Mr Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, inaugurated the sixth two-day workshop arranged by Ecotourism Society of India (ESOI) in partnership with WWF-India and the support of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism and the PATA India Chapter, on 6 April 2011 in Jammu. Mr Nawang Rigzin Jora, Jammu & Kashmir Minister for Tourism and Culture delivered the keynote address.
In his inaugural address, Mr Omar Abdullah said, “Jammu and Kashmir holds a rich repository of pristine freshwater systems, and unique flora and fauna which we cannot afford to sacrifice at any cost. The responsibility falls on every individual to be aware and make others aware in order to safeguard this fragile eco-region for posterity. The State government is fully supportive of conservation initiatives like these which will eventually benefit us in the long run. If we don’t act now, it is a lot that we stand to lose.”
This Workshop series is themed ‘Practicing Responsible Tourism’ and was initiated by ESOI to spread awareness and to educate tourism service providers and other stakeholders, especially those in the MSME sector, for ensuring sustainable tourism practices.
The Jammu workshop participants included tour operators, hoteliers and other tourism service providers, environmentalists, government officials responsible for tourism and environment, students and NGOs, reaching out to local community representatives.
The workshop aimed at strengthening the participants’ understanding of the critical need to safeguard the fragile ecosystem of the high altitude Himalayan region, to raise awareness of sustainable tourism practices and to highlight the importance of local community participation, waste management, and preservation of the vernacular idiom. This was achieved by the workshop faculty of specialists who conducted interactive sessions. The subjects, specially related to the high altitude Himalayan region, included solid waste management, eco-friendly architecture, community-based home stays in Ladakh, viable alternatives to conventional energy, checks and balances in ecotourism, policy and legal framework of ecotourism in India, certification and communication with tourists. In doing so, the workshop dwelt on the fragile ecology of J&K in general and not only the high altitude wetlands.
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