Investigation into the Interconnected Nature of Environmental Problems and Identifying Keystone Environmental Problems

The study depicts the links between man-made environmental issues based on cause-and-effect relationships from real-world examples. For instance, man-made climate change is caused primarily by deforestation, draining of wetlands, intensive farming, and air pollution (greenhouse gas emission). Besides, every anthropogenic environmental problem may cause various other environmental problems, such as air pollution causes ocean acidification, ozone depletion, acid rain, disease, and visual pollution (smog). Similarly, deforestation causes biodiversity loss, land degradation, and human-animal conflict. About 255 links were examined among 40 identified environmental issues. In this web, certain causative environmental problems establish keystone links. Keystone environmental problems were identified from the concept map based on the criteria given by the following approach. When mitigating a man-made environmental problem, if it results in the permanent disappearance of one or more man-made environmental problems, then that mitigated problem can be considered a keystone environmental problem. To be specific, a complete dependency of the resulting environmental problem/s on the parent environmental problem has enabled the parent environmental problem to be considered a keystone environmental problem. This is because if the causative parent issue gets solved, then the resultingoffspring/s cannot exist. Eight man-made environmental problems were found as keystones, such as air pollution, deforestation, population explosion, overexploitation of natural resources, global energy crisis, intensive farming, water pollution-water scarcity, and urbanization (industrialization)-urban sprawlsettlements.   Keywords: environment, environmental problems, manmade environmental problems, keystone environmental problems, interconnected environmental problem

MOVING BEYOUND THE CBD’S 2010 TARGET - A REVIEW ON THE EFFECTIVEHESS OF FAUNA AND FLORA PROTECTION ORDINANCE IN PROTECTED AREA ESTABLISHMENT IN SRI LANKA

The CBD target to protect at least 10 per cent of each of the world‟s ecological regions by 2010 has not been achieved globally, although good  progress was reported by many countries.  This paper present the results of a comprehensive review undertaken with the objective of evaluating the effectiveness of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance No 2 of 1937 (FFPO) and its amendments, as a framework legislation for Protected Area (PA)establishment in Sri Lanka.  The FFPO was enacted aiming to protect indigenous fauna and flora, and over the years its emphasis  has shifted from that of the preservation of wildlife to protection of biodiversity for  the benefit of present and future generations.  It has introduced eleven categories of PAs, of which five are in existence on ground. 93 PAs covering 943,595 ha has been established, representing 14% of land cover and 0.63% of the EEZ.    62% of the PAs are below 5,000 ha in size, an indication to increasing human-animal conflicts. FFPO is presently being supplemented by several other sectoral enactments in PA establishment. As the demand for development are underpinning the establishment of new PAs  and maintaining the existing ones,  it is now vital to look at the possibility of consolidating relevant enactments under single legislation, or to develop a coordination mechanism under one institution, which is specifically designed for PA establishment and management.  Further a long-term scientific plan that includes a significant role for civil society and private sector is needed

Examination of the Interconnected Nature of Identified Manmade Environmental Problems and the Discovery of Keystone Environmental Crises

Man-made environmental problems are increasing in numbers with time. A study based on cause-effect relationships of man-made environmental problems developed by the methodology of “theoretical sampling”. Here, published literature sources were referred to recognise the environmental issues. The causes and their effects were recognised as a chart. The chart was then transferred into the “Concept diagram” with the principles of the visualisation tools of Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) of United Nations Environment Management Group (EMG), which depicts a complete “mental map” of relationships among the man-made environmental problems. For instance, manmade climate change is caused primarily as a result of deforestation, draining of wetlands, intensive farming and air pollution (greenhouse gas emission), and each of these problem such as air pollution is caused by intensive farming (methane), burning of fossil fuels (due to global energy crisis), urbanisation, methane emission from solid waste dumps, etc.Furthermore, deforestation is mainly caused by increasing human population, poverty, overexploitation of natural resources, urbanisation, mining minerals, intensive farming, establishment of dams, wild fires during El Niño, acid rain and global warming (cyclic as cause and effect). In addition, each of these manmade environmental problem may causes various other environmental problems, for instance, air pollution causes ocean acidification, ozone depletion, acid rain, disease, visual pollution (smog), etc. Similarly, deforestation causes issues such as biodiversity loss, land degradation, human animal conflict, etc. Thus, manmade environmental problems are interconnected as causes and effects. 228 links between 39 defined environmental crises from real world events (stated in published literature) have been identified, in this web certain causative environmental problems establish keystone links. Solving a keystone issue would result in the extermination of one or more linked manmade environmental problems. But when a man-made environmental problem is caused by more than one man-made environmental problem then their causative environmental problems cannot be considered as keystone links such as air pollution causes human-caused global warming, ocean acidification, acid rain, ozone depletion, respiratory diseases, etc. and mitigating air pollution could halt all the resulted environmental issues, thus, air pollution is a keystone environmental issue.However, in case of draining of wetlands, this is one of the cause for global warming (stored carbon in peat wetlands get released to atmosphere), but it is not a keystone issue, because global warming is caused by many other problems such as air pollution, deforestation, intensive farming, etc. In this approach study found seven manmade environmental problems as keystone links such as air pollution, deforestation, population explosion, overexploitation of natural resources, global energy crisis, intensive farming and urbanisation, urban sprawl and settlements.Keywords: Environment, Environmental problems, Man-made environmental problems, Keystone environmental problems, Interconnected environmental problem

Evaluation of Recreational Experience at a Coastal Wetland: A Visitor Survey at Maduganga Estuary, Sri Lanka

With the rising demand for nature-based tourism at coastal environments in Sri Lanka, an in-depth understanding of visitor perceptions is vital in sustainable management of such natural ecosystems. Maduganga estuary is one of the famous nature-based tourism destinations which attracts both local and foreign tourists. There are limited or no published research on the experience and perception of visitors to coastal wetlands of Sri Lanka. Therefore, this study was focused on evaluating visitor motivations, behaviours, attitudes and knowledge on environmental concepts and the level of importance and satisfaction of recreational experience. The visitor experience at the destination was measured with 16 attributes, by using Importance Performance Analysis (IPA). The information was gathered by using a structured questionnaire which was administered via face-to-face interviews with visitors to Maduganga, who are 18 years of age and older. With a response rate of 53.9%, 326 questionnaires were completed during the survey period. The respondents were dominated by the young, well- educated, male visitor segment. According to results, “to be in a natural setting” was the main motivation to be in this location and followed by “to use free time” and “to be with family or friends”. Relaxing / fun / enjoyment, enjoying boat rides and photography were the most popular activities among visitors. Importance Performance Analysis demonstrated that all the attributes related to visitor experience lie within the keep up the good work quadrant. “Feeling safe on the boat” was the attribute which had the highest importance (mean=4.41 in 5 point Likert scale) and “Abundance of wildlife had the lowest importance (mean=3.66). “Number of passengers in the boat” had the highest effect on satisfaction (mean=4.01) while “Guides’ knowledge about the river, flora and fauna” was recorded as the attribute with lowest satisfaction (mean=3.43). Overall results of the study highlight the importance of management/ regulation of recreational activities and maintaining the quality of natural environment to enhance the visitor experience and satisfaction. Potential management implications and visitors’ perception on recreation management are further discussed.Keywords: Importance, satisfaction, visitor motivations, tourism, boats, natural environmen

Co-existence of Coral Reef Conservation and Tourism at Pigeon Island National Park

Of the five categories of protected areas (PA) coming under the purview of Department ofWildlife Conservation (DWLC), tourism is actively promoted as a source of revenuegenerator only within national parks (NP). Of the 22 NPs, Hikkaduwa and the Pigeon islands(PINP) are marine NPs with coral reefs being the major attraction. A study was undertaken atPINP with the objective of understanding the opportunities available and challengesencountered in the co-existence of coral reef conservation and increasing tourism potential.Field visits, focused group discussions, expert opinions, web based information and literaturesurveys were the methodology utilised.The growth of tourism in the east coast has resulted in an increasing number of visitors toPINP despise the impose of an entrance fee system in May 2011. Within a 40 month period, atotal of 146,375 tourists visited the 470 ha park indicating that one hectare of healthy coralreef can earn more revenue than the larger terrestrial parks with charismatic species such aselephants and leopards. Annually there are two peak visitor seasons: April with majoritybeing locals; and in July-September with increased foreign tourists. The percentage of foreigntourist had increase from 11.9% in 2011 to 24.84% in 2013. Main objective of visiting PINPfor foreign visitors is snorkeling, while most locals used the lagoon for bathing, only a fewtourists venture inside the island to observe other attractions including geological features orthe wild rock pigeons.Presently the reef is being degraded leading to visitor dissatisfaction, indicating that a PAwhich emphasises user-fee revenues can lose sight of its primary conservation objectives anddeploying scarce resources toward collecting fees rather than protecting resources, creatingpublic opposition as pointed by visitor reviews. Park management effectiveness is not atdesirable level, mainly due to non-implementation of a scientifically based management plan.There was an attempt to de-list PINP in 2012 to facilitate tourism development in the Nilavelibeach and there is a possibility that the park boundaries will be shifted to cater for this need.A continuous monitoring programme to check the health of the reef need to be addressed in amore systematic manner, while the introduction of a multi-tiered user fee structures can beapplied to enhance the economic reruns and thereby making it more attractive to governmentfor keeping it protected.Keywords: Tourism, Conservation, Pigeon Island national park, Coral ree

Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) Control the Population of House Flies (Musca domestica) in Garbage Dumping Sites: A Comparison between Two Garbage Dumping Sites, Kandy, Sri Lanka

House flies spread many communicable diseases such as cholera, dysentery and spreadparasitic infections. Therefore, it is important to control house flies at garbage dumping sitesas they are a rich source of disease agents. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is one of the commonwetland birds in Sri Lanka, often seen foraging on flies at garbage dumping sites. Referringto the preliminary observations reported before, two garbage dumping sites were selectedfrom Kandy district.Digana garbage dumping site (7.260 N 80.740 E) was selected as a Cattle Egret occupied siteand Panvila garbage dumping site (7.220 N 80.430 E) was selected as the control site whereno Cattle Egrets were recorded. The adult house flies (Musca domestica) were counted whichrandom quadrate sampling twice a month for 5 min. Birds were counted from 08:00 to 10:00hrs by point count method with a binocular. Cattle Egrets, Crows, Common Mynahs, SpottedDoves, Green bee-eaters, House Sparrows, Black Robins, Indian Pond Herons and AsianPalm Swifts were identified as bird species in Digana garbage dumping site and onlyCommon Mynas, Spotted Doves and Asian Palm Swifts were observed in Panvila site. Astrong correlation between populations of Cattle Egrets and house flies was observed in theDigana garbage dumping site (<0.05). Since major food item of Cattle Egret is insects, theyare attracted to waste dumping site, which provides abundant dipterans maggots at lowenergy expenditure. However, the house fly population was significantly high in Panvila sitethan Digana site as Cattle Egrets were not observed in Panvila site. Also In both sites, nocorrelation was observed between populations of other bird species and population of houseflies (0.05<). During breeding season, the Cattle Egrets were observed to be migrating awayfrom the Digana site and were not recorded in late June. No Cattle Egrets in July toSeptember were observed in this site. The number of house flies was clearly increased duringthis period and with the return of Cattle Egrets after breeding season the numbers of houseflies decrease dramatically. The present study shows that there is a strong relationshipbetween population of house flies and Cattle Egret abundance.Keywords: Cattle Egrets, Garbage dumping sites, House flie

Eco-lodge Patrons in Sri Lanka A Comparison of Asian and Non-Asian Markets

Tourists around the world have become more environmentally conscious, and the demand forgreen holidays and green accommodation has experienced a rapid growth. In thisbackground, the form of accommodation known as “eco-lodges” have gained a hugepopularity, especially among those who are seeking environment friendly wildernessexperiences. Extensive studies on characterisation of visitors seeking accommodation in ecolodgeshave been documented in the tourism literature. However, empirical studies conductedon understanding attitudes, perceptions, preferences and characteristics of visitors staying ineco-lodges in the Asian destinations are lacking. With Asian tourists gaining a greater shareof Sri Lanka‟s tourism market, a better understanding of such information on tourists is vitalin ecotourism planning and development.This study aimed to develop and compare visitor profiles of Asian and non-Asian eco-lodgepatrons in Sri Lanka‟s eco-lodges. Visitors stayed one or multiple nights in 13 eco-lodgescomprised the sampling framework for the study. Out of 450 questionnaires, there were 362valid responses which accounted for 69.0% response rate. Both Asian and non-Asian ecolodgepatrons were well-educated. However, they differed in terms of age (χ2=3.639,p=0.048) with more that 50% of the non-Asian segment belonging to age groups over 35years. In terms of trip characteristics, both groups showed fairly similar length-of-stays.Non-Asian segment seems to prefer travelling with family, spouse or a partner (χ2=5.682,p=0.021). Some key differences were observed between the two groups in terms of travelmotives and eco-lodge attributes that influenced their accommodation choice. Keydifferences in demographic characteristics, attitudes, perceptions, and preferences betweenthe two visitor profiles are discussed along with implications for management.Keywords: Eco-lodge patrons, Visitor profiles, Demographics, Attitudes, Perception

A Perspective on Management of House crow (Corvus splendens) in the City of Colombo

House crow (Corvus splendens) is considered as a nuisance animal in the City of Colombo. A roost count method was employed to determine the population size of house crow and their distribution in different wards of the city. Main and link roads of the 47 wards of the city were patrolled during early evening hours to take population counts. Also, direct observations were done to study the biological enemies of crows during day and night. In addition, day time census of house crow and assessment of availability of open garbage dumps was carried out in three selected wards. Current population size of house crow in the City of Colombo was estimated as 101,100 (2018). Using the previous population estimates of crows in the city; 1980-50,000 (Subasinghe and Samad); 1992-70,000 (Dayawansa and Kotagama); 2001-118,500 (Keeragala and Dayawansa), 2006-124,330 (Dayawansa et al.) and 2012-98,350 (Dayawansa unpublished); a population growth curve was constructed. Population growth depicted a logistic model and rate of growth (r) determined by a differential equation depicted three distinct phases on the sigmoid curve and a carrying capacity (K). A positive significant relationship between availability of food resources (garbage) and crow abundance was evident (Linear Regression p<0.05). A positive correlation between availability of trees and crow abundance was evident, however, it was not statistically significant. Total number of roosts has increased significantly from 1992 to 2018 due to increased occurrence of small and medium roosts (One-Way ANOVA: p<0.05). Ironically, there is a decrease of occurrence of very large roosts and large roosts. Variety of trees occupied as roosting sites has increased from 34 to 46 species from 1992 to 2018. House crow population has shown a logistic growth and reached a carrying capacity due to limited availability of resources such as food and breeding sites. It was observed that crows avoid occupying areas where Brown hawk owls inhabit. Control of population size of house crow could be satisfactorily done by manipulating the availability of food resources by implementing an efficient garbage management strategy in the city. In addition, augmenting the top levels of the trophic pyramid by supporting the abundance of nocturnal predators such as Brown hawk owl and Barn owl can reduce the crow populations. Implementation of artificial population control methods such as destroying eggs and culling of adults would be thoroughly unnecessary to control House Crow population in the City of Colombo.Keywords: House Crow, Nuisance species, Logistic growth model, Population managemen

Eco-tourism and Bio-diversity conservation-“A case study of Horton Plains

Much debate and confusion has surrounded the terms ‘nature based tourism’ and ‘ecotourism’. Ecotourism is often used interchangeably with other terms such as nature based tourism, sustainable tourism, green tourism, responsible tourism and soft tourism. While some elements of these different tourism types are similar, the terms are neither synonymous nor mutually exclusive.On the other hand much attention has been paid to the question of what constitutes Eco-tourism. There are numerous concepts and definitions in exist. Ecotourism was first defined by Ceballos-Lascurain in 1987 . The term eco-tourism has been defined in Sri Lanka as responsible travel to natural and cultural areas that conserve the environment and improve the well-being of local communities.The main objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is also highlights the conservation of biological diversity whilst the other objectives of the Convention talks about the sustainable use of its compo nents and fare and equitable share of the benefit sharing etc., at the same time the main components of eco tourism is also highlights contribution to conservation of biodiversity as its first component.The CBD also talks about the Use, Study and Save concepts and it is implied based on the definition that the Eco tourism is the only tourism that involves all three components. Therefore, it is clear that the Eco-tourism has a direct link in conserving the Bio-diversity both in terms of theoretical and practical aspect.This paper discusses the eco-tourism and the conservation of bio-diversity in Horton Plains National Park. About 432 visitors were interviewed in obtaining the view of the promotion of eco-tourism as a tool for the conservation and the importance of bio-diversity. 55% of the total surveyed visitors are mainly visiting the park with the purpose of nature tourism.Horton Plains consists with different eco-systems through its uniqueness within the Park and this will be a rare experience and opportunity for eco-tourists. Unique status of biological diversity is an important ecological service of Horton Plains. Endemism and rareness of species of these resources add positive value to the biologi cal diversity of the National Park. However, roadside fires, unauthorized parking of vehicles, off-road driving and walking are factors that are highly contributing to the destruction of habitats. The forest die-back is another major problem and the preliminary studies indicated that 22 species of plants are affected by die-back .Over visitation contributes much towards the destruction of Park’s bio-diversity.Although, one can visits different ecosystems through HNP’s uniqueness which will be a rare opportunity for eco-tourists it is important that the nature is conserved for the future. As any other natural resources, Horton Plains should also have its own carrying capacity that can sustain the uniqueness of its resources. Therefore, the conservation of bio-diversity must be given priority through the promotion of ecotourism to ensure the sustainability of the tourism in the park and also to conserve the bio-diversity instead of expanding the mass tourism in the park