Uda Walawe - Can it be another Yala in the making?

By Lalith Seneviratne

Back in 1971, Lyn De Alwis, that doyen of wildlife conservation who strived to create the Uda Walawe National Park among countless other feats called it a 'park stillborn'. He had to struggle for a further eight years against all odds before it assumed even the faintest resemblance to a National Park.

"There were people everywhere and the place looked like another colonisation scheme. Fires burned in the distance. The grasslands were populated with vast herds of domestic cattle. Of a wild animal there was not a trace", were his exact words.

The days of leadership, responsibility and coaching at the helm of the Department of Wildlife Conservation faded away with the leaving of Lyn and it was a few bright sparks here and there amongst the wardens and the officers who cared for the protected areas, about the last heritage left for the future of this country.

Innovation, dedication and sacrifice were hard to come by and not recognised. Most resigned to the notion that Uda Walawe is primarily a grass-land created by its turbulent past that would support the elephant but nothing else in diversity or numbers.

Seasonal forest fires initiated by the poachers for their benefit and the large scale intrusion of cattle perhaps because no one saw them as a threat to the elephant, meant that the park lumbered on, retaining the same landscape without any rejuvenation to speak of. No questions were asked. This is Uda Walawe I too saw, as a part-time neighbour living virtually next door to it.

However, a visitor today can see the early signs of the Park waking up from slumber, driven by the new Warden Upali Pathmasiri, an officer with a track record. The just past dry season saw no major fires. The intrusion of cattle from the southern border that no official before had the backbone and the skill to prevent, has trickled down to nothing.

As a result, this dry season, the elephants looked and behaved much healthier and more dispersed with the better availability and distribution of food. Other mammals are coming back in numbers with the improving habitat and the reduction in poaching. Just the deer alone almost rival Yala in numbers, something unimagined. Leopard has been spotted and photographed.

Park management and discipline have been strengthened. Alas, in this country today, innovation and dedication are frowned upon as a hindrance to the ulterior motives of many. The Warden too had to face these challenges. It is time that those responsible and the conservation community recognise that his actions have shown clearly that a turning point can be reached and has been reached. If the momentum is allowed to continue, it won't be long before Uda Walawe rivals Yala and gives us another incredibly rich enclave of bio-diversity.

We go back to Lyn De Alwis's words "What we did then is not impossible even today with honesty of purpose, team spirit, fearlessness and yes, a little bit of political diplomacy". The waking up of Uda Walawe in these otherwise tough times is a reminder that we do have the people who understand the truth behind these words and are willing to live by them.

(The author was made an Honorary Director in the DWLC in 2004 in recognition of his services).