NEW DELHI: The ambitious plan of action to ensure more resilient, inclusive, carbon neutral and resource efficient tourism in the country--National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism (NSST)-primarily focuses on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimise consumption of fresh water and prevent profligate use of naturally occurring materials.
Formulated by the tourism ministry, it seeks to strengthen the protection of national parks and protected areas from the negative impacts of tourism. The NSST has been sent to union ministries, state governments, travel trade associations and related advocacy groups for information and further action.
Under the policy, tourism enterprises will be encouraged to be efficient in all their use of materials, resources and generation of waste. It also puts emphasis on minimum usage of unnecessary packaging and creative reuse of products.
The ministry will work with the states to ensure that new tourism development is appropriate to local environmental conditions and encourage reuse and regeneration of existing buildings “The design of new buildings should be in harmony with the landscape, and where appropriate reflect traditional designs with the optimum amount of open space and the retention of tree cover,” it says.
To minimise the physical impact of tourism, the ministry has proposed visitor management and deflect activities to more robust sites.
Focus on greater synergy
For better and more effective implementation of the strategy including periodical review and resolution of issues, the ministry has proposed multi-level setups including a ‘Vision Group’, National Board on Sustainable Tourism (NBST), state-level steering committees and National Resource Centre (NRC).