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| Udawalawe National Park | |
|---|---|
| Name | Udawalawe National Park |
| Location | Sri Lanka |
| Nearest city | Udawalawe |
| Area | 30,821 ha |
| Established | 1972 |
| Governing body | Department of Wildlife Conservation (Sri Lanka) |
Udawalawe National Park Udawalawe National Park is a protected area in Sri Lanka established to conserve wildlife affected by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir and the Udawalawe Dam. The park is renowned for its large populations of Sri Lankan elephant and serves as a flagship site for regional biodiversity, attracting researchers from institutions such as the University of Colombo, the University of Peradeniya, and the National Aquatic Research and Resources Development Agency (NARA). Its landscapes and species have appeared in collaborations with organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The park was formally designated in 1972 following debates involving the Ceylonese parliamentary debates and decisions by ministers associated with the Ministry of Lands and Land Development (Sri Lanka). The creation responded to ecological changes after the building of the Udawalawe Reservoir and the construction works overseen by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board. Early conservation efforts involved partnerships with the IUCN Sri Lanka Country Office and the Food and Agriculture Organization while fieldwork drew attention from scholars at King's College London and the Natural History Museum, London. Subsequent policy shifts referenced agreements similar to instruments seen at the Ramsar Convention and meetings hosted by the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Udawalawe lies across administrative divisions including parts of the Monaragala District and the Hambantota District in Uva Province and Southern Province (Sri Lanka). The park borders the Udawalawe Reservoir and sits in the catchment of the Walawe River, with terrain ranging from open grasslands to scrub dominated by formations comparable to those found in Yala National Park and Wilpattu National Park. The climate is influenced by the Southwest monsoon and the Northeast monsoon, producing a tropical dry zone regime noted by climatologists at the Meteorological Department (Sri Lanka), with mean annual rainfall patterns studied alongside data from Mahaweli River catchment models and satellite analyses by NASA and European Space Agency.
Vegetation communities include dry zone species such as Manilkara hexandra and Acacia auriculiformis in regenerating stands, plus riparian thickets along the reservoir comparable to habitats in Bundala National Park. The park supports large mammals including the Sri Lankan elephant, sambar deer, wild boar, and the Sri Lankan leopard—the latter subject to camera-trap studies by teams from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Born Free Foundation. Avifauna is diverse with records of Indian peafowl, Asian openbill, and migratory shorebirds comparable to those surveyed at Kumana National Park and Madu Ganga. Herpetofauna includes species akin to Indian star tortoise and water snakes studied by researchers from the Zoological Society of London and the University of Peradeniya. Entomologists from the Sri Lanka Entomological Society have documented Lepidoptera and Odonata communities paralleling inventories from Sinharaja Forest Reserve.
Management is led by the Department of Wildlife Conservation (Sri Lanka), with anti-poaching operations coordinated with the Sri Lanka Police and the Sri Lanka Army on occasion during joint responses to large-scale incidents. Conservation projects have received technical support from the IUCN, funding from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, and scientific input from the Smithsonian Institution. Community-based initiatives engage local stakeholders from villages represented by the Pradeshiya Sabha and collaborate with NGOs such as the Environmental Foundation Limited and Conservation International. Research monitoring includes long-term elephant population surveys using methods endorsed by the IUCN Species Survival Commission and spatial analysis employing GIS platforms developed by Esri and datasets shared with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
The park is a prominent destination for wildlife tourism promoted by operators registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and local tour agencies in Hambantota District. Safari options include guided jeep safaris run by licensed guides trained under programs linked to the Tourism Ministry (Sri Lanka), while visitor experiences are compared in travel guides by Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, and coverage in publications like National Geographic. Nearby heritage attractions such as the Mulkirigala Raja Maha Vihara and the Yala National Park circuit are commonly included in itineraries alongside boat excursions on the Udawalawe Reservoir.
Access to the park is via road links from Colombo, Galle, and Matara with the nearest rail service at Ella railway station and the closest airports being Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport. Visitor infrastructure comprises an on-site Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home rehabilitation facility managed in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Conservation (Sri Lanka) and international partners including Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Accommodation ranges from government-run resthouses to private lodges accredited by the Sri Lanka Tourism Authority, and research-support facilities have hosted projects from the Wildlife Conservation Society and university teams from University of Colombo.
Category:National parks of Sri Lanka Category:Protected areas established in 1972