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TourismFirst_February_issue

30 ThE Las T P agE impact assessment must for nurturing responsible tourism: mandip Soin before the local communities and tourism stakeholders reap the benefits of constantly increasing footfalls into the Ladakh region, they must assess the impact of overgrazing and the consequential cost on the society and surroundings, asserts Mandip singh soin. speaking to TF, he shared his experience of how the once solitary Chadar Trek is finding many takes, probably one too many, causing a massive dent to the fragile ecosystem. batting for a regulatory framework, he advocates a carrot and stick policy to maintain the famed tourism product for posterity. By ShAShAnK SheKhAr how do you think we can integrate the principle of TourismFirst in Ladakh while retaining the essence of the destination? you have in the past mentioned the threats from over grazing as well. In what capacity, does that need to be looked in to? also, how can locals reap the benefits of tourism? You know, this question about balancing, trade-off, community effects etc. is a very commonly discussed one and what one needs to realise that it does not necessarily is a trade-off. A good idea is to assess what it would take for a disaster to hit there and to mitigate it. So, then a reverse engineering model can be used, which is to say that you take the costs of your disaster management and then you calculate the benefits that the place is getting and do a cost analysis, human lives analysis etc. This is a useful methodology to keep in mind. Sometimes, what has been observed is that the benefits that have been reaped have been far outstripped by the costs of disaster management when it occurs. This leads you back to the question of carrying capacity. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be a process that has been undertaken neither by the centre nor states. The only good thing is that in the 12th 5-year plan, the centre allocated a carrying capacity study budget. Now I am hoping the same will be released to the states so that the studies can be undertaken. so, Ladakh is a concern right now? What is happening right now is that Ladakh is suddenly becoming a touch over-crowded at certain spots during certain times of the year. This is not a good thing for the eco- system or the locals. It is very convenient to say that there is a very small window for tourism which starts from May till about October and obviously, the local pressure to make the most of this time-period is understandable but what happens is that if any one of the stakeholders looks only from their prism then naturally the result is a little skewed. So, if the locals are only looking to maximise profits during that small window, they are being ignorant of the fact that a little number control is also required. Take us through the Chadar Trek. What are your concerns there? Now, the next product in line is a product called ‘Chadar’. What is ironical is that the Chadar trek had been opened for commercial activities in 1994 wherein a team had flown in Ladakh is suddenly becoming a touch over-crowded at certain spots during certain times of the year. This is not a good thing for the eco-system or the locals. It is very convenient to say that there is a very small window for tourism and obviously, the local pressure to make the most of this time-period is understandable but what happens is that if any one of the stakeholders looks only from their prism then naturally the result is a little skewed. ,, MAndIP SIngh SoIn foUnder & md, ibeX eXpeditions from England for an Indo-British expedition. We went in to Zanskar and then walked back on the river to study the Zanskari lifestyle. We came up with the conclusion that it was a great adventure cum eco-tourism product that could be offered during winters as people would get to stay in the local homes. This would in turn help the locals earn money which they could not even dream of doing during winters. Porters, cooks and guides that were normally only employed during summers were used by us and were getting double and sometimes even triple their wages which people were happy to pay because of the harsh conditions. We even took with us an artist and later had an art exhibition in London at a very premier gallery. This entire expedition had the backing of the government to popularise the region. This was not just the start of Chadar but the start of winter tourism in Ladakh. Initially, all the parties involved were extremely happy and we thought it was a win-win model. Now, 23 year later, I regret this decision. In fact, very recently, I had a horrific experience wherein someone sent me a video clip of the region where you could see people on the trail in a beeline. It is that overcrowded now. If one was to go there today, they could be confronted by up to 200-300 people per day which is way more than the region’s carrying capacity. The point is that if I am at a camp site and if I say want to have a moment of solitude and enjoy my environment and so on, I don’t want to be surrounded by 200 people. Camp sites have begun to have space issues which has resulted in the sites being setup closer and closer to each other. All of this tends to have a massive impact on the eco-system. so, you are in favour of regulating footfalls? Instinctively, I would say that the area should not have more than around 40 people in a day walking in to the valley. There should be limitations on the number of people allowed in to the area daily and, at the same time, when people are camping, they can get to experience the sense of solitude that they went there to experience. I would say that as of now, the client experience has become a little dented. I have been told that there are now several kinds of packages that have been introduced for the region which are really cheap. The upside to this is that it allows a lot of the younger travellers, who could not afford the high rates to come in to and experience the region but what needs to be realised here is that the game is not to send thousands of people in to the area but the game is to get it right. You see, even if youngsters are going in to the region and are being fed only Maggi Noodles, as I am told some agencies are doing, it is not the correct way and could even lead to health issues. God forbid, if there was to be any mishap, these cheap tourist packages would be extremely unequipped to deal with the same. There are things like staff-client ratio that need to be kept in mind. Understaffed tour packages are least bothered about littering and pollution. The point is to pack in and pack out. It is all the more important in Ladakh and areas like Zanskaar as due to the extreme climate, the rate of bio-degradation is very low. I am afraid these are grave areas of concern and that is why I was saying that the Chadar trek is a very ripe area to carry out an intervention by the government. I have heard that an environmental fee is charged but according to me a lot more needs to be done. There is bound to be backlash from the local community but from what I have experienced, there needs to be a regulated approach combined with the incentive approach as well. Unfortunately, the tourism industry is not a responsible enough industry yet, although we are trying to get there. But there are a very few companies who take up responsibility. The trend is to take the easy way out, by and large, and therefore we have been noticing an upward trend in natural catastrophes in the recent past. The point is that while tourism can do a lot of good, we are also aware that right now, on the ground there is a lot of chaos. so, what you are suggesting is that the entire process needs to be taken back to the drawing board and re-looked at? Well, I would not say that there is a need to stop the on-going activities but all I am saying is that they need to be rationalised. Before one starts looking into new avenues to promote tourism and new destinations to bring in so called “development”, there needs to be a serious impact assessment. Let us for example take the all-weather road that is about to open in Ladakh. Perhaps, it is very useful from a developmental point of view in the sense that there will be better access to things like medical facilities and connectivity to remote areas. But what we cannot stomach is the smaller stuff. For example, let us look at Rohtang Pass. The place is in a mess despite there being an order from the SC about restricting the number of vehicles allowed to enter. It is the tourism vendors themselves who circumvent such orders whether they be a part of the organised sector or the unorganised one. The issue lies in the implementation of the rules Even in Manali, the situation is similar.

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