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Tourism Driven By Ecology

One of the world’s most spectacular tropical island systems, Lakshadweep, with an area of 32 square kilometres, is an archipelago consisting of 12 atolls, three reefs and five submerged banks. It is comprised of ten inhabited islands, 17 uninhabited islands, four newly formed islets and five submerged reefs. The islands are surrounded by 4,200 square kilometres of lagoon rich in marine wealth.

An extremely fragile eco-system supports Lakshadweep’s ecological and cultural heritage. The inhabited islands are Kavaratti, Agatti, Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat, Bitra, Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy. They are located 220 to 440 kms away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala, in the Arabian Sea. More than 93 per cent of the population who are indigenous, are Muslims and majority of them belong to the Shafi School of the Sunni Sect. Malayalam is spoken in all the islands except Minicoy where people speak Mahl which is written in Divehi script and is spoken in Maldives also.

The marine life of the sea is quite elaborate and difficult to condense. The commonly seen vertebrates are cattle and poultry. Oceanic birds generally found in Lakshadweep are Tharathasi (Sterna fuscata) and Karifetu (Anous solidus). They are generally found in one of the uninhabited islands known as Pitti. This island has been declared as a bird sanctuary.

The money cowrie (cypraea monita) are also found in abundance in the shallow lagoons and reefs of the islands. Other cypraeds found here are cypraca talpa and cyprea maculiferra. Among crabs, the hermit crab is the most common. Colourful coral fish such as parrot fish (Callyedon sordidus), Butterfly fish (chaetodon auriga), Surgeon fish (acanthurus lineotus) are also found in plenty.

With fishing, coconut cultivation and coir twisting being the predominant occupations of the region, tourism is fast emerging as a major industry.

K S Mehra, IAS, administrator, U T of Lakshadweep

Coming of age
Lakshadweep has consciously followed a middle path between tourism promotion and environmental conservation. The environmental impact of coastal tourism is carefully monitored. Steps have been taken to promote tourism in a manner consistent with ecological concerns.

To avoid pressure on the ecological environment, tourism promotion has been synchronised with the carrying capacity of the islands. Though all the islands are endowed with the beauty of coral reefs, sandy beaches, unpolluted and clear water and hospitable settings, most of these differ in terms of facilities and services offered. Some have been promoted for diving and water sports while others have been developed so that people enjoy the charm of relaxation and natural enjoyment. Due to scarcity of land area, the administration’s policy has been to promote water-based tourism where the motto, admire but don’t exploit the natural beauty, is followed with commitment.

Due to the dispersed nature and small sizes of the islands, they have been forced to import almost all requirements. Lakshadweep has looked at this constraint as an asset and is encouraging quality tourism rather than mass or quantity tourism. This has the added advantage of having minimal impact on the natural and cultural environment.

Dr M S Sayed Ismail Koya, director information, publicity and tourism

The thrust is therefore on an extremely low volume, high value added specialised tourism.

Going the distance
The objective and policies with regard to tourism promotion are looked after by the Tourism Department and a society named Society for Promotion of Recreational Tourism and Sports (SPORTS) which is the tourism promotion Agency of Lakshadweep Administration.

Sports: The Driver Of Lakshadweep Tourism
Sports (Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports), a registered Society established in 1982, is the nodal agency for promotion of tourism in Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep Administration has also recognised Sports as the implementing agency for various tourism activities in the islands.

The organisation has a number of Beach Resorts in Lakshadweep. At present there are six islands open for tourism viz. Minicoy, Kavaratti, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Agatti and Bangaram. Of these three islands viz. Bangaram, Agatti and Kadmat are open for international tourists. Sports has leased out Bangaram Beach Resorts to private entrepreneurs for operation. The resorts in the four other islands except Agatti are being managed by Sports.

The carrying capacity of each island has been assessed depending on potable water, density of population in the islands and other available resources.

Sandeep Kumar, secretary, information, publicity and tourism

Day excursion trips are encouraged and organised by Sports so that the tourists do not deplete already limited resources. In such trips, tourists stay on board the ship and during the day time, they get down to the island for sightseeing etc. The ship MV Tipu Sultan can carry a maximum number of 160 tourists per trip. On an average, 30 such packages are operated in a year.

The main source of income for Sports is operation of tour packages to different islands. For this a number of packages are operated to Kavaratti/ Kalpeni/ Minicoy/ Kadmat.

Following are the tour packages undertaken by Sports.

a) Coral Reef (Kavaratti, Minicoy, Kalpeni)
b) Marine Wealth Awareness Programme (Kadmat)
c) Tarathashi (Kavaratti)
d) Swaying Palm (Minicoy)
e) Coconut Grove (Kalpeni)
f) Scuba Diving Package (Kadmat)

Apart from these, private cottages at Minicoy and Kalpeni are also marketed by Sports. Over the years a number of tourists have visited the islands in different packages. The tourism packages are totally dependent on the ships - MV Tipu Sultan and MV Bharath Seema. Shipping services and tourism performance in Lakshadweep are interrelated. Due to the island’s topography, shipping services are vital to tourism.

Hence for smooth operation of the packages, a proper ship service is a prerequisite. Sports has started transporting tourists by new ships MV Amindivi and M.V. Minicoy.

All the focal islands are surrounded by vast lagoons ideal for water sports. Sports has established a number of water sport facilities such as a water sports institute in Kadmat, along with kayaking, canoeing, windsurfing, yachting and glass bottomed boats in almost all the focal islands. Scuba diving facilities with competent instructors are available at Bangaram and Kadmat. A new scuba diving centre has opened at Kavaratti also.

As an organisation committed to the welfare of the people of Lakshadweep, Sports has employed around 72 persons in different capacities directly and has generated many employment opportunities indirectly. Further whatever items available are purchased locally so that the local population is benefited.

During 2001-2002, around 2992 domestic tourists and 871 international tourists visited the islands. Despite many bottlenecks, Sports has been able to generate a decent revenue for the year 2001-2002. The cost of operation of the package has also come down considerably to around 33 per cent against 60 per cent during previous years. During current year, the total turnover stood at Rs 2.98 crore. Sports has undertaken catering on board MV Amindivi and MV Minicoy.

There are 6 units of Sports at Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kavaratti, Kadmat, Andrott and Kochi. All the units in the islands except Andrott are looking after the activities of the tourists in the respective islands. Andrott Unit has recently been created for coordination of the activities connected with the running of the hostel mess of Mahatma Gandhi Sr Sec School Hostel. The Kochi unit has been functioning for booking, coordination and as the procurement branch of the Sports.

Eco-friendly initiatives
Some of the initiaves by the Lakshadweep Tourism Department to promote eco-friendly tourism are as follows:

• Most tourist accommodations have thatched huts and tiled roof All tourism properties have largely PVC solar streetlights. Tourists are encouraged to live in harmony with nature.
• Use of compact fluorescent lamps
• Electric power supplied by solar plants during the day
• The islanders are educated to adopt eco-friendly ways like burning of coconut husks to tackle mosquitoes and pests instead of pesticide
  Bio-mass gasfires is proposed to be set up at Kavaratti on an experimental basis to utilise coconut waste and eventually generate electricity at a cheaper rate and also save the environment from pollution
• A film is shown to the tourist once they board the ship on way to Lakshadweep islands informing them about the islands, its environment, the coral reefs and its management, the ban on picking up of corals, plastics etc. and ways to keep the islands clean and enjoy the beauty without disturbing or destroying it.
• Being a restricted area, entry is allowed only after issue of permits and therefore overcrowding in the islands is easily taken care of
• Fishing in Lakshadweep is carried out by pole and line method only. It is acknowledged all over the world that the pole and line method is the most eco friendly method of tuna fishing.
• Islanders are being trained in scuba diving so that they not only know about marine wealth but also contribute in maintaining the ecology of the islands and work as eyes and ears of the administration.
  The administration has initiated steps to document the bio-diversity of the island with the help of the MS Swaminathan Foundation and the local staff.
• The Lakshadweep Building Development Board has been constituted to import and provide construction materials so that locals do not collect it from the island and damage the ecology.

Thrust on ecological tourism
The ecological policy thrust is very much evident from the fact that only 3587 tourists visited the islands during the financial year 1998-99. The policies and guidelines prepared by the Union Territory of Lakshadweep to promote sustainable tourism can be categorised into four groups.

1. Impacts on physical environment
2. Impact on ecological environment
3. Impacts on human use values, and
4. Impacts on quality of life values.

Physical Environment
In order not to adversely affect the physical environment, the administration’s emphasis is to promote tourism only in those islands that can sustain it. The facilities there are developed in such a way that they do not result in loss of bio-diversity. No development is permitted in geologically unstable zones. An adequate buffer zone has been provided between development areas and the existing shoreline. The construction of high-rise structures are banned. It has been ensured that construction materials and methods are compatible with environment and height, shape and location of buildings merge with the natural vegetation.

The administration has imposed a total ban on the removal of any material from the coral reef and lagoons. Construction of structures that enhance the erosion process has been totally regulated, the administration has taken steps to stop the erosion by identifying the danger areas and has taken up anti-sea erosion measures like creating rubble walls, concrete block spurs, tetra pods, sea walls etc. All new buildings are required to have a rainwater harvesting system. Community rainwater harvesting systems are also being set up.

Ecological Environment
Keeping in view the fragile ecology of the islands, the tourism promotion policy has been tuned to protecting the ecology. Lakshadweep in totality has been declared a ‘no plastic zone’. With the help of voluntary organisations, a scheme of collection of all non-biodegradable wastes is being carried out. The soil of Lakshadweep is porous, low in organic matter and water-holding capacity. Hence the use of chemicals pose a threat to the ecology. To counter this problem, it has been decided since 1997 to minimise the use of chemical fertilisers and switch over to organic manure. Coral reefs form one of the primary tourist attractions. The corals are damaged either intentionally or out of ignorance, primarily due to fishing activities, besides tourism related activities and seawater pollution. In order to protect the coral reefs, the administration has regulated entry and exit of boats in the lagoon area.

Human Use Values
It has been the constant endeavour of the administration to preserve the human use values which includes water supply, beach access, landscape and natural beauty.

Quality Of Life Values
Quality of life, particularly of the local community, is another area that is affected by the growth of tourism. The impacts are related to health, and socio-cultural aspects. Inadequate and inefficient solid and liquid waste disposal system poses a health hazard for the locals. In order to counter the pressure, the tourism department has laid more emphasis on promoting day tourism where tourists visit the islands in the day and travel during the night in ship. Only small resorts are allowed to be set up.

Power supply (especially during the day) to the resorts are through grid interactive solar plants. These have already been set up at Kadmat and Bangaram and are being installed at Minicoy and Agatti. To minimise sound pollution, the administration has initiated action for the procurement of silent generators. In order to protect the socio-cultural fabric of islands, development of accommodations are encouraged away from local habitation areas and from uninhabited islands. Prohibition is enforced in all islands except Angaram.

All tourism development schemes are first analysed from environmental impact point of view and only if they meet the norms is implementation taken up.

Interactive ventures
The administration also conducts training courses, workshops, seminars, sports festivals/ competitions and studies to promote sustainable development tourism. Some of them are:

• Workshops organised for employees of Lakshadweep Tourism in collaboration with the Department of Science, Technology and Environment appraised by District Judge, Lakshadweep, and magistrate dealing with the Environmental Protection Act.
• Workshops organised for interaction of the Tourism Officers with Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest. National Seminar on status and protection of coral reef was conducted at Kadmat.
• Under the auspices of global Coral Reef Monitoring Network South Asia a workshop on socio-economic monitoring for coral reef was conducted in September 1998.
• The Administration with the help of National Institute of Oceanography, National Remote Sensing Agency, Centre for Marine and Fishery Research Institute and Department of Ocean Development, besides the Ministry of Environment and Forests is formulating a 25 year strategy and Action Plan for protection of coral reefs and lagoons.
• As the islands have a very fragile ecology, it is important that people living here and those visiting the islands realise the importance of preserving the system. With this aim regular awareness programs are organised besides imparting information through pamphlets and brochures.
• Project for cleaning the lagoons by involving non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is in place. NGOs have been set up with the idea of cleaning the lagoons of various non-bio-degradable wastes that have accumulated for the past so many years. The project would be implemented in a phased manner with the help of financial assistance from the administration and Ministry of Environment and Forests.
• Pollution Awareness Committees have been constituted in all the islands to detect and monitor any environmental degradation. The Committee would also work for the general enhancement of the quality of environment.
• An international seminar unanimously recommended the case of Lakshadweep for world heritage status as a natural site. UNESCO in Paris has given a positive response and an application to this effect is being sent through Government of India.

Tourism Policy - Salient Features

• Preserve fragile ecological and environmental structure
• Preserve local culture and social fabric
• High value and low volume tourism
• Sustainable tourism based on the “carrying capacity” of islands
• Sea based ship tourism for larger numbers
• Air based airline/helicopter tourism for high value tourists only
• Local features:
  • No violation of prohibition
  • Promotion of folk art and culture
  • Eco friendly water sports, mainly non mechanised
  • Promotion of scuba-diving.
  • Promotion of Solar Power and Biological toilets.
  • Collection of non biodegradable waste
  • Disposal of kitchen waste in open sea
  • Promotion of smokeless “Chula” in kitchen
  • Discouragement to diesel generation
  • Installment of Silent Generators to avoid noise pollution.

• Training of staff - To upgrade tourism management skills. Capacity building with local resource personals to run the Scuba-diving centers.

• Privatisation of facilities on stringent terms: Land lease rent, royalty and percentage of gross turnover.

FUTURE STOCK
The Lakshadweep administration has taken a holistic view of tourism development. The idea is to promote tourism as a composite package, developing all facilities and infrastructure required to promote eco-friendly tourism; not only provide accommodation but arrange transportation from and/to main land by ship/air, catering facilities, recreational facilities, water sports, scuba diving, boating, wind surfing etc.

It is slowly going in for privatisation of tourist infrastructure in a big way. Private investment is being encouraged, albeit on very cautious terms.

The facilities in two islands i.e. Bangaram and Agatti are being managed by private agencies. Private divers also run the scuba diving school at Kadmat. It is proposed to give facilities located in other islands, Minicoy and Kadmat, also to private entrepreneurs and encourage the local islanders to man the scuba diving schools.

The scope for water sports activities is also being exploited fully. It is proposed to develop Lakshadweep as a water sports destination, allowing only non-mechanised water sports. A water sports centre is being set up at Minicoy where a 20-bed tourist home has been constructed. Complementary to this, health club facilities are also being provided at Minicoy and Kadmat.

The thrust is on promoting ship-based tourism for Indian nationals at affordable rates.

Besides ship, Indian Airlines has started six flights from Kochi to Agatti. There is also a proposal to start flights from Goa in the near future.

Two new ships have been ordered for local passengers. They will accommodate 150 passengers, so that more room is available for tourists in the two existing carriers, namely, MV Tipu Sultan and MV Bharat Seema.

New properties are also being developed, keeping in mind the carrying capacity of the islands and without adversely affecting the ecology. The resort at Minicoy and tent accommodation at Kadmat are the best examples.
Emphasis is also being laid on developing tours on glass bottom boats, wind surfing, sailing etc. at Kavaratti Minicoy, Kadmat and Bangaram. Glass bottom boats have been provided at Agatti, Kavaratti, Kadmat, Kalpeni and Minicoy besides Bangaram.

The important tourist islands are also being connected as circuits in a new tourism package. Additionally, a proposal is also being examined to include Goa as a tourist circuit and to acquire a dedicated cruise ship for tourists.

The High Power Committee constituted by the Government of India to study about the shipping requirements of Union Territories has recommended the acquisition of a dedicated cruise ship for tourists at a cost of Rs 50 crore.

The administration has already started taking action on this. In the Xth plan provision for acquisition of cruise ship has been included.

Some of the other plans for the Union Territory as listed by Dr M S Sayed Ismail Koya, director - Information, Publicity and Tourism are as follows:

• Setting up of dive centres in more islands since the Lakshadweep islands are one of the best diving spots in the world. At present, diving facilities are available at Bangaram, Kadmat and Kavaratti. Recently the administration of the Lakshadweep has decided to establish more dive centres at Agatti and Minicoy.
• Development of the islands of Cheriyam, Thinnkara and Suhali Validyakara for international tourism and opening of more islands of domestic tourism. At present, only four islands are opened for domestic tourism. They are Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Kadmat and Minicoy.
• Interested islanders are being trained in Scuba Diving for enabling them to contribute in maintaining the ecology of the islands and to work as watch and ward of this administration. One diving centre has been started at Kavaratti and more diving centres will be opened in the focal islands in the near future.

(Researched and compiled by Madhavankutty Pillai)