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TITLE
Green Tourism in Mountain Regions - Reducing Vulnerability and Promoting
People and Place AUTHOR R. B. Singh,and D. K. Mishra Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007, India, E-mail: singhrb@ndf.vsnl.net.in / rbsgeo@hotmail.com SOURCE Journal of Mountain Science Vol 1 No 1 (2004): 57-64 http://www.imde.ac.cn/journal Article ID: 1672-6316 (2004) 01-0057-08 ABSTRACT In recent years, mountain regions are attracting great attention to Indian tourists in general and foreign tourists in particular. The potential mountain resources for promoting green tourism are enormous in the form of natural and cultural heritage such as biosphere reserves, flora and fauna, lakes and rivers and traditional rural resources. In order to utilize tourism industry market, uncontrolled numbers of tourists and related haphazard infrastructural facilities in the vulnerable mountain regions pose serious environmental implications. The ecological pressures are threatening land, water and wild life resources through direct and indirect environmental impacts together with generation of solid and liquid wastes, so green tourism is emerging as an important task in order to develop new relationship between communities, government agencies and private sectors. The strategy focuses on ecological understanding, environmental protection and ecodevelopment. The major attributes of the green tourism include environmental conservation and education and distribution of income to local people based on strong partnership. Various knowledge systems go a long way for achieving the goals of the green tourism, which creates awareness about the value of environmental resources. Mountains have ecological, recreational, educational and scientific values, which need to be utilized in sustainable way. Various tourist activities and facilities need to be diversified in order to achieve multiple benefits including scientific field excursion, recreation in natural and cultural areas, community festivals and sport tourisms. Green tourism considers tourism development as an integral part of a national and regional development. The paper discusses the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the green tourism with particular reference to village tourism development programme taking empirical evidences from the Himalaya. Such programme also minimizes biophysical and human vulnerability and risks in mountain regions. The environmental consciousness campaign and introduction of code through multi- purpose Tourist Resource Centres are gaining currency in above context. Keyword Mountain region; green tourism; development programme; Kullu Himalayas
TITLE Conflict in Paradise: Women and Protected Areas in the Indian Himalayas AUTHOR Ruchi Badola, S.A. Hussain SOURCE MRD Abstracts Vol. 23.3, 219-221 ABSTRACT The unique assemblages of flora and fauna in the Himalayan region make it one of the most important biodiversity hotspots on the Indian subcontinent. Seventy-five protected areas (PA’s) encompassing 9.48% of the region have been created to conserve this biodiversity and the fragile Himalayan landscape. However, this has engendered conflicts between PA management and local communities that suffer from restrictions on access to biomass resources. When resource use in PA’s is prohibited, the implications of the conflict are more severe for local women, who bear the burden of day-to-day survival. Initiatives to empower women are hampered by women’s lack of education and skills and by low self esteem resulting from their marginalization by sociocultural taboos. Incentives are needed to promote meaningful participation by women in biodiversity conservation initiatives Keywords Protected areas; management conflicts; women; participation; biodiversity conservation; Himalayas; India
TITLE The conceptual connections between Biosphere
Reserves and
sacred landscapes: AUTHOR P.S. Ramakrishnan,School of Environmental Sciences Jawaharlal Nehru University ,New Delhi 110067, India SOURCE Global Changes and Protected Areas Symposium - Received Abstracts
ABSTRACT
The concept of the 'sacred' as a mechanism for conserving biodiversity and
natural resources is something which dates back to antiquity in the Asian
tropics. This concept has also been a powerful tool for conserving biodiversity,
effectively linking conservation with livelihood concerns of traditional
societies (indigenous societies living closer to nature and natural resources)
in many other parts of the world too, where traditional societies live. Whilst
the concept of the 'sacred grove' - an ecosystem type being conserved for
cultural or religious reasons is well known, social evolution seems to have
occurred in two different directions. Societal evolutionary process leading to
condensation resulted in the concept of the 'sacred species', that are
culturally valued; and elaboration lead to the concept of the 'sacred
landscape', often referred to also as the 'cultural landscape'. I argue that the
concept of the 'sacred landscape' has embedded with in it the other two, namely
the 'sacred groves' and the 'sacred species'. I further argue that the concept
of the 'biosphere reserve' as an equally powerful tool in the modern context,
represents 'an old wine in a new bottle', being in many ways a rediscovery of
the 'sacred landscape'.
TITLE Environmental and human impact on coastal
and marine protected areas
in India AUTHOR Ramasamy Krishnamoorthy,Institute for Ocean Management Post Bag No: 5327, College of Engineering ANNA UNIVERSITY Madras (Chennai) 600025, India SOURCE Global Changes and Protected Areas Symposium - Received Abstracts ABSTRACT The Indian coastline is about 7500 kms in length and characterised by the occurrence of number of national parks and protected areas. The Gulf of Mannar Marine Biosphere Reserve is located in the Southeast coast of India. Based on the analysis of multidate remote sensing data, the degradation sites and hot spot areas have been identified. After the extensive ground truth work, the major driving forces for the degradation of resources have been classified. The study concludes that the technology tools like remote sensing and GIS are more suitable to map and monitor the resources in marine biosphere, national parks and protected areas with reasonable accuracy and also found to be cost-effective. This paper has been aimed to highlight the suitable sensor data and techniques to study such protected areas. The major causes i.e. environmental and human induced activities and its driving forces for degradation were analyzed in this study.
TITLE Tourism and Forest management in India: the role of the state in limiting Tourism development AUTHOR Kevin Hannam ,School of Arts Design, Media and Culture University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK SOURCE Tourism Geographies, Volume 6, Number 3 / August 2004 ABSTRACT This paper considers the intersection of tourism and forest management in India. It is demonstrated that there are major conflicts between the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Ministry of Environment and Forests at both discursive and material levels. The network of power relations between and within tourism and forestry as distinct parts of the state apparatus in India is, thus, conceptualized. It is argued that one ultimately needs to understand the role of the state in more analytical depth if one is to understand tourism development properly. The paper is based upon qualitative research at a variety of locations in India in 1998, 2001 and 2003. It is concluded that one part of the Indian state apparatus, in particular–the Indian Forest Service–ultimately has control over and limits tourism development strategies in rural areas, especially in Indian national parks. Keywords Tourism Development, Forest Management, State Power, National Parks, India
TITLE Wetlands and Lakes at the Top of the World AUTHOR Biksham Gujja, Archana Chatterjee, Parikshit Gautam, Pankaj Chandan SOURCE MRD Abstracts Vol. 23.3, 255-262 ABSTRACTS The Hindu Kush–Himalayan Mountains extend 3500 km, cover 3.5 million km2, and include parts of 8 countries. They are home to many spectacular lakes and wetlands, a major source of water and regulators of water storage. Eighty-four peaks above 7300 m and innumerable others over 6000 m are interspersed with thousands of lakes and wetlands, some of which are rich in biodiversity and are home to rare species. Whereas the mountains have attracted attention, there is very little documentation on water bodies in the region. Some lakes are above 5000 m. Conservation of these fragile ecosystems is important, particularly in an era of international tourism, climate change, and mega projects in the region Keywords Protected areas; water; high wetlands; ecosystem conservation; tourism; Ladakh; Hindu Kush-Himalaya, India.
TITLE Use and Abuse of Tourism: The Goan Experience AUTHOR Natasha Brammer and John Beech,Coventry Business School, J.Beech@coventry.ac.uk ABSTRACT The state of Goa provides an unusual example of tourism development. While responding with a measure of fatalism to the invasion of hippy tourists in the 1960s, some of whom remain in Goa today, Goans are rather more divided in their responses to the influx of mass tourists, which began over a decade ago. The onset of tourism on a large scale has produced pressures on both society and the environment. Reactions to mass tourism have been varied, but include the more organized forms of stakeholder resistance that are common in India. Major issues that have emerged center on the community's reaction to disputes over the use of land and, in particular, the use and abuse of beaches. This article first focuses on the history of conflict between two groups of Goan stakeholders: the small-scale entrepreneurs who seek a living from tourism through the running of beach shacks, hawking, and rave party organization, and the large corporate interests who have seen tourism development in terms of beach-front hotels and casinos, who see the market as an unsophisticated extension of sunlust tourism by Europeans. The conflict between these two groups is then studied in the context of the responses of a third significant stakeholder group, the Goan authorities, both in the form of the state government and the Goan police. The role of protest movements is also considered. The issues of land use, planning, and community involvement in tourism development emerge from the analysis as significant in critiquing the way that tourism has evolved in recent years. In a broader view, the issue of conflicting views of Goan identity by Goans themselves becomes significant. The article concludes that the development of tourism in Goa has started down an inherently unsustainable route for reasons grounded in the broader context of changes in both global and Indian tourism. It is only very recently that planning by the authorities and producers of tourist products has begun to adopt a resource audit approach. The major concern for Goan tourism is whether these more recent responses are well founded and sufficiently timely. Key words: Development; Emergent strategy; Goa; State; Intended strategy; Sustainability
TITLE Eco-tourism potential of Mangrove swamps of Goa: An appraisal AUTHOR Borkar, M.R.; Komarpant, N.K.; Kamat, P.; Kulkarni, N. Biodiversity Research Cell, Department of Zoology, Carmel College for Women, Nuvem, Goa 403 604; E-mail: carmel@goatelecom.com SOURCE Vidya Prasarak Mandal's B.N. Bandodkar College of Science: Thane (India), pp. 310-316; 2002; (Proceedings of the National Seminar on Creeks, Estuaries and Mangroves - Pollution and Conservation, 28th to 30th November, 2002, Thane) ABSTRACT The state of Goa located along the midwest coast of India, flanked between continuous range of rugged hills constituting the Western Ghats in the east and vast expanse of Arabian Sea on the west, is a traveler's delight. Until recently a popular destination for domestic and foreign conventional 'resort tourist', the state is now witnessing an upsurge in eco-tourism, which is a subset of wildlife or nature tourism. Being a coastal state, Goa enjoys a unique combination of nature's endowment, a significant component of which is the diversity of its coastal habitat characterized by a variety of landforms like beaches, estuaries, islands, lagoons etc. This entire range of coastal environment offers the most amazing array of biodiversity, an important natural resource for 'alternative tourism'. The Government of Goa is facilitating the diversification of tourism product from traditional 'leisure tourism' to 'green tourism'. This paper reviews the potential and prospects of marine eco-tourism in Goa with a special emphasis on mangrove ecosystem. An attempt has been made to present the SWOT analysis of the mangrove related eco-tourism enterprise such as backwater cruises, bird watching and crocodile safari of Cumbarjua canal. An attempt has also been made to verify the anecdotal proposition that eco-tourism is ecologically begin, by presenting a case study of mangroves swamps of Chorao, one of the largest Island at the mouth of river Mandovi and also the site of Goa's only protected Areas for birds, Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. The issue of providing opportunities to understand cultural and natural history through eco-tourism is also highlighted by presenting a case study of "Mannge Thapnee" (crocodile worship), a unique folk religious response of some eco-tribes settled in this mangrove habitat. The paper is a balance sheet of costs and benefits of 'green consumerism' in the tourism sector
TITLE Do developmental initiatives influence local attitudes toward conservation? A case study from the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, India
AUTHOR Arjunan M, Holmes C, Puyravaud JP, Davidar P. Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, Kalapet, Pondicherry 605 014, India. arjunan_m@yahoo.com SOURCE J Environ Manage. 2006 Apr;79(2):188-97. Epub 2005 Oct 3. ABSTRACT We evaluated the conservation attitudes of the local villagers living adjacent to the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in southern India 6 years after implementation of a World Bank funded eco-development project. We assessed attitudes towards three facets of conservation: the tiger, an emblematic species signifying India's commitment to wildlife conservation; the forest, a principle source of fuel-wood and other products; and the Forest Department, which manages the forest. More specifically we predicted that (i) attitudes would be an effective predictor of resource use interest in the forest and (ii) benefits obtained from the EDP would create more favorable attitudes towards conservation and the protected area employees. Twelve villages located within 3 km from the reserve boundary were chosen and 2-3% of the households interviewed with regard to their attitudes towards these three facets of conservation, their household resource use patterns, wealth, sex, age and length of residency. We found significant associations between wealth, sex, age and both tiger and forest conservation. Providing benefits has not changed the underlying attitudes of the communities. The poorer sections of society, whether receiving benefits or not, tended to support tiger conservation because conserving wildlife did not affect their livelihood in any way, whereas both the rich and poor had misgivings about forest conservation due to dependency on forest products. We conclude that the eco-development project has not effectively addressed the most important of the local concerns
TITLE Periyar Tiger Reserve – building bridges with local communities for biodiversity conservation AUTHOR V.K. Uniyal,James Zacharias
SOURCE
IUCN Parks(Protected areas Program), Issue: 11.2 ABSTRACT Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghats of India is one of seven national parks receiving funding under the India Ecodevelopment Project. The project seeks to promote conservation by addressing the impact of local people on the protected areas and their wildlife and by mitigating the impact on the local people of protected areas and their limitations on resource use. This ecodevelopment strategy, addressing the dual agendas of conservation and poverty alleviation, is being applied with some success in Periyar, where park staff are working with local communities and user groups to strengthen park protection and reduce pressure on park resources. Through participation and development opportunities provided by the project, the park has improved relationships with local communities and succeeded in engaging local support and collaboration to deal with management issues such as poaching, overharvesting of firewood and thatch and management of annual pilgrimages. A key concern is to ensure the sustainability of these efforts and to encourage local government support for activities that support the park’s conservation objectives
TITLE Conservation of biodiversity of the coastal resources of Sundarbans, Northeast India: an integrated approach through environmental education AUTHOR Sarkar SK, Bhattacharya AK. Department of Marine Science, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, 700019, West Bengal, Kolkata, India. sarkar22@yahoo.com SOURCE Mar Pollut Bull. 2003;47(1-6):260-4. ABSTRACT The Indian Sundarbans, a diversified coastal wetland on the southern fringe of the State of West Bengal, harbors a luxuriant biodiversity and acts as a potential refuge of living marine resources. Girdled with thick mangrove foliage, this estuarine delta system offers an excellent nursery ground for most of the brackishwater finfish and shellfish. Since supply of hatchery-produced tiger prawn seed (Penaeus monodon) is highly inadequate in West Bengal, the aquaculture farms of this region largely depend on the supply from natural resources. Being motivated by a regular cash income, the majority of coastal people from Sundarbans have adopted prawn seed collection as their profession almost throughout the year as an important source of earning. The users are neither trained nor guided at any stage from collection to marketing and are fully dependent on traditional methods. They first sort out the tiger prawn seeds (mainly the postlarval stage PL 20) accounting only 0.25-0.27% of the total catch and thereafter the major portion of the haul are thrown away on the beach flats or the tidal mudflats. This wasted by-catch contains the juveniles of economic and uneconomic varieties of finfish and shellfish along with a bulk of holoplankters and meroplankters (non-target species). This practice causes several ecological and occupational consequences, namely, (i) the huge destruction of the pelagic biota that can lead to severe stock depletion as well as hamper the energy transference through the marine ecosystem food webs; (ii) constant dragging of nets along the coast and tidal creeks paves the way for soil erosion, uprooting the mangrove seedlings and saltmarsh vegetation; (iii) the water quality is deteriorating in the catchment areas due to mud erosion and (iv) due to constant contact with the seawater, the collectors are affected with waterborne diseases, skin infections, reproductive tract disease in women and many other contagious diseases.This paper, in addition to identifying the challenge to environmental quality and resource abundance, emphasizes the need for grass-root public education so that local people come to understand, support and implement sustainable resource conservation and environmental protection activities now and in the future. As a follow-up course of action, the authors have initiated a general awareness program for developing consciousness among the coastal people regarding proper use of natural resources. Initiatives are taken for educating coastal people by holding workshops and seminars with the use of educational resource materials. Exclusive awareness camps and grass root level training for coastal people are also being proposed as a future course of action by means of exhibitions, audiovisuals etc. It is proposed that local government bodies come forward to mitigate this problem with scientific and rational approaches and to take proper actions towards conservation.
TITLE Mangrove forests in Sunderbans active delta – ecological disaster and remedies AUTHOR Shivashish Bose ,50 Bishnupalli, P.O. Purba Putiary, Kolkata – 700093, India (E-mail: shivashishbose@yahoo.co.in) SOURCE http://www.riversymposium.com/index.php?element=12. ABSTRACT The coastal active delta of Sunderbans at the mouth of Bay of Bengal in India, having a complex geomorphologic and hydrological character with climatic hazards, has a vast area of mangrove forests with a variety of flora and diverse fauna in a unique ecosystem. The natural environment and coastal ecosystem of this Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site is under threat of physical disaster due to unscientific and excessive human interferences. Conservation and environmental management plan for safeguarding this unique coastal ecology and ecosystem is urgently required. Keywords Coastal ecosystem; conservation; environmental management plan; mangrove; physical disaster; Sunderbans
TITLE Himalayan Ecotourism in Shimla AUTHOR Dr. Adarsh Batra SOURCE http://www.journal.au.edu/abac_journal/2001/sep01/article3.pdf. ABSTRACT Tourism has the potential to bring about changes in mountain environments, which are fragile and vulnerable to irreversible damage. Present trends in tourism are oriented towards increasing tourist volume. As a result, it threatens the capacity of tourist attractions because of over-crowding, congestion, traffic snarls and environmental pollution. Aggressive tourism activities without proper planning, effective policy and institutional framework have created serious environmental problems. If a tourist destination becomes environmentally degraded, tourists themselves start shunning it. This study finds Shimla to be one such destination. The main objective of this article is to review the type of tourists arriving, seasonality in Shimla and, more specifically, to focus on environmental problems and suggest action plans in an eco friendly way. There is need for unified efforts in this direction and to make Shimla an all year round attraction for the visitors as well as Shimla itself. The town of Shimla, a summer capital of the Indian State of Himachal Pradesh during the British occupation, is the central focus of this study. The Shimla region extends 20 km. from the city limits of Shimla including Mashobra, Kufri, Naldehra,Jatogh etc.
TITLE Tourism Management Issues in India’sNational Parks: An Analysis of the Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park AUTHOR Kevin Hannam, University of Sunderland, School of Arts, Design, Media & Culture, Sunderland,UK SOURCE http://www.multilingual-matters.net/cit/008/0165/cit0080165.pdf. ABSTRACT This paper analyses contemporary tourism management issues in India’s national parks. It begins by setting India’s national parks in the context of national parks globally, before examining the historical development of national parks in India itself. Based upon the author’s extensive qualitative research, the paper then discusses in general terms the tourism conflicts that have recently emerged in India’s national parks. It goes on to examine in detail the tourism management issues as they apply to a specific case study, namely the Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park located in the state of Karnataka. It is concluded that the voices of indigenous communities needs to be recognised in the management of the park and in terms of tourism development efforts. Keywords India, national parks, tourism management, indigenous communities, Nagarahole
AUTHOR
Udaya Sekhar N.Rogaland
Research, PO Box 8046, Stavanger N-4068, Norway. usn@rf.no SOURCE J Environ Manage. 2003 Dec;69(4):339-47
ABSTRACT Conservationists in the
recent years view local peoples' support for protected areas management as an
important element of biodiversity conservation. This is often linked to the
direct benefits, which local communities get from the protected areas. These
benefits could be in the form of biomass resources, park funds diverted to local
villages by state agencies and revenue from wildlife tourism. There are a very
few studies which have attempted to study the direct relationship between
benefits from wildlife tourism and local support for conservation. In India,
wildlife tourism is restricted, and mostly controlled by state and private
agencies. Wildlife conservation policy does not view tourism in protected areas
as a source of revenue for the local communities. The present study examines the
local people's attitudes towards wildlife tourism and the impact of benefits
from tourism on the local support for Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR), India. STR is
a flagship for tourism where protected areas are increasingly being visited and
where local support for wildlife tourism has not been studied adequately.
Results indicate that two-thirds of the respondents were positive towards
tourism and support for conservation. The respondents were aware that more
tourism benefits are possible from a well-conserved protected area. There
appears to be correlation between benefits obtained by local people from
wildlife tourism and other sources, and support for protected area existence,
suggesting that benefits impact people's attitudes towards conservation. Some of
the main problems are the unequal distribution of tourism benefits, lack of
locals' involvement in tourism and development. There is a need to clearly
address these issues, so that protected areas may get the support of local
people, which may lead to sustainable development. TITLE Environmental Degradation at Pushkar Valley(India):Restrain Tourism or Promote Tourism? AUTHOR Praveen Mathur,Nimit R. Chowdhary SOURCE Department of Environmental Studies,Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer 305005 Raj,Faculty of Management Studies,Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer 305005 url: http://publib.upol.cz/~obd/fulltext/biolog37/biolog37-12.pdf ABSTRACT Pushkar valley in Rajasthan,India , is a center of religious activity. Thus it is the focus of tourist activity inthis part of the country. With little or no interest and intervention from state, tourists often tend tomishandle the resources. They consume resources at a much higher rate, leaving a lot of garbage behind. The ecological degradation is clearly visible. There are many hue and cries over the socio-cultural transmogrification of local demohraphy. This paper attempts to raise certain issues that relate tourism in the valley to environmental concern here. It would be in place to introspect and analyze what is going wrong about environment at Pushkar and how to check it? Can limiting tourism in the valley help us in some way? How do we fix our priorities? Authors suggest a number of ways to check the environmental degradation and strike harmony between tourism and ecology in studied area. Key words: Ecological degradation, Pushkar Valley (India), socio-cultural pollution,tourism
TITLE Livestock grazing in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve of Sikkim Himalaya, India: Implications for management AUTHOR Singh, H.Birkumar; Sundriyal, R.C. and Sharma, E. 2003. The Indian Forester, 129(5): 611-623. G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, North East Unit, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Sikkim Unit, P.O. Tadong, Gangtok, Sikkim. [BIOSPHERE RESERVE; BUFFER ZONE; FODDER; MANAGEMENT; SIKKIM HIMALAYA] SOURCE G. B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (An autonomous Institute of Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India),Kosi-Katarmal, Almora - 263 643, Uttaranchal, India ABSTRACT The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR), with a total area of 1,784 km2 in core zone and 825.92 km2 in buffer zone, is a representative of Eastern Himalayan region due to its unique habitats, exhilarating thick forests, rich flora & fauna, and famous mountain ranges including those of massive Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain peak in the world. Local communities, to meet their various needs, i.e. fuel, fodder, timber, wild edibles and medicinal plants, have traditionally been using the biosphere reserve. Animals for grazing visit the reserve area, and a large share of local economy is dependent on the animals and their products. This paper attempts to analyze livestock economy and grazing pattern and the carrying capacity of the biosphere reserve. The economy of the people at higher elevation was mainly/totally dependent on animals and their products. This dependence increases with increase in elevation. It was found that, barring a few areas which are extensively grazed, the present level of grazing is within grazing limits of the reserve. However, there is an increasing trend of rearing more number of animals for meeting economic needs, that will certainly augment the grazing pressure in near future. It is highly desirable that the villages and other nearby areas should be planted with more fodder species, and community should be motivated for raising good quality animals to reduce pressure on KBR. At the same time the villagers should also be involved in decision-making for developing the grazing regulation and other management plans for the KBR area.
TITLE Valuing Ecotourism In a Sacred Lake of the Sikkim Himalaya, India
SOURCE Maharana , S.C. Rai and E. Sharma ABSTRACT Although monetary valuation of natural ecosystems is difficult, such valuation helps to draw attention to their importance, and highlight conservation needs, especially in developing countries. The recreational value of Khecheopalri, a lake situated in the West District of Sikkim State, India, which has recreational, biodiversity and sacredness values, was assessed. The demand curve function for recreation increased with decreases in travel cost and distance for Sikkimese visitors. The recreational value of the lake was similar to other protected sites in India; however, all these sites had very low values compared to sites elsewhere in the world. Willingness to pay for maintenance and preservation of the lake by all types of visitors ranged from US$ 0.88 for members of the local community to US$ 7.19 for international tourists. The lake showed high recreational/sacredness values that were attributed to conservation of the site for biodiversity and pilgrimage. A large number of lakes in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region, if properly managed and marketed for ecotourism, can bring economic development that can be linked with conservation.
TITLE Rhododendrons conservation in the Sikkim Himalaya AUTHOR Singh, K.K.; Kumar, S.; Rai, L.K. and Krishna, A.P. 2003 SOURCE Current Science, 85(5): 602-606. G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Sikkim Unit, P.O. Tadong, Gangtok 737102, India. [CONSERVATION; FIRE-WOOD; GERMINATION; SIKKIM HIMALAYA] ABSTRACT Rhododendrons form a major plant group at upper temperate locations having a characteristic slow growth rate and sizable horticultural value. Asia is the homeland for rhododendrons and many species had been hunted out of the region during Bristish rule. About 98% of the Indian species are found in the Himalayan region, among which 72% are found in Sikkim. Due to human interference the natural populations of rhododendrons in the entire Himalaya are gradually diminishing. The major threats to rhododendrons are deforestation and unsustainable extraction for firewood and incense by local people. A set of rhododendrons which are classified as rare/endangered may be wiped out from the biota in the near future if proper conservation measures are not made. The present work incorporates biotechnological and conventional methods to counter the threat on survival of these plants. Studies on in vitro Rhododendron maddeni from the cotyledonary nodal segments, young leaves and stems, have yielded positive results. The goal of the work is to find out means of conservation through in vitro and ex situ mass propagation and restoration of rhododendron population in the wild.
TITLE Developing stakeholder based ecotourism in Uttaranchal, India AUTHOR Rawat, R.B.S. and Sharma, Jagmohan 2003.. The Indian Forester, 129(3): 321-331. Chief Executive Officer SOURCE National Medicinal Plants Board, Department of ISM&H, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, New Delhi; Joint Director (Wildlife), Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govenment of India, New Delhi. [CONSERVATION; ECO-TOURISM; HIGH ALTITUDE; LANDSCAPE; UTTARANCHAL] url: http://gbpihed.nic.in/envis/HTML/vol11_2/selectedabstract.htm#p
ABSTRACT Ecotourism holds a great potential for conservation of fragile mountain ecology in the Himalayan State of Uttaranchal and can provide a fresh paradigm for development to the local communities. The scenic landscape, snow clad peaks and high altitude lakes, endemic flora and fauna, unique customs and practices, mythology and history and hospitable local communities, fetch Uttaranchal a hitherto untapped opportunity. Informed involvement of stakeholders is necessary to ensure wide-base sustainable ecotourism. Stakeholder participation can substantially augment the infrastructure for ecotourism, sharing the burden of the government. Creation of stakeholders, equipping them with the required skills, networking them, supporting the initiatives taken by them and emphasizing the conservation and development linkages, are important issues in developing stakeholder based ecotourism in Uttaranchal.
TITLE Promoting ecotourism in the buffer zone areas of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve: an option to resolve people-policy conflict AUTHOR Maikhuri, R.K.; Rana, U.; Rao, K.S.; Nautiyal, S. and Saxena, K.G. 2000 SOURCE Int. J. Sustain. Dev. World Ecol., 7(4): 333-342. G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Garhwal Unit, Srinagar; G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora; School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India. [BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION; EXPEDITION/MOUNTAINEERING; LOCAL ECONOMY; POLICY CONFLICT; SUSTAINABLE ECO-TOURISM ABSTRACT The fascination for mountains, breathtaking natural beauty, rich cultural diversity, socio-economic traditions, history and lifestyles attract mountaineers, trekkers, naturalists ascetics, explorers and cultural tourists from all over the world to the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve (NDBR) and adjoining areas. Expedition/mountaineering and tourism, as a livelihood option for the people living in the buffer zone areas of NDBR, was important, next to animal husbandry and agriculture. Until 1960, Bhotiya people in the buffer zone of NDBR and adjoining areas had a good trade relationship with Tibet. Closure of Indo-Tibetan trade due to the Indo-China war of 1962, followed by imposition of conservation policies due to creation of Nanda Devi National Park in 1982 and Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve in 1988, caused all consumptive uses and expedition/mountaineering to be banned in the core zone, which has not only affected the local economy to a large extent but also created conflict between local people and reserve authorities. The ban on tourism is the most severe concern of the local people as it provided significant income. Of the three complementary functions of a biosphere reserve, viz. conservation, development and logistic support (research and education), the management is biased towards achieving conservation by legal protection which may not be sustainable in the long term. People have started raising a voice against the ban on expedition/tourism in the core zone but have not yet damaged the core zone area. This paper deals with the history of expeditions and the impact on the local economy, identification of model ecotrekking/expedition routes and potential sites, and designing appropriate strategies/action plans for sustainable ecotourism. This will not only help to resolve the local people-policy conflicts and improve the local economy but will also help to achieve the biodiversity conservation goal.
TITLE Transhumant Pastoralism in the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, India: A Case Study in the Buffer Zone AUTHOR Sunil Nautiyal, K. S. Rao, Rakesh K. Maikhuri, and Krishna Gopal Saxena
ABSTRACT In the past, transhumant pastoralists in the Indian Himalaya used resources available in various subsystems for their livelihoods. Recent sedentarization of a section of the transhumant pastoralist population resulted in competition with the existing sedentary population for resources in some areas. Resources such as grazing areas and forests are becoming less productive and can no longer cover growing demand (both human and livestock). In the Niti valley (Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve [NDBR] buffer zone), changes in government policies during the past 50 years have produced a landuse system that is not conducive to traditional transhumant pastoralism. The present article analyzes the impact of loss of grazing area on transhumant pastoralism, the current state of monetary return from livestock rearing, and the output–input ratio in terms of energy currencies in villages inhabited by transhumant pastoralist populations and villages now practicing sedentarized lifestyles. Although small ruminant-dominated animal husbandry is providing monetary benefits to local populations, the system is consuming more resources than it produces in terms of energy currencies. The prospects for transhumant pastoralism in the buffer zone villages of NDBR are discussed. Keywords Biosphere Reserve; land-use change; mountain rural economy; transhumant pastoralism; Nanda Devi; Himalaya; India
TITLE On bringing people and park together through Ecotourism: the Nanda Devi National Park, India AUTHORS T. V. Singh1; Shalini Singh2 SOURCE Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Volume 9, Number 1, March 2004, pp. 43-55(13) ABSTRACT While the need for linking park with people was heavily stressed both at the World Conservation Strategy (1980) and the World Congress of National Parks (1982), the conflict has remained unresolved, particularly in the developing nations. The hackneyed question, who is more important - monkey or man - is still argued. Admittedly, human beings are as much a part of nature as any other animal or plant species. Indeed, it is neither desirable nor feasible to alienate poor people, living in and around parks and protected areas. Modern methods of judicious park management now point more to Integrated Conservation Development Projects (ICDP) than resorting to a traditional "fences and fines" approach. ICDP ensures the conservation of biological diversity by reconciling the management of park with social and economic needs of the local people, who have limited access to resources and few alternative means of livelihood. Paradoxically, these people bear substantial costs - as a result of lost access - while receiving little in return. Nanda Devi National Park in Uttaranchal (India) presents an unsavory example of people and park relationship. It is India's highest park after Kangchendzongha (Sikkim). Characterized by high altitude ecology, the park (625 sq. km) is profoundly rich in biodiversity, mountain-lores and mythologies. Indigenous communities, particularly Bhotias, have enriched the landscape by their bizarre ways of life. After Tilman and Shipston's successful ascent (1936) of Nanda Devi peak (7817 m), an era of mountaineering and trekking ensued which resulted in degradation of fragile Himalayan environment. Poaching of musk deer and herb smuggling also raised alarm. Considering the dire conservation needs for preserving genetic resources and diversity of species, the area was notified as a National Park in 1982. Subsequently, the park was closed for ecological quarantine. Later it was declared a Biosphere Reserve (1988) and inscribed asa World Heritage Site in 1992. Customary to Third World practices, the park emphasized a policing role excluding local people, displacing them arbitrarily with meager or little compensation for their losses of livelihood. Ban on tourism activities further added to their problem of life and living. The paper discusses the cleavage of park and people and argues that development of sound ecotourism can resolve this conflict and bring park and people together
Keywords
parks and people;
biosphere reserve;
tourism and biodiversity;
indigenous tourism;
community participation;
TITLE Badrivan programme at Badrinath dham : An innovative model for restoration of degraded lands and biodiversity conservation AUTHOR Dhyani, P.P. 1998 SOURCE Research for Mountain Development: 387-399. G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora 263 643, U.P., India. [BIODIVERSITY; BROAD-LEAVED TREE; CONSERVATION; DEGRADED LANDS; SEEDLING] ABSTRACT An innovative programme under the name of "Badrivan (ancient sacred forest of Badrinath) Restoration Programme" was launched at Badrinath, Chamoli Garhwal (U.P.) with effect from 1993. The methodology developed and tested and the demonstration model established at Garhwal Scouts Camp and Parmarthalok have successfully inspired the pilgrims and local people from all walks of life to restore the degraded lands in and around Badrinath dham, the major Hindu pilgrimage shrine in the Indian Central Himalaya. The successful tree planting by organizing Ritual Distribution of Tree Seedlings and Plantation Ceremonies (RDTSPCs) and Plant Distribution Ceremonies (PDCs) at Badrinath for revival of Badrivan also demonstrates what kind of cultural approaches for reforesting degraded lands can work, and as to how science and religion can work together for the benefit of the environment and conservation and preservation of the spiritual and cultural values. This R & D effort provides an inspiring model for reforestation of degraded lands and biodiversity conservation and needs replication not only in the Himalayas but also in the other parts of the world where sacred sites and pilgrimages are important and the environment has been severely threatened.
TITLE Identifying Ecotourism Potential for Proposed Hill Station "Lake Town", Pune, India
AUTHOR
A. A. Kulkarni,K. K. Das, S. P Aggarwal, Hitendra Padalia
ABSTRACT
India being a vast and diverse country has always something to
offer to everyone. Its glorious traditions and rich cultural are linked with the
development of tourism. India has vast natural resources ranging from
snow-capped mountains, blooming valleys, sea resorts, rolling rivers, dense
forest, priceless mountains, temples and other places of heritages to vast
desert areas, which can be important destinations for tourists (domestic and
foreign). In older times it was essentially “Pilgrimage embodying simplicity”,
morality, ecological purity and self imposed discipline, but it didn’t any
adverse effect on environment. However, ‘New Tourism’ on the other hand, is a
sort of luxury due facilities available and expected in the form of fine roads
and comfortable transport system, good hotel/lodging places, easy money for
travel etc. This ‘New Tourism’ has caused great damage to the environment and
heritage. Realizing this fact there is need of protecting fragile environment
for the future generation as well as makes it more lucrative for the present
generation. For this the concept of sustainability arises to harness the
potential available tourist resources. Sustainable tourism is model form of
economic development that is designed to improve the quality of life of the host
community, provide a high quality of experience for the visitors and maintain
the quality of environment on which both the host community and the visitor
depend. Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the
environment and improves the welfares of the local people. According to
ecotourism society “Ecotourism is tourism and recreation that is both nature
based and sustainable”.
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