Documentation

Commissioned by the Western Ghats Expert Ecology Panel (WGEEP) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India , this paper attempts a rapid assessment of the impact of tourism growth in the Western Ghats. The paper is based on substantive secondary research , by EQUATIONS as well as other academicians and organisations. It also has a set of case studies demonstrative how unregulated tourism has led to significant environmental, social and cultural damage in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats region – one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world. The three main sections of the paper are one on the trends in tourism development, the legal and policy regime that is flouted more than followed, and case studies. This is followed by a series of recommendations for sustainable tourism in the region

Written at the request of Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN), this paper looks at the concepts of development & development aggression through case studies from India, Indonesia and Philippines. The case studies explore issues of land grabbing and forest destruction for mining, monopoly in corporatisation of agriculture and the food crisis, tourism and displacement, land grabbing and forest destruction for production of palm oil, water as a commodity and the exploitation of human labour. This paper was presented at the Research Conference on Development organised by the Asia-Pacific Research Network (APRN) In December 2010 at Hong Kong.

In mid-2009, there were reports in the newspapers in Chhattisgarh that the villages located in the core area of Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary which had been declared as a Tiger Reserve, would be displaced and the ‘Revised Guidelines for the Ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Project Tiger’ announced by the NTCA would be applied. The first phase of displacement of 6 villages took place in December 2009 and without settling the claims that the villagers had filed under the The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Following this, EQUATIONS, responding to a request from Nadi Ghati Morcha (NGM) conducted a fact finding process along with NGM and Baiga Mahapanchayat in October 2010. This report is based on the findings of the team.

This note is in response to a request from Madhya Pradesh Ecotourism Development Board (MPEDB), on envisaging the role of communities in ecotourism. Using 6 case studies, the possible role of communities across the spectrum of different levels of community involvement are highlighted along with their positive and negative impacts. A brief analysis of Madhya Pradesh’s Draft Ecotourism Policy shows that while the Policy acknowledges that communities should be involved in ecotourism, there has been very little thought given to the modalities of making this happen. In the section of ‘Recommendations’, focus is on the challenges that ecotourism places on communities’ social structures as well as those working towards the inclusion of them. The other areas that are looked at are ecotourism vis-à-vis income generation and conservation. The issue of benefit sharing in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model are also discussed. The note ends with what EQUATIONS would like to see included in the kind of PPP framework that Madhya Pradesh is working on for ecotourism.

This publication called 'Working Paper Series 2009-10' is a compilation of our Papers and Campaigns of the year 2009-10.

EQUATIONS report examines critically the hopes and myths, as well as assumptions and mental models about tourism’s potential of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Linked to this are the preparations being undertaken for tourists, a key aspect being the transformation of Delhi into a world class city.

The Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Amendment Ordinance, 2010 (Kerala Ordinance 2010) was promulgated by the Governor on 12th June 2010. It provided for amending the Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Act, 2005. It proposes substituting the State Tourism Conservation and Preservation Committees formed under the Kerala Tourism Act, 2005 with State Tourism Development Authority (DA) for the conservation, preservation and integrated planned development of the Special Tourism Zones (STZs). A few days later, on 29th June 2010, the Kerala Tourism (Conservation and Preservation of Areas) Amendment, Bill 2010 was placed before the State Legislative Assembly, presumably, in order to ensure that the Kerala Ordinance 2010 promulgated does not cease to operate. In this paper, we have critiqued the Amendment Bill and questioned the transferring of regulatory powers of Local Self Governing Institutions (LSGIs) to a parastatal body like DA. This results in the loss of the democratic exercise of powers by the LSGIs. We have also questioned the Ordinance route adopted by the government

EQUATIONS was invited by the Member Planning Commission Mr Arun Maira in November 2009 to write about our vision for tourism for India. This came about after a series of discussions with him about our concerns related to tourism development in India and how the Planning Process of the Five Year plans should take these into account. Being one of the few critical voices on tourism in the global south, we have often had to focus on tourism’s negative impacts – in policy and in practise. This opportunity to dream and to envision what we would wish to see was undoubtedly the other side of the coin..Enclosed is our vision for tourism in India and the role we hope to see the Ministry of Tourism play in our country. Along with it, in the annexes, are stories, case studies, people policies and charters that illustrate how another tourism is indeed possible!

While we continue to identify various instances of CRZ violations by the tourism industry across the country, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in April 2010, issued another Pre Draft Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2010 to amend the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 1991. MoEF continues to take the notification route in spite of a longstanding demand by coastal communities, movements and civil society organisations for a comprehensive legislation to regulate the coast. A democratic system of governance calls for a regulatory mechanism through legislation for the significant and extensive coastline of India.

This brief paper is our comments related to tourism and the Pre Draft Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2010

Child pornography is a growing concern within India. Through still and video cameras, sexually abusive images of children are produced. These images are accessed via the internet and increasingly now over mobile phones. These technologies also facilitate organised sexual abuse and violence against children by networks of commercial buyers, sex tourists, paedophiles and traffickers. It is linked with several actors across borders and has direct links to tourism. One country can be a place where production takes place, the child used for the pornographic production could be from a second country, and the final pornographic product could be or end up in a third country. This paper presses home the concerns on child pornography and its links to tourism. Its analyses in brief the current legal framework in India concerning this issue and calls upon the national and state legislature, the tourism, travel, hospitality industry and other stakeholders to take necessary action to address this issue.

The Indian forests are home to around 100 million people and provide sustenance to them. The paper traces the impacts of Indian forest polices, legislations on rights of communities and its links to conservation in the pre- colonial and post independent India. Within the existing framework of national forest laws, the paper puts the rights of the communities into perspective with international policies including Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). It discusses who would benefit the most from REDD. This paper has been published by the Global Forest Coalition in their publication titled “REDD Realities: How strategies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation could impact on biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples in developing countries”.

The Central Government move to build national capacity for implementation of the new Integrated Management Approach for India’s coastal zones and piloting the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Approach in the three states of Gujarat, Orissa and West Bengal is dubious. The draft Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) Notification lapsed in 2009. The concept of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan was mooted in the draft CMZ Notification. Civil society groups have raised concerns on the CMZ notification and the need to strengthen the existing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification. Point no. 8 of the draft summary of the World Bank assisted ICZM says the ‘GoI has already initiated steps to operationalise one part of the agenda, which is to create a suitable policy environment for integrated management of coastal and marine area’. Allowing commercial activities in the coast and then managing them are in sharp conflict to protection of coast provided in the CRZ notification. Although the MoEF has allowed the lapse of the proposed CMZ notification, the process to strengthen the existing CRZ notification by taking in the concerns of the coastal communities through public consultations, initiated by the MoEF is yet to be completed in all the proposed 10 states. Then the need for ICZM projects in pilot states for replication at national level is contradictory.
This brief paper is our comments on the Draft Summary Report of the World Bank Assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project’ Environment and Social Assessment.

The paper shares information on canopy tourism initiatives in India. These tourism initiatives have been analysed from the perspective of people’s participation in decision making, project planning and implementation and their contribution to conservation. Case studies on the canopy tourism initiatives in Kerala –Elevated walkways in Thenmala and Tree houses in Waynad, provide an insight into this emerging form of tourism.

This compilation of briefing papers is produced as part of the Life as Commerce Project in partnership with the Global Forest Coalition. The aim of this project is to address the environmental and social impacts of market-based conservation schemes. The primary objective is to raise awareness on the impacts of such schemes and to build and strengthen capacity of local communities, social movements and women's groups to address their impacts. EQUATIONS analysed the prevalence and impacts of ecotourism in the 4 Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Tourism throughout the world is promoted as a means to achieving development, and India is no exception. But the question is development for whom? Who are the winners and the losers? And at what cost? The Indian government touts tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and social stability. In reality, tourism rarely alleviates socio-economic inequalities and injustices. When combining already sensitive ‘conflict’ zones with tourism development, it is likely that more conflicts will surface. As tourism becomes increasingly globalized, many governments have put investor needs first while diluting, repealing, and changing policies and regulations related to environmental protection, social and democratic goals, and protection of the fundamental human rights. Using the specific cases of Arossim, Lavasa, Kevadia, Kullu and Kanha, this paper explores the relationship between tourism, peace, and conflict in India.

How many more of our children will we watch being destroyed for the pleasure and entertainment of adults, who go scot-free? Child exploitation in tourism is an organised and serious crime and it is growing. It demands committed and concerted action. Research, studies, investigations and police cases unearths that child sexual exploitation is a rampant crime in India and tourism is guilty. This paper reports on the growing concerns, the myths around child sexual exploitation, history of abuse and impunity, pinpoints destinations of abuse and the weak laws that allow child sexual exploitation to continue. Given this rather bleak landscape of pervasive and widespread abuse linked to tourism, the paper converges on the basic and minimum steps that different bodies must take with the greatest priority if there is to be hope for India's children.

This publication called the 'Working Paper Series 2008-09' is a compilation of our Papers and Campaigns of the year 2008-09

An overview of tourism, trade and globalisation and its impacts on biodiversity is presented in four parts. The first part interrogates the assumptions, myths and realities of globalisation. The second explores the trends in conservation ideology and its implications. The third examines how tourism - which is emblematic of globalisation - plays its part in this drama - the implication of its overt and covert agendas on biodiversity and people's rights. The final part raises some of the dilemmas, questions and challenges for conservation researchers, policy makers, global institutions, civil society and the industry.

It is bad economic policy to rely too much on tourism! Many stakeholders and sections of the Andaman & Nicobar administration hope that tourism will become the pillar of the islands’ economy. Firstly, a sound economic analysis of the current and likely economic impact of tourism is necessary. Secondly, taking cognisance of tourism’s vulnerability to internal and external factors and the ecological and geological vulnerability of the islands, such dependence is inadvisable. This paper contains segment-by-segment comments and recommended additions to the Draft Tourism Policy for Andaman & Nicobar Islands.