PROJECT PROPOSAL - ESCAMP...Project Contact: Sarathchandra Kulatunga, Additional Conservator General of Forest, 0112866624 If the proposal contains field-based activities, contacts

PROJECT PROPOSAL Development of Nature Based Tourism in Sinharaja and Buffer Zone

Rathnapura District

MAY 1, 2017 ESCOSYSTEM CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT PROJECT – DIVISIONAL FOREST OFFICE

RATHNAPURA FOREST DEPARTMENT

ESCAMP/FD/RATHNAPURA/SINHARAJA/3b-01

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I PROJECT PROPOSAL COVER SHEET Project Title: Development of Nature-based tourism capacity and facilities in Sinharaja forest and buffer zone in Rathnapura District. Applicant Name of the Primary Department/Organization: Forest Department

Mailing Address: Sampathpaya, P.O. Box 3, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka.

Physical Address: Sampathpaya, P.O. Box 3, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka

Telephone: 0112866631/32

Fax: 0112866633

Email: [email protected]

Principal Officer: Anura Sathurusinghe, Conservator General of Forest, 0112866616

Project Contact: Sarathchandra Kulatunga, Additional Conservator General of Forest,

0112866624

If the proposal contains field-based activities, contacts of the responsible staff in the field:

W.D.N.R.Prasad, Divisional Forest Officer, Rathnapura, 0452222171


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II PROJECT DESCRIPTION 1. Project Background Sinharaja Forest Reserve is located in the southwest of Sri Lanka at 60 21-26’ N and 800 21-34’ E in the southern part of the wet zone. It lies between the tributaries of the Kalu Ganga (in the North) and the Gin Ganga (in the South) and extends within the administrative districts of Galle, Matara and Ratnapura, in the Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. The word ‘Sinharaja’ means ‘Lion’ (Sinha) ‘King’ (raja). This area was declared as a forest reserve in 1875 and as an International Man and the Biosphere Reserve in 1978. Subsequently it was declared as a National Heritage Wilderness Area in 1988 and in the following year it was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The extent of the Sinharaja is 11,185 hectares. Sinharaja spreads over an elevation range of 200 to 1,150m above mean sea level. There are about nine prominent peaks ranging from 575m to 1,170m of which the Northeastern peak of Hinipitigala is the highest. The terrain is generally rolling, with a series of ridges and valleys that are crisscrossed by an intricate network of streams, whilst some parts of the Eastern section of the forest consist of plains. The Sinharaja forest is one of the most important watersheds in the island, with several streams draining into the ‘Kalu Ganga’ and ‘Gin Ganga’ rivers.

Mean annual rainfall varies between 3000-6000 mm without a distinct dry period and most of the precipitation records during the south-west monsoon (May-July) and the north-east monsoon (November- January). Mean annual temperature is between 20 - 25 0C.

The vegetation type of Sinharaja consist mainly of primary and secondary tropical Lowland wet evergreen rainforests with a few patches of lowland, montane forest and grassland habitats in areas of higher altitude. Vertical stratification of the vegetation is very clear and can easily be distinguished. The top most layer consists of very tall (over 45 m) emergent trees such as Hora, Boo-hora, Dorana and Dun. The second layer which rises to 30-45 meters consists of Batu-Na, Atamba, Wal-Del, Liyan, and Nawada whose branches are interlock to form a closed canopy. Dawata, Hedawaka, Kitul, and Walukeena are in the third layer with average height of 15-30 meters. Below these layers are under story layer (5-20 m), shrub layer (2-4 m) and ground layer (below 1m).

There are 337 woody plant species in Sinharaja that include192 endemic species, 30 nationally threatened and 116 globally threatened species. This is the highest number of woody plant species recorded in any single forest in Sri Lanka.

Floristics of Sinharaja exhibits the climax or dynamic equilibrium vegetation type where there is no net increase or decrease in the biomass of living organism which is one of the most fragile and least resilient ecosystems in the world. It also act as a repository of the valuable germplasm of plant species whose usefulness and potential human value is yet to be discovered. Sinharaja witnesses the highest range of floristic richness and the highest proportion of endemics among the woody vegetation having the traces of gondwanic flora that have evolved over a long period of geological time scale.


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Sinharaja provides shelter for a wide variety of animals ranging from slow moving land snails to the charismatic leopard. Over 140 families of fauna are recorded from Sinharaja.

There are 19 fish species, 33 amphibians, 71 reptile species, 147 bird species, and 44 mammal species in Sinharaja. About 60% of the country’s native birds and all 33 endemic birds including recently discovered Serendib Scops Owl can be seen in Sinharaja. One of the most enchanting display of color to be found in Sinharaja is the sight of mixed species foraging bird flocks, a phenomenon found in rain forests.

Two endemic species of monkeys, kalu wandura (black monkey) and purple faced leaf monkey can be seen there. Other mammals in Sinharaja include sambur, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, golden palm civet, small flying squirrel, fishing cat and rusty spotted cat. A very lucky visitor can get a glimpse of the biggest cat, Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya), who lives within the deep reaches of the jungle.

Around 65 species of butterflies with several endemics, including Ceylon rose, the tree nymph and the common bird wing are found in Sinharaja. There is a wide array of spiders, reptiles, fresh water fish and amphibian fauna in Sinharaja forest

Due to, scenic, environmental, sociological and cultural resources, many local and foreign tourists visit Sinharaja. There are three access point namely as Pitadeniya, Kudawa, and Morningside. Latter mentioned two entry points are situated in Ratnapura district. Kudawa is very famous entry point among tourists. Analysis of records of Kudawa entrance of Sinharaja shows during last few years, around 30,000 visitors have arrived to Sinharaja forest annually. Table 1 shows visitation during last six years to Sinharaja from Kudawa entrance.

Year Visitor Category Total

Foreign Local

2010 5009 22063 27072

2011 5848 25633 31481

2012 6618 26969 33587

2013 5822 22536 28358

2014 5787 17085 22872

2015 9880 31351 41231

Table 1: Number of visitors arrived Sinharaja through Kudawa entrance.

However, absence of attractive entry point, inadequate accommodation facilities, poor access roads, problems in interpretation service and less participation of local communities in tourism are the major draw backs of nature based tourism in Sinharaja. Over the past years Forest Department in collaboration with various funding sources have developed number of ecotourism facilities in the area. However, they were not directed by comprehensive ecotourism development plan.


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Therefore, area covering Sinharaja and its peripheral forest from Rathnapura district is proposed for this ESCAMP to enhance the nature base tourism to attract more both local and foreign tourists by providing appropriate facilities.

2. Project Objectives and Results

1. Enhance and maintained the Nature-based Tourism in Kudawa – Ratnapuara District Outcomes

1.1. A comprehensive ecotourism development plan developed by the end of 2017

1.2. Well standard nature based tourism facilities and service are provided for the visitors by 2020

1.3. Aesthetic value of the forest is well maintained

1.4. Negative impacts of tourism on natural and socio-cultural environment are mitigate

3. Description of Project Activities To accomplice the objective of Enhance and maintained the Nature-based Tourism in Kudawa – Ratnapuara District, followings will be proposed as activities.

There is no comprehensive ecotourism development plan for Sinharaja. Therefore, most of the development activities have been carried out in ad hoc manner. Thus, following actions are proposed to develop a systematic ecotourism development plan as in output 1.1

1. Study existing tourism activities and issues related to tourism.

2. Prepare an inventory of available tourist attractions and map them.

3. Consult stakeholders (should include visitor surveys).

4. Identify required improvements and developments.

5. Study possibilities for new developments considering potential negative impacts.

6. Identify strategies to improve community participation in ecotourism development.

Further, considering the existing facilities for ecotourism, there are several issues such as in

adequate accommodation facilities, poor appearance of buildings and poor condition of the

access roads and so on. Therefore, ecotourism facilities will be improved and new facilities

will be developed to address output 1.2. Further, develop guideline to protect scenic areas

as well as solution for garbage disposal will be implemented to out put1.3 and 1.4

respectively.

Table 2: Project activities of project from 2017-2021

Activity Time Period

Responsibility Locations

Develop a Comprehensive Ecotourism, Marketing and Risk Management plans (1)

2018 FD/Consultants Sinharaja Kudawa

Develop New facilities for ecotourism

2018 - 2021 FD/Contractors/Architectures/Consultants

Sinharaja Kudawa


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Improve existing ecotourism facilities

2017 - 2019 FD/Contractors/Architectures/Consultants

Sinharaja Kudawa

Conserve aesthetic value of the Forest

2018 - 2020 FD Sinharaja Kudawa

Mitigate negative impacts of tourism on natural and socio-cultural environment

2017 - 2019 FD Sinharaja Kudawa

4. Partnerships Ministry of tourism development & Christian Religious affair, The Sri Lanka Tourism

Development Authority, International and local tour operators, hotel owner, Local authority,

Central Environmental Authority, communities, Divisional Secretaries in Kalawana, Rakwana,

Kollonna, university communities and researchers will engage with this project according to

appropriate time.

5. Sustainability of the Project The long-term sustainability of this project can be secured in two ways 1) by ensuring a State-level policy on Sinharaja that provides well formal recognition of a PA network of the country and 2) By contributing towards the development of a community-based ecotourism strategy for the State. At local level, community conservation efforts can be sustained through effective ecotourism initiatives and through capacity building. The additional incomes from tourism as well as the various side effects that benefit all the community members prevent a non-sustainable use of the forest and the protected areas 6. Risks to Successful Implementation

i. Political Influence ii. Social unrest

iii. NGO and Other Organization Influence iv. Noise in construction phase

Proper awareness programs will be carried out before the initiation of the project. Conflict resolution will be applied as well as maintain a well coordination with stakeholders in village. Extreme weather/climate events such as storms, drought and floods could hamper the smooth implementation of the project, since access to the sites can be difficult, people might be displaced from their traditional places, and infrastructure may be destroyed. Very little can be done to mitigate these risks. 7. Implementation Plan and Timeframe

Table 3: Implementation plan and time frame of project from 2017-2021 Activity Targ

et Time Frame

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Develop a Comprehensive No. 1


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Ecotourism, Marketing and Risk Management plans (1)

Develop a Canopy walk-Kudawa (1) No. 1

Develop observation decks & other structures (3)

No. 3

Develop hides for bird watchers (4) No. 4

Trail Improvement (30 km) 30km

Make trails more informative using trail guides (10)

No. 10

Make trails more informative using sign boards (60)

No. 60

Develop resting points within the trial (3)

No. 3

Develop eco lodges (for 10 persons) - To be designed

No. 2

Develop new Conservation center with accommodation for 40 persons-Kudawa

No. 1

Develop new Rest Rooms (2) No. 2

Construct cabins (4) No. 4

Construct dormitory (1) No. 1

Improve Forest Bungalow Murakele No. 1

Improve Forest Bungalow Morningside

No. 1

Improve Forest Bungalow Kosgulana No. 1

Improve Doranaella ticketing counter and information center

No. 1

Improve appearance of REEC building No. 1

Develop New Research Building Kudawa & Morningside

No. 2

Note:

1. Activity “Develop new research Building” please include under the component of 3c or 3a. 2. All activities indicated in Red, which are new activities, should be wetted against the Nature

Based Tourism Plan (NBTP), i.e. verified via the plan, and appraised once the Plans are

approved by the Bank. Therefore, they should be moved to later years aligned with plan

completion and resubmitted as a new proposal.

3. All rehabilitation work and improvements to existing facilities indicated in Green, can be

commenced prior to the NBTP.

Activities Targe 2017


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8. Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Based on the above information recorded in, monthly Progress Reports (MPR) shall be submitted by Divisional office through the RDCF office to planning & monitoring division of head office, using the standard approved report format. Evaluation of the project’s success in achieving its outcomes will be monitored continuously throughout the project. Field visits will be carried out in regular basis by DFO, RDCF and relevant CFs III PROJECT BUDGET 1. Project Funding Summary (in Rupees’000)

Funding Source Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total

Amount requested from ESCAMP

7,650 26,720 106,800 68,850 6,250 216,270

Department budget

Other contributions (specify including in-kind)

Total Cost 7.650 26,720 106,800 68,850 6,250 216,270

2. Project Expenditure (in Rupees’000)

Expenditure Category Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

Civil works 4,000 16,000 54,000

Goods 3,409 9760 52240

Consultancy services 165

Training

Workshops

Operational Costs 76 960 560

TOTAL 7.650 26,720 106,800

Year 4 Year 5 TOTAL

32,900 3,100 110,000

35,300 2,572 103,281

t

JAN

FEB

MA

R

AP

R

MA

Y

JUN

JUL

AU

G

SEP

OC

T

NO

V

DEC

Trail Improvement 5Km

Improve Forest Bungalow Kosgulana 1

Development of existing water pond for tourism purpose

1

Communication facilities

Preparation of Bid articles 10

Calling tenders for Architectural design 10

Bid evaluation & Avoiding tenders to design structures

10

Preparation & Submission of architectural design

10


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650 578 2824

68,850 6,250 216,105

IV PROCUREMENT PLAN Year 1

# Description Quantity Estimated Cost (000)

1 Goods

1.1 Cement, sand, metal, steel, and other 2800

1.2 …Timber 200

2 Works

2.1 Labour 3000

2.2

3 Non-Consultancy Services

4 Consultancy Services 10 1600

Year 2

# Description Quantity Estimated Cost

1 Goods


1.2 Timber 500

2 Works

2.1 labour 8000

3 Non-Consultancy Services 2300

4 Consultancy Services 1000

Year 3


1 Goods


1.2 Timber 500

2 Works

2.1 labour 42000



Year 4


1 Goods



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1.2 Timber 500

2 Works

2.1 labour 3000

3 Non-Consultancy Services


Year 5


1 Goods


1.2 Timber 300

2 Works

2.1 labour 2000


4 Consultancy Services 1 700

V ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL ASSESSMENT The project proponent is expected to carry out an Environmental Assessment (EA) in the ecosystem selected. This assessment should evaluate the likely impacts due to proposed project activities, particularly concentrating on infrastructure work such as buildings, rehabilitation of water bodies, roads, etc., land-use changes such as invasive species removal, fire belt establishment and habitat enrichment and identify required mitigations measures for any negative impact to be also supported by the project. Based on these, the assessment should also include an Environmental Management Plan in the format provided below. The detailed guidelines to conduct the EA and the type of EA required are provided under the Management Framework of the ESCAMP. Format for Environmental Management Plan

Project Activity

Environmental Issues

Mitigation Measures

Location Implementation Responsibility

Monitoring Frequency and Responsibility

Construction of buildings according to the Management plan

Soil erosion 1. Minimum soil disturb ion

2 Avoid rainy season

Sinharaja Kudawa

Constructor Forester/RFO Once a week inspection

Noise Noise barriers Sinharaja Kudawa


Garbage and building materials

Proper disposal Sinharaja Kudawa



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Based on the proposed project and the Social Management Framework, a Social Assessment may need to be carried out. VI ANNEXES 1. Map of the project area


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Logical Framework

Description with intervention logic Objectively verifiable indicators of achievement

Sources and means of verification

Assumptions

Goal or Impact – To conserve Sinharaja forest for prosperity , with regard to Biodiversity, Soil, Water, historical, cultural, religious, scientific and aesthetic values and to enhance contribution of forestry to the welfare of nearby communities and to the national economy

Level of Biodiversity Soil characteristic Hydrological characteristic Historical, Cultural, religious and aesthetic values Living standard of nearby communities

1.Field observation 2.Progress report 3.Research findings 4.Stakeholder consultations 5. Socio economic surveys

National Forest Policy remains unchanged

Purpose or outcome Bio-Diversity, soil, water, and other ecosystem service are conserved and the social welfare of peripheral communities is enhanced through ecosystem approach

Ecosystem approach is in placed 1.Field observation 2.Progress report 3.Research findings 4.Stakeholder consultations

Ecosystem approach provides principles for sustainable forest management

Expected outputs Output & Recreational capacity is maintained and enhanced

Areas and percentage of forest land managed for recreation Number and type of recreational facilities available Number of visitor days Visitor Satisfaction about tourism facilities Number of Employment generated for local communities. Total direct annual income generated by local communities through tourism. Number of negative impacts mitigated project period

Tourism plan Field inspection Visitor records Visitor satisfaction survey results Ecotourism review report Socio economic surveys Periodic socio economic surveys Study report on ecotourism

Local and foreign demand for tourism prevails

Activities

4.1. Develop a comprehensive ecotourism development plan.

A plan Plan


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4.2. Develop and improve facilities for ecotourism

improved facilities in each year compared to the base year

Progress reports

4.2.1 Improve access roads Number of access roads and length Progress reports

4.2.2 Open new entry points Number of entry point Progress reports

4.2.3 Develop new Nature trails Number and length of new trails Progress reports

4.2.4 Improve and manage existing trails Number of length of existing trails improved

Progress reports

4.2.5 Develop new Accommodation facilities

Number of accommodation facilities developed under different categories Number of new beds provided

Progress reports

4.2. Improve exiting accommodation facilities

Number of accommodation facilities improved

Progress reports

4.2.7 Improve the appearance of existing structures

Number of facilities improve Progress reports

4.2.8 improve Information service Number of information centers developed Number of trail guides developed Number of video movies Number of other extension materials Prepared

Progress reports

4.2.9 Improve the quality of the service of guides

Number of guides trained visitor satisfaction about guides

Progress reports Study reports

4.3 Develop linkages between stakeholders of tourism sector.

Number of inks developed Number of international and local tour packages which include Sinharaja Forest.

Study reports Tour operators Packages Visitor survey reports

Documents

PROJECT PROPOSAL - ESCAMP...Project Contact: Sarathchandra Kulatunga, Additional Conservator General of Forest, 0112866624 If the proposal contains field-based activities, contacts