Projects

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p. 5 of 7 BACK | NEXT Background Project Components Map Frequently asked questions Why the project is needed Issues and concerns Contact Us

Why the project is needed

Sri Lanka's protected areas comprise 9,700 square kilometers or 15 percent of the total land area. Sri Lanka is a global biodiversity hot spot, as half of its species are endemic. The project will help ensure that the country's large numbers of native, endemic and endangered species and ecosystems remain preserved. Other non-quantifiable benefits relate to the carbon sequestration value of forests, microclimate amelioration, nutrient recycling, conservation education and awareness creation.

By addressing institutional and legal deficiencies, the project will assist in developing a more sustainable protected area management and wildlife conservation system and provide the resource base for developing the country's globally competitive ecotourism potential.

The buffer zone of protected areas is also home to some of Sri Lanka's poorest communities, with over half the people subsisting below poverty level. The poor pose the greatest threat to protected areas, because they depend on the forest for subsistence and their livelihood. They are also co-opted into illegal activity by outsiders.

Some 180,000 villagers living near the project areas will benefit from job opportunities and higher incomes as a result of ecotourism, benefit-sharing arrangements, and the establishment of a sustainable financing mechanism for community improvement.

The project will also address the human-elephant conflict, thus reducing the considerable losses of crops and lives that it causes each year.