BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to attract nature lovers to Odisha, the State Government has laid focus on development of eco-tourism and sustainable practices in nature-based tourism.While an eco-tourism policy has been introduced, Forest Department has been declared as the nodal agency for development of eco-tourism in the State. Speaking at a workshop on ‘Sustainable Eco-tourism’ on Wednesday, Tourism Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said an eco-tourism scheme has been approved with the financial implication of `56 crore for five years for its sustainable development and promotions.
The workshop was jointly organised by Department of Tourism and Forest and Environment in collaboration with Ecotourism Society of India, the nodal body of eco-tourism, supported by Union Ministry of Tourism. Forest Secretary Suresh Mohapatra said Odisha is being projected as eco-tourism hub of the country. So far, 36 nature camps have been developed and nine are under progress, he added.
“Employment opportunities have been created by engaging local communities in and around the eco-tourism destinations for maintaining the facilities like natural trails, watch towers and interpretation centres,” he said.Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan also spoke.