- Encroachments of national parks in Sri Lanka had occurred as early as the 1950s and 1960s, shrinking park terrain.
- Studies indicate that the resettlement of those displaced as a result of the nearly three-decade long armed conflict had contributed significantly to the deforestation in national parks such as Wilpattu.
- Grasslands in many national parks need to be managed through methods such as prescribed burning to ensure availability of fodder for the herbivores, researchers say.
- The national wildlife conservation agency, meanwhile, says the need to allow natural selection processes to strike a balance in ecosystems inside national parks should not be ignored.
COLOMBO — Around 14% of Sri Lanka’s total land area is dedicated to wildlife protected areas, which includes more than 20 national parks.
However, due to natural and anthropogenic factors, protected species such as leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) and elephants (Elephas maximus maximus) living in these protected areas face continuous threats as their habitats continue to shrink. Wildlife authorities say they have worked hard to strengthen law enforcement in the past decade to reduce encroachment of national parks and other protected areas but have had limited success.
As Sri Lanka braces for an El Niño that is expected to hit the Indian Ocean island hard in November, wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists are expressing concern over managing animal populations inside these protected areas.
A decade of encroachments
The history of encroachment in Sri Lankan national parks dates to the colonial era and resettlement pressures following the armed conflict, which ended in May 2009.
Srinath Dissanayake, a wildlife ranger with the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), said that over the past 10 years, there had been limited encroachments in most national parks except for parks situated near the former conflict zones in the island’s North and East.
“The boundaries of most nature reserves and national parks were demarcated according to the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance (FFPO) No. 2 of 1937, which came into operation in 1938,” he told Mongabay.
For example, the boundaries of Hakgala Strict Nature Reserve were demarcated in 2019, according to new regulations.“The DWC offices were established during 1980–1990, and most of them were setup in the Northern and Eastern provinces following the end of the armed conflict. Most encroachments that we see today had happened back in the 1950s and 1960s,” he said.
He added that due to limited interventions by law enforcement officers, many national parks and nature reserves in the North and East were adversely impacted due to human encroachments. “Many protected areas in the North were gazetted following the end of the armed conflict,” he said.
The resettlement of internally displaced persons led to deforestation, paving the way for housing schemes and new roads in protected areas such as Wilpattu National Park, he said.
According to Dissanayake, there are ongoing negotiations about encroachment in certain areas. “Eviction orders too have been issued on numerous occasions and certain lands have been reclaimed by the DWC. But the natural surroundings will not emerge just because we reclaim a commercialized environment. However, we could attempt to carry out forest regeneration in agricultural lands that have been reclaimed and such initiatives are now being implemented,” he said.
Managing grasslands in national parks
A 2021 study recorded changes in habitat coverage from 2005 to 2019 at Udawalawe National Park in southern Sri Lanka. The research assessed temporal changes in three habitat types: Forest, scrub and grassland. The results indicated that the areas under forest and scrub habitats had increased, while the grasslands had decreased.
Study coauthor Mayuri Wijesinghe, a senior professor with the department of zoology and environment sciences at the University of Colombo, said researchers observed how the grasslands had reduced due to natural succession and not due to any human impacts. “Any habitat that is left unattended will automatically progress towards becoming a forest. The grasslands had been invaded by scrub, and now, the grasslands are low,” she told Mongabay. “Grasslands are required for elephants and many other herbivores. There must be human interventions to manage grasslands. If it’s just protected and nothing is being done, the grasslands would one day become dry zone forests. If elephants and herbivores need to be kept inside a national park, it is essential then grasslands should remain as grasslands.”
According to Wijesinghe, prescribed burning is one way of managing a national park particularly for elephants and other herbivores. “This is done before the rains begin to allow a new growth of grass,” she said. “About 60-70% of an elephant’s diet is mainly grass. If they don’t have enough grass, they will go about raiding crops, eventually resulting in the human-elephant conflict.”
Wijesinghe said when a grassland is left alone, scrubs begin to emerge. “The initial scrubs are particularly the invasive species. Invasive control also opens grasslands,” she said.
A 2024 audit report that evaluated grassland conservation in Sri Lanka’s national parks showed an increased threat to grasslands. The report noted how the unavailability of grass led to human-elephant conflict and crop damage by wild elephants. Several other factors contributed to the loss of grasslands within national parks, the report found, including the spread of “invasive alien species,” illegal cultivation and settlements, loss of food fer herbivores due to “unauthorized entry of cattle” into national parks and maintenance of unauthorized cattle ranches in national parks.
Concerns over impending El Niño
It is not just encroachment that is posing a challenge to the survival of the species, as animals in national parks are becoming vulnerable to extreme heat and evolving climate change.
According to environmentalist Palitha Wickramaratne, many animals in and around Yala National Park in the South have become extremely vulnerable to the prevailing heat. “However, this is not a new phenomenon because Sri Lanka has experienced drought periods from time-to-time since 1950s,” he told Mongabay.
One of the major river diversion projects in Sri Lanka was the 2005 Menik Ganga Diversion project. As part of this project, the Weheragala Reservoir was constructed to provide water for upper catchment areas of Kataragama, a town located around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Yala Block I. Water from the Menik Ganga river provides water for many animals in Yala Block I, he said.
The small water bodies within Yala National Park such as Heen Wewa and Gonagala Wewa were restored to ensure water storage during the drought period. “Sri Lanka faced severe droughts during 2001, 2012 and 2016,” he said. “In 2016, DWC officials and various volunteer groups took water bowsers into national parks and filled the natural water bodies. Tanks and lakes that had already dried up were cleared and mechanisms were put in place to extract groundwater.”
Sri Lanka’s national parks and natural attractions are major drivers of tourism revenue as people come to see cornerstone species. While there is no tracking of wildlife tourism’s independent contribution to the economy by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, in 2025, the island welcomed nearly 2.4 million visitors and generated an overall $3.2 billion in total tourism revenue.
Sri Lankan elephants remain the primary attraction, with a single elephant generating significant income and according to a 2022 study by tourism and sustainability professional Srilal Miththapala, wild elephants are an economic asset with an individual value of about Sri Lankan rupees 4. 5 million ($27,000).
Meanwhile, Wickramaratne said that if drought conditions are not addressed, it would leave a strong impact on wild animal populations within national parks. “Tourists visit national parks to witness animals in their natural surroundings. Therefore, there is a need for adequate interventions,” he told Mongabay “There are predictions of an El Niño, and the dry zone, including Yala, is highly vulnerable to extreme heat conditions.”
One possible solution to ensure animals have adequate water is to close Yala Block I, the frequently visited section of the national park, so animals are free to move about and reach water bodies without any disturbances, Wickramaratne said.
Room for natural selection
El Niño, however, is not a new phenomenon for the conservation officers, DWC’s director general Ranjan Marasinghe told Mongabay.
He said that droughts occur every four to 10 years in Sri Lanka, calling for various measures to support the animal population.
According to him, every national park is equipped with an irrigation system of its own. “The water pumps are being repaired from time to time, and water is also provided in bowsers as well,” he said.
“However, we need to allow nature’s course to take place. Even though many individuals claim that animals should be provided with water when we are drought hit, we also should consider the science behind it,” he added.“Wild animals develop a ruggedness during drought conditions and that is required to strike a balance in the ecosystem.”
For example, wild buffalo populations in national parks are controlled during drought periods.“This happens due to competition among prey populations for water and grasslands,” he said.
According to Marasinghe, DWC has plans to increase patrol during the drought period to monitor poaching and other illegal activities taking place inside the national parks. “By August, our officers will be deployed in full force to carry out these tasks,” he said.
Banner Image: A sambar deer herd in Horton Plains National Park. Image by Danushka Senadheera via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
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Citation:
Perera, W. P. T. A., Prematilaka, P. H. K. L. A., Haseena, M. H. A., Athapaththu, A. H. L. C. M., & Wijesinghe, M. R. (2021). Changes in habitat coverage from 2005 to 2019 in the Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science, 50(4), 467. doi:10.4038/cjs.v50i4.7945
Cite this article
Kamanthi Wickramasinghe (2026). As Sri Lanka braces for El Niño, national parks are a concern amidst encroachment. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323944
