Nature-Based Tourism in Urbanizing Economies: The Case of India's Protected Areas

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Growth of the urban middle class in emerging economies of the developing world is a defining feature of this century. One outcome of this phenomenon is increasing demand for domestic nature-based tourism as people acquire discretionary income. Protected areas throughout the developing world already face immense pressures to meet dual goals of conserving biodiversity and supporting local livelihoods with fuelwood, fodder, non-timber forest products, and other ecosystem services. Increasing tourism from the urban middle class can be a positive force by generating support for conservation goals and providing opportunities for local communities around parks. Conversely, tourism can be a negative force by placing additional demands for local ecosystem services in and around protected areas. Professor Ruth DeFries from Columbia University addresses the trends and implications of nature-based tourism in ten parks throughout India, a country with a rapidly increasing urban middle class, high biodiversity, and high density of local populations surrounding protected areas. The research will examine the consequences of increasing tourism from multiple perspectives including resort operators, park managers, tourists, and local households living around the park. Surveys of resort operators will identify their demands on ecosystem services (e.g. water, energy and food sources) and employment opportunities for local people. In three of the parks (Kanha, Ranthambore, and Nagarahole), surveys of local households will examine how their use of ecosystem services changes with the presence of tourism infrastructure. Remote sensing analysis around the ten parks will identify change in land cover/land use and forest condition associated with tourism and other activities. The multiple methods applied in the study will improve understanding of the links among tourism, urbanization, and ability of protected areas to conserve biodiversity and contribute to livelihoods of local communities. Volunteers from the Center for Wildlife Studies in Bangalore will participate in the project to gain training on data collection and obtain first-hand experiences in conservation challenges in India. The project will provide empirical understanding of consequences for protected areas as the urban class continues to grow in the future. Park managers, local communities, and tourist operators will gain insights on the multiple pressures facing parks throughout the country. Research outcomes will provide a foundation to identify approaches that mitigate negative impacts and accentuate positive impacts with increasing domestic tourism. The approach and results are relevant to other countries, particularly in rapidly-urbanizing Asia, where an increasing middle class is creating new tourism pressure.