout this history, the community has struggled for equal rights, most critically, the right to land, which remains unresolved. In the aftermath of the disaster, this struggle is further obscured and invalidated, fracturing the trust the community has built with the land.
Non-Economic Losses (NELs) capture these dimensions of climate harm that cannot be measured in monetary terms – loss of identity, culture, dignity and belonging. The loss of land, therefore, is not merely an infrastructure problem or an economic one; it is also a social and cultural crisis that causes absolute disarray in communities and their collective memory, dislocating people from the spaces that shape their identity. This rupture produces long term and irreversible damage, including invisible and untraceable trauma and profound mental health consequences.
In a disaster-prone, tropical nation like Sri Lanka, these systemic failures highlight major flaws in policy pathways that ignore essential concerns such as education, mental health and the fundamental right to human dignity, particularly those of vulnerable and historically marginalised communities. The resulting crisis has stripped away the sense of safety and social cohesion that these communities previously depended on, replacing it with a prolonged state of uncertainty.
Can NELs be quantified?
Greenpeace South Asia has been at the forefront of calls for global accountability and the recognition of Non-Economic Losses (NELs) as a core pillar of climate justice. Groundviews spoke to Consultant Melani Gunathilaka and Campaigner Anita Perera from Greenpeace South Asia about NELs and their impacts, how to identify them and what urgently needs to be addressed to resolve long standing repercussions of neglect and environmental mismanagement, particularly in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah.
While economic losses focus on quantifiable assets like housing, infrastructure and agricultural land, NELs encompass a wide range of intangible impacts such as loss of human lives, cultural heritage, livelihoods, dignity, safety, sense of belonging and psychological wellbeing. They also extend to the loss of biodiversity, ecosystem services and the traditional knowledge and collective memories people hold regarding their land.
In response to how these damages could be measured for policies and frameworks, Gunathilaka emphasised that they simply cannot be quantified. Instead, they should be recognised as losses that cannot be compensated for only by money. She added that understanding what justice and accountability mean for each of these communities is crucial because it will not be a uniform method.
NELs are recognised under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as “impacts on aspects of life that are not typically traded in markets”. However, NELs are often excluded from policies and frameworks concerning environmental law, disasters and climate change. The World Bank (WB) has proposed USD 4.1 billion for the country’s recovery after Cyclone Ditwah. While this allocation addresses important recoveries in terms of infrastructure and rebuilding, it does not, in its entirety, include NELs, which are often sidelined following climate catastrophes. The primary reason for the exclusion is that they are outside the economic market system, making it difficult to assign them a monetary value. Gunathilaka said that current policy pathways are flawed because they focus almost exclusively on quantifiable data; if a loss cannot be measured, it is frequently treated as if it does not matter. Furthermore, because the value of endemic species or small scale flora and fauna is often only viewed through a tourism lens, their intrinsic or ecological value is often ignored in economic balancing. Similarly, the loss of shared history and collective safety caused by damages to cultural and archaeological sites that are deeply embedded in individual and cultural identities cannot be quantified in numbers or money.
The (un)changing role of women
Talking about the post-disaster impact on gender roles and the potential increase in domestic or sexual violence in displacement camps, Gunathilaka highlighted the role of slow violence. She explained that ongoing marginalisation, intensified by short term relief, unsafe camps and relocation without consent, shifts responsibility onto victims rather than those responsible for the disaster.
Gunathilaka and Perera pointed out how the burden of resilience is disproportionately placed on women, who are expected to maintain normalcy and manage the psychological safety of children during crises. Many of these women earn their income by selling pepper, cardamom and other agricultural goods. Balancing livelihoods while maintaining calm within the family causes severe stress and relocating without any guarantee of income sustainability increases insecurity, making struggle the everyday norm.
In displacement camps, women also face specific hardships, including a lack of privacy and sanitation facilities. Due to temporary camps being overcrowded and unsuitable for long term living, safety has become a problem, particularly for women and children. Despite these risks, psychosocial support services remain largely absent. Gunathilaka also noted that even at the decision making level, women are often excluded from bodies such as the Rebuild Sri Lanka committee, which was initially composed of male business leaders, some of whom represented microfinance companies that have historically oppressed women farmers.
Children and education
Many schools were transformed into displacement camps. Although temporary school relocations have been arranged, they are poorly planned and students must travel long distances. With no proper transportation facilities in place, parents have to spend exorbitant amounts of money on three-wheelers because public transport is limited following the disaster. A single day’s wage barely covers survival, forcing parents to choose between eating that day and sending their child to school. They must also weigh education against safety as fear has become a daily reality.
Students facing O’Level and A’Level examinations in 2026 have lost their books and study material. Many students are experiencing shock and distress without adequate psychosocial support. Gunathilaka said students are still studying among the debris of the disaster.
The impact on children is showing up as emotional imbalance from a very young age, which could potentially become an untraceable trigger as they grow up.
Perera recounted that during a field visit, a mother at the Walapane camp said her youngest child had moved from Grade 1 to Grade 2 while living in displacement. However, because they were at the camp for over three months, the child could not continue their studies and had forgotten all the letters. When they return to school, they will have to start from the beginning. These are losses that cannot be quantified or recovered at any cost.
What does global accountability look like?
While the absence of NELs in Sri Lanka’s policies must be challenged, NELs are ultimately a question of global accountability. Vulnerable communities in developing countries suffer the worst impacts of climate disasters despite contributing little to the crisis, exposing how power imbalances determine whose losses matter. Greenpeace South Asia’s campaign calls for the world’s major polluters, mainly industrial manufacturers and fossil fuel corporations, to be held responsible for the growing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Wealthy nations have benefited and profited from industrialisation while shifting polluting industries to developing countries. Gunathilaka emphasised that this is rooted in historical pollution and colonial legacies that reshaped ecosystems and infrastructure – factors that must be recognised in future accountability frameworks.
One international mechanism for global accountability is the Loss and Damage Fund. The fund was operationalised in 2023 under the UNFCCC to support developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in addressing both economic and non-economic loss and damage. It calls for wealthy nations to contribute at least $100 billion annually towards repairing climate-related harm. However, this commitment remains largely symbolic. Contributions fall far short of that target and there is no legally binding obligation requiring countries to pay into the fund. As a result, those least responsible for climate change continue to bear its most severe consequences without guaranteed financial or reparative support.
Gunathilaka stated that while discussions surrounding ecocide are taking place on various civil society forums, progress remains slow. Climate change, however, moves faster. The absence of voices from communities vulnerable to disasters in the context of climate crises further slows these mechanisms, making justice unreachable.
Gunathilaka pointed out that the discourse surrounding climate change cannot solely exist within the environmental narrative. It needs to be understood in the context of global politics, geopolitical trends, wars and conflicts that contribute to the climate crisis. These repercussions were expected and the failure to take action in time shows a lack of interest in addressing justice. During climatic disasters, governments and international responses often prioritise survival over justice. This focus on the immediate emergency sidelines the long term, non-economic disruptions that affect a community’s right to a dignified life.
NELs: a fundamental human rights issue
NELs undermine the right to a dignified life. A dignified life means living with security and self-respect, free from dependence and from an endless cycle of trauma.
In Sri Lanka, repeated crises from environmental disasters to economic collapse have made this increasingly impossible. The impacts are visible in the absence of basic rights: access to healthcare, sanitation, education, safety and mental health support. They also manifest in deeper, less visible losses -the erosion of identity, belonging and a sense of self. Together, these constitute violations of the fundamental right to live with dignity.
There are no simple solutions but understanding the climate crisis requires engaging with it at the ground level rather than relying solely on external narratives. Gunathilaka noted that polluters often frame their own “solutions,” which can distort the story. It is therefore vital to recognise these nuances, protect traditional knowledge and care systems and take individual responsibility to learn and act in harmony with our environment.
True climate justice cannot be achieved without recognising and addressing non-economic losses, which are often buried beneath the rubble after a storm. The biggest responsibility lies with nations and industries that contribute to the climate crisis and change. Recovery, justice and accountability are not measured only in monetary terms; they stem from a moral obligation to reduce the harm and damages that will inevitably continue in the future.
