Impact of Ecotourism on Village Economy and Society in Sikkim
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IMPACT OF ECOTOURISM ON VILLAGE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN SIKKIM A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH BENGAL FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN HIMALAYAN STUDIES WITH SPECIALIZATION IN SOCIOLOGY Submitted by BINU OOMMEN Under the supervision of DR. MAITREYEE CHOUDHURY PROFESSOR CENTRE FOR HIMALAYN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF NORTH BENGAL DARJEELING WEST BENGAL JUNE, 2016 DEDICATED To my beloved husband Dr. Thomas Chandy & Sons Mr. Sanat Thomas Mr. Rajat Thomas i D E C L A R A T I O N I declare that the thesis entitled IMPACT OF ECOTOURISM ON VILLAGE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN SIKKIM has been prepared by me under the guidance of Dr. Maitreyee Choudhury, Professor, Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal. No part of this thesis has formed the basis for the award of any degree or fellowship previously. (BINU OOMMEN) University of North Bengal Raharammohunpur, P.O. North Bengal University Dist. Darjeeling, Pin – 734013, India. ii iii P R E F A C E Sikkim became a part of the Indian Union in 1975 through the 22nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution. Before that it was a monarchy and was ruled by the Namgyal Dynasty for more than 300 years. Sikkim underwent a rapid transformation after it became an Indian State as it started accessing funds from the Government of India. This led to a rapid pace of development with a lot of investment being made in expansion of road network leading to even remote areas being opened to tourism. Sikkim is rich in natural resources with its small area exhibiting vast and unique forests and biodiversity. The third highest peak of the world, Mount Khangchendzonga, is located on the western border of Sikkim and has a special place in the culture of almost all ethnic communities of the State. Numerous mountain peaks and glacial lakes dot the topography of Sikkim and many of them have cultural significance as they are revered for various reasons. All this makes Sikkim a unique place, fit for tourism development and attractive to adventure seekers and summer holiday makers. The natural and cultural bounties of the State have become its unique selling property and awareness of this has led the State Government to promote ecotourism in a big way over the last two decades. Almost every nook and corner of Sikkim has aesthetic value and rural people though mainly pursuing an agrarian lifestyle have now diversified their vocation to take advantage of the rapid growth of tourism in the State. There have been several studies on ecotourism development in the State and some have focused on the role of ecotourism in economic development of rural areas. The present study was carried out to understand whether the stated goals of ecotourism, which are to improve the economic condition of ecotourism service providers and of promoting conservation of natural resources through ecotourism, were actually being achieved or not. Not many studies have dealt with the impact of ecotourism on local society and culture. This was also a theme that was explored in this study. Analyses of the present state of ecotourism in Sikkim and the future prospects have been included in this thesis drawing comparisons from other parts of the country and the world. iv A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S This thesis is the end of my journey in obtaining my Ph.D. I have not travelled in a vacuum in this journey. This thesis has been kept on track and been seen through to completion with the support and encouragement of numerous people including my well wishers, my friends, colleagues and various institutions. At the end of my thesis I would like to thank all those people who made this thesis possible and an unforgettable experience for me. It is a pleasant task to express my thanks to all those who contributed in many ways to the success of this study and made it an unforgettable experience for me. Foremost, at this moment of accomplishment, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Guide, Dr. Maitreyee Choudhury, Professor, Centre for Himalayan Studies, for the continuous support of my Ph.D study and research, for her patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. Her guidance helped me all the time during my research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my Ph.D study. This work would not have been possible without her guidance, support and encouragement. Under her guidance I successfully overcame many difficulties and learned a lot. I am grateful to my husband Dr. Thomas Chandy, who was a constant source of encouragement and support to me despite his tight schedule. I am also indebted to my sons, Sanat and Rajat, who helped in making my statistical tables and graphs successfully. Mr. Betal Koushik worked overtime and ensured a quality product and deserves commendation for his excellent work. A number of colleagues and friends have helped me during stages of collection of materials, compilation and in providing valuable inputs, both in terms of images and visuals in print and electronic forms. Grateful appreciation is expressed to Ms. Hemlatha Rai in providing valuable inputs both in terms of maps and images in electronic forms. I am also indebted to the Centre of Himalayan Studies for having provided me with the logistic support relating to the official procedures for completing this work. Though I had to work under extremely tight schedule, I have tried my level best to do justice to the job entrusted to me, I record here my warm appreciation, for the enthusiasm and moral support for everybody who had made this work possible. v Last but not the least I would like to thank my family and friends for bearing with me while I worked on this assignment, sometimes to the point of cutting into the time that I should have spent with them. Binu Oommen University of North Bengal Raja Rammohanpur, Darjeeling Dated: June, 2016. vi C O N T E N T S Page No. List of Figures xiv List of Tables xvi List of Plates xviii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1. The Concept of Ecotourism 10 1.2. Potential of Ecotourism to foster local-level economic development 13 1.3. Conceptual Framework 14 1.4. Significance of the Study 17 1.5. Objectives of the Study 18 1.6. Research Questions 18 1.7. Research Hypothesis 19 1.8. Methodology 19 1.9. Research Methodology 19 1.10. Data collection methods 20 1.11. Questionnaire Survey 20 1.12. Interviews 21 1.13. Universe of the study 22 1.14. Sample Survey 23 1.15. Chapterization 24 References 25 Chapter 2: Review of Literature 31 2.1. Survey of published literature on Ecotourism 31 2.2. Survey of Literature on Case Studies Related to Ecotourism 38 References 53 Chapter 3: Ecotourism: Initiation, Growth and Marketing of Ecotourism in Sikkim 58 3.1. Introduction 58 3.2. Ecotourism around the World 59 3.2.1. Costa Rica 59 3.2.2. Malaysia 60 3.2.3. Australia 61 vii 3.2.4. Brazil 61 3.2.5. India 62 3.3. Ecotourism in Sikkim 63 3.3.1. General background of Sikkim 64 3.3.2. Political history 64 3.3.3. Geographical features 65 3.3.4. Forests and wildlife 67 3.3.5. Socioeconomic parameters 68 3.3.6. Ecotourism Policy of Sikkim 72 Following are the main objectives of Sikkim Ecotourism Policy 72 3.3.7. Ecotourism in Yuksom, Aritar, Kewzing and Darap 73 3.3.8. Initiation of Ecotourism in Sikkim 74 3.3.9. Growth of Ecotourism in Sikkim 75 3.3.10. Ecotourism Marketing 76 Bibliography 77 Chapter 4: Case Study: Ecotourism in select villages 81 4.1. Background 81 4.1.1. Objective 81 4.2. Yuksom 82 4.2.1. The main tourist attractions in the area are: 85 4.2.2. Socio-Economic Impact of Ecotourism in Yuksom 86 4.3. Aritar 89 4.3.1. Places of interest in Aritar 91 4.3.2. Socio-Economic Impact of Ecotourism in Aritar 93 4.4. Kewzing 95 4.4.1. Socio-Economic Impact of Ecotourism in Kewzing 100 4.5 Darap 103 4.4.2. Socio-Economic Impact of Ecotourism in Darap 105 References 107 Chapter 5: Socio-Economic Characteristics 109 5.1. Introduction 109 5.1.1. Sources of data 109 5.1.2. Respondents 111 5.2. Ecotourism as an Occupation 114 viii 5.3. Ecotourism Facilities 122 5.4. Domestic Amenities 123 5.5. Economic Indicators 128 5.6. Social Indicators: Basic Amenities 136 5.7 Conclusion 149 Chapter 6: Impact of Ecotourism 150 Introduction 150 6.1. Age Group of the respondents 150 6.2. Average income earned by the respondents from different sources 151 6.3. Duration in other occupation 152 6.4. Approximate income from ecotourism 154 6.5. Approximate income from other occupation 155 6.6. Approximate income per year before commencing ecotourism 157 6.7. Income from ecotourism and other sources 158 6.8. Comparative income per year before and after commencing Ecotourism159 6.9. Domestic Amenities owned before and after Ecotourism 160 6.10. Statistics of Rent earned through Ecotourism 162 6.11. Income from Tourism 162 6.12. Village-wise income from other sources 164 6.13. Own Tourism Facility 169 6.14. Purchase of Car 171 6.15. Purchase of Two Wheeler 172 6.16. Ownership of Land 177 6.17. Land Holding 179 6.18.