Ecotourism - A Strategy for Poverty Alleviation and Growth in Meghalaya

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Ecotourism has assumed significant importance today and is the fastest growing segment in the tourism industry. It is a highly labour intensive industry offering a number of jobs that do not require specialised training. Hence, it provides employment to unskilled and semi-skilled workers, part time workers especially women and young people, thereby supporting livelihood and empowering women. Ecotourism also seeks to increase environmental awareness and instils a sense of social responsibility towards its protection and conservation. Considering the topography, Meghalaya cannot be expected to be an industrially developed state nor a state with abundant surplus in agricultural production. However, nature's endowment, ethnological diversity and rich cultural heritage provide tremendous scope for economic prosperity through development of ecotourism.

The book examines the level of development of various ecotourism destinations of Meghalaya. It takes into account the perception of all stakeholders, such as people engaged in tourism, accommodation providers, tour operators, government and tourists, in analysing the net benefits of ecotourism initiatives that accrue to the State and whether such benefits have helped in improving the lives of the people in general and the poor in particular. To analyse the economic impact of tourist spending in the state, the authors have computed the amount of income that is generated via multiplier effect. The study not only delineates the impact of ecotourism activities on the livelihood of people residing in the destinations, but also highlights the opportunities and challenges that should be taken into consideration by the government in formulation of policies, required to realize the real potential of ecotourism that will spur growth and help in poverty alleviation.

Madhuchhanda Das Gupta teaches Economics in Women's College, Shillong. Apart from her long experience in teaching undergraduate courses, she has also taught post graduate management courses. A gold medallist in the master's degree examination conducted by the North Eastern Hill University, she obtained her MPhil and PhD degrees for her research work in econometrics from the University. She has contributed chapters in text books, published papers and participated in national seminars and workshops. Her academic interest is in economics of development and growth and gender studies. She has also completed two research projects.

Haimanti Choudhury is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics, Women's College, Shillong. She has done her masters in Economics and has also obtained LLB degree from North Eastern Hill University. In addition to her long experience in teaching at the undergraduate level, she has also completed two research projects. Her research interest includes gender economics, public finance and public policy and economics of development. Besides teaching, she has also presented papers in national seminars, published papers and organised workshop.

Recent decade has witnessed a considerable shift in tourist's preference from popular traditional destinations of the developed nations to nature destinations located mainly in developing countries. People often travel to destinations that are pristine in natural beauty and home to large variety of flora and fauna to fulfil their desire to explore nature and get respite from the stressful urban life. The tranquillity of nature, pollution free serene environment and the opportunity to understand and experience the cultural heritage of the locals are the pull factors that attract tourists to such destinations. Hence, ecotourism has assumed significant importance today and is the fastest growing segment in the tourism industry.

Ecotourism can be broadly defined as nature-based type of tourism. As opposed to mass tourism, any travel to nature areas that raises awareness for environmental protection and generates economic benefits for local people can be called ecotourism. According to the International Tourism Society (TIES) ecotourism is "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people".

The popularity of ecotourism is evidenced in its significant contribution to the gross domestic product of countries such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia and Australia. Studies across the world have revealed that responsible ecotourism has the potential to create economic opportunities for the local communities, preserve the biodiversity and conserve the areas for posterity.

Tourism is being increasingly recognized as an effective tool to achieve sustainable development. Sustainable development as defined in the 1987 United Nations Brundtland Commission Report 'Our Common Future' is "a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Since the natural and cultural heritage constitutes most of the resource base of the tourism industry, conservation of environment and securing livelihoods are the basic premises on which the industry operates and hence, positively contributes to the three pillars of sustainability- economic, social and environmental. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) declared in 1988 that "Sustainable tourism is envisaged as leading to the management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems".

The Globe '90 conference held in British Columbia, Canada highlighted the importance of environment in sustaining the tourism industry. The delegates of the conference were of the opinion that the goals of sustainable tourism should be: (a) to develop greater awareness and understanding of the significant contributions that tourism can make to environment and the economy: (b) to promote equity and development; (c) to improve the quality of life of the host community; (d) to provide a high quality of experience for the visitors; and (e) to maintain the quality of environment on which the foregoing objectives depend. A number of policy recommendations were made as to how tourism should be developed and promoted to make it sustainable. Sustainability concerns of tourism calls for planned and sustainable management of natural resources and minimization of negative environmental impacts.

**Contents and Sample Pages**