By Kenter JR

At the just concluded Ziro Music Festival, the biggest outdoor music festival of Arunachal Pradesh which attracts visitors from across the country and abroad, a replica of the Royal Enfield’s popular Classic 350 motorcycle made up of single-use plastics, managed to grab eyeballs. The choice of construction material highlighted the issue of plastic waste left behind by travellers. The art installation was on display to spark a mindset of responsible tourism and it definitely struck a chord!
With the rush to the mountains to escape the fast paced life of urbanization, comes the nightmare of the growing waste crisis especially problematic being plastic pollution. Small hill towns with rudimentary or non-existent waste management are in no way capable of handling the additional waste burden which is impacting mountain landscapes. Arunachal Pradesh has steadily witnessed growing number of visitors and the ecological footprint left behind by tourism and its related activities needs to be addressed and addressed now. There is an urgent need for policymakers to deliberate on potential solutions and policy mechanisms that can effectively tackle plastic waste crisis in the mountains for sustainable and responsible tourism. This is also an area where big companies can make a difference through corporate social responsibility (CSR). 
In one such move, three villages of Arunachal Pradesh have been handpicked to be developed into Responsible Tourism Models under the CSR initiatives of Royal Enfield in collaboration with Dusty Foot Foundation. Chullyu, a village in Lower Subansiri district, is known for its sustainable and organic agriculture, hospitality and pleasant weather. The Chullyu Responsible Tourism model is focussed on waste management, primarily on house to house waste  segregation and collection. The waste is then stored at the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for further management. The initiative hopes to make Chullyu a role model for waste management at rural level while facilitating responsible travel at the same time.
Labukore, a small village located in Monigong circle of Shi Yomi District, near the  Indo-China Border boasts of Red Panda and Mishmi Takins, along with rare high-altitude wildlife. The team at the site is actively working on to create a responsible tourism model that promotes community based wildlife conservation through unique expeditions and trails. 
At Gobuk, emphasis is on exploring community-nature linked tourism.  Gobuk is a unique village in Upper Siang district that offers diverse rare species of wildlife along with tranquil streams and raw landscapes. Through the Gobuk responsible tourism model, the RT alumni are working with a concept known as ‘Green School’ where regular engagements are carried out with school children to bring their interest towards conservation and preservation of the unique existing biodiversity. The team is trying to help Gobuk become a responsible tourism role model for neighbouring villages while focussing on education of young minds. 
The fourth responsible tourism business model is Hebamlo, based in Peren, in the state of Nagaland which looks to re-establish connections between the region’s cultural heritage and nature.
It is noteworthy that these four Responsible Tourism Models are being built by individuals who underwent the 6-month Green Hub - Royal Enfield Responsible Tourism Fellowship. Participants were provided training sessions and exposure trips under the guidance of livelihood and responsible tourism experts. The Fellows were then supported to build on four project sites as possible Responsible Tourism destinations. These four projects were showcased at the inaugural of the first ever green hub-Royal Enfield Responsible Tourism Conclave held in Guwahati in March earlier this year (Mar 15, 2023). The Conclave was a platform bringing together communities, government departments, travel agencies and consultants, tour operators & aggregators, private stakeholders, NGOs, home-stay partners and other tourism-based institutions and enterprises to build on the practice of responsible tourism. 

The Green Hub – Royal Enfield Responsible Travel Fellowship, initiated in 2022, was created with the vision of supporting responsible travel in Northeast India. The aim is to support youth in local communities to engage with their natural and cultural heritage and build on sustainable opportunities and livelihoods through responsible tourism in the region. The overarching aim is to build both socio-economic wellbeing and ecological security through youth and community ownership at the local level.
Founded in 2014 by Rita Banerji, the founder of Dusty Foot, in collaboration with the North East Network (NEN), as the local partner, the Green Hub Project is the first youth and community-based Fellowship and video documentation centre related to wildlife, environment, climate resilience, indigenous knowledge, sustainability, gender, and social change in Northeast India. The project was the first of its kind in India that looked at engaging and empowering youth especially from remote areas and marginalised communities in conservation action and social change by using the visual medium. 
The current outreach of the Green Hub Project is 110 fellows from 44 communities, in 42 districts, in 8 Northeast States: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sikkim. In 2021, Green Hub Central India was initiated for rural and community youth from 4 states in Central India. 
The Arunachal Pradesh Tourism Department is developing five villages in every tourism district of the state within the next five years. Through training workshops in the districts especially in remote rural areas, more than 25 Rural Tourism Destinations have been brought under the tourism map of the state. This initiative in the villages has helped to empower the local communities, especially women of the host society. Rural tourism has a great potential and needs to be tapped. It is crucial that local communities feel a sense of inclusion for desired development to take place. As tourism grows, focus on engaging communities and building sustainable opportunities and livelihoods through responsible tourism in Arunachal Pradesh and the North East region should be a non-negotiable. Sustainable tourism in mountains can contribute to creating additional and alternative livelihood options and promoting poverty alleviation, social inclusion as well as landscape and biodiversity conservation.

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List