ODEL steps up to save animals of Yala with high profile conservation awareness campaign

• Iconic fashion retailer to promote responsible behaviour with signboards in national park and a new ‘Luv SL’ collection

The tragic deaths of several magnificent specimens of wildlife in the Yala National Park has spurred ODEL to launch ‘Value LIFE – Preserve YALA’ – a high profile campaign to remind visitors about the dictates of responsible behaviour and etiquette within the reserve’s boundaries in a bid to save lives and minimise adverse impacts on fauna and flora.

Sri Lanka’s leading fashion retail brand will produce and install more than 50 signboards along the routes frequently used by sightseers with key messages covering the dos and don’ts of visiting a nature reserve, and support the initiative with a mass media awareness campaign on the importance of respecting the habitat and its rightful inhabitants.

ODEL will also make it possible for customers to be part of this World Animal Day 2015 project by launching a new collection of clothing, accessories and stationery exclusively linked to its campaign under its ‘Luv SL’ label, and set aside part of the sales proceeds for the cause.

“Protecting the animals of Yala from irresponsible and ignorant visitors has become an urgent priority,” said Desiree Karunaratne, Group Marketing Director of Softlogic Holdings, under which company the ODEL retail chain operates. “But Yala is just the beginning of a larger, longer term commitment by ODEL to inculcate the true values of experiencing and appreciating Sri Lanka’s wildlife among visitors to nature reserves in different parts of the country. As a leader in fashion and lifestyle retail, we believe ODEL can play an effective role in influencing people to follow the guidelines of the  Department of Wildlife Conservation when they visit locations such as Yala, Wilpattu, Minneriya, Wasgamua, Weerawila and Bundala to name a few.”

Department of Wildlife Conservation Director General H.D. Ratnayake said: “We deeply appreciate the initiative taken by Odel to support the department’s efforts to ensure that our country’s nature reserves are protected for future generations. The passion and commitment of corporate entities like Odel is an example to others and should hopefully inspire visitors to comply with the prescribed guidelines when visiting our national parks.”

The erection of 4’ x 4’ signboards with guidelines at Yala will take place during the closure of the park from 7 September to 7 October, and is to be completed by 4 October when World Animal Day is celebrated around the globe. The signboards, with messages such as: ‘Animals crossing. Drive slow’, ‘Do not get down from the vehicle’, ‘Do not feed the animals’, ‘Smoking and consumption of alcohol is prohibited’, ‘Do not litter the park’, ‘Do not honk’, ‘Speed limit 25km’, and ‘Unauthorised entry is prohibited’, are to be located along key routes into the two visitation zones of the park and at the entrances. Every board will also have the number of a hotline for visitors to report anything untoward they witness.

The simultaneous launch of the Luv SL ‘Value LIFE – Preserve YALA’ collection will see an exciting new range of T-shirts for ladies, gents and kids, cloth bags, caps and hats, sarongs, mugs, magnets, key chains, notebooks, book marks and other souvenir items bearing the campaign’s imagery and slogans reaching the shelves of ODEL’s eight Luv SL stores in Sri Lanka.

Additionally, the décor of the atrium lobby of ODEL’s flagship store at Alexandra Place is to undergo a thematic change, with a striking eight-foot high structure that includes a three-dimensional depiction of a leopard on a rock taking pride of place to represent the company’s World Animal Day project.

Yala, which combines a strict nature reserve with a national park, was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and declared a national park in 1938. It is home to 44 varieties of mammal and 215 bird species, and has a leopard density that is higher than anywhere else on the planet. Divided into five blocks, the park has a protected area of nearly 130,000 hectares of land consisting of light forest, scrub, grassland, tanks and lagoons. Besides leopard, Yala is famous for majestic elephants, sloth bears, sambhur, jackals, spotted dear, peacocks, and crocodiles.

A household name in fashion and accessories retail that attracts unprecedented footfall, ODEL is part of the Softlogic Group, one of Sri Lanka’s fastest – growing diversified conglomerates with business interests in Retail, Healthcare, Financial Services, ICT, Leisure and Automobiles.