ECO-TOURISM:-AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CONSERVATION AND LIVELIHOOD

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1 Abstract- ECO-TOURISM:-AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CONSERVATION AND LIVELIHOOD ARVIND KUMAR TIWARI CF(WILD LIFE) & FIELDDIRECTOR ACHANAKMAR TIGER RESERVE BILASPUR(C.G.) Eco-tourism is a form of tourism that involves visiting natural areas in the remote wilderness or rural environments, According to the definition and principles of ecotourism established by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) in 1990, ecotourism is Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people. Nature Education is also a new name for eco-tourism, which varies in accordance with the ecological setting and seasonal attribute of the site. The potential of ecotourism involving local indigenous communities for their economic up-liftment has now been recognized Essentially it aims at the enjoyment of nature and an understanding of the ecology, without causing the least destruction to its support system, leading to economic benefits for the indigenous masses. Eco-tourism is distinct from mass tourism. It is multi faceted, having various intricate linkages with different forms of human activity, with domestic, regional and international characters. Eco-tourism plays an important role in the shaping of national economy. The socio-economic and ecological impact of eco-tourism is relevant to a developing country like India, and it is evolving new concepts and ideas with the time. Keywords- Ecology, Environment, Tourism, Local people, Conservation, Economy. 1

2 Introduction- India is full of contrasts and polarities from North to South and from East to West. From the sandy of the west to the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, our country is vast, varied and strikingly beautiful. India is country richly endowed with the beauties of nature rosy dales and lovely vales, high mountains and wide rivers and abundant flora and fauna. Universally India is famous for her flora and fauna, art and architecture, literature and life, dances and paintings and the beauties of nature. She is endowed with the god-given bounties and beauties of Mother Nature- the sky-kissing peaks of mountains, rivers and valleys, seas and oceans. All these beauties have attracted tourists and they have made India a sweet and sunny paradise for tourists. Eco-tourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Several universities use the working definition of eco-tourism as a critical Endeavour by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Eco-tourism focuses on socially responsible travel, personal growth and environmental sustainability; it typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Eco-tourism is intended to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on environment and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. The term eco-tourism was coined by Hector Ceballos Lascurain in July 1983, when he was the Director General of standards and Technology of SEDUE ( Mexico) and founder president of PRONATURA( Mexican NGO) 2

3 PRONATURA was standing for the conservation of breeding and feeding habitats of the American Flamingo. World Tourism Organization has defined eco-tourism as tourism that involves travelling to relatively undisturbed natural areas with specified object of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects(both of past and present) found in these areas. The Eco-tourism Society (TES) defined Ecotourism as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people. Its main aims are ecological and socio-cultural integrity, responsibility and sustainability. Eco-tourism has developed from the traditional nature tourism and sustainable development concepts and it has experienced probably the fastest growth of all sub-sectors in the tourism industry. A responsible eco-tourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. An integral part of eco-tourism is the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation and creation of economic opportunities for local communities, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors. Main principles and characteristics of ecotourism can be stated as below:- Since it involves travel to natural destinations with minimized impact, it should be small scaled, locally controlled, land sensitive and ecologically oriented. It improves environmental awareness and provides direct financial benefits for conservation; hence it should have the participation of local communities based on environmental ethics. It should enrich experience and empowerment of local people and should be educational. It respects local culture and supports democratic and human rights. 3

4 It is bio-centric rather than homo-centric in philosophy. It helps in conservation of biological and cultural diversity through ecosystem protection Local flora, fauna and culture being the main attraction the local people benefit economically often more from eco-tourism than mass tourism. In fact eco-tourism should accept nature largely on its terms and not trying to significantly transform nature for personal convenience. Material and Methods:- Eco- tourism activities ensure direct financial support to local people; it teaches travelers to respect local cultures. It supports small stakeholders to ensure that money must not go out from the local economies. It discourages mass tourism, mass constructions of hotels, tourism resorts and mass activities in fragile areas.for many countries like Nepal, Kenya ecotourism is not simply a marginal activity to finance protection of the environment, but is also a major industry of national economy. Eco-tourism is often misinterpreted as any form of tourism that involves nature, according to them ecotourism must above all sensitize people to the beauty and the fragility of nature. The use of the labels of green and eco-friendly, while behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways must be condemned. There must be some tool for eco-tourism accreditation programs, and the process should also be non-controversial and acceptable to all. Because of the non-existent or poor regulation of ecotourism, ecologically destructive greenwashed operations like underwater hotels, helicopter tours and wildlife theme parks can be categorized as eco-tourism along with canoeing, camping, photography and wildlife observation. In addition, environmental impact assessments could be used as a form of accreditation. Every country must have their own certification programs for ecotourism, intended to balance the effect that business has on the local environment. This program must focus on 4

5 ecotourism activity s interaction with natural and cultural resources, the improvement of quality of life within local communities and the economic contribution to other developmental programs. The measurement index for the worst and the best should be fixed. So for the successful efforts in ecotourism promotion, the community or people s participation is vital. Community based ecotourism implies that a community is taking care of their natural resources in order to gain income through operating a tourism enterprise and using that income to better their lives. Because the communities are to be affected first by any influences of ecotourism destination areas, for sustainable eco-tourism, involvement of communities in planning and local management is essential. Capacity building and ecotourism awareness has to be carried out for all the stakeholders with seminars, workshops, field visits, orientation programs, etc. Impart education and awareness about importance of different aspects of eco-tourism. Improve livelihood options of local communities through ecotourism activities. Develop eco-tourism as a management tool for natural resource protection and biodiversity conservation. Strict conservation measures must be applied to the natural area to protect the flora, fauna and ecosystems and any existing archaeological and historical sites. Carrying capacity standards must be established so that there is not over development of tourist facilities or over use of environment by visitors. Small scale tourist facilities should be developed in environmentally suitable locations, with locally based designs and locally available building materials, Use of energy saving devices must be encouraged and proper disposal of waste materials should be ensured and local conservation techniques should be developed. A set of eco-tourism codes of conducts should be prepared and distributed to tourists and other tour operators and the application of these codes to be monitored. Local people must be engaged as trained guides to educate tourists about biological diversity, conservation techniques and also about local 5

6 cultures. This will provide them job and income from ecotourism which requires multifarious kinds of skills and trained personnel for Government and private establishments in various departments of hotel management and food crafts. For providing suggestions to improve the environmental management and make it cost efficient, an environmental auditing or Eco-tourism Auditing must be incorporated into ecotourism industry. Ecotourism auditing is highly suited to ecotourism as a means, by which environmental considerations are integrated into ecotourism business decisions and allows ecotourism operations to reduce environmental impacts. Special studies should be conducted by the concerned department to assess the carrying capacity of popular ecotourism places. Estimation of Carrying Capacity:- In case of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve Chhattisgarh the determination of Carrying Capacity has been done. The total area of the tiger reserve is Sq. Km. The area of Core zone is Sq. Km and that of Buffer zone is Sq. Km. In Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, tourism is in a very beginning stage but improving year by year as the table below shows:- S. No. Year No. of Indian Visitors No. of Foreigner Visitors Eco-tourism here is in its modest beginning, in tune with the order of Hon. Supreme Court of India dated 16 th Oct and following the guidelines of National Tiger Conservation Authority, issued on 15 th Oct. 2012, to fulfill the 6

7 objectives of Project Tiger and Wildlife Conservation, an Eco-tourism Plan is prepared to allow eco-tourism activities, only in a limited and regulated basis in the Core area and surrounding Buffer area of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve. The main tourism activity is Jungle Safari, which is carried out in Eco-tourism Zone having an area less than 20% of the total core area, about 192 K.M. of linear road length is used for ecotourism. There are only 15 numbers of tourist guides working in the core area of the tiger reserve, this number is very less in comparison to the tourist inflow in the tiger reserve. Hence, signage boards containing tourism related information, showing Do s and don ts, rules and regulations to be followed by the tourist, are erected in important places. An area of 200 Sq. Km has been identified as eco-tourism zone path-wise carrying capacity has been decided. (A) Physical Carrying Capacity (PCC):- This is the maximum number of visitors that can physically fit into a defined space, over a particular time. It is expressed as:- PCC = A X V/a X Rf Where, A = Available area for public use V/a =One visitor/m2 Rf =Rotation factor (Number of visits per day) In order to measure the PCC to Core area of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, the following criteria were taken into account; Only vehicular movements on forest roads are permitted The standing area is not relevant, but closeness between vehicles is important There is a required distance of at least 500 m(1/2 km) between 2 vehicles to avoid dust (2 vehicles/km) About 2 ½ hours are needed for a single excursion 7

8 The protected area is open to tourists for 7.5 months(1 st November to 15 th June) in a year and 8 hours per day Linear road lengths within the tourist zone of Core area are more relevant than area, and this is 148 km in core area Due to constant vehicular use the entire road length of 192 km is prone to erosion, out of which around 35 km is affected. Therefore, Rotation Factor (Rf) = Opening period/average time of one visit = 8.0/2.5 =3.2 Physical Carrying Capacity =192km X 2 vehicles/km X 3.2 = or 1229 visits/day (B) Real Carrying Capacity (RCC):- RCC is the maximum permissible number of visits to a site, once the reductive (corrective) factors derived from the particular characteristics of the site have been applied to the PCC. These reductive (corrective) factors are based on biophysical, environmental, ecological, social and management variables. Corrective factors are site specific and expressed in percentage, these are road erosion, disturbance to wildlife, temporary closure of roads etc. Taking all these factors into account the computation of the RCC is done, which comes to be or 189 visits/ day. (C) Effective Permissible Carrying Capacity (ECC):- ECC is the maximum number of visitors a site can sustain, given the Management Capacity (MC) available. ECC is obtained by multiplying the Real Carrying Capacity (RCC) with the Management capacity (MC). MC is defined as the sum of conditions that protected area administration 8

9 required if it is to carry out its functions at the optimum level. Limitations in management like lack of staff and infrastructure limit the RCC. For Core area of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve, owing to the paucity of staff the MC is around 44%. Hence, ECC =189 X 0.44 =83.2 or 82 vehicles/ day During peak season (winter months/summer holidays), the staff strength may be increased (only 10%) by deploying special duty personnel; this would enhance the ECC to 102 vehicles per day. Further, increase in the number of vehicles would lead to deleterious effects on the habitat. Result and Discussions:- Long term success of sustainable eco-tourism ultimately depends upon community perception and involvement in planning and management of sustainable eco-tourism, which is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that we can fulfill economic, social and aesthetic needs while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems. If the number or concentration of visitors both in spatial and seasonal terms, exceeds a communities physical carrying capacity, deterioration of such basic resources such as landscape and water supplies can occur. The environment in the form of land, water plants and animals, in which the tourism takes place is important to the quality of the tourists experience. Keeping in view the environmental problems which have arisen due to tourism development a number of steps have been taken by different countries to protect the environment. These strategies to minimize environmental damage include the setting up of the National Parks to preserve and enhance natural beauty. National Environmental Research councils, Committees and department of environment have been set up. 9

10 Tourism is one of the most important industries of the world and contributes substantially to the economies of all the countries, even in India which gets a very small proportion of world s foreign tourist tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earning activity. However, the share of nature based tourism is very small in the overall earning. There are many reasons why National Parks and landscapes in India are not the destinations of tourists. One of the main reasons is that most of our nature conservation areas do not have eco-tourism development as one of their prime objectives of management as it is considered to interfere with the conservation objectives of these areas. Therefore, it is extremely important to evolve a strategy by which eco-tourism could be established as an industry on sustained basis. The strategies could be short term and long term strategies. Short term strategies would be to identify potential areas and prepare a detailed inventory. Ecotourism planning should be directly linked with the livelihood issue and options that would be generated in any area for the local people. Long term strategies would involve the reexamination of the existing regulations and development of new policy to make Eco-tourism more business friendly without affecting the conservation of forest and wildlife. Research and monitoring should be promoted in such areas to find newer possibilities of enhancing and developing tools for effective eco-tourism. Infrastructures and good interpretation centres should be developed Linkages to be built between various agencies related to the tourism. The very concept of eco-tourism should not only be applied to the Protected Areas like National Parks and Wild life Sanctuaries but should also be extended to non protected areas outside the protected area network. The urgent need of today is to explore the possibilities of ecotourism potentials in other natural areas, which will enable us to overcome the problems related to carrying capacity of the natural resource by distributing the tourism pressure effectively to other areas. The potential of the forest fringe areas should also be considered to develop into 10

11 recreational sites for different category of tourists whose prime interest is recreation only. Eco-tourism can be an effective alternative source of income generation for local community. Education and training would improve their understanding and open ways to generate income. The living standards of local people will improve with the development in an area. Eco-tourism activities will also improve the literacy level of the local community as basic and primary education will help youth to fetch various jobs like guides, drivers, caterers etc. Eco-tourism will lead to overall development of the area by bringing better infrastructures in the area and local people will be able to make better use of their natural resources. Conclusion:- Eco-tourism as a service industry acts as a social, cultural and ecological linkage by providing a number of amenities whose range extends to various fields of conservation, education and livelihood options. Eco-tourism is different from other service industries in the sense that it deal with remote and undisturbed natural resources. In a country like India, which is suffering from the problem of resources crunch particularly foreign exchange, it is the need of the hour that every opportunity should be grabbed at the right time. Ecotourism additionally activates idle and unutilized ecological and natural resources. The places of scenic beauty, natural resorts such as forests, lakes and rivers attract the tourists. It creates demand and value for these which otherwise would have remained idle. Thus eco-tourism contributes to intensive utilization of natural and cultural resources of a region. In simple words Eco-tourism is sustainable, site specific, people friendly Wildlife Tourism approach where indigenous people s participation is ensured, both at planning and implementation levels. In other words Ecotourism is tourism of the people, for the people and by the people. 11

12 Eco-tourism is a component of the field of sustainable tourism, which aspires in all cases to achieve the aim of sustainable development. Hence, planning and development of Eco-tourism should focus on environmental, social, cultural and economical sustainability criteria. Eco-tourism is a purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the culture and history of the environment, taking care not to alter the integrity of the eco-system, while producing economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources beneficial to local people. Basic elements of Eco-tourism are; It contributes to the conservation of nature and its bio-diversity. It sustains the well-being of local people. It requires the lowest possible consumption of non-renewable resources. It includes an interpretation and learning experience and involves responsible action on the part of tourists and the tourism industry. It stresses the local participation, ownership and business opportunities for local communities. Eco-tourism is of special interest for its relationship with conservation, sustainability and biological diversity. As a development tool, eco-tourism can advance the three basic goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity by conserving biological and cultural diversity, by promoting the sustainable use of bio-diversity and by sharing the benefits of eco-tourism developments equitably with local communities and indigenous people. A well planned and managed Eco-tourism has proven to be one of the most effective tools for long-term conservation of bio-diversity when the right circumstances are present. Eco-tourism goals can be achieved through inter-sectoral involvement of Government, private enterprises, local communities and non-government organizations. An Eco-tourism policy and Eco-tourism plan or strategy should be developed. Strict guidelines or regulations on Eco-tourism should be set up. 12

13 References:- 1. Kaul, Virender (1994) Tourism And The Economy. 2. Nabi, Gulam (2000) Socio-Economic Impact Of Tourism 3. Bhattacharya, A K (2005) Ecotourism And Livelihoods 4. Tiwari A K, Pandey H K, Dubey R K (2012) Tiger Conservation Plan of Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (Chhattisgarh) 13