Ecotourism,a concept in tourism sectors which is getting momentum – enjoying the natural beauty and keeping intact and protecting surrounding environment for the use of future generation. Tourist will get the chances of first hand experience of nature and its beauty while people will get opportunities to earn for their living from it.
Nepal has wide varieties geographically from low plain as much as 70m from sea level to highest peak of the world Mt Everest. Plain, hills and mountain combination of these where many species of flora and fauna, flowers, exotic orchids, butterflies, birds, mammals were found in Nepal and it has huge potentiality in ecotourism or nature tourism.
Nepal is known around world as a land of Protected Areas with National Parks, Hunting Reserve, Wildlife Reserve, Buffer Zone and Conservation Area. Worldwide renown Annapurna, Chitawan, Sagarmatah, Langtang regions, Gaurishanker are protected area where tourist come each year for trekking, safari and sporting activities. So ecotourism will become main income source of surrounding area while protecting natural environment.
Definition of Ecotourism
Eco-tourism is now a popular term that most of resort, hotel and travel agency operators use to promote their products and services. But what does it really mean? Well, the word eco-tourism comes from two words, ecology and tourism. In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary it says that ecology is the relation of plants and living creatures to each other and to their environment, or the study of this. Well, it is easy to understand the terminology of eco-tourism but it is difficult to implement it. As different geographical places have their own ecological conditions, those who promote tour packages under the banner of eco-tourism have to be aware whether such tourism activities will support the preservation of the environment or not.
General Perception and Impact to Local Communities
Sometimes people think that eco-tourism means going to the beach or traveling around the tropical island instead of embark on a city tour. As a matter of fact, it is more complicated than just sun bathing at a white sandy beach. Eco-tourists are encouraged to interact with the natural environments which they visit to understand their values. For instance, when I guide tourists to a hiking destination in the Nepal mountains that are covered with green plants, I will always try to explain the medicinal functions of certain herbs there and the roles of tropical rainforest in absorbing CO2 gases that we emit everyday and in releasing Oxygen gas that most living matters need. Small scale tours to coral reef and tropical rainforest will not cause negative impacts on the environment where travelers visit. They also have to be smart tourists who see this travel industry as a way to empower the economic livelihood of the villagers whom they meet on the way. These can include boat owner, guesthouse owner or just a local guide.
Hotel owners pay attention to these environmental issues
For instance, I live in Kathmandu, a capital of Nepal where the surrounding environment is hot (around 35 degrees celcius, has a lot of rain all year round and high humidity. Most of the island is still covered with dense tropical rainforest. Tourists who come to this tropical coastal town must understand that they have to adapt with the tropical climate. If there are hotels in town that offer eco-tourism package to foreign tourists but at the same time install huge Air Conditioning installation in their buildings then their promotion is only empty words. Hotel owners must provide enough green areas around their hotel buildings to be planted with trees so that the surrounding atmosphere will be cooler and healthier. Dirty air that has been polluted with smokes and dust can be filtered by the plants that grow around the hotels. When the temperature near the hotel is not high, the electrical consumption to run AC machines will be lower.
If they really know how to implement eco-tourism principles in their accomodation or hotels, they should design rooms that have high walls with openings for air ventilation and plant green plants in their yard as well as construct swimming pool and water fountain in the building of the hotels. This will reduce much of the electricity consumption and preserve the environment.
My personal experience in implementing principles of ecotourism
I always escort the tourists to the mountain where they can see various species of trees, orchids, mushrooms, and animals live there. Some local indigenous people are also involved in this tour as guides. This is a simple instruction which all the tourists and guides must know if they really want to implement eco-tourism. Tourists are also told not to throw plastic bottles anywhere inside the jungles or in the rivers, must bring all their trash back to the hostel where they can dispose them off into the garbage beans.
Public Education about Environmental Protection
Actually the best way to implement eco-tourism practices is to educate all the city or town dwellers to be more friendly to their surrounding environment by not throwing garbage along the street, or drainage tunnels (which most of them will end up at sea polluting the marine environment), by traveling more with bicycle, by not walking on the corals when swimming at the beach and by encouraging their friends to do the same. When all of the citizens have changed their lifestyle, then the term eco-tourism which we want to realize in our town or city can effectively be implemented and really bring positive impact to the surrounding environment and to the economic livelihood of the whole community.
Environmentally Friendly Souvenirs
And the last but not the least, the souvenirs that are made by artists or handicraft makers must not be made of skins, fur, or plumage of threatened animals such as birds of paradise, kuskus, and soa-soa. Bracelets and necklaces must not be made of fragments of corals either.
