The Role of Professionals Involved in the Built Environment in Contributing to Climate Change Adaptation in Sri Lanka

Climate change (CC) has turned into a global challenge, and its ramifications have continued to affect, endanger, and influence most people's livelihoods worldwide. Sri Lanka is an island vulnerable to disasters and extreme weather events. In general, urban areas are in danger due to a lack of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) strategies in growth plans. Within this context, the built environment professional has a great responsibility in implementing CCA measures within the built environment. This study attempts to identify the roles and responsibilities of the built environment professional in adapting the built environment to climate change and building climate resilience within the built environment. A semi-structured interview series was designed and conducted inquiring about the concerns about corporate accountability, disclosure practices related to climate change, and roles, responsibilities, and challenges faced by the built environment professional in implementing the CCA strategies. Accordingly, a variety of stakeholder groups representatives from professional bodies, which include government and semi-government organizations, NGOs and intergovernmental organizations, private organizations, and independent professional organizations, were interviewed. Significant qualitative data about the roles and responsibilities of built environment stakeholders involved in climate adaptation measures, as well as details on their formal education and training, challenges they have encountered, data sharing strategies, and knowledge gaps based on climate change strategies, were obtained from the interview series. It was identified that there is a considerable knowledge gap among the built environment professionals about effective responses and adaptation mechanisms to address the climate change impacts within the built environment. Additionally, the appropriate framework for accessing climate-related data should be maintained. The findings from this study could help built environment organizations to strengthen the capabilities of the professionals within their organizations to adapt to climate change and make the climate resilient of the built environment.