National parks to enforce code of conduct for visitors

22nd June 2011

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Tourists visiting national parks will soon have to follow etiquette laid down for the reserves by the respective state tourism ministries, according to a report by Jayashree Nandi in The Times of India. Considering the pressure from mainstream tourism activity very close to them, national parks will undergo a swift change once the Ministry of Environment and Forests’ Eco-Tourism guidelines are finalized. The Karnataka Forest Department has recently replied to these guidelines. 

The proposed code of conduct requires tourists to dress in colours that blend with the natural environment, not to provoke animals, carry away non-biodegradable litter, remember wild animals have right of way when in a vehicle, obey speed limits, speak softly and not to take seeds or roots from the protected area.

A key feature in the strategy is a state-level Eco-Tourism strategy which will make sure that the facilities are not just `high-end, exclusive tourism,' but also involve local communities. State rules and regulations will be modified to ensure adherence to these standards by tourist operators and hotels. All states will notify their Eco-Tourism strategy by December 31. 

Early this month, it was announced that state governments would also levy a local conservation cess as a percentage of turnover on all privately run tourist facilities within five kilometres of a national park. Within five years, permanent residential tourism facilities within critical wildlife habitat areas would be moved to revenue land. Currently, all money earned through sale of tickets and passes to enter a protected area goes go to the revenue exchequer, but now the revenue will go to a new fund for protected area management. Each protected area has to prepare an Eco-Tourism plan by December 31 and put it in public domain for people to respond to it. 

  An advance booking facility is to be set up to control the number of tourists and vehicles visiting parks. Stationary vehicles will strictly maintain a distance of at least 15m from one another. There will be a local advisory committee, which will review all tourist facilities within a five kilometre radius regularly to check on environmental clearance, type of construction, ownership, etc. All tourist facilities must generate 50 per cent of energy needs from renewable energy sources. 

In the long run, the benefits of Eco-Tourism will go to local communities to create a sustainable partnership between the forest department, tourism professionals and locals. B K Singh, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, who reverted to the Central Ministry of Forest and Environment with his comments on the guidelines, said implementation would start once the draft is finalized by this month’s end. He added it would have been better if visitors were not allowed at all in core areas.