MANAGEMENT
Wilpattu National Park faces many threats and challenges as most other protected areas in country, namely; illegal land encroachment, poaching of both wildlife and plants, damaging archaeological sites, spread of invasive species, degradation of the marine environment and the human-wildlife conflict.
Having been closed for more than 20 years during the civil unrest, Wilpattu National Park has opened again for tourism in February 2010 and ready to regain its status as a premier visitor destination. The area has been identified by the Government of Sri Lanka as a priority region for nature conservation and rural development with a high potential for increased tourism.
In 2017, began the Management of Wilpattu National Park and Influence Zone Project funded by the German Government to this end. The term ‘Influence Zone’ refers to any adjacent protected areas and other land use designations such as villages including 34,000 people living in the park’s periphery.
The Wilpattu National Park Management Plan 2019 – 2024 has multiple goals, including maintaining and managing the park, while mitigating the influences from the periphery as an unspoilt representation of Sri Lanka biodiversity while reversing the trend of habitat and biodiversity loss. The Management Plan promotes the well-being of local communities as well as wildlife by reducing conflict and supporting non-destructive livelihood practices and behaviour.
Ecosystems will be protected, and their processes maintained, to preserve the ecological characters, as specified under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, the Convention on Wetlands, Convention on Migratory Species and Convention on Biodiversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Habitats and species will be protected and monitored in such a way that management programmes can be applied to their benefit where necessary.
Provision as a refuge for wildlife in a broader landscape that has lost this capacity.
Alien invasive species will be controlled or eradicated.
Scientific research and monitoring of ecology and species are initiated.
Creation and maintenance of further management zones in the Influence Zone that support the movement of wildlife within WNP and associated protected areas.
Tourism activities will be upgraded while not compromising biodiversity conservation or aesthetic principles.
Recreation opportunities in the influence zone will complement those in the national park.
Information will be made available to local communities and to visitors to highlight the biodiversity values of the WNP and Influence Zone.
Park administration, law enforcement and general operational capacity will be enhanced to enable park staff to effectively implement the Management Plan.
In the Influence Zone, residents and business will be involved proactively with management to ensure long-term preservation of biodiversity values and realization of the economic potential.
Communities will be involved actively in mitigating existing problems, notably human-wildlife conflict.
Communities will be involved in the programmes that examine and monitor the effects on the environment of various land use practices.
The outreach programme will be promote partnerships and activities, that improve the community well-being while being compatible with and supportive of conservation values.
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