Revitalising Sri
Lanka’s tourism to be a resilient and inclusive industry
A serene mist envelope an ocean of luscious greenery and hills, deep in the depths of a stillness that is synonymous with Sri Lanka’s highlands. About 180 kilometres away from the hustle of the capital city Colombo, so lies Riverston, part of the Knuckles Mountain Range—a popular nature trail and hike among the island’s many tourist destinations and one of the many project sites that falls under the European Union (EU)-funded ‘Transforming Tourism in Sri Lanka: Emerging from crisis as a strong, resurgent and rebranded industry’ project.
A series of challengesSri Lanka’s tourism sector has been
subject to a series of challenges since the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks,
followed by the protracted impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and now, the
economic crisis. The impacts of these crises, especially the pandemic, brought
to light a host of challenges that continue to compound hardships of the most
vulnerable populations that engage in the tourism industry.
The island does have a penchant for coming together in tough
times, for resilience and recovery. However, given the importance of tourism to
those at various levels of society across the island and economy, it was
evident that the sector needed more support to sustain and grow.
With the core need of putting people first in mind, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, with financial assistance
from the EU, conducted a ‘Rapid Assessment on the Impacts of COVID-19 on the
Tourism Sector’. The assessment found: a) limited intra-governmental coordination
and sub optimal mechanisms to promote the tourism sector, b) limited priority
given to the tourism sector at the provincial and local level, and c) limited
engagement of stakeholders and partners in policy and product development to be
some of the key structural issues that prevent the industry from a reaching a
faster recovery and increasing resilience of the sector.
Transforming tourismIn this context, to address the barriers
identified in the assessment, with financial support from the EU and in partnership
with the Tourism Ministry and Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA),
the Transforming Tourism project was launched. The project’s central focus is
to support the Government of Sri Lanka to revitalise and reform the core
structures that support tourism—governance, institutions, policy mechanisms,
tourism products and promotion, sectoral transformation and financing—to create
a more sustainable industry for people and the planet.
The project works towards transformative change in the industry
and to create tourism that is resilient, sustainable, inclusive and to be
equipped to bounce back swiftly to generate returns across the whole economy,
both for the betterment of the two million people that engage in tourism and
country.
With the Tourism Ministry and SLTDA at the helm and with
technical and financial assistance from the UNDP and EU, the policy framework
and the institutional capacities of the tourism sector actors were assessed and
strengthened.
A key output of this intervention was the support provided to
the government partners to develop the national tourism policy. The
implications of these higher-level, technical efforts can be witnessed on the
highlands of the island, in the Central province.
Hidden treasuresBetween the evergreen, mist-laden mountain
ranges of Riverston-Knuckles and the infamous rock fortress Sigiriya, value
chain and carrying capacity assessments, analysis on product diversification
and upgrading potential and the pilot testing of innovative and upgraded tourism
products are underway to establish gender-sensitive experiences and services.
The interventions are also being reinforced by a promotional campaign that
characterises the myriad of attractions within the Central province.
In Sigiriya alone, apart from the rock fortress that is known
the world over, there is an abundance of lesser-known attractions that hold
promise of drawing in more tourists. Across the province, there are around 40
attractions, including Pathana, Sera Ella, Bambarakiri Ella, Weddapeni Ella,
surrounding Riverston. Closer to Sigiriya, there is a plethora of sites like
the Ibbankatuwa Burial Site, Kaludiya Pokuna, Ritigala and much more that can
increase visitations and augment tourism income for the province.
The Transforming Tourism project works towards building a
transformed, competitive and resilient tourism sector, with requisite polices
and institutional capacities to deliver unique and sustainable tourism
experiences. With two million people depending on the island’s beaches, mountains
and unique biodiversity to sustain their livelihoods, the support provided
helps address structural governance issues that lays the foundation for more
resources to be mobilised for the betterment of the industry, across the
island.
Particularly, the ongoing economic crisis further calls for more
innovative approaches to tourism, to leverage the benefits that Sri Lanka’s
natural resources offer. The gender-sensitive tourism products in the Central
province serves as a blueprint for the rest of the island to transition to
sustainable tourism that promotes environmental conservation and also bring
sustainable development gains to local communities.
Driving sustainable development Tourism has the incredible power and potential to advance prosperity and drive inclusive, sustainable development. The tourism sector touches almost every part of our economies and societies, enabling historically marginalised people and those at risk of being left behind to benefit from development that is local and direct. Sri Lanka is at a critical juncture and leveraging the current crisis to bounce back towards a greener, sustainable and environmentally-conscious tourism offering outlines the country’s pathway to green development.
RANGE on the edge of RUIN?
Some time after our Horton Plains expedition, Forest Department
officials invited us to join them on a hike through the Knuckles range. They
proposed climbing the Knuckles range from the Laggala side, then descend to
Panwila on the Kandy side through Kalupahana.
It was more or less a conducted tour as arrangements had been
made by them. We set out the day before a Poson full moon day in the early
evening to the Forest Department circuit bungalow by the banks of the
Thelgamuwa Oya situated within the Riverston reservation. This time there were
two ladies too both from the Department and also in the party were porters and
cooks, so it made us feel as if we were on some colonial expedition.
After breakfast we left for Laggala Pallegama and then turned
off from the main road to reach a remote hamlet, Ranamure. At the time this
hamlet was isolated from the rest of the world, with the villagers there quite
self-sufficient growing their own paddy, vegetables and pulses etc.
Climbing up from there, we entered the jungle and followed a
waterway upstream. Extending across the stream were giant climbers called pus
wel. We crossed the stream and came out at an open meadow, beyond which
stretched the valley and across the valley, the beautiful Knuckles range,
casting its spectacular knuckles-like outline across the clouded sky.
It took us quite a while to drag ourselves away from this
majestic view and reluctantly we walked down the meadow and entered the jungle
again. Finally, we came to a rocky promontory at the edge of the mountain ridge
that we were walking along, all the while looking down on the valley below.
From here we took a curve around the rocky edge to the slope on the other side
of the river which happened to form the right border of the valley of another
stream. This became our pathway as it flowed down to rugged terrain.
Climbing up this rocky pathway, we came to a waterfall, with a
pool at the bottom, carved out by the sheer force of the water. The rocky banks
of the pool extended out just enough to form a platform suitable for us to make
camp that night.
After putting up our tents we lit a few Vesak lanterns to
celebrate Poson and enjoyed the dinner prepared by the cooks, a luxury we did
not have on previous hikes.
The next day we had a more or less vertical climb up the slope
of the ridge and it took us quite a while to reach the summit, thoroughly
exhausted. It turned out that it was the Kalupahana hill that we had climbed.
The scene from the summit though was quite devastating.
Plantations of cardamom had been established with a well laid-out complex of
barns and storehouses, and this along with other wadiyas seemed to have caused
irreparable damage to the Knuckles reservation.
Apart from the damage to the undergrowth, trees had also been
felled for firewood – we saw some where even the bark had been chopped to let
the tree die. It seemed the evils of the open economy had invaded these
southwestern slopes of the Knuckles.
At the summit of Kalupahana we were received by some officers
from Knuckles Conservation who had climbed there from the other side of the
range. We had lunch at an improvised Forest Department Circuit bungalow and
contemplated climbing the pyramid shaped peak of Tunhisgala but thought better
of it. We set off again in search of a camping spot and the next morning came
to a pygmy forest close to the summit.
Exposed to the strong winds, the trees here were stunted.
We reached the summit and again what struck us was the man-made
destruction visible from this point- barren land devoid of trees, with only
sparse mana grass.
Looking back we had a view of Knuckles from the southern slopes.
On our left was Gombaniya, which remained a prominent landmark
until we came by road as far down as Panwila.
So ended another hike, our very first to Knuckles but one that
didn’t quite live up to expectations because of the presence of human activity
in what should have been a pristine wilderness.
Village on the
move
“The Village was called Baddegama, which means the Village in
the Jungle. The jungle surrounded it, overhung it, continually pressed in upon
it. It stood at the door of the houses, always ready to press in upon the
compounds and open spaces, to break through the mud huts and to choke up the
tracks and paths..”
This is how Leonard Woolf described Baddegama in his classic
book ‘Village in the Jungle’. That village in Hambantota was abandoned by the
villagers and after the last inhabitant Punchi Menika died, it was engulfed by
the jungle.
Walpolamulla, a village in the jungle located in the Knuckles
mountain range awaits the same fate as Baddegama. The last inhabitants of the
village abandoned Walpolamulla last week, driven away not by the encroaching
jungle as in Woolf’s story, but by a group of marauding elephants.
Walpolamulla is perhaps the smallest village in Sri Lanka with
just three families made up of seven members. You have to walk 8 km through the
jungle to reach Walpolamulla from Rathhinda - the last point where a vehicle
can go. In the past few weeks, jumbos have come into the village that extends
to nearly an acre and damaged houses in search of food. The oldest villager
Kapilaratne Banda is in hospital after being attacked by an elephant.
With no help at hand and the danger ever present, the villagers
took the hard decision to abandon their home. Kapilaratne Banda has lived all
74 years of his life in Knuckles. The footpaths across the jungle are as
familiar to him as the lines criss-crossing the palm of his hand. On June 13 he
was walking with his wife Pinchi Amma to the neighbouring village of
Malkirigoda when they encountered the jumbos around 8 in the morning.
Pinchi Amma was quick to hide, but Kapilaratne was not so lucky.
One elephant attacked him and then perhaps deterred by Pinchi Amma’s screams,
went back to the jungle. Kapilaratne’s leg was injured and villagers had to
carry him through the footpaths to a motorable road. He is still being treated
at the Matale hospital. “We did not have elephants in this area before. I’m so
scared now to walk across the jungle,” said Pinchi Amma, fear written on her
face.
Elephants are new to Knuckles, but there are reports of a herd
of about 12 wild elephants now roaming the areas of Walpolamulla, Atanwala and
Rathhinda. The first signs of the jumbos came about eight years ago according
to the villagers. Dr. U.K.G.K. Padmalal head of the Zoology Department of the
Open University who has done extensive research on the biodiversity of the area
confirmed that these jumbos are from the outskirts of Wasgomuwa. When water and
food become scarce there, they start moving to the Knuckles area. This is a
seasonal movement and elephants penetrate the boundaries of Knuckles usually in
July/August and go back to Wasgomuwa in November/December. These four months
are thus a time of fear for villagers like in Walpolamulla, struggling to
protect their crop and their lives from this new threat.
Sans crackers or other means to ward off the elephants, the
villagers’ method of chasing away elephants is very primitive - they beat an
empty can, as hard as they can to make a loud noise. These animals not being
used to human interaction may retreat momentarily but will soon get used to
this method, they fear.
Sanjeeva Kaviratne, MP of Matale district and an activist for
the conservation of Knuckles is trying to find a solution for the villagers.
“Places like Walpolamulla have to be preserved as part of our heritage. It is
an ancient village that goes back to the Ravana era.
We are trying to re-establish Walpolamulla by providing safety
to the villagers, ” he said, adding that they are discussing the possibilities
of building an electric fence around the small village with authorities and
experts in the field. This may be a workable solution considering the size of
the village and the fact that elephants are in the area only for four months of
the year.
“But the Morahakanda and Kalu ganga development projects may
drive more elephants into the Knuckles area,” said Dr. Padmalal. He fears the
proposed Moragahakanda reservoir and its catchments areas will disrupt the
elephants’ traditional paths and more elephants will be trapped in this area.
There are other villages located in the Knuckles’ border and any unplanned
development will create another war front for the Human Elephant Conflict, he
warns.
However, these debates are far removed from the Walpolamulla
villagers. The last inhabitants of Walpolamulla were hesitant to move away from
their ancestral grounds, but last week they bundled up their belongings to face
the inevitable. Being descendantsof ancient warriors, they have not abandoned
all hope.
Though having lived through the terror of facing an angry wild
elephant, Kapilaratne Banda was talking of going back to his village where all
his ancestors have lived and died. “When Walpolamulla is safer, we would like
to come back again,” he said, hope brightening his eyes.
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