ECOCLUB, Issue 93
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13
ECOTOURISM PAPER SERIES
Ecotourism in Himachal Pradesh – The Way Forward
by Jasjit Singh Walia*
The Indian State of Himachal Pradesh (H.P) is a mostly mountainous area neighbouring Tibet and China in the East, the Indian
states of Jammu and Kashmir in the north and northwest, Punjab, Haryana, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh to the south. It has an
area of 55,673 square kilometers and a population of 6.1 million people and is located at altitudes ranging from 350 to 7000
metres (1050 to 21000 feet). There
is a wide spectrum of geographical diversity over varying attitudes diverse, colorful and
varied --- from plains to the Shivaliks to the lower Himalayas to the mighty great
Himalayas to the forbidding heights of the
cold deserts.
This majestic, almost mythic terrain is famous for its beauty and serenity, but the harsh reality is that Himachal faces serious
environmental decline.
The forests of Himachal Pradesh (H.P) which constitute two-thirds of the state’s geographic area are
crucial to the region’s environmental and economic well-being---a storehouse of rich bio-diversity, vital in preserving the fragile
Himalayan eco-system, and
a primary livelihood source for its rural population. The ‘forest sector’ encompassing the
entire
biophysical and environmental components, highly sensitive to the uniqueness of
the mountain environment, must place its
people at the centre. The Himachal Pradesh Forest Sector Policy & Strategy Policy 2005 represents a bold new direction for the
State
Forest Department, which had largely been focused on timber production. The
government has charted a new course to
shift forest policy in a way that recognizes the
ecological and social value of environmental services as well as its economic
values. It involves creating opportunities for the poor and enhancing natural resource management.
Ecotourism was identified as one of the avenues to alleviate poverty and enhance livelihood options in the Himachal Pradesh
Forest Sector Policy & Strategy 2005
wherein it was stated: “Nature based tourism including wilderness tourism will be
promoted in consonance with the eco-tourism policy of the State with an aim to maximize benefits for local communities…
The government will encourage rural tourism for enhancing rural livelihoods.
Dispersed tourism will be encouraged to decongest popular destinations and promote equitable benefits.
Regulatory systems to minimize potential negative impacts of tourism to the forest sector will also be set up.”
The above policy statement set the tone for revision of the Himachal Pradesh EcoTourism Policy, 2001. With this back drop the
‘Revised Eco-Tourism Policy’ was notified
in 2005 by Government of Himachal Pradesh. The intent was to ensure that
developing booming tourism in the state is environmentally benign, decentralized and that its benefits are equitably distributed –
particularly to local rural households. In 2006, the
instrument to carry it forward, the HP Ecotourism Society (EcoSoc) was
made operative,
through required facilitation provided by the HP Forest Department (see website:
). The defined cornerstone was community-based
upliftment with the belief, that the
development of a new perspective on partnerships
would enhance natural resource management and help create new
employment opportunities in the rural areas. The policy also attempts to open up the heritage, colonial period built, forest rest
houses, to the discerning tourists, to inculcate appreciation of nature through strict adherence to the concept of carrying capacity
and sustainable development of the area.
The organizational culture at HPFD (Himachal Pradesh Forest Department) has slowly
been changing to embrace the shift in
policy to sustainable management and eco - services development through ecotourism as a venture. The journey has not been
easy, involving local and international expertise, and judicial intervention. It began with the 1995 Supreme Court ban on green
felling in Himachal, which triggered an interest in eco-services as a solution worth exploring, to offset the declining budget for
forestry
works. In the following years a dynamic and consultative process involving all
stakeholders began, with the
comprehensive HP Forest Sector Review (FSR) in 1999-2000 (IIED 2000). The economic valuation of forest products and
services was led by Dr.
Madhu Verma of IIFM Bhopal, in 2000, with technical assistance from international
donor agencies.
with International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED) has explored the potential for markets for watershed protection services and improved livelihoods. Many
reform-minded projects followed, with various donor funded participatory experiments in joint forest management, and mooting
the establishment of the Himalayan Development Authority—a mountain forum for redress and compensation for conservation
costs.
There is a conviction that valuing eco-services and developing green solutions will play an integral role in moving the mountain
state towards poverty alleviation.
The clarion call to focus on sustainability, ecosystems and enhanced natural capital productivity has also meant a rethink in H.P.
Forest Department (HPFD) which till now had concentrated attention on plantation forestry. Ecosystem Management is being
highlighted with less emphasis on the production forestry aspects of the past (Marcot, Holthausen et al. 2005). The objective of
the HPFD is to handle the complexity of the new social, economic and environmental perspectives to think across ecosystems
without specific boundaries. The simplification and conversion of the natural stands and reliance on mono-species afforestation,
which seriously affects biodiversity, will not
work. To popularize ecotourism, the landscape approach to handling degraded
forest areas is gaining ground as it is dynamic, multifunctional, multi-use, productive, healthy and sustainable.
