WDC signs MoU with Srilankan to signify whale watching

Sara Pathirana

Sri Lanka with the lightest possible footprint and officials from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDC) were in Sri Lanka to discuss the partnership with Srilankan Airlines, through the initiation of an MoU that was signed between WDC and Srilankan Airlines in November 2012, to promote and signify whale watching.

As the National Carrier, Srilankan Airlines not only focuses on making profit, but is also present to initiate programmes for good causes.

A presentation was held on Tuesday with the main focus of highlighting the importance of promoting global best practices and standards in Sri Lanka for local whale watching vessels and assist them with the conservation of whales and dolphins that Sri Lanka has been blessed with. Whale watching is a US$2.1 billion industry with 13 million watchers reported each year across 120 countries.

WDCs partnership with Srilankan stemmed from collaboration with photographer Andrew Sutton who discovered the resourceful beauty of Sri Lanka's seas and its inhabitants. WDC conducts campaigns internationally on a UN level, where the Organization lobbies with governments to raise awareness on national issues related to the conservation of whales and dolphins.

Srilankan will help raise awareness in turn, by means of onboard flight films, brochures and souvenirs for passengers. Steps have been taken to bring in a methodological management structure in the areas of Mirissa, Trincomalee and Kalpitiya, where the whole process would be initiated for the relevant communities to be encouraged and help take it forward.

With four respective campaigns forged through partnerships, advocacy and campaigning, outreach and research, WDC works solely to amplify the magnitude of unawareness when it comes to whale-watching for entertainment. "We want to help elevate the available resources and improve it further for maximizing the enjoyment of whale-watching through accurate information on safe handling of the boats to achieve a repeat business, happy whales and happy customers," Vanessa Williams-Grey, Head of WDC whale watching programme said.

"An important aspect of this programme is to build an educational and recreational experience with the involvement of local communities. WDC has worked with tourism agencies, governments and local whale watching communities around the globe and we want to establish the same entity, here in Sri Lanka and assist with protecting this species for our future generation. Proper instigation will open doors to opportunities for researchers to gather photo ID and information," Cynthia Walsh, Major Giving Manager-Corporate Partners for WDC acknowledged.

"For the media and tourism purposes of whale promoting, seas could get disturbed when trips are conducted and deaths have occurred due to ship strikes. Every whale that is killed by a ship is one whale less watched. The aim is to achieve objectives to engage with relevant stakeholders and develop a model for sustainable community based strategies that will in turn help with research for better understanding the whales, their travel and migrating patterns and their individual identities through photo ID and benign research," Walsh further added.