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The research for ACIAR project 40 has led in part, to the research being carried out in this current series.

There has been little assessment of ecotourism operator compliance in Sri Lanka towards the ecotourism guidelines set by the International Ecotourism Society (IES). This study presents the results from a survey of a sample of 15 ecotourism/ecolodge operators chosen from seven selected locations in the four provinces of Sri Lanka. This study shows that there is lack of understanding about the true policies of ecotourism. The majority of operators in the sample seem to practice more of nature-based operations, whilst others have a combination of nature and adventurebased tourism, but not proper ecotourism. Moreover, there is no enthusiasm towards the practice of ecotourism in its true sense and the current situation of the country with a low number of tourists, too, contributes towards it. Some of the ecotourism practices were not evident as it was expensive to implement them, yet, the simpler cost effective practices, too, were not given much consideration. Thus, the overall findings of this study overwhelmingly suggest that the authorities of tourism industry and various other stakeholder groups and conservers should work hand in hand to develop innovative ecotourism programmes which will create a market for Sri Lanka as an ecotourist destination in the world.(JEL: Q55)

The survival of both Asian and African elephants has become increasingly critical. However, in many respects, the survival of the Asian elephant is more precarious than that of the African elephant. Throughout its range, the populations of Asian elephants have declined in recent decades while aggravating the conflict with human interests. This article examines the historical evidence about the abundance and geographical distribution of the Asian Elephant, and then discusses the economic, social and institutional dilemmas which are associated with conservation of elephants and mitigation of human-elephant conflict in Asia. The point is then highlighted and illustrated that new thinking about economic value strengthens the social case for the conserving the remaining populations of Asian elephants.