Eng V R Sena Peiris Director National Cleaner Production Centre Sri Lanka

1. Empowering Villages through Sustainable Tourism A Success Story from Sri Lanka Eng V R Sena Peiris Director National Cleaner Production Centre Sri Lanka

2. Sri Lanka • Island situated South of India • Recognized as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean • 65,000 square kilometers of land • 20 million population • Rated as an island with very high bio diversity • A popular tourist attraction with many valuable sites

3. Conventional Tourism Is based on conventional assets: sun & sea Exploits the natural resources until they are degraded Run by large Tourist Operators Leads to erosion of socio cultural values Does not provide any benefit to community Therefore popular tourism is not supported by common masses

4. Sustainable Tourism Based on natural and cultural assets/heritage of the region Built on Community participation Benefits Community Protects and conserve the environment, society and natural assets

5. This case study shows how empowering community lead to sustainability in tourism industry Kandalama Hotel was built on the embankment of Kandalama reservoir amidst protests from environmentalists, politicians and village community • KH is Situated 170 km away from Colombo in a • rural setting surrounded by Several villages • The people in these villages lived by agriculture • The people were living close to poverty level • No other development projects were in place

6. Issues Raised during Protests Fragile Environment Water in Kandalama Reservoir will be polluted Fauna & Flora will be endangered Community losses its Agricultural land People losses its livelihood Tourists will Destroy the values of Society

7. How the Change Took Place • For few years the relationship between the hotel and community was strained • There were no organized activities to win the community and other pressure groups • Only big operators were harvesting benefits • However the hotel recruited a few employees from the nearby villages as trainees

8. Environment Conservation lead the way • The hotel had to ensure the waste water discharged was of higher quality than water found in the reservoir • They had no place to dispose solid wastes • Pollution of air through emissions as dust, odour or fumes was not possible Therefore the hotel had to start a comprehensive Environmental/Resource Management program

9. Cleaner Production came to the Rescue • The hotel initiated a Cleaner production/ resource efficiency program • Water use was optimized & waste water is recycled 100% • Solid wastes minimized and but what was generated is segregated to 16 categories • Introduced 7R program (( Reject, Reduce, Reuse, Reclaim, Replace, Repair, Recycle) • All bio degradable wastes composted for use as a soil conditioner

10. Community Involvement begins.. • The hotel management decided to buy fruits and vegetables from the nearby farmers to reduce the carbon footprint • Encouraged others to become suppliers of various products • Decided as a policy to recruit several village youth as trainees for different departments

11. Relationships Improved • The community found that Kandalama Hotel is not a threat to them but a blessing • The hotel initiated several programs to improve relationships • Schools were provided facilities and training • Health conditions were improved by supporting the hospital • Environmental Education and conservation drives were launched

12. Aspects addressed by the Hotel for Improvement • Basic Infrastructure • Improving Health Services to Community • Assistance to Improve Education • Creating Environmental Awareness among Villagers • Generating Employment Opportunities • Promotion of Micro Enterprises in the Villages to Supply goods to hotel • Training of Village Youth • Promotion of Micro Enterprises using wastes

13. Improving Basic Infra-Structure in the Villages

14. Assistance to Improve Health Services

15. Assistance to Schools

16. Tree Planting campaign in Villages

17. Recycled Paper Plant using Elephant dung

18. Frequent Visitor • Kandalama hotel has started a service to provide medical treatment to wounded wild animals • This has resulted in many animals returning to hotel regularly after returning to normal life

19. Benefits of Partnerships • Kandalama hotel provides employment to several youth in the nearby villages • Several village youth trained at Kandalama hotel are employed in other hotels in the country and abroad at different levels including managerial positions • Three such youth trained and employed at the Kandalama hotel are senior managers • All the schools in the area visit the hotel to study the ecological conservation and good housekeeping practices

20. Benefits of Partnership) (continued) • The divisional secretariat working very closely with the hotel has started a drive called greening Dambulla (nearby city)together with the hotel • Villagers supply most of the day to day requirements of the hotel such as fruits, vegetables, milk etc. • Small and Micro industries nearby buy/collect segregated waste as their raw material.

21. Today • The community trust the hotel has enhanced their quality of life • The Environment is conserved better than what it was • If any pressure group tries to close the hotel the community will rally against it

22. Hotel Achievements • Kandalama hotel has obtained ISO 9001,ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and Green Globe certification • It has won many national and international awards for its excellent achievements as a green hotel and contribution to enhance the Economy, Environment and Society

23. New Horizons • The entire hotel chain of Kandalama Hotel (Aitken Spence Group) now follows this philosophy • Many popular hotels in rural settings too have resorted to empowering communities through which they enhance the quality of life of villages and in return communities protect them • Sustainable Tourism is fast gaining better recognition than conventional tourism

24. The End Ayubowan- May You Live Long We invite you to visit Small Miracle The Earth Lung That is Sri Lanka