SriLankan launches Whale and Dolphin Conservation project
SriLankan Airlines has announced the launch of Project BLUEprint in
partnership with Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), UK.
The airline and wildlife charity will work together to jointly
develop a community-based responsible whale and dolphin watching
industry off the coast of Sri Lanka and encourage responsible behaviour
amongst local boat tour operators.
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WDC trustee Johnny Reed and Chairman
SriLankan Nishantha Wickremasinghe
at the event |
As well as raising awareness at a community level, SriLankan Airlines
will be showing a film by Philip Hoare and Andrew Sutton, on board the
flights to highlight the WDC partnership.
The airline will raise money for the charity through the on-board
sale of plush whales, with all profits going to WDC. The partnership
will engage local stakeholders and wildlife tourism industries which
will help to fund and promote project BLUEprint.
Sri Lanka is one of the best countries in the world in which to enjoy
whale watching, with a variety of blue whales, sperm whales and 25 other
cetacean species to be seen. However, these beautiful creatures are
increasingly threatened and endangered by a combination of
irresponsible, unregulated whale watching and ship strikes.
To combat this, project BLUEprint aims to raise awareness, provide
training and scientific support to the burgeoning industry so that
whales can continue to inhabit the waters and a responsible industry can
benefit local people.
Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nisantha Wickremasinghe, comments:
'We are proud to be associated with the WDC initiative and look forward
to embarking upon this project together. Raising awareness and educating
the local community about responsible whale watching is of utmost
importance in ensuring sustainable tourism. We are keen to relay the
eco-tourism messages to our passengers and will be showing a video about
the partnership on all our flights.
'The government of Sri Lanka has presented the legislation to
parliament under the fauna and flora protection ordinance to enforce
strict guidelines.'
Vanessa Williams-Grey, responsible whale watching programme manager
at Whale and Dolphin Conservation, says: 'Sri Lanka has the potential to
be one of the top destinations in the world for watching blue whales but
achieving the coveted 'gold standard' requires the highest standards
across the board. Currently, provision is patchy, but WDC believes that
areas such as Mirissa will benefit from the development of
community-based whale watching.
Partners associated with the project include Jetwing Hotels and
Keells Hotel Management.
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