Summary

Wetlands supply a diversity of goods and services to humans, such as water regulation, water supply, water treatment, food, refuge, recreational and cultural services. The abuse of these ecosystem services as a byproduct of recreational activities can be counter-productive by habitat degradation and disturbance or displacement of native birds that are considered endemic components of any natural reserve and also classic attractions for tourists.

One of the key issues that need to be addressed in bird conservation in coastal wetlands that are subjected to human visitation is, whether the human recreational disturbances would decrease the probability of habitat occupancy by birds, and if so, what species are likely to be most affected. As recreational activities in PAs are frequently cited as one of the principal issue of concern in biodiversity conservation, a proper understanding of the relationship between human recreational disturbances and their impacts on birds is essential in effective conservation and recreational planning in PAs those are particularly subjected to high visitor pressure. Furthermore, such knowledge would be highly valuable in designing and planning effective visitor management strategies, set appropriate visitor policies/guidelines as well as setting buffer zones to minimize potential recreational disturbances on birds (Rodgers and Schwikert 2002; Blumstein et al. 2003; Fernandez-Juricic et al. 2004). Despite the importance of understanding possible impacts of human disturbances on avifauna, scientific evidences to assess the extent of this impact are limited in literature, especially for birds in tropical regions. In order to bridge this information gap, this study investigated the effects of human recreational disturbances on the distribution and abundance of waterbirds along a highly visited nature trail in two coastal estuarine systems in Sri Lanka. To demonstrate the impact of recreational activities on bird behaviour, this study specifically investigates how the recreational disturbances affect foraging behaviour of waders inhabiting coastal estuaries.

In order to achieve a balance between human recreational uses of coastal wetlands and effective biodiversity conservation, it is necessary to implement appropriate visitor management and recreation planning strategies. For this, a proper understanding on visitor characteristics, attitudes, visitor motivations and behaviours are highly important. Hence, this study is further focused on developing motivational and behavioral profiles of visitors to coastal wetland recreational attractions in Sri Lanka, and attempts to provide recommendations to effectively accommodate the dual mandates of conservation and recreation in coastal wetlands.

Objectives

With rising demand for nature-based tourism, natural ecosystems are becoming under greater pressure due to increased human visitations. Coastal wetlands in Sri Lanka are particularly being promoted as ecotourism destinations. However, in order to develop coastal wetlands as ecotourism destinations, a comprehensive understanding on visitors and their impacts on the ecosystem is vital. Hence. This study is designed to achieve following objectives to facilitate better recreational planning in wetlands.

• Determine the changes in bird richness, abundance and habitat use of waterbirds due to human recreational disturbances in selected coastal wetland systems.

• Evaluate differential responses of waterbirds caused by human recreational disturbances

• Identify attitudes, motivations and behavioral characteristics of visitors to wetland ecotourism destinations in Sri Lanka

• Developing motivational-behavioral profiles of visitors to wetland ecotourism destinations in Sri Lanka