Nagpur: In the past, the Vidarbha Economic Development council (VED) has made several attempts in promoting eco-tourism in this region as an alternative employment-generation source for the farmer in the hinterland. This promotional work continues with zeal, as much remains to be done.
VED also appreciates the NITI Aayog’s recent initiative in its new policy in promoting coastline tourism through best practices and sustainable development which would generate much-needed jobs and income for the local people.
Similarly, living in tiger country as we do, the potential is great for global promotion of eco-tourism as this region of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the central Indian landscape is unique in the world for being the only landscape with thel argest number of the Royal Bengal tiger. Such promotion could be done keeping in mind best practices and sustainable development in this central Indian tiger landscape, comprising both the Protected and non-protected Areas of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Around the tiger and also beyond it, there is much that can be explored for creating and furthering a light-footed, sustainable tourism which can be packaged for the world-wide tourism platform.
This could be an integrated joint-venture of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra through which eco-tourism would get a tremendous boost, especially in terms of the potential for earning foreign exchange. It is already known how the local communities are benefitting from tourism, and this taken further could work wonders. Wildlife doesn’t recognise boundaries and so also an experiment could be made by the two states coming together as one in the effort at conservation of nature as well the accrual of financial benefits through eco-tourism to the local communities through global tourists.
