Srilanka, May 18 -- A Commando in an elite Sri Lankan Police unit, Sameera Dilshan has an unusual mission - to reclaim farms poisoned by salt, a long-standing problem now accelerating due to Climate Change.

Increasing salinity is slowly and steadily swallowing traditional rice paddies along the island's coastline, taking away the livelihood of generations of farmers.

Katukurunda was one of the camps of the formidable Special Task Force (STF), an elite force created four decades ago to fight Tamil rebels.

While his colleagues train for riot control under the humid heat of the nearby Indian Ocean, the 35-year-old Non-Commissioned officer and his "Commando-farmer" team are hoeing, weeding, and watering.

Their goal? To grow coconut palms...