Prakash Kamat
Panaji, July 3- In a letter written to Union Minister for Environment and Forest & Climate Change Prakash Jawadekar, Goa Travel and Tourism Association(TTAG), body working for hospitality and travel in Goa have expressed deep concern about the three projects that are going to be undertaken at Mollem at the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding areas, which they feel will affect the hinterlands of Goa and which will in turn affect Goa's diverse tourism potential.
The letter says that as members of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa they would like to express their concern about the diversion of forest land within and around the Bhagvan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National park, both prime locations of hinterland and naturebased tourism.
"We urge you to consider the intersections between environmental degradation and the uture of Goa’s tourism sector which is at crucial junction,", says the letter.
The 2019-2020 tourist season began with unseasonal weather and tropical storms and is now facing the covid-pandemic. This pushes us to strengthen natural capital ancosystem resilience to strengthen the future of tourism in Goa. In this context, the three proposed projects (four lane highway expansion, double tracking of the railway line and laxying of the transmission line) will not only change patterns of land-use but significantly affect the tourism potential of these areas and Goa’s overall tourism vision.This brings us to the main point of nature-based tourism in the hinterland. Over the past decade, there is an observable global trend in nature-based tourism (including in India), which shows an increase in the number of international visitors to less-wealthy countries.
Another study on nature-based tourism trends in India shows a 14.9% average growth rate (the number of visitors per year) to India’s protected areas, bulk of which are domestic touris2 In fact, in 2014, the State Government of Goa appointed KPMG to create a 25 year Master Tourism Plan where the state’s tourism assets were looked at more holistically.
In their report they state that the “historical promotion of ‘sun, beach and sand’ alone has led to non-discovery of other tourism assets”. Thus the change in ecosystem values of Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park stands to compromise Goa’s overall vision for tourism.
The region within and surrounding Mollem National Park and Bhagvan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary has some of the most scenic natural habitat in the country and is celebrated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a Biodiversity Hotspot. A site with historical
and cultural value is that of the 12th century Mahadeva Temple in Tambdi Surla which is the only structural temple to survive from the Kadamba period. These are sites of great pride for the State of Goa and are valued and celebrated by tourists and residents alike. Another site is Dudhsagar Waterfalls, where the waterfalls alone attract over 2100 tourists per day, 7 days a week for a period of 8 months. This equates to roughly 4.7 lakh people per season that visit this location. Trends also show an increasing demand for homestay tourism in Goa wwhi according to local operators already hosts over 6000 tourists per year. Hinterland tourism is
thus not only a growing revenue generator for the state but can safeguard our position on the global tourism map as it provides a buffer when the coastal belt is closed during the monsoons.
With this in mind, we request you to consider the three requests, which we as the TTAG have put forth:
Cumulative impact assessment: We urge the concerned authorities to conduct a cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment of the impact of all three projects that cannot be looked
in isolation. This will help us better understand the impact of these projects on the hinterland tourism of the area.
Due process: Two projects were passed on the basis of a virtual clearance that should be reconsidered and be held in abeyance until pandemic-related travel restrictions are lifted to allow in-person meetings and travel to project sites for fresh appraisals following due process.
Rationale of the projects: We would like a clarification on the explicit need for these three projects to run through a protected area. We request the authorities to put forth a working model that integrates livelihood, ecological and tourism data, for all three projects. For instance, there is an existing wide-double road with 7 m carriage that is being proposed for highway expansion, especially when there are other routes like Chorla Ghat.
Seasonal travellers that visit the area for nature-based tourism are unlikely to demand a hhighway expansion.
In conclusion, TTAG said that they are concerned with the impact of that these three projects will have on the tourism industry and we would like an impact assessment on the damage done to the protected area and surrounding forests versus what the connectivity benefits are for the tourism industry, residents and other stake-holders.
This will go a long way in safeguarding Goa’s current tourism industry and assist us in planning for a better model of tourism for the State.(eom)
Panaji, July 3- In a letter written to Union Minister for Environment and Forest & Climate Change Prakash Jawadekar, Goa Travel and Tourism Association(TTAG), body working for hospitality and travel in Goa have expressed deep concern about the three projects that are going to be undertaken at Mollem at the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding areas, which they feel will affect the hinterlands of Goa and which will in turn affect Goa's diverse tourism potential.
The letter says that as members of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa they would like to express their concern about the diversion of forest land within and around the Bhagvan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National park, both prime locations of hinterland and naturebased tourism.
"We urge you to consider the intersections between environmental degradation and the uture of Goa’s tourism sector which is at crucial junction,", says the letter.
The 2019-2020 tourist season began with unseasonal weather and tropical storms and is now facing the covid-pandemic. This pushes us to strengthen natural capital ancosystem resilience to strengthen the future of tourism in Goa. In this context, the three proposed projects (four lane highway expansion, double tracking of the railway line and laxying of the transmission line) will not only change patterns of land-use but significantly affect the tourism potential of these areas and Goa’s overall tourism vision.This brings us to the main point of nature-based tourism in the hinterland. Over the past decade, there is an observable global trend in nature-based tourism (including in India), which shows an increase in the number of international visitors to less-wealthy countries.
Another study on nature-based tourism trends in India shows a 14.9% average growth rate (the number of visitors per year) to India’s protected areas, bulk of which are domestic touris2 In fact, in 2014, the State Government of Goa appointed KPMG to create a 25 year Master Tourism Plan where the state’s tourism assets were looked at more holistically.
In their report they state that the “historical promotion of ‘sun, beach and sand’ alone has led to non-discovery of other tourism assets”. Thus the change in ecosystem values of Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park stands to compromise Goa’s overall vision for tourism.
The region within and surrounding Mollem National Park and Bhagvan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary has some of the most scenic natural habitat in the country and is celebrated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a Biodiversity Hotspot. A site with historical
and cultural value is that of the 12th century Mahadeva Temple in Tambdi Surla which is the only structural temple to survive from the Kadamba period. These are sites of great pride for the State of Goa and are valued and celebrated by tourists and residents alike. Another site is Dudhsagar Waterfalls, where the waterfalls alone attract over 2100 tourists per day, 7 days a week for a period of 8 months. This equates to roughly 4.7 lakh people per season that visit this location. Trends also show an increasing demand for homestay tourism in Goa wwhi according to local operators already hosts over 6000 tourists per year. Hinterland tourism is
thus not only a growing revenue generator for the state but can safeguard our position on the global tourism map as it provides a buffer when the coastal belt is closed during the monsoons.
With this in mind, we request you to consider the three requests, which we as the TTAG have put forth:
Cumulative impact assessment: We urge the concerned authorities to conduct a cumulative Environmental Impact Assessment of the impact of all three projects that cannot be looked
in isolation. This will help us better understand the impact of these projects on the hinterland tourism of the area.
Due process: Two projects were passed on the basis of a virtual clearance that should be reconsidered and be held in abeyance until pandemic-related travel restrictions are lifted to allow in-person meetings and travel to project sites for fresh appraisals following due process.
Rationale of the projects: We would like a clarification on the explicit need for these three projects to run through a protected area. We request the authorities to put forth a working model that integrates livelihood, ecological and tourism data, for all three projects. For instance, there is an existing wide-double road with 7 m carriage that is being proposed for highway expansion, especially when there are other routes like Chorla Ghat.
Seasonal travellers that visit the area for nature-based tourism are unlikely to demand a hhighway expansion.
In conclusion, TTAG said that they are concerned with the impact of that these three projects will have on the tourism industry and we would like an impact assessment on the damage done to the protected area and surrounding forests versus what the connectivity benefits are for the tourism industry, residents and other stake-holders.
This will go a long way in safeguarding Goa’s current tourism industry and assist us in planning for a better model of tourism for the State.(eom)
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