REPORT

TOPIC: Case study on eco-tourism spot in

India
(Kerala –
Karnataka)

Submitted To
Ms Gunarekha B S
(Ass.professor)

SBRR Mahajana PG Center

Tourism Department, Mysore

Submitted By
Melbin Mejan

(3rd Year BTH)

SBRR Mahajana PG Center

Tourism Department, Mysore

 CONTANT

 INTRODUCTION

 NEED,PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF ECO-TOURISM

 GLOBAL SCENARIO

 INDIAN SCENARIO

 CASE STUDY ON KURUVA ISLAND

 FINDING AND DISSCUTION

 SUGGESTION

 CONCLUSION

 LIMITATION OF STUDIES

 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION

Ecotourism is defined as "tourism and recreation that is both nature-based and

sustainable."

Ecotourism has been embraced as a tool for generating economic benefits from
forests and other natural resources while simultaneously conserving those
resources. However, it is not a panacea for sustainable resource use, as benefits
have not always been as great as desired while costs have sometimes been greater
than expected (Laarman and Durst 1993; Lindberg 1991). The balance of benefits
and costs will depend on a variety of factors, including destination appeal and
accessibility. However, it also depends critically on how well ecotourism is planned
and managed. This working paper provides an introduction to ecotourism and
services of forests, together with an outlook and options for future management.

For purposes of this working paper, the products provided by forests are grouped
into the following categories:

 Timber production;

 Special forest products or non-timber forest products, such as rattan and medicinal
plants; and

 "services of forests" which incorporates the varied non-physical forest products, as

described in Section 2.

This working paper focuses on the third category, and on ecotourism in particular. It
should be stressed that though services of forests are less tangible than timber or
non-timber forest products, they make highly important contributions to social and
economic development.

The working paper is part of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Outlook study, which involves
an assessment of the status, trends, and outlook for the forestry sector to the year
2010. Section 2 of the paper provides background on services of forests generally,
and Section 3 provides background on ecotourism. These background sections are
followed by Section 4, which describes relevant trends and issues, their implications,
and options that might be implemented to achieve policy objectives. Lastly, the
Annex contains notes on selected countries that provide additional background and
illustrate issues.

Naturally, there is substantial variation across countries with respect to services of

forests, relevant issues, and future outlook. For example, the concepts and
implementation of ecotourism vary across countries, particularly between more and
less developed countries. Nonetheless, there are significant commonalties, with
general issues and principles relevant in a variety of situations. This working paper
provides a discussion of general issues and principles, while also providing some
specifics.
The working paper is inherently limited by the lack of ecotourism statistics. This lack
partly results from the nature of tourism flows, which are not as easily measured as
timber flows. It also results from the lack of common and easily-applied definitions for
tourism generally and, especially, for ecotourism in particular. Lastly, the limited
project budget precluded site visits or the contracting of country or topic specialists.
For these reasons, the working paper primarily provides an overview, though
significant effort has gone into providing illustrative details and data wherever
possible.

Throughout the paper, the term "natural areas" is used instead of "forest areas." This
usage recognizes that many forestry agencies in the region manage non-forested
areas. In addition, the term is used instead of "protected areas" to reflect that not all
relevant areas are in public ownership or have legal protection. Nonetheless, many
of the sites used for ecotourism in the region are national parks or one of the other
IUCN protected area designations.

NEEDS PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF ECO TOURISM

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively
undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative
to standard commercial mass tourism. It means responsible travel to natural areas
conserving the environment and improving the well-being of the local people. Its
purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation,
to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local
communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since
the 1980s, ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavor by environmentalists,
so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by
human intervention. Several university programs use this description as the working
definition of ecotourism.
Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components of the natural
environments.[4]Ecotourism focuses on socially responsible travel, personal growth,
and environmental sustainability. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations
where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism is
intended to offer tourists an insight into the impact of human beings on the
environment and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats.
Responsible ecotourism programs include those that minimize the negative aspects
of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local
people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an
integral part of ecotourism is the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water
conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for local communities. For
these reasons, ecotourism often appeals to advocates of environmental and social
responsibility.
The term 'ecotourism', like 'sustainable tourism', is considered by many to be an
oxymoron. Like most forms of tourism, ecotourism generally depends on air
transportation, which contributes to global climate change. Additionally, "the overall
effect of sustainable tourism is negative where like ecotourism philanthropic
aspirations mask hard-nosed immediate self-interest

GLOBAL SCENARIO OF ECO-TOURISM

Academic interest in ecotourism has grown rapidly in recent years, fuelled by the
increasing popularity of ecotourism holidays. This paper adopts ecological footprint
(EF) analysis as a means of estimating the potential net EF of hypothetical
international ecotourism scenarios involving air travel. A procedure for the rapid
calculation of indicative, potential minimum net EF estimates using secondary data
sources was applied to a variety of source/host country scenarios with the aim of
establishing a reasonable and conservative range of EF values associated with
ecotourism. The influence of changing assumptions about the broad nature of
resource demand at the destination and of three lengths of stay periods was
considered. In total, 252 estimates were made of the potential net per tourist EF,
assuming conservative resource use at the destination. For a 14-day holiday,
potential net EF estimates ranged between 0.02 and 4.26 global hectares. Only one,
a 21-day scenario, produced a net negative EF value, suggesting the potential for an
overall reduction in absolute demand on global renewable resources. Some 80% of
14-day holiday scenarios produced potential per tourist EF estimates greater than
the annual average per caput EF in low income countries. The size of the transit
component was very important to overall net EF estimates, supporting largely
anecdotal concerns about the environmental impact of long-haul flights to ecotourism
destinations. The implications of these findings for judging the impact of ecotourism
were found to vary according to different absolute and relative benchmarks, although
the global EF of ecotourism is likely to be considerably less than that of mass
tourism.

INDIAN SCENARIO OF ECO-TOURISM

“Ecotourism is viewed in many parts of the world as the next wave of community and
regional development” ( Hall & Boyd et al 2006 :21). There is a consensus that one
of the special features of ecotourism is its ability to stimulate economic development
therefore empowering local people through earning income and employment. From
that stand point economic benefit is one of the objectives of using ecotourism as a
development strategy. However the impact of ecotourism on the regional economy of
the present study area can be highlighted in the following way- REVENUE
GENERATION: Tourism offers the opportunity for a redistribution of income and
employment to regions that are traditionally lagged behind to the mainstream of
economic life. For this reason many developing countries have, since the 1980’s,
turned to ecotourism as a source of foreign exchange (Cater 1993). North Bengal,
 the present study area is no exception of it. The flow of money generated by the
tourists in different ecotourism destinations of North Bengal filters through the
economy stimulating various sectors i.e, accommodation, cuisine, transportation and
entertainments etc. The money spent by the tourists goes to the local business in a
number of ways. This money in turn is spent on salaries and on meeting the
demands of the tourists such as food, drink, and entertainment etc. “Each time
tourist makes expenditure, a ripple of additional spending is sent through the
economy. This ripple is called a multiplier”(Stephen 1983:171). Thus “the
expenditure incurred by the tourists supports not only the tourist industry directly but
indirectly also supports a number of other related activities which produce goods and
services for the tourist industry”( Singh 1989:263). To have a glimpse of revenue
generation from ecotourism author carried out field surveys in major ecotourism
destinations of North Bengal during October- December, 2008. The following
outcomes have been gathered from these field surveys-- LATA GURI - THE GREEN
GATE WAY OF ECOTOURISM: For the convenience of the present study at first
Lataguri, a tiny hamlet lies in the lap of Gorumara National Park has been selected.
It is necessary to mention here that this destination ranks first among the ecotourism
destinations of North Bengal for its tourist inflow and other tourism activities and
development of the area within a short period of time.

CASE STUDY ON KURUVA ISLAND

The Kuruva Island in Wayanad, Kerala is a 950 acre evergreen forest on the
tributaries of Kabini River. The river delta is the ideal picnic spot is a potential eco-
tourism destination. Away from the disturbance of city life, the island is uninhabited.
Kuruva contains two small fresh water lakes. Several migratory birds are seen here.
These islands present a unique eco system which may be of great interest of nature
lovers.
Dwelling deep into this island, you can sight many attractive things like bridges made
up of bamboo trees and other rare species of trees. The uninhabited island is home
to rare species of birds, orchids, herbal plants etc. Kuruva Island is a nature’s gift to
Wayanad. The island is surrounded by streams and you can enjoy boat rides or
rafting through streams. The boats and rafts are provided by the Kerala Tourism
Department and it will take few hours to cover each and every island. The rafts are
made up of bamboos providing you a thrilling and exciting journey through the
streams.
The other thing you can do in this fabulous island is to have a calm and lazy nature
walk. Partying and picnic are restricted here as the authorities are maintaining eco-
tourism in Kuruva Island. Just enjoy the beauty without spoiling the pristine nature.
Entry to this island is restricted during rainy seasons (from June to September). The
island is opened during the months from October to May and there is a nominal entry
fee to the island. Kuruvadweep (Kuruva Island), a 950-acre protected river delta on
the Kabini River in Wayanad district, Kerala, is a well-known ecotourism destination
in the world. Kuruva Island is an evergreen forest with many streams making many
islands within an island. This uninhabited island is an abode of many rare species of
flora and fauna, especially Wild Orchids, Birds, Amphibians and many herbs. It has
been declared as one of the Biodiversity hotspots of the World. This paper,
theoretically, aims to evaluate the ecotourism activities organized in Kururva Island
and their impact of these activities in environmental sustainability and biodiversity
protection. The primary data has been collected from representatives of various
stakeholders of both the tourism industry and organizations involved in
environmental protection.

FINDINGS AND THE ECONOMICAL IMPACTS

Wayanad is one of the smallest districts in Kerala having 2,131 Km2 area with a
population of 8,16,558 (4,01,314 Male and 4,15,244 Female) 2011 Census. The
district, which forms an edge of the Deccan plateau of South India has a luxuriant
forest cover and receives the maximum amount of annual rainfall compared to other
regions of the State. Wayanad offers very unique tourist attractions for the visitors.
The lush green wild life resources, Wayanad with wide variety of flora and fauna
provide great biodiversity that attract millions of eco-tourists towards the small piece
of land. The geographic diversity provides a kaleidoscopic and panoramic scenic
beauty to its guests. Tribal life is one among the very unique and nostalgic tourist
motivation. Wayanad has the largest population of aborigine people in Kerala. They
belong to different distinctive tribes, of which the principal ones are Adiyar, Kurichyar,
Paniyar, Kurumar and Kattunaikar. Many of the tribes are traditionally forest
dwellers, and as such have perfected ways of living in harmony with nature. Some
tribes are also proficient in techniques of organized farming. Of particular mention
are their indigenous streams of holistic herbal medicine which is getting increasing
attention in recent years. The Adivasis also have a rich legacy of arts and crafts.
This includes music, dances, ornamentation and handicraft that draw inspiration
from natural themes, motifs and material. Kuruva Island (Kuruva Dweeep)is a 950-
acre (3.8 km2) protected river delta on the Kabini River in Wayanad District, Kerala.
Kuruvadweep is the only island surrounded with naturally purified water source in
Kerala. It is under the control of the Range Forest Office, Chedeth Range under the
Divisional Forest, South Wayanad. Kuruva Island is located 17 km east of
Mananthavady and 10 km North West of Pulpally town. The Kuruva Islands
comprise of three uninhabited islands and a few submergible islands covering an
area of 146.01 hector in the middle of the Kabini River. The climate is moderately hot
and humid with temperature varying from 180C to 280C. Average annual rainfall
received here is below 5000mm as the tract receives both the south west and
northeast monsoons. The region comprises of tropical evergreen forest. Being a part
of the Western Ghats, one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the World, the forest of
Kuruva has immense floral and faunal significance. The island represents unique
vegetation with rich biodiversity. Kuruva is the only compact protected uninhabited
island in Wayanad. Astonishing variety of Butterflies will accompany the tourists
while trekking. It is also known for varieties of fungi community. It is an abode of
more than 160 varieties of birds including migratory birds from various parts of the
 world. Asian Paradise Flycatcher, White Numped Shama, Blue Winged Parakeet,
Malabar Whistling Thrush, Ceylon Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, Nilgiri Wood
Piegeon, Indian Hanging Parrot, Velvet Fronted Nuthatch, etc. are some of the
unique birds that attract the bird watchers to this paradise. This island is also famous
for a wide variety of wild orchids and many amphibians

SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

Kuruva Island is one of the most fragile and sensitive biodiversity hot spots in the
Western Ghats. Ecotourism development is Kuruva Island must be well planned and
systematic so as to protect the environment and biodiversity in a sustainable
manner. The internationally accepted principles and guidelines on ecotourism must
be strictly followed by the authorities. The entire Kuruva Island must be divided into
core area, buffer zone and human activity area so as to protect the floral and faunal
life from human meddling. One portion of the revenue generated from tourism
activities must be reinvested for conservation and preservation of the biodiversity
and ecosystem. The tourists who visit the Kuruva Island may be motivated to
associate with the conservation efforts of the management through various means
such as sponsorship, donations and other charitable activities. Education, natural
and cultural interpretations are the most important objectives for the Ecotourism
concept. The present efforts and facilities at the destination in this perspective are
ineffective and inadequate to educate the tourists. Experienced and trained guides,
naturalists, interpreters etc. must be appointed to educate the tourists about the
ecosystem and biodiversity. An audio-visual interpretation centre must be
established at the entrance to provide interpretation and education opportunity to the
tourists. A small natural museum can be established with wild life photographs, and
fossils or animal remains. The employees associated with the destination must be
well trained and educated about the significance of biodiversity. They must be able
to guide the tourists towards responsible and sustainable consumption of the
facilities. The local community participation must be ensured at all levels. A Kuruva
Island Ecotourism Development Authority may be constituted with representation
from local population and experts from concerned fields so as to ensure
professionalism. Responsible business must be encouraged at the Kuruva Dweep
so as to protect the very fragile and sensitive biodiversity and environmental
resources, including flora and fauna, and natural resources like water bodies and
other geological components. Accreditations, licensing, frequent monitoring,
certifications, guidelines etc. must be introduced to regulate the business stake
holders and their activities at the destination. A research work conducted at Kuruva
Island by a group of young scientists on the increasing number of vectoral
mosquitoes reveals that one of the reasons for their presence and multiplication in
Kuruva Island is tourism development. So, precautions must be taken to avoid this
 menace and further research must be conducted to control the growth of vectoral
mosquitoes at the destination

LIMITATION OF STUDIES
Kuruva Island has been promoted as an ecotourism destination by the Government
of Kerala and thousands of domestic and many foreign tourists visit Kurauva Island
every day during the season ranging from October to May. It is a biodiversity hotspot
located in the very fragile Western Ghats with lots of unique flora and fauna. Most of
the animal and plant species abode here are either endangered or potentially
endangered. Ecotourism is a novel and divine concept that aims at the fulfillment of
the educational needs of humankind coupled with environmental protection and local
community development. It is imperative that while developing ecotourism in such
biologically sensitive areas, there is a need to evaluate whether the ecotourism
principles and practices are strictly followed. The following research questions are
very pertinent and imperative to ensure environmental sustainability, habitat
protection and community development in Kuruva Island. The main research
question is: "Whether the tourism activities at Kuruva Island patronizing for the
protection of the environment and preservation of the biodiversity, aid the local
community for their socio-cultural and economic empowerment and educate
tourists?"

a) How do they conserve natural resources for environmental sustainability and

biodiversity protection?

b) What do they do to help and empower the community?

c) What ecotourism activities do they offer?

d) How do they educate the tourists about the nature, culture and environment?

BIBILOGRAPHY
 Aneesh, E. M., Thasia, C., & Laksmi, H. (2014). Diversity and vectorial
capacity of mosquitoes in Kuruva Island, Wayanad District, Kerala, India.
Journal of Zoology Studies, 1(4), 16-22.
 www.kuruvaisland.com
 Wikipidia
 Bansal, S. P., & Kumar, J. (2011). Ecotourism for Community Development: A
Stakeholder‟s Perspective in Great Himalayan National Park. International
Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development, 2(2), 31-40
 Farrell, B. H., & Runyan, D. (1991). Ecology and tourism. Annals of Tourism
Research, 18(1), 26-40. H