facilitating ecotourism in forest areas and protected areas of madhya pradesh

8/8/2019 Facilitating Ecotourism in Forest Areas and Protected Areas of Madhya Pradesh

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/facilitating-ecotourism-in-forest-areas-and-protected-areas-of-madhya-pradesh 1/13

@Suhas Kumar, 25.5.2010

Facilitating Ecotourism in Forest Areas and Protected Areas of MadhyaPradesh

Suhas Kumar

Tourism as a service sector is the largest industry contributing 6.23% of the national GDP; itsshare in employment generation in the country is 8.78%. This industry generated earningsaround US $ 100 billion in the year 2008 that is expected to go up to US $ 275.5 billion by 2018at a rate of 9.4% per annum. Overall increase in tourist arrival is likely to increase by over 22% per annum up till 2010. The domestic tourists movement saw 562 million Indians visitingvarious domestic destinations.(Ministry of tourism, Govt. of India, Market Research Division,2009),

Though the overall picture is pink India still sits in the luggage compartment of the tourismVolvo bus. Despite India's unique assemblage of natural and cultural attributes, which provides it potential advantage as a world destination for spiritual, cultural and ecotourism destination,India's share in global tourism has been suboptimal. In 2007, India's share in the total globaltourist arrival was only 5.08 million , just about 0.56 % and its share in the global tourismreceipt was around 1.25%- Us $ 10729 m. (UNWTO, Tourism Trends, October, 2007 and June2008). But in recent times this poor performance in cashing in the lucrative tourism businessseems to have led to a desperate attempt to out do others, often without appropriate planning andsafeguards to protect environment, wildlife and host communities from the vagaries of lopsidedtourism development. The need is to tread with care.

Tourism market has grown into several sectors and sub sectors and there is an array of types of tourism catering to tourists with various inclinations and requirements. Some of the types are – Adventure Tourism, Nature tourism, Nature based tourism, Wildlife tourism, Green tourism,Pilgrimage tourism, Rural tourism, Community based tourism, Cultural tourism, Heritagetourism, Medical tourism, Health tourism, and Herbal tourism and so on. Besides the activity based and motivation based nomenclature there is another set of terms that are used frequently todescribe the conceptual and experiential phenomena that has grown, ostensibly, as a reactionagainst unacceptable mass tourism, these terms are – alternative tourism, sustainable tourism,responsible tourism, ethical tourism, ecotourism and so on.

Alternative tourism is a generic term covering a range of tourism strategies such as appropriate,

eco-, soft, responsible, controlled, small-scale, cottage and green tourism (Weaver, 1991). Theseare forms of tourism advocating an approach opposite to mass tourism (that has been crticisedfor its overwhelming nature, its capacity to create serious ecological, environmental and socialadverse impacts and also for the fact that little money that is spent within the destination-actually stays and generates more income. Mass tourism is symbolised by hotels and megaresorts built using non-local material and that does not rely on local products. The marketingstrategy of mass tourism is based on high volume attracting as many tourists as possible oftenover seasonal period of time. Such development that brings in high densities of people from




outside often leads to displacement of local people from subsistence-style livelihoods to one thatis subservience based (Fennel, 2008)

The scope of ecotourism, besides the core element of protecting and enhancing the resources onwhich it depends, is twofold - sensitizing people for nature conservation and to improve the

economic status of people living in and around forest areas. Ecotourism may be and should bevery effectively used as one of the tools of joint forest management through which the keystakeholders –the local people- may benefit without damaging the natural resources and in fact,after sometime, could become motivated enough to support conservation of these resources.

Madhya Pradesh has abundant natural and associated cultural and historical assets ranging from biodiversity rich forests and wetlands, enchanting green as well as arid landscapes endowed withspectacular rivers, a great variety of terrains, climatic zones and ethnic cultures supported by arange of architectural monuments. Moreover, geologically and anthropologically it is the oldest part of India. Madhya Pradesh offers some of the most accessible haven for the charismatic andcritically endangered Royal Bengal tiger . There is. Madhya Pradesh has got about 370 important

tourist destinations including 14 major tourist destinations and three world heritage sites(cultural) - Khajuraho, Sanchi and Bhimbetka which make the state a desired destination for nature and culture oriented tourists. All of the above factors make ecotourism a very criticalcomponent of tourism in Madhya Pradesh.

However, the mechanism to incorporate ecotourism as an objective of forest management and asa tool for sustainable development of forest dependent people is not very clear as yet at any level.The need of the hour, therefore, is to put into place mechanisms – both legal as well as strategicso that ecotourism is implemented in its truest form benefiting all stakeholders and the naturalresources that sustain it.

Issues concerning ecotourism in Madhya Pradesh are two pronged – first how to developecotourism in natural areas of the state at locations not known to the tour operator and the business world and second how at famous natural destinations such as tiger reserves the age oldfree for all high impact mass tourism could be reconciled within the framework of ‘Ecotourism’.

Even in the first case another dilemma haunts the planners – should ecotourism at poorly publicized locations develop as ‘high value low impact’ ecotourism and if yes how could this beachieved in a democratic country as it could only be attained by adopting a policy of exclusionof those citizens who can't afford the high price, or should it develop as a small scale, locallymanaged venture for local and regional tourists and then, who is going to be the target clients-foreigners or domestic tourists? Another big question is – will the tourist come to see forestsdepleted by resource use and strewn with cattle dung? And also - do we have spectacular sceniclocations or star species in all such new locations that may be used to attract investors andclients? These are the questions that must be answered clearly and precisely or else the chancesare that we may fall into the same old vicious trap of resource and culture degrading masstourism.




Most of the international and Indian investors probably will not be attracted to any location other than a protected area or their surrounds – most of them are still making a beeline for a piece of land just outside famous tiger reserves. Tourism happening in tiger reserves in M.P. continues to be ‘Tiger Tourism’ and such tourism is hardly helping the tiger, its habitats, and the visitors (interms of creation of awareness) and the local people who every day pay the price for tiger’s

conservation. Thus the policy makers and planners have two sets of questions to handle – i. howto develop new natural areas on the principles of ecotourism and ii. how to discipline theongoing berserk tourism development in and around tiger reserves that it achieves the basiccharacteristics of ecotourism.

The ecotourism development in remote and fragile areas must progress in a systematic andsustainable manner so that while the negative impacts on environment, ecology, wildlife, localeconomy and local society emanating from tourism related development and visitor use areminimized and managed and the benefits are shared directly with the local communities by wayof direct and indirect supply of products and services by them to the tourism business.

In the following paragraphs I will try to summarize the issues concerning planning anddevelopment of ecotourism in managed forests and protected areas and suggest some measuresthat may lead to achieving the goals of ecotourism and of the Ecotourism Board of the State of Madhya Pradesh

A. Territorial Forests

i. Traditionally, forest department has the mandate to scientifically manage the forestsunder their charge - this includes protection and enhancement of forest resources, and

sustainable production of timber and other forest produce. The revised NationalForest Policy,1988 elucidates certain principles that gives new dimensions to theoriginal mandate of forest department - it lays down that forest management mustensure maintenance of ecological balance and environmental security:

2.2 The principal aim of Forest Policy must be to ensure environmental stability and maintenance of ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium, which is vital for

sustenance of all life forms, human, animal and plant. The derivation of direct economic

benefit must be subordinated to this principal aim.(National ForestPolicy,1988)”.

The Policy also emphasizes:

1.1.1. No forest should be permitted to be worked without the Government

having approved the management plan, which should be in keeping withthe National Forest Policy.

Earlier, foresters carried out the management of forests without much interaction withthe other departments or the forest dependent communities. But, since last twodecades there has been a marked openness in the forest departments all over the




country. Joint forest management, implemented with the participation of forestdependent communities, is an example of such shift in the attitude and approach of the forest department towards forest resource management.

Despite this openness within the Forest management, ecotourism development - a

less-consumptive enterprise which is capable of producing direct benefits to forestdependent communities and augment local economies - was never included as one of the forest management objectives; even today (at least in Madhya Pradesh) working- plans of managed forests do not contain any prescriptions for tourism developmentand its management. The National Forest Policy, 1988 is also silent abouttourism/ecotourism in forest areas; this may be due to the high impact tourism practiced during the late eighties that militated against the core principle of sustainable management, besides, the concept of sustainable tourism and ecotourismcame into vogue only in the early nineties. The report of the National ForestCommission, 2006, lists 'tourism, as one of the threats to forests and wildlifeconservation because of its inherent potential to create adverse impacts as well

as the tendency of the Government to give preference to tourismagainst the conservation imperatives. Yet, the Commissionadvocates implementation of Ecotourism in Forests and protectedareas:

"Tourism, which was earlier thought to be adversary toconservation goals, is now recognized not only to be compatible but facilitative to the same. The average tourist is now better informed about the environmental impact of his travel and behavior. Suchawareness is expected to persuade people to pay more and

generate a fund stream to finance conservation as well as thedevelopment of local communities. Ecotourism, as it is called, is themantra of the new age travel industry. As ecotourism has mostly to do with nature and wilderness, theForest Department becomes a key actor in the activity centred onecotourism. The Department’s capacity needs to be augmented,infrastructure raised and mechanisms of inter-department and inter-sectoral collaboration worked out"(NFCReport,2006)

Over the years, ‘Ecotourism’ has gained popularity worldwide and is now seen as atool for sustainable development. Forester have begun to consider ecotourism as aless-consumptive, low-impact product of forest management with a high potential toaugment revenue from forests and enhance livelihood opportunity for people residingin remote forested regions.

ii. This concept is gaining ground with the forest department of Madhya Pradesh, too butthere are many hurdles and constraints in its implementation. Tourism development




requires infrastructure not only for accessing the resource but also at or around thatresource. The forest laws are stringent and require mandatory impact assessment andclearance for all non-forestry infrastructure development on forest lands. At presentgetting tourism project cleared under the Forest Conservation Act is not easy.

The working plans do not include ecotourism as an objective of management.Besides, there is hardly any management system in place for monitoring andmanaging impacts of tourism development and visitors’ activities. Without, itsmention as an object of management in the working plans; tourism cannot beimplemented in a legal and planned manner. The latest judicial pronouncements based on the existing legal framework do not permit arbitrary use of forest areas -everything that involves use of forest land must emanate from prescriptions containedin Working Plans approved by the state and the central government. Once tourism becomes a declared and recognised objective of forest management and accepted as alegitimate product of forests it would be easier to argue for its acceptance as aforestry activity.

iii. The second important aspect would be to declare a state policy on Ecotourism -detailing its objective clearly and precisely, the kind of infrastructure that may be permitted on forest lands, location criteria - where such development may be permitted and where it should not - based on location's value as dispersal areas andcorridor for wild animal- habitat of endemic and rare plant and animals, physicalcharacteristics such as proneness to erosion and so on. Beside the policy also must laydown clearly the roles and responsibilities of forest department and other governmentagencies, mechanism for involvement with the local people and the modalities of benefit sharing with them, procedure for promoting private capital and modalities of atripartite agreement among the local people (local institutions like Gram Sabha or JFMC), the forest department and other private or government agency/NGOs. Unlessan explicit policy framework is enunciated possibility of government of India’ssupport to consider ecotourism as part of management objectives of forest working plans may remain a distant dream.

iv. Private operators who have already begun using certain forest areas for tourismactivities- such as forest treks, rock climbing, river rafting, jungle camping, etc. face alot of problems while seeking permission from DFOs. This is largely due to absenceof any well laid out policy and procedure for allowing tourism activities withinterritorial forests and for monitoring and mitigating impacts.

Protected Areas

i. Wildlife tourism in PAs in Madhya Pradesh operates within the legal and policy frame works contained in: a. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972(amended, 2002), b. Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Protection Rules,1974, C.




National Wildlife Action Plan, D. Guidelines for Wildlife Tourism issued byDirectorate of Project Tiger, GoI,1984.

ii. According to the policy (National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-16), theguidelines for tourism development in PAs, are as follows:

a. Regulated and low impact tourism

b. In case of conflict between tourism and conservation interests of a PA ,the paradigm for decision must be that tourism exits for the PA and not

PAs for tourism

c. Tourism demands must be subservient to and in consonance withconservation interests of the PA.

d. While revenues earned from tourism can help the management of the

PA, maximization of income must never become the main goal of

tourism.e. The main aim of tourism in PA should be to impart education and

inculcate respect for nature among visitors. f. Tourism (ecotourism) in PAs must involve and benefit local communitiesand the first benefits of tourism activities should flow to local people.

g. Strict energy and water conservation and waste disposal guidelines

must be laid down and implemented for existing and new tourist facilities

iii. Tourism in PAs, therefore, is seen as a low-key activity and should remainthat way as long as appropriate management infrastructure, detailed tourismmanagement plan, a set of sound monitoring protocols and a contingent of skilled personnel are not in place.

iv. With the increase in popularity of Ecotourism worldwide, PA managers are becoming slightly more open to promoting this form of tourism becauseecotourism advocates small scale, less impacting, conservation friendlytourism and emphasizes on educating visitors and ensuring the flow of benefits to the local communities. All the three elements of ecotourism – conservation of resources and creating awareness to inculcate in visitorsrespect for the earth resources and ensuring benefits to local people – naturallyfit within the management goals of protected areas.

v. Yet, it is also true that PA managers continue to worry about ecotourismturning into high impact mass tourism. Large scale development – like luxuryresorts, hotels and dhabas may proliferate along the periphery, pressures fromvarious strong lobbies may mount to open up interior fragile areas for buildingeateries and campsites. Any un-planned development, even outside the boundary of PAs, results in depletion of ground water along with other localcivic resources as well as peripheral forests (which are depleted over time byillegal extraction of fuel wood for cooking and heating water during winter),deterioration of corridor functions of buffer forest areas, pollution of water




courses that flow into PAs or the villages and erosion of the very sense of wilderness that visitors long to experience.

vi. Unplanned development of tourism always results in attritionof the resources, adversely impacts wildlife habitats and

finally leads to dissatisfaction of visitors and earns a badname for the protected area and the government. Increasingand unrestricted use of local resources such as land, groundwater and firewood has both social repercussions and adverseecological impacts. Escalation of prices of land andcommodities owing to tourism growth in a region may bringabout serious hardships to local people, for example the lackof adequate sanitation facilities in many East African parksresults in the disposal of campsite sewage in rivers,contaminating the wildlife, livestock, and people who drawdrinking water from it. The same situation exists around

several protected areas in India. The irresponsible dumping of kitchen waste transforms wild animals into scavengers.

vii. The fear that tourism development can be counterproductive to the very goalof PA management becomes manifest and more pronounced as most PAs donot have a sound visitor management plan and professional expertise tomanage, monitor and minimize impacts arising from tourism development andactivities of the visitors. In highly visited PAs in MP, tourism largely remainsan arbitrary and unplanned activity. In the present scenario the protection staff of PA is deployed for nine months for managing tourism activities besides performing their primary duty of protection. Capacity building for managing

tourism has never been a priority in PAs.

viii. It is well known that when management systems are absent even a smallnumber of tourists could cause serious adverse impacts to the physicalinfrastructure, wild animals and ecology. In my opinion carrying capacity of any natural area is directly linked with capacity of the organization to manageadverse impacts. A well-managed area can accommodate more visitors withfewer impacts than a poorly managed area.

Though, today Ecotourism is considered the most rapidly expandingsectors of the travel industry. And it is being promoted by many as away to achieve environmental conservation objectives and as a tool forsustainable development of remotely situated host communities, yetlittle effort is visible in the protected areas towards involving andbenefiting forest dependent local people who are not well disposedtowards protected area owing to resource use conflicts.




Tourism Management capacity in most PA is sub optimal. Protectionstaff gets diverted to tourism management. As tourism managementrequires different skills, the quality of output by forest functionariesdoes not always lead to visitor satisfaction. Though the managementplans exist, there is hardly any detailed planning for visitor

management and visitor use of the area. Tiger reserves are adheringto 'vehicle carrying capacities' calculated for each tiger reserve using aset of guidelines and a methodology based on (Cifuentes, M., 1992)and suggested by the National Tiger conservation Authority but thismethodology suffers from subjectivity and appears to be flawed to theextent that it is amenable to easy modifications by practitioners at will.

Carrying capacity is often misapplied to set visitor numbers withoutconsidering how these numbers meet management objectives. Settingnumber limits may be useful only if the number so determined isadhered to under pressure also for these numbers may be used as a

tool to limit impacts as an extension of 'precautionary principles'.Carrying capacity numbers over emphasise the importance of amountof use and fail to consider other potential underlying causes of impact. The real question that a manager must ask is - what are the visible andwhat are the likely negative impacts of tourism on ecology,environment and local society and how these impacts are to beminimized or managed to achieve the desired ecological,environmental and social goals that the tiger reserves seek to achieve.At present, these questions are seldom asked and answered. Innutshell the mandate of practicing ecotourism in the tiger reserves isgoing on in an ad hoc manner. Outside, in the buffer, the hydra headed

mass tourism threatens to engulf the very resources on which tourismdepends.

Obviously, much needs to be done to promote compatible and sustainable tourismdevelopment in forests and PAs in Madhya Pradesh. The plus point is that there is positive atmosphere for taking the first step towards it.

I have following suggestions that may help us to make a beginning:

1. Ecotourism development and management in Forest areas

i. First step will be to draft a policy on ecotourism based on the globallyaccepted principles but with an eye on the local, regional and national groundconditions. This means taking notice of the prevalent forest, wildlife,environment protection, local self government laws, culture and traditions of people in remote forested area, capacity of the forest department to manage,roles and responsibilities of all stake holders and clear and precise description




of mechanisms and modalities of participation and benefit sharing amongstakeholders.

ii. Second step includes preparation of site specific plans for ecotourism. Startingwith each forest division listing their sites that have potential resources for

tourism. These sites should be mapped showing areas and points of interestsand the present use levels and exiting impacts and possible future impacts onthe flora, fauna, physical and biological attributes should be determined,nearest tourism hub, regional transportation system, possible impacts (both positive and negative) on local communities be identified. Based on the aboveinformation, if it is found that the proposed area has enough attributes thatcould attract visitors, a divisional ecotourism plan should be prepared and gotapproved as a part of the working plan of the division.

iii. If the sites are already tourist attractions, then an evaluation of the kind of

activities preferred by visitors, impacts of such activities on the physical and biological attributes must be done. This assessment should also incorporatethe efforts made to manage visitor-use of the area. And if management input isabsent at present, suggestions for establishing a management system mayimprove things drastically. Information on possible source of visitors, possible profile and expectations of the visitors, capacity to pay and the presentcapacity of the organization to manage tourism will help in the preparation of a development plan for potential areas that are not yet visited by tourists. Acode of conduct for visitors, tour operators, and forest personnel should bedeveloped for each such site. In areas where impacts are less likely and thearea does not fall within ecologically sensitive sites, infrastructuredevelopment standards should be developed. Such sites should also bemapped.

iv. Information brochures/booklets should be prepared to guide and help thevisitors and for private entrepreneurs who wish to develop tourism in thatforest division. This brochure should contain details of sites, permittedactivities, process involved to seek permits, who to approach for permits or further guidance, etc.

2. Ecotourism development and management in National Parks and

Sanctuaries

Despite the policies that advocate implementation of sustainabilityprinciples of Ecotourism for managing tourism in protected areas the




rapid commercialization has raised serious concerns. The Instructionsissued by Member Secretary, NTCA to all CWLWs and Field directors of tiger reserves shows the gravity of the situation:

"......It shall be appreciated that our tiger reserves are smaller in size and

are important natal areas/repositories of endangered gene poolsharbouring the remaining source pool of the tiger, co-predators and prey animals. Under no circumstances we can afford to become competingdestinations for large size safari parks of other countries for fosteringtourism, at the cost of the critical tiger habitats as explained/ identified/ established under Section 38V of the Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972,involving relocation of villages from such areas, at a great cost, to providethe desired inviolate space for tigers...." (NTCA Instructions on regulationof tourist visitation in tiger reserves dated -14 Dec,2007)

To ensure that the above principles are implemented on theground :

• Revisit and revise protected area's tourism management plans tomake them more action oriented over prescribed time frames toachieve objectives and less like a set of policy guidelines, which seemsto be the case at present.

• Provide a separate contingent of contractual skilled workforce tomanage tourism.

• Develop appropriate mechanism to monitor populations, habitat

conditions and adverse impacts of tourism development and visitoractivities within core and buffer.

• Develop mechanism, provide skills and mobilize finances forempowering EDCs to take up joint community based ecotourismventures in the buffer.

• Develop mechanism and provide financial resources and skilldevelopment inputs to non- PA forest managers in securing corridors,protecting tiger and its prey base within their respective territorial jurisdictions.

• Develop standards for building design, energy conservation, waterharvesting, recycling of grey water, appropriate disposal of solid andgreen waste, reducing emissions for hotels, resorts and eateries withinand outside PAs. Bring in legal instruments to enforce sustainability inongoing the unplanned and unhealthy mass tourism growth in theimmediate vicinity of protected areas.

• Start new activities for tourists (trekking, camping, boating, rafting andso on) only after identifying suitable areas. Suitability may bedetermined by looking at the likelihood of disturbance or threat to wild




animals, habitat degradation, visitor safety aspects and existingmanagerial capacity. And for each new activity determine carryingcapacity.

• Strengthen protected area interpretation programme by improving thecapabilities of personal interpretive services like - guiding and

information services.• Enlarge the scope of Park Interpretation programme by starting

outreach services for local people, especially village children and offerthem opportunity to view the protected area from a new perspective.

• Use tourism in PA as a supplemental tool for sustainable developmentof local communities by giving local people direct stakes in tourismenterprises and by giving Ecodevelopment committee a share of earnings from tourism as some of tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh aredoing by transferring a portion of Development fund (Vikas Nidhi of PAs created from Tourism related fees).

• Include small scale infrastructure development for ecotourism as one

of the forestry activity in the FCA and prescribe criteria standards forlocation, design and environmental safeguards.

Required Legislative Changes

1. Amend the Wildlife (P) Act, 1972 and FCA, 1980 to regulate landuse in buffer areas of tiger reserves and make EIA mandatory for allresource degrading, commercial infrastructure projects (Mining,quarrying, polluting industries, hotels, resorts and any other suchventure that prima facie are capable of disrupting local ecology and

local environments). The State government must identify, map andnotify such areas that are critical for tiger metapopulations to continueand flourish.2. Amend Environment Protection Act, Panchayati Raj Act and SaraiAct to enforce ban on commercial constructions in critical wildlifedispersal areas and corridors, and also to set standards for buildingdesign, alternative energy use, regulating ground water use, emissionslevels, recycling of grey water, disposal of solid and green waste byexiting as well as new hotels and dhabas (eateries) built in the buffer. The same should be made applicable to establishments owned by theGovernments or Panchyati Raj Institutions.3. Amend the Panchayat Raj Act to empower gram Sabha toenforce an environmental cess on the Hotels and resorts that are usinglocal resources such as agricultural land, ground water and forestswithout paying back anything to the original guardians.4. States need to enact rules- under whichever act they may deemfit - to ensure that the hotels, resorts, eateries, whether private orowned by government, purchase all their grocery, grains, pulses, dairy




and meat products, building material from local markets and only incase where the demand exceeds the supply they may approach distantmarkets.5. Amend the Wildlife (P) Act to enforce a conservation cess onHoteliers /resort/ eatery owners that make profit on a resource (Forests

and wildlife) managed by taxpayers money. This cess should be sharedwith local people whose land, water and forest resources are beingused/misused by private businesses.6. Legal provisions should be made in appropriate Act, in all privateor government led ecotourism project, to ensure a tripartite agreementamong private sector, local people and the government agency toensure employment too local people, and benefit sharing amongpartners.

i. A detailed ecotourism plan must be in place with clearly demarcated tourism

zone/s.

ii. Sites where visitors are permitted should be mapped. For each site activitiesthat are allowed or banned should be listed and notified. Dos and don’ts for each site must be clearly spelled out.

iii. Based on considerations such as sensitivity of sites (special and uniquehabitats such as cave, dens, overhangs, cliffs, mesic sites, riparian areas-river and streams, wetlands) to visitor use impacts, disturbance to endangeredspecies and their habitats, suitable sites where visitors can pitch tents should

be identified. Camping-behaviour guidelines must be developed. A campsitesimpact monitoring mechanism should be developed and staff should betrained in collection and analysis of such data.

iv. No hotel, lodges, and eateries should be allowed within a PA unless athorough impact assessment procedure has been followed and permission isobtained according to law. (under section 33 of WL(P) Act, the NationalBoard for Wildlife is empowered to approve sound project proposals).

v. Activities – such as jungle treks, bird watching, nature trail, river rafting, rock climbing, boating, canoeing, wildlife viewing from vehicles and watch towers

may be permitted within a PA but with due care - such activities must be planned and monitored carefully to avoid negative impacts on flora, fauna andhabitats.

vi. Visits to a PA have potential for accidents; therefore, listing possible threats tovisitors at each site and for each activity may help plan a set of visitor safety protocols that may include safety guidelines for visitors, staff and tour




operators. Visitors and tour operators must have an easy access to suchinformation before commencement of their excursion. The PA tourismmanagement plan should have a visitor- safety, and search and rescue planalso.

vii. Energy and water conservation and waste disposal guidelines must be laiddown and implemented for both existing and upcoming tourist facilities withinand outside the protected areas.

viii. A building design guidelines will facilitate development of aestheticallyappealing and environmentally appropriate tourist facilities.

Most of the steps listed above are also applicable to tourism development in Forestsoutside protected areas.

facilitating ecotourism in forest areas and protected areas of madhya pradesh

Documents