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| Sunday, 9 June 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Turtle viewing with the help of guides by Vimukthi Fernando
Turtle fans don't have to remain 'ignorant' about turtles at the Rekawa beach, down Tangalle any more. Very soon they will be able to avail the services of informed and well versed local tour guides from the Rekawa beach itself, when they go 'turtle viewing'. The Turtle Conservation Project (TCP), Tangalle and the Ceylon Tourist Board have come forward to train TCP's turtle nest protectors from the locality as local tour guides. A training programme for 17 tour guides was conducted recently. The participants were trained on nature-tourism aspects and sustainability of their local habitats, turtle nesting beaches and the mangroves surrounding the lagoon.
The concept of nature-tourism is fairly new to Sri Lanka. "Rekawa is going to be a model for potential nature-tourism in the Southern Province", said Jagath Nanayakkara, Vice Principal, Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, who was one of the assessors of the local tour guide training in Rekawa. "Forty per cent of Sri Lanka's tourism is in the Southern Province. However, potential resources in the Southern province are not really exploited. The survival of tourism in the South will depend on eco-tourism and this type of project which provides an educational experience as well as a good vacation", he pointed out. The best way to conserve turtles and marine and coastal bio-diversity in Sri Lanka "is by identifying these as an economically valuable resource to earn an income for the coastal communities and encourage non destructive practice", said Thushan Kapurusinghe, Team Leader, TCP. The local tour guide training in Rekawa is part of TCP's community development programme at Rekawa. |
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