Backpack and more.. good to know before heading for the forest

Travelling brings its own set of challenges, long after the backpack has been set, the gear checked and the stomach cast in iron. While one can't control everything that might and most probably will happen on a trip, one can always prepare well.

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India awarded for marketing eco tourism, not actually providing one!!

Last week, India got rewarded at Macau for marketing through different innovative means the essence and diversity of tourism industry by highlighting eco tourism. However, back home, the story is quite different. Except for a few dedicated and successful initiatives, eco tourism still has not being given its due. As one needs to protect the bio-diversity first and then think about making it available for tourists, it becomes an almost impossible task for bureaucrats to do the needful. So whatever efforts have been made are totally private funded/ managed.
Here at Mount Abu, there are a few places earmarked as eco sites. None are habitable and at times not even accessible. The tourism department, along with the Forest department must involve the locals to make things happen.

New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) India Friday won three prestigious awards at the international travel mart in Macau for its rural and eco-tourism projects, an official said here....
Click here http://www.india-forums.com/news/business/277484-india-bags-international-tourism-awards.htm

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India

Misty Abu

That's what I call "Paradise". Its misty, its cool and it ain't raining so much. So you can enjoy the wilderness to the fullest. What else would one desire after spending a cruel 5 days work at office and the traffic snarls. The best weekend getaway. Experience once and get mesmerized forever.

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Smart Enviropreneur

When it doesn't rain in Abu, people take recourse to the most unreasonable and primitive means to 'bring' rains. First, they'll call for a complete 'bandh' (strike) against nobody. Second, they'll arrange for a community get together and perform religious acts like 'yagya' and finally, try to convince the rain Gods to come down and bless the already sinned 'Hills of Gods'.Instead of all this drama, what they, including myself, ought to do is, first, start caring for the environment and plant more trees and save the already existing ones from being wiped out from the face of this planet. Second, invest more on water harvesting techniques which will surely help in allowing water to seep in and increase the ground water level. Third, live the idea of eco-tourism. It's not a far-fetched concept at all. In fact, its time for every individual to know the benefits of such environment friendly concepts. Rain is dependent on many natural processes, vegetation is just one of them.But here we are, lame, lazy, primitive and full of stupidity. For a change, i find it self consoling that at least Bib B knows the right way of doing stuff. And as a usual thing for him, he still carries on upholding the Green Brigade banner. Seeing him mowing the lawns the other day seemed like a ray of hope against all adversity. At least the next generation would have better explanations for their descendents.

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Ten to watch in 2010

2010 is the UN’s official Year of Biodiversity. Now more than ever, the international spotlight is on preserving the variety of life on Earth. Our ’10 to Watch’ list offers just a few examples of species needing urgent protection.

WWF has had many successes in the past, rescuing species from the brink of extinction, but the increasing threats from deforestation, poaching and climate change are threatening to unravel some of our hard work – and we’re doing everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen.

This selection is just 10 from a growing list of officially endangered species, with a reminder of some of the work we’re doing, with your support, to help them survive.

http://www.wwf.org.uk/news_feed.cfm?3657/ten-to-watch-in-2010

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Are you a real nature lover?

As soon as we stepped into our luxury safari tents, the bellboy switched on a couple of air conditioners. Outside, a strong breeze was blowing from the adjoining forested valley, but the tent was not constructed to exploit it for cooling. The air conditioners were sucking on the electricity grid (powered by coal-burning, inefficient, polluting and greenhouse-gas-emitting machinery), with massive diesel generators as back-up. We had just checked into a premium “ecolodge” in the heart of Bandipur National Park in the Nilgiris. http://www.livemint.com/2009/07/17221958/Are-you-a-real-nature-lover.html?h=B
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What is More Environmentally Friendly – Tea or Coffee?

The alarm goes off. It’s 6:30am. You know it’s a Monday. What do you do? You can either go back to bed, phone in sick and surf Facebook, or you get up…helping you through this process of the morning news if your daily vice. Be it tea or coffee, I’m pretty sure you’ve got one of those lovely hot drinks by your side. But have you ever considered which is the more environmentally friendly? I bet you haven’t!

http://www.recycle.co.uk/blog/tea-or-coffee/

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Mount Abu declared eco-sensitive zone

Boating in Nakki Lake or enjoying the sunset point at Mount Abu is set to become more fun with the Union environment ministry declaring the hill station an eco-sensitive zone which will ensure that now curbs are in place to retain its pristine charm.
TOI had first reported this in its July 17 edition last year. But the locals had been vehemently opposing the move. However, in June 25, the ministry passed the notifications which will now limit traffic and ban the use of plastic bags among other things. The decision has come as per the recommendations of the Mohan Ram Committee set up by the Supreme Court. The committee had found Mount Abu to be an eco-fragile area and had asked the government to take immediate measures.

Although the ministry has taken the decision in the right earnest, locals are still not convinced and will oppose it. “The move will create more procedural complications and may also lead to corruption as the public will fall victim to babus’ highhandedness,” said Jalam Giri, chairman, Mount Abu Municipal Corporation. He said the move was on for quite some time and they had met chief minister Ashok Gehlot and other leaders apprising them about the problems of the local people. “The chief minister had assured that the tag will be subject to locals’ consent but it has happened unilaterally without taking their views into account,” he added.

The eco-sensitive zone covers the entire area of the notified urban area limit, including Mount Abu municipal limits and adjoining forest block areas. All activities in the forest block areas shall be governed by the provisions of the Rajasthan Forest Act, 1953 and the Forests (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980) and all the activities in the Protected Areas (Sanctuary) shall be governed by the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972).
A zonal master plan for the eco-sensitive zone shall be prepared by the state government within two years from the date of publication of the notification and will be submitted for approval to the ministry of environment and forests.

The zonal master plan shall provide for restoration of denuded areas, conservation of existing water bodies including Nakki Lake, management of the catchment areas, watershed management, groundwater management, soil and moisture conservation, needs of local community and conservation of heritage sites. It will demarcate all the existing village settlements, tribal areas, including tribal hamlets, forests, agricultural areas, fertile lands etc.

New traffic regulations will also come up and there is a possibility that the entry of vehicles near tourist places will be restricted.

All new constructions shall be allowed only after the proposals are scrutinized and approved by the monitoring committee and all other development activities, including alterations in buildings, shall require prior approval of the committee provided that these do not involve structural changes and are on the existing authorised plinth areas in the Mount Abu municipal limits.

Now, only non-polluting, non-hazardous cottage industries like ice cream, hosiery, embroidery, sewing work, ayurvedic drugs, etc, service industries, agriculture, floriculture, horticulture or agro-based industries shall be permitted in the protected area. There shall be no felling of trees, government revenue or private lands within the zone without the prior permission of the state government in case of forest land and the respective district collectors in case of government, revenue and private land.

The area has three big water bodies namely Upper Kodra dam, Lower Kodra dam and Nakki Lake and in addition to this the area has around 25 water places, which include natural nullah, dams, anicuts, seepage and baoris that are spread over entire area and must be protected. No person shall use plastic carry bags within the notified area. Apart from Mount Abu municipal area, the nearby villages including Sanigaon, Machgaon, Goagaon, Delwara, Oriya, Jawal, Achalgarh, Salgaon, Torna, Dudhai, Hetamji and Arna have also been included in the zone.
(Times of India, 4th July, 2009)

Times of India, 5th July, 2009 - Copy paste the link below in your browser window - 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Earth/Pollution/Eco-fragile-Mount-Abu-gets-eco-sensitive-status-/articleshow/4740372.cms

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Hills feel the heat

This summer, its cool and comfortable in Aravallis. Mount Abu still provides the pleasent environment one expects from a hill station. But its not the same elsewhere.

During the dry summer, days can get hot in Pithoragarh. But like numerous other hill stations in Uttarakhand, nights remain cool and refreshing in this sprawling town close to the Nepal border. However, this summer has been different.

Copy paste the following link in a new window for full story - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Hills-feel-the-heat/articleshow/4718270.cms

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Can Ecotourism and Mass-Tourism Co-Exist?

Is ecotourism compatible with mass tourism? Can one exist simultaneously with the other?
In order to answer such questions, we should first clearly define both “ecotourism” and “mass tourism.” Ecotourism can be defined as travel and tourism at relatively “unspoiled” locations that additionally places emphasis on making as little ecological impact as possible. The term “unspoiled” here refers to areas with little development, where nature is pristine. Such areas may be conserved or protected by law.

http://sky2seainternational.com/blog/adventure-travel/can-ecotourism-and-mass-tourism-co-exist

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When many people think of green roofs, they generally think of cities such as Chicago, Washington, DC and Shanghai. While these cities definitely need the benefits of green roofs, non-polluted environments can benefit also. Take Colombia, with its varied geography and mild climate, is a great location for green roofs.

http://cleanerairforcities.blogspot.com/2009/06/colombia-joins-green-roof-movement.html

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How Green is Ecotourism?

For green-minded people, caring for the Earth shouldn't take a vacation when you're on, well, vacation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522477,00.html

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Pandemonium - A room with a view

When the world seems to go crazy, I start to think about holidays. (Actually, I'm always thinking about it.) My last trip was to Peru and I'm really missing the peace and isolation of the jungle. So I thought for kicks, I'd put up some photos of the lodge I stayed at. - Kathleen Noud

http://kathleennoud.blogspot.com/2009/06/room-with-view.html

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Green Tourism and How it helps the Environment

Green tourism is defined as general travel going greener. Going green has been recently getting more and more popular, now hotels, airlines, and tourist hot spots are getting greener to help save the environment. The largest industries in the world are both trying to shrink tourism’s environmental footprint while still expanding their ventures, although many of the industries believe that their efforts will not have any effect on the current global warming crisis at hand.
http://easygreenlivingnaturally.com/green-living/green-tourism-and-how-it-helps-the-environment/
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Eco-Tourism, Defined

“Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” ~ TIES: The International Ecotourism Society, 1990

http://endangerededen.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/eco-tourism-defined/

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40,000 visit eco-tourism village

Management at Wales' first five-star holiday village say it has attracted 40,000 visitors to Pembrokeshire.

Analysis shows that the 960-bed village is attracting new visitors who have never sampled the delights of west Wales. Four out of 10 are travelling more than four hours from the M25, Lancashire or the west of England.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8083588.stm

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Planeterra Foundation: Thoughts on Voluntourism

Planeterra was founded in 2003 by G.A.P Adventures, the largest independent adventure travel company in the world. Planeterra evolved out of a long history of travelers committed to finding ways to give back to the people and places they visit. Planeterra selects the projects and works with G.A.P Adventures to arrange voluntour travel programs.

http://ecotourismworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/planeterra-foundation-thoughts-on.html

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Saving our forests, one ecotourist at a time

By creating a sustainable ecotourism industry, we can give our natural resources a stable funding platform and a fighting chance to return to ecological health. Introducing public/private partnerships would accelerate stalled restoration efforts. Beneficially, they would improve access to a public asking for more and introduce new generations to natural settings. They would be economically significant, providing employment for desperately poor rural economies, as well as driving our world-class outdoor recreation and apparel industries.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/06/saving_our_forests_one_ecotour.html

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Andhra plans Rs 10,000cr tourism project in Kadapa

Coining the term 'aam admi tourism' (people's tourism), the minister said the focus would be on promoting rural tourism apart from giving a push to medical, eco and spiritual tourism segments
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/andhra-plans-rs-10000cr-tourism-project-in-kadapa/359918/
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Tighter budgets mean greener travel

The economy, not the environment, is making travellers more waste conscious, according to a recent survey by Element Hotels.
http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/green-news-june
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