What does Uttarakhand Teach Us?

This article appeared in Assam Tribune on August 11, 2013

The unprecedented tragedy in Uttarakhand has shattered the glass house of the government’s complacence; experts now claim that the massive loss of life and destruction in Uttarakhand was inevitable as the Government and authorities continued to ignore the massive strain they were putting the fragile eco system under with an unchecked inflow of tourists. The edifice of greed and that they had built over the years with scant regard to the environment was avenged upon by nature in one incredibly fatal swoop.

More than 2.5 crore tourists visit Uttarakhand annually whose population is 1.08 crore. The 135-km-long Bhagirathi valley was proposed to be declared a secure Eco-Sensitive Zone but the Uttarakhand government opposed this proposal. And when the Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre opposed indiscriminate constructions along the course of the river but the government ignored it.

The entire incident should act as an eye opener, and Assam especially needs to wake up to it as both the states have a number of things in common—both being ecologically sensitive areas with increasing degree of reckless construction taking place.

What, one may ask, can be done? In a bio-diverse place like the Northeast India, tourism is a profitable venture, and contributes much to the regional economy.

The most obvious solution is to encourage tourism that’s based on sustainable development and usage of nature’s bounty,: making optimal use of natural resources and taking great care to maintain the regenerative ability of nature addressing its carrying capacity so that we do not over-exceed nature's regenerative capacity to a point of no-return.

Eco-tourism will support sustainable development and confer social, economic and environmental benefits to the people. The ‘Berlin Declaration of Biological Diversity’ in 1997 has popularized the concept globally. Since then, many countries like Kenya, Costa Rica, and South Africa have successfully promoted this sector. In India, Kerala represents a unique picture of eco-tourism.

There is tremendous potential for Eco-tourism in Assam. The state has five National Parks, 18 wildlife sanctuaries and 46 birding areas for protection and preservation of flora and fauna in the state. There are also 312 reserved forests while the state government has proposed to declare another 145 reserved forests. The five National Parks – Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa, together cover an area of 1561.14 sq km. while the total area covered by eleven wildlife and bird sanctuaries is 492.97 sq km.

A fascinating feature of Assam’s tourism is its wildlife. Famous for its one-horned rhino, it is home to several endangered species like hollock gibbon, pigmy hog, Assam Roofed Turtle, Golden Langur and Pygmy Hog among others.

In 1996-1997, the number of tourists visiting Assam was 7, 43,545, which increased to around 41, 43,080 in 2010-2011. The absence of an effective eco-tourism policy in Assam has resulted in mushrooming of tourism infrastructure leading to destruction of natural habitats of flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to the region.

To streamline the tourism industry, the state government formulated the Tourism Policy of Assam in 2008 to redirect tourism resources in Assam as major national and international tourism destination boosting economic development and employment avenues.

Promotion of any form of tourism, however, must have some checks and balances. General tourism policies are not suitable for eco-tourism, and specific legislations for this sector are rare. A specific eco-tourism policy with strict provisions for conservation and preservation of the natural habitat will go a long way in ensuring safety of the biodiversity in the state, especially with the increasing number of tourists visiting the state every year.

Unfortunately, not only does the formulation of the tourism policy for Assam remain on paper alone, there are no guidelines on setting up hotels and resorts in Eco-sensitive zones; even after five years of announcing the "Assam tourism policy, 2008", tour operators, travel agencies, tourist transport operators etc remain ignorant of any rules. It takes only a look at the rampant construction sites in and around Kaziranga National Park as well as the wild life sanctuaries to realize that the future of Assam's eco-tourism might end before it truly begins.

This indicates absence of political will to implement any strict guidelines to preserve the natural resources and forest areas of the region: The government will need to issue guidelines prohibiting construction deep into forest areas. Emphasis should be put on cutting down production of wastes within protected forest areas and a proper solid waste management scheme to ensure the local eco-system is not polluted.

The carrying capacity survey of each Eco-sensitive zone should be carried out at the earliest and DO's and DON'Ts for each should be brought out as guidelines.

There is an investment subsidy on general investment of 10 per cent capital cost including land, building, furniture, furnishings, equipment, landscaping available to tourism units. There should, however, be compulsory certification of the services in tourism like accommodation units, restaurants, tour operators, tourist transport first

It is also time for all of us to introspect—is the present government capable of inducing changes for regulating the number of hotels, lodges, eateries near protected forests? Will they take certain vested circles by the horns to sustain the ecology of the region?

The need of the hour is for strong leadership to take charge in reversing the damage wrought by years of neglect and abuse of power by those in the helm of affairs. An able leader who can provide good governance is sorely needed; the time is now for us to selflessly choose the leader who truly represents them, and is dedicated to the service of Assam.