Government unveils policy on ecotourism

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday released an ecotourism policy 2017, which envisages a major role for local communities. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had earlier announced that the state will come out with such a policy.
Community-based ecotourism, where the emphasis will be on active involvement of local communities for their empowerment and socio-economic upliftment, was one of the guiding principles on which the development of ecotourism in the state will be based, the policy said.
The policy was released after the state faced a major disaster in Kurangini hills in Theni district where 19 people died due to a forest fire in March this year.
The policy said: "Ecotourism sites identified and developed will have their uniqueness and value in terms of aesthetic, natural, cultural and landscape characteristics which will be recognised and developed into an ecotourism product with which the site could be recognised in future."
The policy initiatives will include hiking (long and vigorous walk), trekking, wildlife sighting, bird watching trails, boating, photography, visit to medicinal plants conservation area, craft making, local handicrafts, promoting local festivals, and adventure sports.
The forest department will be the nodal department for implementing the policy. A special purpose vehicle (SPV), the state ecotourism board (SEB) will also be floated. The SEB will finalise the strategies regarding pricing and appropriate packaging and branding of ecotourism destinations, the policy said.
The ecotourism policy will be reviewed after five years. The government has announced a slew of measures to create awareness about environment and pollution among students, including competitions, eco-tours and planting of saplings at selected 960 schools. The TN pollution control board will open two district environment engineers' offices in Chennai to monitor the industries. After the boundaries of Chennai Metropolitan Area had been increased, the number of industrial units that need to be monitored has also risen from 2,333 to 5,117. Residents along the coast will be sensitised to the dos and don'ts in coastal zones and ecologically sensitive areas.