Sri Lanka Caters to Tourist Golfers at Elephants' Expense
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Title: Sri Lanka Caters to Tourist Golfers at Elephants' Expense
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 2000, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: January 3, 2000
Byline: Ravi Prasad
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, January 3, 2000 (ENS) - Environmentalists and
wildlife conservationists in this island nation are protesting against
a move to expand a golf course to attract foreign tourists as it would
shrink elephant habitat.
The golf course is spread over some 100 acres (40 hectares) of land in
Monaragala district in the country's south, some 200 kilometres (125
miles) south of the capital of Colombo. It attracts hundreds of
Western tourists annually. The government has plans to expand the golf
course to accommodate more golfers, who on average spend over US$200 a
day.
Under the expansion the plan, the government has permitted the owners
of the golf course to acquire several acres of adjacent agricultural
land and forest area.
Officials in the tourism ministry say that the expansion of the golf
course would attract even more western visitors, who also travel to
the Yala National Park in the southern district and the adjoining
areas to see the wildlife.
"Tourist arrivals in the region could reach over a couple of thousands
if the golf course if properly developed and marketed. It will change
the economic conditions of the people living in the area, who are
dependent on rains for agriculture," says a senior official in the
tourism ministry.
Wildlife conservationists, on the other hand, claim that the expansion
of the golf course would spell a grave disaster for the huge elephant
and human population living in the region. "It will block the path of
elephants, forcing them to seek a new route through inhabited areas.
If the elephants are unable to walk to the Yala National Park and
remain trapped in Handapanagala forest, they may go berserk and storm
the villages for water and food," Charitha Gooneratne, general
secretary of the Sri Lanka Wild Life and Nature Protection Society,
told ENS.
Over 100 elephants living in the Handapanagala forest move to the Yala
National Park in November, when torrential rains lash the forest
reserve. The pachyderms return to Handpanagala in search of water in
the month of May and spend the summer in the forest. "For centuries,
elephant herds have taken the same path between the two forests and
they do it twice a year. If their corridor is blocked, the elephants
will not be able to go back to Yala in November. That would upset the
established pattern," Gooneratne warned.
Already, the elephants have been deprived of the source of water by a
sugar factory which draws water from the Manik Ganga, a perennial
river. Over the past few years, they crossed a distance of over 100
kilometres from Yala to Handapanagala during the summer as water was
available in the Manik Ganga. Now the river dries up in the summer
owing to the factory's huge water intake, and the elephants must trek
back to Yala National Park where they can find water. The expansion of
the golf course is threatening to disrupt this seasonal movement
between the forests.
"We have urged the government not to allow the expansion of the golf
course. Also, we are demanding that a corridor be marked for the
elephants, so that they are able to move between the two forests and
prevent them from straying to nearby villages," Gooneratne said.
At the same time, Sri Lanka's national wildlife department has begun
offering orphaned baby elephants for adoption to help conserve the
island's dwindling elephant population. Corporations and individuals
can sponsor elephant babies for US$120 dollars a month, a plan that
has attracted several sponsors.
The unique program was introduced to fund the department's orphanage
at Uduwalawe in southern Sri Lanka where more than 50 baby elephants,
most of them injured, have been kept.
"Most of them are recovering from gunshot injuries. They were targeted
by poachers, but somehow escaped. They are not in a position to fend
for themselves because they are separated from the herd," Dr. Nandana
Atapauttu, deputy director of the wildlife department, told ENS.
"It's a flexible scheme and people can have different options for
payment. They can adopt a baby for a month or two. They can also
choose name of the baby. Those adopting the babies will have free
access to forest bungalows and wildlife parks," Dr. Atapattu said. The
federal government has decided to give tax deductions to those who
adopt the elephant babies.
Officials expect that they would be able to get sponsors for all the
babies as elephants are highly revered in this predominantly Buddhist
country. Almost all the Buddhist and Hindu temples have their own
elephants for ceremonial purposes. These animals are believed to be a
good omen and no religious function begins without worshipping
elephants.
The wildlife department of Sri Lanka became the first in the world to
release elephants raised in captivity into the wild. In 1997 three
elephants from the transit home were released into the Uduwalwe
National Park. What surprised the officials and pachyderm experts
around the world was that a wild herd accepted these elephants within
minutes of their release.
In about two weeks another group of four elephants will be released
into the wild.
Although there is no accurate census available, the World Conservation
Union (IUCN) estimates that about 2,500 to 3,000 Sri Lankan elephants
are still found in the wild, and a further 500 live in captivity.
One hundred years ago, more than 10,000 elephants were found
distributed all over the island. These numbers were rapidly depeleted
by big game hunting, rapid development and deforestation. Most of the
remaining elephants are confined to national parks, while small herds
are found in the northeastern and eastern areas of the country.