A Values based Approach for Managing Recreation and Visitor Services in Horton Plains and Kawdulla N

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A Values - based Approach for Managing Recreation
and Visitor Services in Horton Plains and
Kawdulla National Parks

• Wasantha Rathnayake
• Dr. (Mrs.) U.A.D.P. Gunewardena

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Study Sites
Study Sites
Kaudulla NP
Horton Plains NP
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Recreational Visitor Facilities/Services

• Interpretation /Guide Facilities/services
• Visitor centres
• Sinages
• Watch Towers and Hides
• Nature Trails
• Resting Sites
• Picnic Sites
• Accommodation Facilities
• Wildlife Viewing
• Boat Service
• Viewing sites
• Parking Facilities
• Toilet and Clean Water Services

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International BEST Practices for Management
Planning Emphasize

• Management Planning as a process
• Management By Objectives
• Community Stakeholder Involvement
• A Regional Perspective

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International Best Practices Recognize that Using
Management by Objectives

• Helps Develop and Implement Proactive Management
  PlansNot Reactive Ones
• Emphasizes Accomplishments and Outcomes
• Encourage Active Management by the Organization

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Objectives of Visitor Services Management at
National Parks

• To maximize peoples enjoyment of their stay,
  through education and recreation
• To minimize the impacts on habitat and wildlife
• To increase the visitors concern for nature
  conservation
• To increase the government revenue

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Management Planning Process

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• Preparation of a plan
• Implementation of the plan
• Monitoring and review of the plan

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Visitor Services Management Planning Process

• Visitor Services Management plan sets out the
  management approach and goals, together with a
  framework for decision making, to apply in the
  protected area over a given period of time.
• The actual process of planning involves 13 steps
  and it is important that these steps are
  understood and carried out in a logical sequence.

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Planning Process 13 steps

• Pre planning
• Data gathering
• Evaluation of data with resource information
• Identification of constraints, opportunities and
  threats
• Developing Management vision and objectives
• Developing options for achieving vision and
  objectives including zoning
• Preparation of draft management plan
• Public consultation on the draft management plan
• Assessment of submissions, revision of draft
  management plan, production of final management
  plan, submission analysis and reporting on the
  results of the consultation process
• Approval or endorsement of management plan
• Implementation
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Decisions to review and update management plan
  accountability considerations

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Visitor Services Management
Visitor Characteristics and Visitor Perception
Ecotourism Visitor Services Management Plan
Legal Framework
Recreational Value
Visitor Carrying Capacity
Visitor Impact Monitoring Plan
Ecotourism Potential
Visitor Impacts
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Methodology- 05 steps

• Step1. Study the visitor characteristics at
  Kaudulla Horton Plains National Parks
• Step 2 To study the Visitor Carrying Capacities
  (social) at Kaudulla Horton Plains National
  Parks
• Step 3 To study the Recreational Value
• Step 4 To review existing legal and
  institutional frameworks, benefit sharing and
  sustainable funding mechanisms
• Step 05 To prepare a conservation compatible
  Ecotourism and Visitor services management plan

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Step1. Study the visitor characteristics at
Kaudulla Horton Plains National Parks

• To prepare a resources inventory- through a
  developed format
• To prepare a scenic resource inventory
• To study the ecotourism potential at each site-
  referring existing secondary data and interviews
• To prepare a resource profile for ecotourism
• Visitor Survey
• The range of different specialized visitors to
  the park (bird watchers, leopard watchers,
  elephant watchers, vegetation specialists,
  researchers, photographers) and their
  characterization
• To identify the visitation patterns of these
  national parks
• To identify the activity patterns within the park
• To identify the interpretive needs of visitors
• To identify the potential contributions of
  visitors to the park
• To identify the suggestion of visitors for
  improved management within the park

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Results

• There is an ecotourism potential at both study
  sites, although the results of socioeconomic
  surveys revealed that the surrounding community
  involvement in tourism is negligible.
• Based on the natural resources and their
  aesthetic values, cultural base and being in the
  tourism destinations a lot of tourism activities
  could be proposed for each national park.
• Especially with the collaboration of other
  government and non governmental agencies tour
  packages and joint tickets could be introduced
  and at the moment these organizations work alone.

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Results of Visitor Survey
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Results of Visitor Survey
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Results of Visitor Survey
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Results of Visitor Survey
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Results

• The visitor survey results implies that Horton
  Plains and Kawdulla National Parks may be the
  popular tourism destinations for both local and
  foreign visitors.
• Most of the foreign visitors arrived from
  European countries and there is a opportunity to
  get visitors from Asian and South East Asian
  countries It is proposed to use this opportunity
  to attract more visitors to Sri Lanka marketing
  Horton Plains and other natural areas.

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Social Carrying Capacity Definition

• Originated from range and wildlife management -
  maximum No. of animals able to be supported
  indefinitely.
• Very appealing to apply to PA visitor Management
  around world (Wagar 1964)
• the number of visitors an area can sustain
  without degrading natural resources and visitor
  experience

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Social CC Determination

• What is social impact of use?
• Crowding
• Goal Interference (eg. Bird watching)
• Does impact change nature of recreation
  experiences available?
• Displacement (visitors go to another place)
• Product shift ( Bakers Fall or Worlds End)

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Goal Interference and Frustation
Experience/Goal
Response

• Activity
• .
• 2. Settings
• Environmental
• Social

Satisfaction or Frustration
Motives or Needs
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Carrying Capacity Types

• Physical CC No. of use units able to fit in an
  area (eg. Cars in car park, visitation in Visitor
  Centre)
• Environmental CC Maximum No. of users before
  undesirable environmental impacts- EIA
• Social CC Max No. of users before negative
  impacts on visitor experience

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Step 2 To study the Visitor Carrying Capacities
(social) at Kaudulla Horton Plains National
Parks

• 2. 1 To identify the range of potential
  indicators of the social impact of visitor use
• 2. 2 To suggest a set of the most effective
  indicators, giving due concern not only to their
  significance but also the ease of undertaking
  future monitoring programme
• 2. 3 To suggest acceptable levels of change for
  each indicator
• 2. 4 To suggest a protocol for data collection
  for future monitoring
• Sample size- 100 at each view point
• Questionnaire survey

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Social CC Study Normative Approach
Minimum Acceptable Level
Satisfaction
Frustation
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Results

• The estimated crowding standards for HPNP
• Nine vehicles within the 25 m radius is
  acceptable for tank bed area at KNP.
• These estimated standards could be applied in
  visitor management frameworks like Limits of
  Acceptable Change (LAC).

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3 To estimate optimal number of visitors to the
park 

• Recreational Value and optimal fee for entrance
  will be assessed by Travel Cost Method.
• The sample size for visitor survey was determined
  statistically. Surveys were conducted throughout
  the year to cover all the tourist seasons.
• Data were analyzed with Minitab Statistical
  Package. The recreational value and optimal fee
  for foreign and local visitors are estimated
  separately.

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Step 3 To study the Recreational Value

• To estimate the recreational value
• To estimate the optimal fee for Entrance to
  Kaudulla Horton Plains National Park
• Methodology
• Travel Cost Method 
• Sample size - 200

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Why use the Travel Cost Method

• The site is primarily valuable to people as a
  recreational site
• Relatively Travel Cost Method is inexpensive

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Results of Travel Cost
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Results

• Therefore the present entrance fee which is 40.00
  per person is an under valuation of wildlife
  viewing at HPNP and KNP.
• The proposed optimum park entry fee will decrease
  total number of visitors by about 64.9 at HPNP
  and 58 at KNP, it will yet maximize the total
  revenue of the park

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Results

• There are provisions in the National Tourism
  strategy and National wildlife and Ecotourism and
  Visitor Services strategy for Department of
  Wildlife Conservation (DWC) for ecotourism
  promotions at wildlife protected areas.
• Although the main existing legislation of
  Department of Wildlife Conservation which is
  Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO) have
  provided minimum support for ecotourism
  development in National Parks.

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Step 4 To review existing legal and
institutional frameworks, benefit sharing and
sustainable funding mechanisms  

• Methodology
• The existing legal and institutional frameworks,
  benefit sharing and sustainable funding
  mechanisms were reviewed by secondary data
  (existing books, management plans, literature
  etc.), government officer interviews and
  participatory techniques (questionnaires and
  surveys, visitor surveys, focus groups etc.)

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Step 05 To prepare a conservation compatible
Ecotourism and Visitor services management plan

• 5.1 To develop management goals and objectives
• 5.2 To identify the role of visitor services and
  ecotourism
• 5.3 To prepare Ecotourism policies, guidelines
  and standards
• 5.4 To identify the ecotourism schemes
• 5.5 To develop ecotourism concessions
• 5.6 To prepare ecotourism and visitor services
  management and interpretation plan
• 5.7 To develop set of indicators for Ecotourism
  and Visitor Services Management.

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Results

• There are generic issues in the legislation,
  especially for establishment of ecotourism
  concessions and private sector operations within
  the park i.e. cafeteria operation and having
  partnerships with private sector including the
  local community.
• It is proposed to implement the drafted
  ecotourism and visitor services strategy for DWC
  and based on that the FFPO has to be revised
  allowing provisions for ecotourism development.

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Visitor Impact Monitoring Plan

• visitor use,
• vegetation and soil degradation, and
• disturbance to wildlife

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Visitor Services Zoning Plan for HPNP
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Visitor Services Zoning Plan for KNP
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Thank you

• Discussion