Mudalige, U. and Carver, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-4202-8234 (2024) Unveiling Sri Lanka’s Wilderness: GIS-Based Modelling of Wilderness Attributes. Land, 13 (4). 402. ISSN 2073-445X
Abstract
This research presents the first detailed national wilderness mapping project conducted in Sri Lanka, aiming to identify and assess the spatial distribution of wilderness areas in the country. The study utilises a GIS-based Wilderness Quality Index (WQI), incorporating three main wilderness attributes: remoteness from public roads, absence of modern human interventions, and naturalness of land cover. The resulting wilderness quality map reveals several areas of high wilderness quality distributed throughout the country, with exceptions in the highly populated western region, where roads and built structures have significant impact. The research highlights the spatial correlation between the distribution of wilderness areas and protected areas, indicating that nearly all wilderness areas in Sri Lanka fall within the boundaries of existing protected areas. However, core wilderness areas outside existing protected areas, termed de facto wilderness areas, constitute a significant portion (19.7%) of total wilderness, raising concerns about their conservation status. The study emphasises the need for further evaluation to assess the ecological and landscape value of these areas and suggests new protected area boundaries. The wilderness quality map developed here provides policymakers with a valuable tool for future conservation planning, enabling informed decision making to preserve and protect Sri Lanka’s diverse and unique wilderness areas.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | wilderness; Wilderness Quality Index; Sri Lanka; protected areas |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Centre for Spatial Analysis & Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2024 11:19 |
Last Modified: | 29 Apr 2024 11:19 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/land13040402 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:211965 |