Birding paradise in Uttarakhand

Conservation of bird needs a lot more effort than just merely projecting them as a visual treat for the tourists. Uttarakhand government has been making planning to promote the state as ‘birding paradise’. There has not been a methodological approach towards the bird conservation as per the experts. Since, the plan to develop the state as bird watching destination for the revenue purpose so the strategy should be made accordingly.

The bird watching would be more beneficial if a proper knowledge is spread amongst the tourists about this species. Uttarakhand is blessed with natural diversity including variety of different species. There are several species of birds in the wilderness of Uttarakhand which can be a major source of income for the tourism and forest sectors.  The stress should be laid on the policy, conservation etc. for proper execution of this segment of the tourism.

Dr. Dinesh Bhatt, professor of zoology and environmental science and dean, faculty of life sciences at Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar, is among 12 scientists selected for 27^th International Ornithological Congress to be held in Vancouver, Canada in Aug 2018. According to him the research on birds is the least concerned area of science in the state. Amateur birders go into the wild and list the bird species based on their presence but the listing should be based on ecology, breeding, global warming impacts and habitation. It is a sad situation that we do not know whether the bird species are flourishing or declining.  He said that the two species – River Lapwing and Painted Stork – need immediate attention because of the poaching threat.

Bhatt also raised the problem of lack of interest shown by the government in this area and not supporting to field scientists. The process of seeking the permission to conduct the research in the wild is so cumbersome that the experts drop the idea of doing it. So, the first priority should be to make the procedures simple to conduct the research.

www.dreammountain.net

Eco-tourism and its impact

In recent times, apart from the traditional tourism, the eco-tourism has also become popular among the people. The people visit from oasis in Egypt to snorkelling sites at far flung and isolated destinations to avoid the mundane tourist crowd. However, according to the latest study it is being suggested that the interaction between the wildlife and the tourists puts the wildlife at the risk of predation due to bigger animals.

According to the researcher Daniel Blumstein of the University of California, USA, nearly 8 million people visit these kinds of protected areas in the name of eco-tourism every year. If all the humans on earth visit these protected areas, the interaction would make a big difference to the environment. The massive demand of eco-tourism and other nature based activities may add up the long list of environmental changes brought about by the humans. The report published in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution, views into the long-term effects of eco-tourism and urges the managers of all these protected areas to take these factors into account to assess the sustainability of the area. The researchers have laid stress to the fact that the objective of eco-tourism is to increase the biodiversity of the reserve, and not to diminish it.

Blumstein said that when humans and animals interact in a benign way, they might start to feel getting into comfortable zone and further feel bolder in other situations. When this boldness transfers to real predators, then they will be subject to higher mortality when they encounter real predators. The researcher also adds that the presence of humans might discourage natural predators and hence make smaller animals bold as well. This type of transfer in the system by the human puts animals at a greater risk in the presence of their natural predators and poachers.

The new study is being done on different animals to see their conditions due to the visitation by the human beings. In addition, Blumstein also wishes to see the level of exposure at which the animals start bringing the change in behaviour and bringing themselves into the danger.

Russian tourists in India

Kerala Tourism, along with Goa and Uttarakhand, are planning a formal association with the Russian Tourism and the Culture Ministry, in view of a gradual increase in tourist arrivals from that country.The decision follows the recent visit of Kerala Tourism Director to Russia where he and tourism representatives from Goa and Uttarakhand, held discussions with Russian officials.The Tourism Director said 35,010 Russian tourists visited the State in 2014, up by 10 per cent over the previous year.The first idea is to formulate a board which shall consist of the Centre, the Ministry of Tourism, the Indian Embassy in Russia and the tourism departments of Kerala, Goa and Uttarakhand. The proposal shall be put up to the Centre, a Kerala Tourism press release said here.The main areas under the intended board’s purview would include a marketing campaign to increase the flow of Russian tourists to India through many various cultural and tourism promotional programmes.

The meetings regarding the tourism were held between Olga Yarilova, the Head of Tourism and Regional Policy Department of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and Pareeth at the Ministry of Culture, Russian Federation.A team of major Russian tour operators and State tourism office representatives from Goa and Uttarakhand, India Tourism and Indian Embassy officials were also present at the meeting.The Russian official team raised the issues of reducing the visa fees and the airport fee incurred on chartered flights, which would be taken up for consideration to the concerned authorities, the release said.The Russian officials also expressed their concern about the lack of Russian guides in Kerala and may be taken a serious consideration.“Considering the concerned issues raised, we have agreed upon to publish a list of Russian guides in our Kerala Tourism’s Russian language version website,” said Pareeth.“We will also promote the cultural exchange between Kerala and Russia where art performers from Kerala will go and perform there and Russian artistes will come and perform in Kerala,” he added.

Poacher warning in Rajaji Park

High alert was sounded in the Shyampur range of Rajaji tiger reserve on Saturday following  reports of movement of suspected poachers in the area The range had recently announced presence of two male cubs and other adult tigers while the senior officers of the forest department are regularly inspecting the area since then, camera – trapping has also been installed at several spots to keep an eye on the big cats and poachers. 

According to sources in the department movement was reported to the officers on Saturday (3^rd Oct 2015) after-noon after which they declared a high alert in the range. Sources said Bawariya community members, traditionally tiger hunters, were seen entering the forest of Shyampur range. ‘’We have received information about the suspected movement in the forest range following which I told officials to declare a high alert. I also visited the forest area and have sought details from the staff about the developments every one hour,’’ said chief wildlife warden. However, he refused  to comment on whether the unidentified persons  in the range belonged to Bawariya community  or not news about the presence  suspected poachers have raised  the concern of scientists, activists and the forest department the scientists had earlier suggested translocation of tiger from Shyampur Range presently occupied by over 200 Gujjar families, to the core area of the reserve and formulation of a long term plan to avoid man animal conflict. 

However, chief conservator of forest, wildlife and intelligence said, ‘’Translocation isn‘t a simply process. It needs involvement of Notional tiger Conservation Authority followed by series of plan submission, approval and infrastructure. We are working on those lines ‘’ the tiger reserve is spread across 1075 sq km, of which 720sq km is core area and the remaining 355 sq km is a buffer zone . Shyampur range is spread over 80 sq km, there are around 13 tigers in the reserve – two in the western part and the remaining 11 in the eastern part.

Tourism flow in 2015

The Uttarakhand tourism is recovering as per the latest data announced by the tourism department. According to the department of tourism, the tourist flow has reached to 30% of the normal flow within two years of 2013 havoc. The state of Uttarakhand suffered heavy losses in June 2013 due to the catastrophe occurred on 16^th June 2013 along the Chardham route and other places which included loss of thousands of human lives.

The flow of tourists from March to September 2015 is more than 7.65 lack for Chardham and Hemkund Saheb pilgrimages. The flow of tourists in 2012 was 28 lakh, whereas in 2013 during initial two months up to  16^th June, the number reached to 13.6 lakh. The tourism department is hopeful that in 2016, the tourism flow will, in likelihood, cross 50% of 2012 figure.

With the opening of the winter Chardham and government’s focus on winter carnivals, the department officials are hopeful that the total figure for this year will improve. The government has been focussing the carnivals at different places like Auli, Mussoorie, Tehri to attract the tourists to Uttarakhand. For the different events at different places, the tourism officials have prepared the roadmap. Many existing tourist rest houses are being revamped. The tourist department is also focussing to train its staff professionally. The officials have already been given instructions to prove their efficiency or face strict disciplinary actions. The department is posting efficient personnel in the important tourist places like Mussoorie, Badrinath etc.

According to the data, the Chardham and Hemkund pilgrimages had gained a very resounding popularity in 2012 and 2013 but then the calamity in June 2013 brought everything to halt. Had this calamity not occurred, the figures in 2013 would have crossed its previous year’s figures. The growth of tourism was unusually high during 2012 and 2013.   

In the coming near future, one can hope the tourism flow as good as it was during the previous years of 2013.