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Yala closure: A chance to rethink park strategies
The move to close the Yala National Park during the drought has been welcomed by environmentalists. After the park was closed in 2007 during the drought, followed by a terrorist attack the same year, the park remained closed until the war ended in 2009. Since then Yala has not been closed.
The custom of closing Yala during the drought started long years ago when the park was a game reserve and hunting was permitted. Hunting was deemed inhumane during the drought as the animals had to come out in search of the remaining water holes. This was the beginning of the tradition of closing the park during the dry spell.
The practice continued, so as to give relief to the animals. It also helped to ease the problem of finding water for the bungalows inside the park. Manori Gunawardena; a biologist who frequents Yala said the closure could give all stakeholders an opportunity to re-assess how to tackle the problems facing the park, especially over-visitation.
During some long weekends, as many as 400 jeeps enter Yala Block 1. The elusive leopard is the key attraction in the park and vehicles are known to race each other to get the best view. When a leopard is sighted jeep drivers alert others resulting in a traffic jam in a small area.
More hotels are coming up in the area which will add to the problem of over visitation, Ms. Gunawardena warned adding that this keeps away true wildlife enthusiasts.
She said all stakeholders should work towards coming up with a habitat management plan that will disperse visitors rather than concentrate them in an area. She said this should include introducing a regulated road network that divides the park into sections where only one area at a time can be visited, giving all an equal opportunity of observing high value animals in each section.
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