The Hindu Business Line : Body to increase awareness on ecotourism formed

The organisation, which has 13 founder members, will focus on creating awareness about ecotourism and help frame ecotourism guidelines, said Mr Mandip Singh Soin, Founder President, Eco Tourism Society of India. While ecotourism will be the organisation’s primary focus, its remit will be to facilitate initiatives that harmonise tourism with the environment and local communities, he explained.

One of the first projects the organisation plans to launch is a “weekend course on environmental law and tourism.” This two- or three-day course will be offered in association with WWF, Mr Soin said.

Many tourism industry stakeholders do not have a clear picture of how various environmental laws impact the sector, he pointed out. So the course is designed to help the tourism industry understand environmental regulations. The course’s long-term objective is to get people from the industry to learn environmental law, he added.

Initially, the course will be offered only in New Delhi, but the idea is to eventually offer it across India through the WWF, he said. The course will be supported by bodies such as Confederation of Indian Industry and Pacific Asia Travel Association, he added.

Awards

The Eco Tourism Society of India is also thinking of instituting ecotourism awards, Mr Soin said. It will also be giving its policy inputs to the fourth edition of the Handbook on environment and ecotourism to be published by the Union Ministry of Tourism.

Other areas the organisation is looking at working in include projects on carbon emission and establishing good architectural guidelines for the tourism sector. According to Mr Soin, the organisation is also considering doing studies on the ‘carrying capacity’ of various environmentally fragile areas.

More Stories on : Tourism | Environment

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page