As the country hits the festive season, families are ready to pack their bags and travel to more exotic and adventurous locations for sightseeing, trekking, cultural festivals and nature basking. But what if the nature we want to come in contact with gets destroyed because of the kind of tourism we practice on vacation?
The term ‘vacation’ is usually synonymous with comfort and free time. Indian society considers vacation to be a time around family, to leave all the work aside and spend hard-earned savings on comfort. This often includes AC resort chambers next to a river body, high-speed Safari tours in the middle of a national park and a mouth full of delicacies packed in plastic wrappers. So, it is about time we discuss ‘Ecotourism’ as more than just a buzzword.
What does Eco-Tourism mean, and why is travelling sustainably better than an average vacation polluting the environment?
Defining the Buzzword: Ecotourism
A local naturalist and lodge manager in Nepal, D.B. Chowdhury, decided to create a unique restaurant inside Nepal’s Chitwan National Park. The restaurant, called ‘Jatayu Vulture Restaurant’, feeds diclofenac-free cattle carcasses to vultures, to help their survival. The restaurant’s vulture feeding program by DB Chowdhury lead to the revival of eight endangered vulture species, leading to a 150% increase in the vulture population in the national park’s buffer zone. Alongside, the restaurant also runs well for all tourists who come to relish the beauty of the national park.
This is a real-life example of ‘Eco-Tourism’. In simpler words, ecotourism means building a nature-based itinerary that focuses on sustainability and ecological preservation. In India, Karnataka tops the chart when it comes to the efforts made to popularise Eco tourism. For instance, the Red Earth Resort in Kabini, Karnataka has been carefully crafted to host a variety of wildlife with extensive tree cover. Built on a vast land, the resort works in sync with the nature and community around. For this, a hundred per cent locally sourced workforce is hired to practice high-standard waste, water and energy management in the area.
In theory, Eco-Tourism sounds like a disciplined, costly practice with no real fun. But in actuality, it gives better and more.
Perks of Ecotourism
Economically Viable: Eco Tourism promotes the use of locally available resources and manpower, which eventually costs less. Sustainable homestays and resorts by locals who know the weather conditions and wildlife better are part of Eco-tourism. It is more cost-effective than big hotel chains and restaurants. It also helps generate revenue for the people who themselves manage the ecosystem in the area.
More to the Soul: Eco-Tourism helps connect directly to nature by removing intermediaries like guides, drivers and hotel managers. Not only humans, the principles of eco-tourism also reduce dependence on man-made infrastructures and technology like air-conditioning, petrol-based vehicles, heavy cooking equipment, etc.
Health Benefits: The idea of eco-tourism is to utilise the faculties of our body around nature a bit better. Activities like treks, cold water dips, birdwatching and sunbathing are scientifically healthier for our body. Not only do these activities help manage weight, but also detox without the use of any cosmetic agent.
Educational Benefits: Watching a National Geographic documentary is one thing and living inside it is another. It is eco-tourism that allows our vacation to be more fruitful for both, the body and the mind, by providing more knowledge about the ecosystem and wildlife. It also spurs curiosity inside children and makes them more friendly with the environment. The focus in eco-tourism is not on the ‘star species’ of a particular area, rather it is on the entire area’s flora and fauna. It then becomes okay not to catch sight of a tiger, during a Safari inside Gir. In eco-tourism, the aim is to become more aware of the forest and all the creatures inside it.
CSR in Ecotourism
Environmental sustainability and eco-tourism are a major part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which last peaked in India post-1990s. And so, it is time that companies start investing more in public-private partnerships to build more eco-tourist-friendly spaces that provide consumers with the right amount of comfort and cultivate economic growth for the Indigenous communities.
Building avenues for Eco tourism can be cost-intensive in the start but will eventually render cost-effectiveness and health advantages. And so, government involvement along with CSR initiatives, needs to expand.
