Eco Tourism in Uttarakhand -  An Overview :

Ecotourism is defined as “environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features-both past and present) that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations”.

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as: ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local people’.

Types of Ecotourist appropriate to Uttarakhand :

 The diversity of the environment in terms of the geographical spread of landscapes and natural features, as well as the relative degrees of hardships that these present for tourists wishing to access products, means that a range of different types of ecotourists may be targeted. These may be divided into the following categories:

General ecotourists: tourists with a general interest in nature who are drawn by the allure of the Himalayas and who would wish to experience the landscapes, major fauna and flora, and cultural attributes of the region (often in combination). They can include different age groups and have varied spending power according to age.

 Ecotourists Interested in Biodiversity: These are tourists specifically interested in wildlife, both on a general basis and as specialist enthusiasts such as birdwatchers. One particular animal or habitat would usually attract both groups. Tiger or leopard viewing for example would probably attract tourists with no particular specialist knowledge but who are attracted by the exotic nature and rarity of these mammals. They may exhibit more mainstream characteristics such as in terms of spending or accommodation needs (although they would be prepared to experience rough conditions over short periods of time to see the animals in question). The specialist segment of this group of ecotourists would usually have higher disposable incomes and be prepared to experience conditions that are related to their special interests. Although thus prepared to experience hardships, the higher paying segments of this market would also expect high quality services and accommodation after viewing activities. A combination of nature watching with spa facilities would therefore be ideal for this group of higher spending tourists.

 Trekking Ecotourists: This segment comprises tourists whose prime motivation is to experience the mountain environment through trekking. This is already a well- established product in Uttarakhand but the combination of ecotourism products with trekking can potentially increase the size and viability of this market. The market can consist of budget trekkers as well as higher spending tourists, the latter being potentially major contributors to conservation initiatives. Discussed later in this section, these types of tourists are currently dominated by young, fit people although opportunities for softer activities for older age groups are also an important segment.

 Adventure/Sports Tourists: Although not strictly ecotourism per se, activities such as rafting and mountaineering can also be combined with ecotourism, where an appreciation and interpretation of the environment is undertaken as part of the activity. The development of camping sites on river beaches is one example of a product that can easily be turned into ecotourism. This is also a potentially important market as ecotourism can easily be combined with other forms of nature tourism. As well as the financial benefits of introducing a new market to this tourism product, such an imitative can also have important environmental benefits. Adventure and sports tourism can sometimes have negative impacts on the environment, which could be mitigated by the introduction of an ecotourism element in the product. For example special routings for mountain biking could be introduced where the intention is to combine the sport with nature interpretation. Here environmental considerations can be taken in the selection of routes that have the least adverse impact on the environment and/or the choice of tracks that minimize soil erosion. It should also be recognised that many tourists visiting Uttarakhand will undertake different forms of tourism to which ecotourism can be an add-on attraction or be combined to improve the quality of products such as rafting, trekking or cultural appreciation.

Existing Ecotourism Products  :

Despite the expansive nature of the mountains and tremendous variety and abundance of natural resources that favour ecotourism in each of the above categories, the sector is still very much in an embryonic state in Uttarakhand. This is mostly because there is a widespread lack of interpretation and awareness of the natural environment presented to tourists at both international and domestic level. With the exception of some prime, outstanding ecotourism products such as Corbett National Park, most of the natural resources in Uttarakhand, including the rivers and mountains, are mostly being exploited for adventure or specialist sports tourism. Activities such as river rafting and trekking are products that, whilst successfully being developed as adventure sports, are mostly lacking in any ecotourism elements that could widen their appeal and hence reach the greater market of responsible tourism.

The major ecotourism products are found in the national parks (Corbett, Gangotri, Govind, Nanda Devi, Rajaji and Valley of Flowers), which collectively cover nearly 5 million ha, as well as six wildlife sanctuaries (Askot, Binsar, Govind, Kedarnath, Musoorie and Sonanadi). Corbett may probably be regarded as the jewel in the crown of the ecotourism sites, due to its more spectacular wildlife (notably its big cats) it’s long history as one of India’s prime wildlife reserves and the innovative and forward thinking initiatives being undertaken by the Forest Department in Corbett. Although constraints to fully develop ecotourism in Corbett still exist, as described previously in this report, generally the national park is well ahead of other potential national parks in offering a spectacular ecotourism product, this being mostly due to the variety of its wildlife and its already high renown. In comparisons sites such as Binsar, although also offering a potentially good product with rare, if elusive, mammals such as leopards, does not seem to have fully exploited their ecotourism potential. This is despite the fact that many of these parks often command fine views of the Himalayan range (in contrast to Corbett which does not overlook the high mountain ranges). This attribute offers a unique opportunity to combine ecotourism with general nature sightseeing of the high Himalayas for which there is always high demand.

     Despite the world renown of the Himalayan mountains and the huge capacity of the natural environment in Uttarakhand to develop tourism based on nature appreciation and intepretation, ecotourism is relatively poorly developed in the state. This may be due to a lack of awareness of what ecotourism actually is and a limited understanding of its enormous potential to attract high quality and responsible tourists that can bring significant environmental, conservation, social and economic benefits to all sectors of the society. This section therefore aims to provide a strategy to develop and optimise the benefits of ecotourism in Uttarakhand. This will provide a framework to progressively expand ecotourism (both in terms of its spatial coverage and product type) over time, therefore helping to build up a new significant sector of the economy that can improve livelihood opportunities for local people