By: Subir Ghosh
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com
Category: Travel News
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com
Category: Travel News
Unbridled tourism in the Western Ghats will be a thing of the past if
the Union government accepts the recommendations of an expert panel
that was formed to look into the environmental aspects of the
ecologically-fragile region.The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, which submitted a
comprehensive report to the government in August 2011, has noted that
some of the environmental footprints relate to the uncontrolled growth
of tourist establishments in the Western Ghats leading to habitat
fragmentation and increasing human-animal conflict.
Unlike in the
case of mining where it urged for a blanket ban in the more ecologically
sensitive areas, the panel has called for the ecotourism policy of the
Ministry of Environment and Forests to be refined by the proposed
Western Ghats Ecological Authority to promote minimal impact
tourism. It has also stressed on the need for strict regulation for
waste management, traffic, and water use.
There are a number of
causes for worry. The 14-member panel headed by eminent ecologist Prof
Madhav Gadgil found that there has been a tremendous increase in garbage
accumulation in the area which attracts various pest species and also
causes an increase in pathogens and disease. Untreated water is
discharged into the open and this impacts vegetation and groundwater.
There is also an increased risk of fires.
On the socio-cultural
front, the group noticed changes in traditional livelihoods. Agriculture
has been adversely affected because of land use changes and labour
shortages, besides loss of access by indigenous and local communities to
their land and resources as well as sacred sites. The report remarked,
“Despite ecotourism, arising as a concept to promote nature
conservation, it is found that the way ecotourism is practiced in India,
it is being perceived as becoming just another form of mass tourism.”
Tourism
in the Western Ghats has been increasing steeply. The forms of tourism
observed in the region include ecology and wildlife, religious, social,
and business. Religious tourism has the highest share of tourism in the
Western Ghats followed by nature-based, social and business; the largest
share of tourists is from the domestic sector. Tourist flows have risen
sharply to the protected areas in the Western Ghats – Periyar,
Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Dandeli-Anshi since 2000.
Most of
the tourism is unplanned and unregulated. The panel observed that even
planned world class tourism projects, e.g Amby Valley and Lavasa, have
considerable local impacts. Tourism is being promoted both by the Centre
and states without proper environmental impact assessments or
cumulative impact assessments.
Among other things that can be done
to mitigate adverse effects of tourism, the panel said that smallscale
tourism should be encouraged by adopting benefit-sharing measures with
local communities. Tourism infrastructure, particularly accommodation,
should be eco-friendly, with careful use of locally available materials.
The
panel has recommended that erection of concrete structures around
springs, lakes and other perennial water bodies should be discouraged.
There should be site-specific control of tourism infrastructure in the
buffer regions of protected areas. Rainwater harvesting should be made
mandatory for all new large and medium tourist infrastructure in the
Western Ghats.
The WGEEP also laid a roadmap on how to implement
its recommendations. A special cell within the WGEA would need to be
constituted to deal with tourism-related issues. Control of tourism
developments and activities, including licensing and overall targets for
and limits to the scale and type of tourism should be overseen by the
WGEA, the panel recommended.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_unregulated-tourism-is-ravaging-the-western-ghats_1681318
