Human-monkey conflicts reached crisis proportions in Sri Lanka over the last 10 years due to extensive deforestation to promote rapid economic growth and agricultural expansion.  This resulted in complaints from the public with demands for Sri Lanka’s Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) to solve the problem without delay.  Caught between political pressure and public outcry, the DWC’s efforts to deal with the crisis gradually fell into disarray.  To overcome this, the SPEARS Foundation--, offered to help the DWC to develop a strategic plan to deal with human-monkey conflicts.  This plan was developed through a series of workshops and submitted to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife in March 2016 for approval.  During and after the development of the strategy, some of its key elements were implemented by the SPEARS Foundation.  One of these elements was documenting details of human-monkey conflict from letters of complaint received by DWC.  This information was used to initiate a series of field surveys to identify sites suitable for long-term protection of monkeys and other wildlife.  When these areas are identified they would be designated as community conservation areas (CCAs), and managed by local stakeholders on a sustainable basis under the supervision of DWC.  Establishing CCAs is a new paradigm for Sri Lanka to conserve wildlife while benefitting local communities.  Its details were presented in the strategic plan submitted to the government.  In this paper, we present the information obtained from the letters of complaint received by DWC and discuss its details.  In subsequent reports, we will discuss the results of our field surveys to identify areas suitable for the establishment of CCAs.

Sri Lanka is a tropical nation within a zoogeographic zone that is at high risk for infectious disease emergence. In 2010, a study was conducted on the feasibility of enhancing capacity in Sri Lanka to manage wildlife diseases through the establishment of a national wildlife health centre. The Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre was assessed as a potential model for adaptation in Sri Lanka. Interviews and group meetings were conducted with potential key participants from the Sri Lankan Departments of Wildlife Conservation and Animal Production and Health, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of Peradeniya. In addition, site visits were made to potentially participating facilities and the literature on best practices in building scientific capacity was consulted. With strategic enhancements in education and training, additional personnel, improvements in transportation and diagnostic facilities, and central coordination, Sri Lanka appears very well positioned to establish a sustainable wildlife health centre and programme.

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