A Study on Social Conservation and Problems Occurred due to Developmental Programs and Environmental Regulations

Abstract

Sri Lankan Veddah's community is a community which had strong relationship with the environmental resources of Sri Lanka for thousands of years so that it is been recognized as a very specific social community globally. The rights of the Veddah community are currently threatened directly and indirectly due to developmental processes and activities of the major community. This study is mainly focused on social, economical and cultural transitions and their subsequent problems. Rathugala aboriginal community is a community' displaced due to the Senanavaka Tank project and separated from their homeland and resettled in another area and which is considered as a highly unmerited veddah community. This study was focused to identify the conflicts between indigenous people and environment conservation strategies in Rathugala which is situated in Province of Uva in Madulla DS division. Its geographical coordinates are 7° 19' North and 80° 47’ East. It belongs to the dry zone in Sri Lanka. Using the random sampling technique, a study population was selected consisting of 50% of the total 110 veddah families in the area. In addition, 20 families were randomly selected out of the agricultural community in the area for the comparative analysis. The study was carried out using primary and secondary data and the data were collected using questionnaires, interviews and observations. GIS was applied for identification of spatial variation and statistical analysis of data was carried out using the Minitab 17 version.