A Warm Farewell to Ms. Sharmila Shanmuganathan, SS & GDO of the PMU, CSIAP

The Climate Smart Irrigated Agriculture Project (CSIAP) bid a fond farewell to Ms. Sharmila Shanmuganathan, Social Safeguard and Gender Development Officer at the Project Management Unit. Sharmila, who joined CSIAP in February 2019, has been a dynamic, dedicated, and invaluable member of the team, making remarkable contributions throughout her tenure. She played a central role in preparing and reviewing environmental and social screening reports, as well as in developing, implementing, and monitoring Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMPs) and the Gender Action Plan. Her efforts were instrumental in integrating environmental, social, and gender considerations into all project interventions. She was also an active member of the CSIAP’s Grievance Redressal Committee.

From the project’s design phase to its conclusion, Sharmila brought both expertise and commitment, gaining extensive experience along the way. She also contributed significantly to finalizing safeguard documents for the newly implemented Integrated Rurban Development and Climate Resilience Project under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands, and Irrigation. Her multilingual skills were a major asset to the project. She translated, proofread, and copy-edited numerous documents between English and Tamil, and provided live translation between Sinhala, Tamil, and English during meetings, training sessions, and 15 World Bank Technical Missions—ensuring inclusive participation and mutual understanding among all stakeholders.

A particularly memorable moment in her CSIAP journey was serving as Mistress of Ceremony during the visit of Mr. Martin Raiser, World Bank Vice President for South Asia in February 2023, to the first-ever Climate Smart Farmer Training School in South Asia, established by CSIAP at Thirappane. Sharmila also contributed topresent research findings, outcomes of the project, success stories, field visit reports, and monitoring reports published on the CSIAP website and blogs. In recognition of her outstanding performance, she was awarded a scholarship by JICA to participate in the Sustainable Development Strategies for Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Improvement in the South Asia Region program in Japan, where she proudly represented Sri Lanka.

Her dedication, linguistic proficiency, attention to detail, and deep understanding of the project’s thematic areas were evident in every assignment she undertook. Her work consistently met the highest standards of quality and professionalism, greatly enriching CSIAP’s knowledge-sharing and stakeholder engagement efforts. Sharmila has truly been an asset to the CSIAP. The project thanks her for her boundless energy, hard work, and unwavering dedication, and the CSIAP  wishes her every success in her future endeavors.