‘Elephant Watching’ for Mitigating Human-Elephant Conflict: A Case Study in Sri Lanka

The ongoing Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Sri Lanka results in the death of more than 300 elephants every year. Although HEC mitigation plans are in place, the mitigation measures are not always implemented due to fund limitations. In the present study, the visitor demand for HEC mitigation strategies as the visitors’ willingness to pay a conservation tax at park level has been estimated which could be used for implementing HEC mitigation measures to conserve elephants in the wild. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted at three national parks presenting different options for mitigating HEC. The study found LKR 112.11, LKR 85.38 and LKR 95.37 (1USD = LKR 180) as the maximum conservation tax that visitors were willing to pay for conserving elephants at the Minneriya (MNP), Wasgamuwa (WNP), and Udawalawe (UNP) National Parks which are located in the North Central, Central and Southern Provinces, respectively, in Sri Lanka. These economic values constitute useful and reliable information for policy makers in determining appropriate entrance fees for visitors to national parks including a conservation tax for mitigating HEC.