ECO TOURISM, BIO DIVERSITY

1. BIODIVERSITY AND ECO-TOURISM
NAGARAJU LG
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
SCHOOL OFCOMMERCE
REVA UNIVERSITY
BENGALURU-64

2. INTRODUCTION TO ECOTOURISM
• Ecotourism in entirely a new approach in tourism.
Ecotourism is a preserving travel to natural areas to
appreciate the cultural and natural history of the
environment, talking care not to disturb the
integrity of the ecosystem, while creating economic
opportunities that make conservation & protection
of natural resources advantageous to the local
people. In short, ecotourism can be categorized as a
tourism programme that is “Nature based,
ecologically sustainable. Where education &
interpretation is a major constituent and where local
peopled are benefited.” All this together can be
called ecotourism.

3. What is Ecotourism?
• Ecological Tourism or Ecotourism according
to the World Tourism Organization (WTO)
can be defined as: “all forms of tourism in
which the tourists’ main motivation is the
observation and appreciation of nature, that
contribute to the conservation of, and that
generate minimal impacts on the natural
environment and cultural heritage”.

4. Scenario of Indian tourism
• The development of ecotourism in many areas of
the world clearly indicates that this form of
tourism has great potential in India because of the
richness of its flora and fauna and the wide range
or ecosystems including mountains, coasts, rivers,
forests, deserts and grasslands. some places like
Himalayas, Kerala, north-east India, Andaman and
Lakshadweep islands are great places for tourists
to indulge in activities related to eco tourism.

5. Objectives of The Study
• To analyze the conceptual background of
Indian ecotourism.
• To analyze the impact of Indian ecotourism
• To know the innovations and promotions of
ecotourism in India.

6. Conceptual Background of Indian
Ecotourism.
• HectorCeballos popularized the term
‘Ecotourism’ in July 1983.the growth of mass
tourism during the twentieth century prepared
the ground for the genesis of eco tourism
primarily because of two reasons. First, mass
tourism fell heavily on the natural environment
causing considerable loss to natural resources
and secondly, ecotourism or the nature based
tourism, as is generally accepted provided a new
and more stable, sustainable and commercially
viable tourism product that suited to the interests
of the tourists, entrepreneurs and the
governments.

7. • In India, for instance, there has been a large
increase in international tourism in the last
few years. In the year 2010, there has been an
18.8%increase in international tourist arrivals
along with 24.6% growth in the foreign
exchange and most of this increase is due to
India’s system of national parks and variety of
biodiversity present in the parks.

8. Positive Impact of Indian Ecotourism
• Ecotourism if properly implemented can
integrate conservation and rural development
by helping to protect valuable natural areas,
by generating income, stimulating economic
development through tourism expenditures
and providing jobs and market for local goods.
the effect on the local level can be any ware
from minimal to substantial, depending on the
scale of ecotourism relative to the size of local
economy.

9. Negative Impact of Ecotourism
• Degradation of Village Infrastructure, Impact
on Local Culture. Affecting Wildlife Corridors.
• keen wildlife tourists prefer to seek out rare
or spectacular animals for observations and
photos which increases stress on them.
• inappropriate waste disposal and dumping
places, which are easily accessible for wild
animals .

10. • Oil and gas leakage from motorboats . burying of
non-biodegradable litter such as glass bottles,
aerosol ,cans, batteries and plastic bags ,roads
are built too close to water-bodies, unregulated
discharge of sewage into enclosed water-bodies .
• Trampling ,rock climbing (rock climbers do not
only damage native species but they also
introduce exotic seeds/ plant pieces, carried in
their shoes, clothing and equipment, logging for
fuel wood supply (certain species are preferred
due to their physical properties)theft of
(spectacular) plants for private gardens ,
introduction of exotic species , collection and
selling of rare or spectacular species as souvenirs
,increased input of fecal material, detergents and
soaps on frequently , visited sites cause
eutrophication.

11. Innovations and Promotions of
Ecotourism In India
• The governments through various policy
initiatives have acknowledged the significance of
ecotourism. Both the Ministry of Tourism and the
Ministry of Environment and Forests have
responded to the developments in the field of
ecotourism with policy initiatives.
• Several State Governments have also taken policy
initiative to promote ecotourism. The
Governments of Himachal Pradesh has
announced a “policy on Development of
Ecotourism”. In May 2001 with special focus on
the involvement of local communities.

12. • The Government of Madhya Pradesh has
announced an “Eco and Adventure Tourism
Policy”. Forest Departments in Kerala, Goa,
Karnataka and Sikkim have designated officials to
coordinate ecotourism activities. Several State
Governments including Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Karnataka and AndraPradesh have
issued orders for recycling of entry fees from
protected areas for conservation and community
development. The Forest initiated ecotourism
Corporations of West Bengal and Uttaranchal
have initiated ecotourism activities and the
government of Kerala has launched the Thenmala
Ecotourism promotion society to develop a
model for ecotourism.

13. Methodology of data collection
• This study is based on secondary data,
collected from the records available in the
tourism departments, annual reports, tourism
statistics 2010, incredible India reports,
reference library and publications literatures
of the different writers, information from the
websites.

14. Findings
• Eco tourism is a ecologically sensitive areas in a
manner that conserves the environment and
improves the well-being of the local people.
• Empower local people by helping them earn their
livelihood.
• Spread awareness regarding the country, social
climate and its environment.
• Ecotourism goes beyond protected areas and
sanctuaries. Promotion of such initiatives through
adventure tourism in a sustainable manner must
be encouraged, for example, through educational
institutions, schools and adventure associations.

15. Suggestions
• The annual number of tourists must be regulated
according to the carrying capacity of parks / hill
resorts and other eco sensitive zones after
proper assessment of the carrying capacity of
each region.
• State government should be encouraged to
evolve ecotourism policies and setup ecotourism
boards to act as vehicles of eco tourism policy
deliverance.
• Promote people public private partnership model
for eco tourism developments(PPP).

16. • Natural resource management can be utilized as
a specialized tool for development of ecotourism.
There are several places throughout the world
where the amount of natural resources are
abundant. But with human encroachment and
habitats these resources are depleting. With out
knowing the proper utilization of certain
resources they are destroyed and floral and
faunal species are becoming extinct. Ecotourism
programmes can be introduced for the
conservation of these resources. Several plans
and proper management programmes can be
introduced so that these resources remain
untouched.

17. conclusions
• Probably the millionth time, but it rings true,
India is one of the most diverse and vibrant
countries of the world. The multi faceted Indian
terrain has everything going for it. People from
around the world have come to this country to
witness and experience its culture and traditions,
its festivals and religion, the spirituality and
grandeur. In the last decade or so India has
shocked the world with its economic progress
and its long term plans. Many industries flourish
in India out of which tourism is of great
importance.

18. • The eco tourism fever has caught up in India
recently but it has picked up pace very quickly.
India specifically was in dire need of this sort
of tourism owing to the number of tourists it
has started attracting from the world over.
when so many tourists visit nature rich
destination, they are bound to be polluted.
And when influx of humans is rapid, the
environmental conditions do deteriorate. To
bring back the balance, it is very important to
spread awareness which can be done easily
through program like ecotourism.