September 10th 2023.
Bhopal: The growing popularity of tiger reserves as tourist destinations has led to immense pressure on the local natural sources, civic amenities and wildlife. The Madhya Pradesh government's State Wildlife Action Plan 2023-2043 has identified ameliorative measures to prevent irreversible impacts.
The State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) has recommended tapping more wildlife rich areas as potential ecotourism destinations. This is due to the high chances of spotting tigers and the easy accessibility of tiger reserves by rail, road and air.
Data shows that the famous tiger reserves have seen a rapid increase in tourist footfall from 2005 onwards, leading to an unplanned mushrooming of eateries, hotels and big resorts. The buffer zones and corridors are now beginning to feel the pressure of unrestricted growth in tourism infrastructure, and even access to some corridors is threatened.
Apart from tiger sightings, pilgrimage is also a major driver of tourism in some Protected Areas. For example, Satpura receives a large number of visitors during certain festivals such as the Nagdwari and Mahadeo congregations in August and February respectively. During the mela, around 4000 vehicles enter Pachmarhi and 400 makeshift shops are built by locals and religious trusts from Maharashtra. The mela continues for 12 days, but the aftereffects can last up to a month.
The SWLAP has identified the issue and suggested priority actions to address it. These include detailed ecotourism sub plans as a part of the tiger conservation plans of tiger reserves, the management plans of Protected Areas and working plans in case of territorial divisions.
Moreover, the SWAP also recommends regular reviews to ensure that tourism development in tiger reserves, protected areas and territorial divisions follows the principles of ecotourism and strictly adheres to the guidelines given by National Wildlife Action Plan, State Wildlife Action Plan, National Tiger Conservation Authority, etc.
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