Page 8 - Management Digest Udyama Vol 1 issue 2

The cost of HEC is three fold: Although more than LKR 800 Accordingly, we investigated
direct, indirect, and opportunity million is allocated for elephant whether visitors to MNP, UNP
costs. Crop damage and human conservation and compensation and WNP are willing to ‘pay a
injuries and deaths are the major and for implementing HEC tax’ for elephant conservation
direct costs associated with the mitigation measures by the DWC, (which is called ‘conservation
human-elephant conflict. Scholars these outlays in expenditures have tax’) or for mitigating HEC
have calculated that an average not succeeded in mitigating HEC. in addition to their entrance
farmer in elephant-impacted areas Due to budgetary constraints, the fee applying discrete choice
of Sri Lanka loses over USD Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) experiment method. We argue that
300 annually in crop damage. finds itself unable to spend more the revenue earned through taxing
In 2020, Department of Wildlife funds to implement mitigation could be used by the Government
Conservation (DWC), which measures in order to solve HEC. of Sri Lanka to implement HEC
is responsible for conserving In the meantime, wildlife and mitigation measures. With this
elephants in Sri Lanka, paid nature lovers who visit national in mind, the main objective of
more than LKR 180 million parks for ‘elephant watching’ the present study is to estimate
as compensation for human express their concern, over the the visitors’ willingness to pay a
deaths, injuries, and property death of elephants due to HEC, conservation tax which could then
damage. It also spent more than arising partly out of an altruistic be used to implement strategies
LKR 3 million for the capture desire to prevent their extinction for the purpose of mitigating HEC
and translocation of marauding and partly out of a desire to in Sri Lanka.
elephants. Of the HEC incidents observe these majestic animals in
recorded from around the country, the wild during visits to national
more than 60% were recorded parks.
from the areas where Minneriya
(MNP), Udawalawe (UNP) and
Wasgomuwa (WNP) National
Parks in Sri Lanka.

6 September 2021