Responsible tourism officials warn government against plans for expensive resorts in eastern Lakshadweep Hospitality World

Marine biologists, former bureaucrats and responsible tourism officials who participated in a virtual conference organized by the Responsible Tourism Society of India (RTSOI) earlier this week said that tourism is being forced on the ecologically fragile Lakshadweep Islands. expressed serious concerns about the development model. UT Administration. Based on the deliberations, RTSOI will compile expert opinions on the issue and submit them to the government in the form of a white paper.

Speakers, including a former chief secretary to the Government of India, emphasized the strategic importance of the island to India's national security and the need for core infrastructure development, while stressing that the government and its agencies should ensure that such development He said that the impact on the larger ecosystem should be considered. We seriously consider the island and its people's lives.

“We are not against development. However, development must not come at the expense of the environment. Ocean bungalows will destroy the island's ecosystem. No construction of any kind should be allowed behind the tree line. It should be allowed,” one of the speakers said.

Environmentalists have called on authorities to review the decision to build overwater bungalows in the lagoon, citing how Himalayan tourist destinations are paying the price of overtourism and environmental degradation. He said development activities that ignore the local residents, who are the real custodians of the island, and turn them into mere spectators will have a disastrous impact not only on the environment but also on the socio-cultural life of the islanders.

“Corals are essential to the very existence of islands that are only 1 to 2 meters above sea level,” said a marine biologist who attended the conference. He said Lakshadweep has lost 50 per cent of its rich coral reefs since 1998 due to various natural activities, including thermal turbulence in the ocean. He said corals are a source of resilience and building overwater villas in the lagoon would have a negative impact on corals.

Lakshadweep is one of the most densely populated regions, with 2,000 people per square kilometer. In such situations, even an uninhabited island is important to the lives of local residents.

Many atolls will become uninhabitable by mid-century, according to scientific studies and reports. Experts participating in the deliberations therefore warned government agencies and policymakers against unchecked construction on the island, saying it would only accelerate the process of environmental degradation rather than prevent impending disaster. . They believe that now that the threat of climate change is real, it is time for governments and their agencies to consider a coherent climate strategy that supports existing natural resilience systems, rather than undermining them. He said the time had come.

Since the Andaman Islands opened for tourism 20 years ago, tourism stakeholders have witnessed how policies and their implementation can go in different directions, potentially spelling doom for destinations like the Andaman. They warned that the same thing would happen again in Lakshadweep. Policymakers intended to create high-value, low-volume tourism for Andamanese, but what followed was infrastructure development to accommodate long-stay tourists, with Havelock Island and Neil Island experts said, literally wreaking havoc on the country's fragile ecosystem.

Members also criticized attempts to draw parallels between Lakshadweep and the Maldives. They said the Maldives resort development model is not suitable for Lakshadweep given the small size of the UT and the number of uninhabited islands available for tourism infrastructure development.

Two resort projects have already been bid to hotel companies, and panelists said advocacy groups like RTSOI are working closely with developers to reduce as much as possible the environmental impact on the island and its ecosystem. , opined that it is now prudent to minimize it.