Economic Valuation of the Environmental Resources in the Rekawa Lagoon of Southern Sri Lanka

Abstract

Rekawa Lagoon is a valuable coastal resource in Southern Sri Lanka. Stakeholders of Rekawa rely heavily on this natural resource base for their livelihood. This paper focuses on economic valuation of Rekawa lagoon with the aim of highlighting the importance of conserving this valuable natural resource in Sri Lanka. Two valuation techniques were used; the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to assess the Non-extractive use values and the Market-Based Method to estimate the extractive use values of the lagoon. Data were obtained mainly from questionnaire surveys; Household Survey with a random sample of people from Rekawa West Grama Niladari division and an Individual Survey with a random sample of tourists visiting the Rekawa area were carried out. Results revealed that the majority (40% ) of the households in the Rakawa west area were engaged in lagoon fishing and seasonal marine fishing. Most of them (2 5 %) earned incomes below Rs.5,000 per month. The lagoon has the potential of generating a number of non-extractive values; from activities such as, bird watching, mangrove watching boat tours, fishing and Ayurvedic treatment. As Rekawa is a place of tourist attraction, these recreational activities could easily create new livelihood opportunities for stakeholders in Rekawa. Although the Rekawa lagoon is a valuable coastal resource, the effectiveness of the existing management regime in exploiting the potential of the resources to empower human wellbeing is low. Thus, action should be taken to introduce proper management measures to ensure sustainable use of the lagoon resources.