Shri. Jairam Ramesh
Minister of State, Environment and Forests
CGO Complex, Paryavaran Bhawan
New Delhi 110003
India
Dear Minister,
RE PROPOSED WILDLIFE TOURISM SUMMIT
I want to suggest a constructive approach to resolving the wildlife tourism conundrum. It comes after NTCA’s recent statement on banning tourism from Tiger parks, the industry’s swift response and your press statement.
TOFT is very keen to raise this issue to the highest priority within MOEF, as you suggest, and we are proposing that you announce a Wildlife or Ecotourism Summit at the earliest opportunity.
Such a summit, we believe, should set out, debate and agree - with all the stakeholders in the conservation equation involved - a bold new policy vision for nature and ecotourism in the coming decades in India. From this Summit would stem the key rules and regulations that individual States will need to implement and enforce over the coming years. We would request that you also personally chair this Summit.
Such an inclusive and open approach we believe would greatly help this booming yet unregulated industry, which nevertheless, adds hundreds of millions of dollars to local communities, conservation and government coffers, to feel both included in the decision making process and then obliged to accept the policies agreed at the summit, to the benefit of all sides in this debate.
The present acrimonious atmosphere is simply not fruitful for wildlife or tiger conservation, for local communities or for a legitimate wildlife tourism industry.
Leave this burning issue any longer and it will get even harder to fix.
We would be keen to work with your department and other stakeholders to arrange
such a summit and help effect a workable ecotourism template - for all our futures.
I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
(copy signed and sent by post)
Julian Matthews
Chairman - on behalf of all TOFT members.
Cc Shri Dr Rajesh Gopal
Shri Sujit Bannerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism
Shri Dilip Kumar, Director General Forests
Shri Dr. Anmol Kumar, DG Wildlife
Shri Bittu Sahgal. Editor Sanctuary Magazine
Shri Valmik Thapar.
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