International Conference on Sri Lanka Studies (ICSLS)
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Item Contribution of Commonly used Medicinal Plants to the Natural Products Market in Sri Lanka(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Withanage, K.W.M.L.; Gunawardena, U.A.D.P.About 35% of the population in the country is primarily dependent on Ayurveda and traditional systems of health care. However, the economic values of medicinal plants have not yet been established leading to non -recognition of their values which lead to inefficient level of conservation. The main goal of the research was to investigate how the medicinal plants contribute to the natural product market. It is achieved through two specific objectives. The first is determination of market value of commonly used medicinal plants used in Ayurvedic drug preparation industries and secondly, determination of market value of commonly used medicinal plants in Ayurvedic retail sale centres. A mail survey was conducted using structured questionnaires for Ayurvedic drug preparation units and a face to face interview has been carried out for retail centres. Data was gathered by retail sale shops in seven districts and 10% from each were surveyed. A sensitivity analysis on the result revealed the economic value of medicinal plants for Ayurvedic drug preparation units. According to the results, the annual economic value of medicinal plants which are used in drug production units was Rs. 53.33 million and the value for retail sale centres was Rs. 49.35 million. The total annual national economic value of medicinal plants was Rs.102.69 million. A sensitivity analysis on production and tax increase on imported medicinal plants reveal that a considerable amount of foreign exchange could be saved in the future, if conservation and planting programmes were carried out. The estimated value is considered to be an underestimation since some multiple values of certain medicinal plants such as food, spice and non-use values, and the value of some plants as household remedies have not been included in the above estimate. Such economic values on medicinal plants will, however, provide important criteria for formulation of policy decisions to manage and conserve the medicinal plantsItem Environmental values for Decision Making: A Review of Travel Cost Method Applications in Sri Lanka(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Kularathne, M.A.T.R.; Gunawardena, U.A.D.P.The travel cost method places a money value on recreational sites by estimating the costs of consuming the services of that place. Almost all the parks and protected areas of the country have been subjected to travel cost valuation exercises. However, majority of these studies lacks fundamental considerations of the method leading to questions on the validity of the provided estimates. The present paper reviews different applications of travel cost method in Sri Lanka and with a view of improving the accuracy of the estimates. For the review, the available travel cost studies have been screened with a view to identify the common problems inherent to these studies. After comparing 12 studies, the following has been recognized as the main problems: limited variables in the travel cost function, low R2 values and different consumer surpluses for similar recreational sites. The present review then selected five applications of travel cost method and compared the methodology adopted, statistical and analytical approaches, in detail against the state of the art. Travel cost studies of Hakkgala Botanical Garden, Sinharaja World Heritage site, Yala National Park, Wasgamuwa National Park, Udawaththekele Royal National Park have been used for the analysis. Results of the study showed that most of studies have not considered issues and biases that are common in the information gathering (time period, language, visitor type), defining and estimation of total travel cost, opportunity cost of time. Statistical validities of the estimated equations have given only low priority. Majority of the studies failed to address the most common shortcomings of the method. The presence of such problems means that the estimated values are either under or over estimates of the correct values of the recreational sites. It is recommended therefore to include a sensitivity analysis which includes the possible changes of the final estimates with regards to the variables mentioned above. However, it was obvious that errors could have been minimized if the proper sampling and the standard guidelines of the method had been adopted. If the consumer surplus values of recreational sites to be used in guiding decision making, it is extremely important that correct addressing of such issues and a set of guidelines regarding such issues are followed in order to improve the validity of the estimates.Item Alternatives to Power Crisis: Economics of Two Dendropower Plants in Sri Lanka(University of Kelaniya, 2005) Chaturika, G.D.P.N.; Gunawardena, U.A.D.P.Dendropower is a variety of thermal power generated using fuel wood as the raw material for producing thermal energy or electricity as the final output. Dendropower can be proposed as an option to the existing power crisis in Sri Lanka. However, proper economic analysis of dendropower plant has not yet been carried out hindering the replication of such projects. The present study evaluates the viability of two selected dendropower plants in Sri Lanka using Cost Benefit Analysis. Data collection was done by questionnaire surveys, personal communication and with the use of secondary data sources. A power plant with a capacity of 5kW was operated under the management of a Community Based Organization in an off grid area in Moneragala district (Case1) and a power plant with a capacity of 3.5kW operated was under a private ownership in a high yielding coconut estate which were selected as two study sites. Both power plants produce electricity by gasification and internal combustion engine technologies using in-situ grown Gliricidia sepium sticks. The major costs of both projects were initial costs of power plant installation, operational and maintenance costs. The major benefits of case 1 were crop protection from wild animals and electricity benefit and major benefits of case 2 were fertilizer substitution benefit from gliricidia leaves and electricity benefit. For the calculations, it was assumed that the net carbon dioxide emission was close to zero at both sites. According to the results, case 1 is viable with a NPV of Rs.- 1,195,777.42 and the case two is viable with a positive NPV of Rs. 1,063,459.94 at 10% discount rate for 20 year period of time. Both cases are viable from the economic point of view even with a 10% increase of total cost and a 10% reduction in total benefits. The study recommends that the dendropower plants are viable ventures from economic point of view where enough lands are available to grow sustainably grown fuel wood.