SriLankan launches BLUEprint

SriLankan Airlines has launched Project BLUEprint in partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), UK. The airline and wildlife charity will work together to develop a community-based responsible whale and dolphin watching industry off the coast of Sri Lanka and encourage responsible behaviour among local boat tour operators.

Philip Hoare and Johnny Reed of WDC at the launch with Chairman SriLankan, Nishantha Wickremasinghe

SriLankan Airlines will exhibit a film by Philip Hoare and Andrew Sutton, on board its flights to highlight the WDC partnership. The airline will raise money for the charity through the on-board sale of plush whales, with profits to WDC. The partnership will engage local stakeholders and wildlife tourism industries which will help to fund and promote project BLUEprint.

The initial focus of the project will be in Mirissa, currently the most popular whale watching destination. Once set up, responsible whale watching will be rolled into two less-developed whale watching sites, Trincomalee and Kalpitiya.

Chairman, SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickremasinghe said, "We are proud to be associated with the WDC initiative and look forward to embarking upon this project together. Raising awareness and educating the local community about responsible whale watching is of utmost importance in ensuring sustainable tourism. We are keen to relay the eco-tourism message to passengers and will be showing a video about the partnership on all our flights".

"The Government has presented legislation in Parliament under the fauna and flora protection ordinance to enforce strict guidelines."

Whale watching program manager at Whale and Dolphin Conservation,Vanessa Williams-Grey said, "Sri Lanka has the potential to be one of the top destinations in the world for watching blue whales but achieving the coveted 'gold standard' requires the highest standards across the board. Currently, provision is patchy, but WDC believes that areas such as Mirissa will benefit from the development of community-based whale watching."