Wilpattu National Park establishes SOP to enhance visitor experiences

On 25 June 2021, the first-ever Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) manual for Wilpattu National Park was handed over to the Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Developed by the project ‘Supporting Wilpattu National Park and Influence Zone Management’ as a collaborative effort with the Department, the manual defines the individual roles and responsibilities of staff at park entrances, bungalows, resting areas, campsites, as well as volunteer guides and jeep drivers. 

As such, the management of the national park can monitor the correct execution of these roles to ensure visitors have an optimal experience, making operations efficient while protecting the wildlife and environment of the park. 
At the launch, Deputy Director, Visitor Services Management of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Chandani Wilson said, “This is the first time a national park in Sri Lanka is trying to establish SOPs, to provide a better and enhanced service for the park visitors. Depending on the outcome, this activity will be expanded into other national parks in the country.”  

The manual was produced by a team of experts in the field of wildlife conservation, tourism and visitor management, led by Channaka Jayasinghe, Radheeka Jirasinha and Chandika Jayaratne with the guidance of the Wilpattu National Park warden, Suranga Rathnayake.  The manual was distributed to all Wilpattu National Park staff (rangers, bungalow keepers, volunteer guides, jeep drivers) in June 2021.  In keeping with safety precautions around the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of online workshops were held from 20 to 21 July to help staff understand how to use the manual in their daily work. 

Technical Advisor for ‘Supporting Wilpattu National Park and Influence Zone Management’, Sampath Bandara, explained, “This was one of the recommended activities in the Wilpattu National Park Management Plan (2019-2024) under the ‘Visitor Services Management”. 

He further stated that a separate study would be conducted at a later stage to identify the impact of the Standard Operating Procedures on visitor satisfaction. 

The project ‘Supporting Wilpattu National Park and Influence Zone Management in Sri Lanka’ is implemented by the Department of Wildlife Conservation of the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation and the Deutsche Gesellschaftfür Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The project combines the conservation efforts within the Wilpattu National Park with the sustainable development of its influence zones. 

The project aims to improve Wilpattu National Park’s management capacity with emphasis on the Park Operations, Environmental and Visitor Use Programmes, in technical and specialist terms, in support of the Wilpattu National Park Management Plan (2019-2024).