For Sustainable Tourism

By Sanu Maiya Pradhan

TOURISM has become one of the dominant activities at the beginning of the 21st century. In 2001, 693 million visitors traveled from, one country to another. They spent some 462 billion dollars, making tourism one of the top categories of international trade. This figure does not even include expenditures on air transport on the activity generated by domestic travel in different countries.

Major Contributor

Tourism is a major growing contributor to jobs, wealth, investment and cultural understanding with unique potential across developing states. There is however, widespread recognition that its impacts must be balanced socially, ecologically and economically. For its sustainable development institutions, policies, people and effective partnership to carry out common effort are needed. At present we are focusing to strengthen the environmental institutions, promote balance between economic development and the environment and develop human resources so as to facilititate the people. We have also recently established a national commission on sustainable development.
Tourism is one of the most thriving industries in Nepal at present. It is largest foreign currency earner. The sector has provided employment opportunities to a large number of people. It is due to this reason tourism is considered the backbone of Nepal's national economy. In fact, Nepal's tourism is one of the success stories in the development of Nepal's tourism industry. Nepal is beautiful destination for international tourists. The snow-clad mountains, rich culture, scenic beauty rivers and lakes, different religious and historic monuments and hospitable people are the main attractions for the foreign visitors in Nepal. However, while income from this industry is a welcome factor for this country that is striving to uplift the economy, the negative impact on the environment is something which must be looked at with concern by every body, specially those people who inbolved in this business. They must make effort on how the natural environment can be saved so that the trade may flourish. The tourism entrepreneurs must realise that the arrival of so many people in a small and untouched area cannot only deplore the natural resources available there but also complete destroy the environment. Such a realisation among the people is essential efforts must be made to generate awareness among them.
Cropping pattern change and even new settlements have been established in the effort to provide services to the foreigners. Just to take the example of encroachments made on the forests there are regulations which stipulate that alternative fuel must be used for cooking in the remote tourist areas, but is alarming to note that a well watched area like the Everest region, 9.2 metric tons of firewood is used by the local lodges. What has to be understood is that those people are not only harming, the environment but also their own business in the long run. International clients now prefer to use ecofriendly services. The tourism entrepreneurs also must promote their business and protect the environment by taking measures to safeguard the natural environment.

Motivated by love for the beautiful mountains, 10 young French climbers arrived Kathmandu on mission to clean up the trash around Dhaulagiri base camp. Nepalese and French organisations have formed a partnership to carry out task and are expected to collect 1,700 kolos of waste materials. The cost of the mission is estimated at $45,000. Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP) is supporting the French Mission, which will also clean up the trekking sought to Dhaulagiri base camp. Dhaulagiri is the world's seventh tallest mountain and the route leading to it is one of the most difficult. This initiative has been taken to benefit Nepal's tourism and environment.

Tourism is the foundations of Nepal's economy and is at great risk due to various domestic reasons. It is the fundamental to improving the lives of the community in the remote mountains. The waste collected would be disposed off in the most environmental friendly way. The initiative has been taken at a time when UN announced 2002 as the international year of Mountains. This year is also being observed as Internal Year of ECO Tourism. The tourist industry and all stake holders will be working to balance the demands of tourists, and seek to care for the environment. For some communities and regions, sustainable tourism can be a first step towards sustainable development. The campaign is also aimed at generating awarness among the local and the people involved in the trekking profession.
On and average, more than thirty-eight thousand tourists flock to Annapurna mountain region each year making it Nepal's most popular mountain tourism region. The government through the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation manages the region as the Integrated Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) rather than as a national park. The main reason is to elicit the full participation of the local people in resource conservation and ecosystem management.

Important Factor

Some important factors must be considered seriously, if one wants to see the growth as well as the sustainability of the tourism sector, one is the promotional aspect and the other is conservation of ecology and culture. First of all, in the fiercely competitive international tourism business, Nepal cannot remain isolated efforts must be made by both the government and the private sector to inform visitors about Nepal and the unique attractions that it has for the tourists. There is no doubt, that if tourism is to be made an ever lasting, venture much vision has to be shown in the preservation of both national assets and the cultural heritage of the country so that they will remain valuable assets of the country. It is not difficult to the concerned tourism authority of Nepal, to offer a wide verity of tourism related activities to the tourist.

Partnership And Development
Role Of Civil Societies

Shree Govind Shah

A LARGE number of people feel uncertainty when the short sighted but authoritarian politicians manipulate the emerging issues and state's actions to suit their personal or organisational goals, rather than estimating and mining the people's and nation's long-term interests. The negatively skewed centralised institutional set up in most political parties in this country often hesitate to give chairs to the other sharp and bright politicians, who may be younger, and that has been the cause of physical splits or misappropriation within the party cadre. This erodes level of understanding within a political party as well as between the parties, hindering collective choice actions either for controlling Maoist insurgency or eradicating rent seeking mechanism and corruption, alleviating poverty, and fair distribution of development programmes and benefits, which have been the major emerging issues in destabilising the socio-political scenario in Nepal. This has caused most of the unpleasant situations in the country for the last couple of years.

Non-cooperative

Politics in Nepal has become a non-cooperative game where the political parties initially 'cooperate' for a short period to gain immediate benefits and then defect in action most of the time. This unethical behaviour has distanced most of the politicians from the average people, and now they look non-professionals in their actions. Very few politicians consider politics as profession practicing essential norms and codes, and duty and responsibility to people, while many of them have 'right' oriented approach - right to be a politician or right to rule creating uneasy to other people, which is undemocratic by itself.

After the restoration of democracy in 1990, many people assumed that there would be more equitable distribution of resources and benefits among the citizens irrespective of their geographical locations and that there would be equal opportunity on equal terms in education, employment and economic development, involving a large population in nation building. Failure to this resulted in mistrust between the people and the government mechanism, and many of the unemployed but innocent youths got attracted to the Maoist rebellion dreaming of a better life, if they become successful. Many people changed their perception that the 'democracies' cannot deliver 'better lives', and even the multiparty elections do not always make a democracy, since after elections politicians kept themselves at distance from the people. Many people lost their faith in democratic system. This is really a sad story as well as a big blow to the democratic forces in the country. It is hard to think of overall development in this century without practicing a viable democratic system, considering economic liberalisation, market economy and private management of resources as the basis for development.

Since 1980, over 80 countries in the world have moved into the democratic column, civilian governments have replaced many military and authoritarian governments and they held multiparty elections. However, in few countries including Nepal the leaders for democracy underestimated what it takes to build a functioning and properly rooted democracy, which depend on the basic elements of duty and responsibility to the people who elected them to be leaders. Democratic culture allows room for sound and positive political opposition, a free press and citizen's actions groups. We have many physical and psychological problems in our democratic system such as devotional work oriented approach, lack of institutionalised regular contacts with the people, positive roles to be played by opposition, rudimentary citizen's action groups and their functioning etc, and unfortunately our leaders did not try to analyse them.

His Majesty the King Gyanendra on 4 October sacked Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and abolished his council of ministers, which has been "incapable to conduct elections as scheduled earlier". The elections set for November 13 have been put off. His Majesty assumed executive powers "for the time being" and called on political parties to suggest 'clean people........' to form a new interim government to run the country until elections were eventually held. His Majesty affirmed commitments towards constitutional monarchy and multiparty democracy, which has been appreciated by most civil societies and intellectuals. This move followed a recommendation by Deuba's cabinet on 3 October to delay national elections scheduled for November by a year due to mounting Maoist violence; the Maoists have been waging an increasingly deadly battle to overthrow the constitutional monarchy and install a communist republic in the poverty-stricken country. Mr Deuba pleaded, "I wanted elections, I had decided to postpone elections because everybody requested me to do so. That is why I decided to defer elections as per the Constitution and according to the wish of all political parties".

Royal promulgation has drawn mixed views, and with an exception to the political parties and their leaders reaping political benefits in the past almost all people whether intellectuals or workers depending on daily wages for their living, the entrepreneurs, the industrialists, the citizenry groups and many from different walk of life both in cities and rural areas have considered this political and constitutional decision timely and appropriate. In recent years, people from all walks of life felt frustrated, loosing ground for development and peaceful life in the country. Youths left their homes in rural areas for the fear of their lives, which have tremendous negative effects on agriculture production. Many of the wrong policies adopted have affected resources management and their productivity. A large number of people in Mid Western and Far Western mountain regions could not get basic supplies of life 'food', and for them democracy became an alien object. The present state of democracy does not seem to be responding to the real agenda of the country's poor, it certainly needs modification.

Service To People

The movement following the Royal address indicates that people are gearing towards national unity and nationalism, and if incoming leaders properly handle this situation, people would have peaceful life, enjoy security and contribute to nation building. This will be in favour of the best interest and welfare of the common people in the country. Naturally, the country needs politicians with positive attitudes, who can perform well under the existing condition of political stress and deteriorating security situation created by Maoist insurgency. Currently, the peaceful situation in the country is more important than the constitution, which could be amended for positive outcomes if need arise. If politicians do not perform for the long-term interest and welfare of the common people as has been observed in the past, the civil societies have to come forward and create a healthy situation for better governance. It is high time for all civil societies and citizen's action groups, irrespective of their geographical, ethnical and conceptual representation, to unite their wisdom and capacities for restoring common people's lost faith on government and for building properly rooted democracy for the people. The non-political entities, lost during the past decade, needs to be brought in the mainstream of development. The constitutional monarchy and the multiparty party democracy are the basis for country's development, however, their functioning will depend on freedoms and rights of common people to live peacefully as well as duty and responsibility of governing institutions and leaders to provide services to the people. We hope that bad evils will die soon and that Goddess Durga Bhavani brings us Peace, Security, Prosperity and Happiness to our family, neighbours and our nation.

Dashain Musings

By Sunil K.C.

DASHAIN is here once again and everything is Dashain like. The morning chill, warm afternoons and lots and lots of plastic bags - bulging with new dresses. Certainly, there is nothing like Dashain - for good and not so. All of us look forward to it from months earlier, some for more fun but many for how to get over it without being bruised financially.

It is a time for fun and merry-making. Yes, it can be a fun with lots of merriment if you have salary in upper bracket of five figures, or have other unseen sources. For others, seeing through the festival is like climbing a mountain of needs and demands. Dashain often gets over you in terms of waning saving (if you have any), loans, debts and, of course, cards and Cowri if you gamble. It was for nothing that our fore fathers made the adage 'Aayo Dashain Dhool Bajai, Gayo Dashain Rin Bokai' or Dashain comes with the beat of drums and it goes leaving behind a burden of debt.

But no matter how, Dashain has to be celebrated - be it by taking loans or by selling ornaments. There has to be new clothes for everyone in the family, there has to be good food, mainly meat and a lots of it. More importantly it is saving your honour before the friends and relatives.

The pressure actually begins to build up months ahead. One may feel relieved to waive off all demands saying two words, 'in Dashain'. Even the better halves can be tricked to shut her mouth by saying 'in Dashain'.

But the troubles start when the sky begins to clear up and it grows with the morning chill. You may forget your assurances, but the words remain embedded in the minds of the children and wives like a tattoo.

Now, it is the D-Day. The schools and colleges are closed, and time to go shopping. Isn't it a pity to look at the poor man led to one of the many Super Markets, flanked on all sides by the wife and children? There his condition is no different from that of a sacrificial lamb. The appropriate word is Khasi or castrated goat, and Dashain is not complete without having one. We will come to that part later on.

At the moment we will continue the journey to New Road. There, inside the well-decorated shop sits a pot-bellied Sahuji (shopkeeper) surrounded by his assistance. As soon as your entourage enters you can sense the big shopkeeper salivating at your bulging pocket and ready to make a kill like a proverbial wolf. There he howls in the sweetest voice you have ever heard.

"This is the latest model, just came from Hong Kong." "Look at the print and the colour, and you, little lady (addressing to the teenage daughter), will look more dashing than … he names the latest beauty queen." He chuckles, "The price is very reasonable, just three thou…." Before, he finishes your heart sinks. If your daughter falls in love with that piece (and most of the time she does), you are a dead man.

Then there is the men's wear. The son has already chosen a new jacket and jeans. "Dad, aren't they beautiful, I will have to find a new pair of shoes - a Caterpillar - to go with them."

Not to be outdone by the children, the mother has her own ideas. There she is holding a new Sari. "This is the latest model French Chiffon." Before you can give your opinion, she declares, "I am not going to Maiti (her father's home) wearing the same old (emphasis) sari." She completely forgets that she had bought one in her sister's marriage just five months ago and has not worn it for more than three times. The excuse was the same one, "Everybody wears new sari in marriage. On top of that it is my own sister who is getting married."

"Now, now, you begin to reason, first let the children…" but she goes on, "My sister has already bought not one but two new saris." She is more childish than the children are. You don't want to be belittled in front of others who have now begun to stare at you.

Exit from the shop with heavy bags and lighter wallet. On the way back, the wife suddenly notices your faded coat, pant with prominent knee and well-worn shoes. "You must have a complete new outfit." Suddenly she becomes so considerate. Your wish of replacing a well-worn coat and the gaping shoes will have to wait till next Dashain.

Back home the small ten-year-old is waiting for the khasi. "Father, when will our khasi come?"
The baa, baa of the khasis echo from the entire neighbourhood. After all what is Dashain without khasi - buying meat from the butcher could be more expensive. But when the goat is brought the young one is not much impressed. "Why is our khasi so small? Ramesh, Krishna and Kundan (the neighbours sons) have big ones." Even after being sheared like a Merino sheep the troubles are not over yet. There are still money to be found for the sisters, their husbands and children to be given after putting the tikas.

The one like him may wish that Dashain never comes, and after looking at his woes who can blame him? Dashain will be of no less fun if it is to be celebrated like in old times, when love and blessings prevailed over money and matters.