Step imperative in view of growing challenge of waste mgmt
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, July 23: Over four months after the Jammu and Kashmir Government announced the formulation of an Eco-Tourism Policy to address the growing waste management crisis at the tourist destinations, there has been no significant progress on the initiative and the inaction is drawing criticism from environmentalists, stakeholders and the public alike.
On March 7, 2025, the Government declared its intention to formulate a comprehensive Eco-Tourism Policy to address the critical challenge of waste management at tourist sites particularly plastic waste accumulation. “This step is imperative to ensure environmental conservation alongside economic growth”, the Government had mentioned.
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However, even after the lapse of over four months no step has been initiated to formulate the Eco-Tourism Policy and lack of action comes at a time when several prominent tourist spots are witnessing waste accumulation particularly non-biodegradable plastic, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
“By now, the drafting of policy framework should have begun to pave the way for consultations with the stakeholders and inter-departmental discussions in coming months”, they said, adding “such a policy is imperative to establish guidelines for sustainable tourism infrastructure, community involvement, responsible trekking and camping, and most importantly, effective waste management systems”.
Stating that plastic pollution is one of the most visible threats to fragile ecosystem, sources said, “an Eco-Tourism Policy will not be just a document but it will be a lifeline for sustainable tourism in the Union Territory”.
They further said, “the Eco-Tourism Policy will provide common platform for promoting eco-tourism and to lay down framework for its growth in an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable manner”, adding “further, the policy will provide livelihood opportunities to local communities through ecotourism and to secure their involvement in conservation of natural resources”.
The policy will act as guiding document to ecologically restore already existing popular tourist destinations which have suffered environmental degradation over a period of time and help in ensuring compliance of existing laws, rules and regulations pertaining to forest, wildlife and environmental conservation.
In response to a question, sources said, “ecotourism activities must conform to the need for preserving natural attributes of tourist destinations. Proper waste disposal, regulation of vehicles/ tourists in accordance with carrying capacity, control of noise pollution and biodiversity conservation are pre-requisites for any ecotourism activity and this can be achieved by strict adherence to forest, wildlife and environmental laws”.
Laying stress on training of frontline staff, tour operators, ecotourism societies and other stakeholders in different aspects of eco-tourism with focus on environmental conservation and enforcement of environmental regulations, sources said that one of the objectives of ecotourism is to create awareness among tourists about nature, environmental conservation and cultural heritage and this objective can be achieved by having properly trained guides, nature interpretation centers and proper sign boards.
“For effective management and regulation of ecotourism activities and compliance with prevailing laws and regulations, an administrative framework is also required to be established at different level. Moreover, impact assessment studies are required to be carried out at periodic intervals so as to ascertain impacts of eco-tourism on environment and remedial measures taken”, they stressed.
It is pertinent to mention here that eco-tourism is low-impact, educational and directly beneficial to local communities. Most popular tourist destinations in J&K are fragile ecosystems that provide a host of ecosystem services to local residents and people living downstream.
Unplanned tourism can destroy the very environment that attracts the tourists. Moreover, ecotourism promotes non-consumptive use of wilderness areas, for the benefit of local communities living around, and dependent on, these fragile landscapes.
When contacted, some officers of the Tourism Department, while wishing anonymity, confirmed that drafting of Eco-Tourism Policy has yet not been started. However, they admitted the necessity of having such a policy to prevent further environmental degradation at the tourist destinations of the Union Territory.
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