NATIONAL 4 - (Spotlight Weekly)

Lessons To Be Learnt

Will Nepal learn any lesson from the 12th PATA eco-tourism conference it is going to host?

By A Correspondent

Government officials and private sectors were all smiles when they told the press earlier last week that Nepal will once again host the Pacific Asia Travel Association's (PATA) Adventure and Eco-Tourism Conference and Mart at the end of this month.

A safari diving : Cashing in on conservation

Of the 11 such conferences held in the past, Nepal has already hosted three of them. With yet another such event going to be held in the Kingdom, both the officialdom and the private sectors may have a reason to thump their chest.

But, only hosting such programs should not come as a big news, tourism experts say. "The crucial question is: What has Nepal achieved from such events and what can it get from the upcoming PATA event?"

As far as business is concerned, Nepal must have benefitted from such travel marts. And, most probably it will continue to do so in the programs to follow.

But, it is the other part of the program -- the Adventure and Eco-tourism Conference -- that puts a question mark on Nepal's achievement.

What lessons did Nepal learn from 11 such conferences to make its adventure tourism products ecologically sustainable? So many papers were presented and ideas shared among the participating members of PATA in the previous conferences. How much enlightened was Nepal by those discussions? Could it successfully implement the ideas?

The answer, knowledgeable sources say, varies. There have been some successful stories of conservation and tourism going together. But there are also places that have already had adverse impact of increasing tourism on their fragile ecology.

"The Annapurna, Sagarmatha and the Royal Chitwan National Parks are the successful examples that are taken as models of eco-tourism around the world," says Prachanda Man Shrestha, former Director General at the now dissolved Department of Tourism.

Other areas with encouraging results include Rolawaling Valley where Eco Himal, an Austrian Non Government Organization, is working to build the necessary tourism infrastructure, Ghale Gaun in AnnApurna region, Manasalu areas, among others.

Some even claim that Nepal pioneered the concept of Eco-Tourism in the region. Yet, all is not well when it comes to matters regarding sustainable tourism.

No other than the Annapurna region is a striking example. The region saw around 60,000 visitors in 1997 while its closest competitor the Everest region had not even 20,000 tourists the same year.

Other attractive and scenic spots like Kanchunjunga had not even 600 visitors. Result: Earlier this year, two foreign clean-up expeditioners brought down more than 1000 kg of garbage and above 50 kgs of used batteries that had littered the trekking trails from Annapurna and Everest regions respectively. Over concentrated areas in the high lands.

Same is the case in the low lands. The Royal Chitwan National Park saw more than 100,000 tourists in 1997 while its bordering Parsa Wildlife reserve had only two visitors. The excessive human pressure at certain places have begun to show their ugly faces.

Bearing the burden of the increasing tourists' load at the RCNP is Kasara, located in the eastern part of the park. This is where the major chunk of the visitors enter the park from. As a result the number of commercial operations have shot up to an unmanageable point.

"The Icharni Island in that part of the park is visibly ecologically disturbed," says Ukesh Bhuju, Program Director of WWF Nepal Program.

Given the disturbing news trickling in from the over-concentrated areas, the country should work out to fix its carrying capacity, experts say. If it cannot be done in macro level, at least the calculation can be done for areas that have already come under tremendous human pressure.

"Neither there is any indicator of negative impacts of increasing tourism nor any standard in that direction has been set up," says Dr. Pitambar Sharma, Regional Planner with International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

PATA officials say the conference and mart Nepal is going to hold can help to great extent for the country's sustainable tourism growth. "The idea is to bring in more tourists and at the same time maintain the ecology," says Ashok Pokhrel, Chairman of PATA Nepal Chapter.

That is the reason the 12th eco-tourism conference that will be held in Pokhara from December 28 to January 31 next year has the theme: "Minimum Impact, Maximum Experience."

Whether Nepal learns how can the theme be applied practically remains to be seen.