Archana Sharma – New Delhi
In an attempt to minimise environmental impact and promote sustainable tourism, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has launched the Comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI) in the Ecotourism and Environment handbook, compiled by the Ecotourism Society of India, at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi. The criteria has been specifically laid down for the accommodation, tour operators, beaches, backwaters, lakes and rivers sectors. The launch of STCI was followed by a sensitisation workshop for stakeholders of STCI, wherein the panel discussed the Indian perspective on sustainable tourism and its implementation across various sectors. Speaking at the launch, Shripad Naik, minister, tourism and culture, MoT stated, “We are developing tourism in India based on sustainability principles. In order to minimise the carbon footprint and ensure ecological balance, the ministry has launched STCI to have minimal impact on our environment.” Adding to the same, Girish Shankar, additional secretary, MoT, opined, “There is a need for fostering sustainable tourism keeping in mind the carrying capacity, policy, regulatory issues, environment, cultural and economic growth of the country.”
Mandeep Singh Soin, editor-in-chief of the handbook, founder president, Ecotourism Society of India and founder and MD, Ibex Expeditions, emphasised upon the need for legal compliance. He said, “There is a need for sensitisation workshops which include creating awareness about the environmental laws since people claim ignorance.”
“Tourism is the largest service industry and for responsible tourism we need sustainable environmental plans in compliance to environmental laws for conserving biodiversity and natural resources,” mentioned Anand Kumar, joint secretary, MoT. Elaborating on this, Kumar provided his suggestions to the members of MoT. “Sensitisation workshops should be organised and training about sustainable practices should be provided to the industry and a committee should be formed to discuss the problems and progress for the implementation of STCI,” he said. Also promoting the ‘Responsible Tourism Classification Committee’ put in place by Dr Suman Billa, secretary, Kerala Tourism for his state, Kumar stated, “Such a certification programme should be taken forward in order to create an ecosystem around tourism.”
