National park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s are a class of

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and are administered by the Department of Wildlife Conservation. National parks are governed by the ''Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (No. 2) of 1937'' and may be created, amended or abolished by

ministerial order A ministerial decree or ministerial order is a decree by a Ministry (government department), ministry. With a ministerial decree the administrative department is delegated the task to impose a formal judgement or mandate. Ministerial decrees are u ...

. All of the land in national parks are state-owned and the entire

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is protected. Activities prohibited in national parks include hunting, killing or removing any wild animal; destroying eggs/nests of birds and reptiles; disturbing of wild animals; interfering in the breeding of any animal; felling/damaging of any plant; breaking up land for cultivation/mining/other purpose; kindling/carrying of fire; and possessing/using any trap/explosive/poison to damage animal or plant life. Visitors are allowed to enter national parks but only for the purpose of observing flora and fauna and with a permit. There are currently 26 national parks which together cover an area of .

National parks

References

External links

Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka
{{Geography of Sri Lanka

National parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...