Protecting biodiversity, empowering people: The way forward for NE tourism

The decision of the East Khasi district administration making it mandatory to have a local guide for trekking is a welcome move. Steps such as this are particularly essential for the safety and security of the tourists and also for raising the stakes of the locals in the tourism business.

Other northeastern States would do well to replicate this move of the Meghalaya government. While tourism has witnessed a noticeable rise in several northeastern States including Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh in recent times, the sector still needs a lot of streamlining. This is critical to making tourism sustainable and also to ensure that visitors get a wholesome experience and every other stakeholder from the homestay owner and the hotelier to the taxi driver and the guide - get his or her legitimate dues.

Making tourism sustainable is all the more imperative in a region like the Northeast, which is a biodiversity treasure-trove as well as an ethnic hotspot with myriad close-knit tribal societies. Any overdose of tourism as also any ill-man-aged tourism is bound to hit at the very core of both its celebrated biodiversity and the vibrant but small ethnic societies.

The governments in all these States need to be mindful of the perils of unbridled and haphazard tourism and act as the catalyst so that empowered local communities remain the biggest stakeholders in tourism.

While some of Assam's established destinations -especially the wildlife reserves - continue to experience a decent footfall, we need to divert our concerted efforts towards tapping the huge potential offered by many other lesser-known destinations.

From Goalpara to Dima Hasao to Dibrugarh-Tinsukia, the State has a number of destinations that await adequate exposure to transform those into tourist hubs. For instance, Haflong, Assam's lone hill station, is a tourist paradise with its verdant hills, meandering rivers, pristine forests, and mindboggling ethnic diversity.

With sustained focus from the authorities, Haflong, the capital of Dima Hasao district, can emerge as a global tourist hotspot. Alongside this, pre-serving the sanctity of its uniquely rich biodiversity and ethnic diversity must be central to the policy of tourism promotion in such areas. Irresponsible or unsustainable tourism will only end up destroying its fragile natural surroundings as also the close-knit social fabric.

Then, the goal of community empowerment can happen only when the locals become active stakeholders and get to reap the benefits of tourism. Rather than encouraging ugly concrete structures in such Edens, promoting home-stays in harmony with its natural wealth and ethnicity would be a far more ideal option that can achieve sustainable tourism growth in the district.