Request for Proposal (RFP) and Terms of References (TOR) for Survey Companies
1. OBJECTIVES
Nature-based tourism (NBT) in Sri Lanka has emerged as a significant sector within the broader tourism industry, leveraging the country's rich biodiversity and unique ecosystems. The potential for NBT is particularly pronounced given Sri Lanka's status as a biodiversity hotspot, which includes a variety of endemic species and diverse habitats ranging from coastal areas to mountainous regions. This sector not only attracts international tourists but also plays a crucial role in the conservation of natural resources and the empowerment of local communities. One of the key aspects of NBT in Sri Lanka is its ability to generate economic benefits for local communities and NBT is a strong lever development goals while promoting biodiversity conservation. In many countries, visitor entrance fees, tourism concessions and leasing fees, and other financial mechanisms account for a substantial proportion of the budgets of protected and other conservation areas. By stimulating investment and economic activity in nature-based tourism, benefits can be shared with local communities, strengthening their incentive to support and engage in conservation, which may otherwise create opportunity costs for them, for example, in the form of destruction of mangroves or over-fishing.
This study seeks to understand if NBT in a substantial way can contribute to economic benefits to coastal communities. It will inform the World Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) on policy and investment action to enhance management of coastal natural capital. It is part of a series of analytics that will seek to identify opportunities to (i) integrate NBT into sectoral investments in fragile coastal areas to build resilience of livelihoods, assets, and infrastructure and (ii) explore green growth opportunities for creation of green jobs and income generation especially targeting urban and rural poor and women through restoration and wise use of coastal natural capital.
2. OVERALL APPROACH
Survey areas
A.2. Selected Coastal Areas
Based on the following selection criteria, 3 coastal landscapes (CLs) have been proposed for the suggested analysis.
ยท Patterns of overuse (fishing, agriculture, tourism) โ natural capital degradation.
ยท Potential for future development (aquaculture, tourism) โ green growth and job creation trajectory.
ยท Biodiversity value and uniqueness โ conservation value / natural capital / cultural ecosystems.
ยท Availability of data and studies โ historical trends of degradation and improvement.
a) Kelani River mouth to the Maha-Oya estuary
ยท This is about 36 km of shore length area.
ยท This coastal landscape includes the Muturajawela marsh (the largest peat bog in SL and a wildlife sanctuary), Negombo lagoon and two estuaries, sandstone reefs, lagoon/estuarine mangroves, sandy shore vegetation.
ยท Lagoon and coastal fishery are intensely practiced, several tourism clusters around Negombo, Waikkal, Marawila areas, aquaculture is practiced but not a main land use.
ยท Highly biodiverse shoreline but has been under severe threat from population concentration, industrial development and urban sprawl.
ยท River, rain flooding, coastal erosion, coastal pollution are key issues.
b) Jaffna Peninsuala and the Jaffna islands
ยท This coastal landscape includes the very productive Jaffna lagoon (largest in Sri Lanka), associated mangroves, coastal mud flats, salt marshes and some coral reefs. The Jaffna peninsula is on a bird migratory pathway and includes two wildlife sanctuaries. This is a highly biodiverse shoreline.
ยท Lagoon and coastal fishery are intensely practiced, tourism is mainly around Jaffna but starting to expand beyond the town and aquaculture is becoming a predominant resource user.
ยท GoSL targets increased aquaculture production in the Northern Province, wind and solar energy production. Several wind and solar farms already exist. Intense agriculture is also practiced that has led to depletion and deterioration of groundwater and its quality.
ยท Northern province has a high risk to climate change โ coastal flooding and inundation risk in the future is high due it being a flat land with low elevation.
c) Panama-Arugam Bay
ยท The complex encompasses the Northern periphery of Kumana National Park, spanning diverse ecosystems such as dry monsoon forests, grasslands, freshwater wetlands, and coastal lagoons.
ยท The area is characterized by low-density tourism infrastructure, community-driven homestays and nature-based experiences
ยท While less commercialized than park core zones, unregulated tourism in rural areas risks habitat fragmentation and disturbance to wildlife corridors
ยท Expansion of farmland and informal settlements encroach on buffer zones, exacerbating human-wildlife conflicts.
ยท Rural homestays in Panama already provide income for local households through immersive cultural exchanges
Survey delivery
A.3.3. Sample frames
The firm will be responsible for collecting data from the appropriate source of sample frames: the list of tourists types, lodges, restaurants, agricultural producers, non-agricultural producers (tourist services) and other non-agricultural producers (retailers, other services, non-service businesses), resource extraction producers (e.g., fishers), lists containing poor and non-poor households from which the sample is to be extracted.
The sampling exercise consists of the actual selection of these groups and surveying them either individually or in focus groups. This will be carried out by the firm under the supervision of IFPRI.
A.3.4. Sample size
The number of tourists, lodges, restaurants, agricultural and non-agricultural tourism, non-agricultural producers, resource extraction producers, poor and non-poor households and the CLs are as follows:
ACTOR OR ENTITY
SAMPLE
1.
Park manager / Department of wildlife employee
Budget and entrance fees to Yala National Park, Chundikkulam and Jaffna National Parks
Community projects for each of the parks
2.
Tourists
300 tourists randomly selected from different locations (hotel or lodge, park entrance, port or airport boarding, and so on)
100 questionnaires per CL
3.
Hotels and lodges
60 hotels, lodges, homestays, hostels selected randomly from a list of properties
20 hotels per CL, including five units per hotel category (4 to 5 stars; 2 to 3 stars, 1 star/bed and breakfast, and others)