SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TOURISM: CONFLICTS BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE. THE CASE OF THE ANNAPURNA REGION OF NEPAL. A Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Mark Andrew Ewen School of Sport, Leisure and Travel Faculty of Enterprise and Innovation, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College Brunel University August, 2007 ii Abstract This research investigated the conflicts that existed between the theory and policies of tourism as a tool for sustainable development, and the reality of their implementation in the Ghorepani and Tatopani areas of Annapurna, Nepal. It studied the attitudes, values, and practices (with reference to tourism and sustainable development) of the various actors in tourism in the area, and the environmental contexts and processes at work. The current theory and policy underpinning measures to implement tourism and sustainable development in the area was examined. Conclusions were subsequently drawn about the impact of present policies and theory on sustainable development and sustainable tourism on the area. An interpretivist paradigm provided the basis for this study, with elements of a critical social science approach included. An emic approach enabled the researcher to uncover the specific understandings and actualities of stakeholders, along with the underlying environmental structures and conditions of sustainable development through tourism in the area. These factors, along with the interrelationships between them, formed the basis of a fieldwork period whereby data was gained from key stakeholders through the utilisation of a variety of interviewing and observational techniques. This study contributes further to the debate surrounding the use of tourism as a tool for sustainable development. It finds that the traditional but naïve western dualist assumptions of tourism impacts as propounded by research, policy, and management do not account for the processes in which tourism is working on and through actors and their communities in the Tatopani and Ghorepani areas of Nepal (and vice versa). It consequently finds that sustainable development, when interpreted as a western construct, can be seen to be occurring to a limited and beneficial degree in the areas, but also at a cost to the communities involved which is not being recognised. iii Acknowledgements Although there are others to thank for their help (especially in Nepal), I am deeply indebted to the following people in particular: Professor Andrew Holden, my principal supervisor, for his guidance, patience and faith! I have been very fortunate to have had such a good supervisor. Dr Stroma Cole, Professor Peter Mason and Professor Bill Bramwell who all helped with supervision and advice at various stages of the research. The villagers of Tatopani and Ghorepani – who took me in and let me become part of their villages for the time I was there. Thank you for taking time to talk to me about your life, and for all the Nepali teas, dal bhats, roxis and conversations in the kitchens each night, the laughs, and the sense of belonging. The guides and porters who were passing through the villages – thank you for your friendliness and openness; also thank you for talking to me about your job, your life and your thoughts; likewise the staff of ACAP, thank you for the long discussions. The following friends in Nepal also deserve special mention; for their assistance and kindness; Rajan, Shaligram, Lakpa, Puspa, Laxmi, Bhimu, Hari, Bishnu, Purna, The Captain, Bishnu, Sanjay, Maya, Bina, Bimal, Bhuwan, Raj, Douglas, Beejay, Sanjib, Niranjan, Raju, Gopal, Kedar, Arjun, Rames, Bishwa, Kishan, Jayandra, Kancha, sāthi –aru. My father, mother, and three brothers for their faith in me, moral support and patience, and my friend, confidante, and wife Wendy - for her patience, faith, and moral support over the last five years. A special thanks to all those above, and others who helped with the research. I hope that this thesis can encourage the reader to consider again the relationship between tourism and the people of underdeveloped countries, and that in the future a more equitable relationship between all the stakeholders and their environments is found. iv Author‟s declaration I declare that this thesis is my own unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Brunel (Buckingham Chilterns University College). The material in this thesis has not been published previously. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination in any other university. Name of candidate: Mark Andrew Ewen Signature: Date: . v Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... iii Author‟s declaration ................................................................................................. iv Contents ...................................................................................................................... v List of Illustrations ................................................................................................... vii List of Tables ............................................................................................................ vii Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY………...……………….2 1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 Validations and Conditions of the Research ............................................................................ 4 1.1.1 Rationale ........................................................................................................................... 4 1.1.2 Ramifications of the Political Situation ............................................................................. 8 1.2 The Research Case ................................................................................................................. 11 1.2.1 Nepal and Development: A Failed State ......................................................................... 11 1.2.2 Tourism and Development in the Annapurna Area ......................................................... 15 1.3 Definitions of Contentious Terms .......................................................................................... 28 1.3.1 Development ................................................................................................................... 29 1.3.2 Sustainable Development ................................................................................................ 29 1.3.3 Tourism ........................................................................................................................... 30 1.3.4 Environment .................................................................................................................... 30 1.3.5 Stakeholder / Player / Actor ............................................................................................ 31 1.3.6 Majority/Minority and Less Developed/Developed World ............................................. 32 1.4 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER TWO: THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT: .................................... 38 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 38 2.1 Exploring „Underdevelopment‟ and the Economic Prerogative ............................................. 40 2.2 Reviewing the Relationship between Development Theories ................................................ 45 2.3 Analysing the Post-Modern Theoretical Turn ........................................................................ 51 2.4 Positivistic Developments: Exploring Science‟s Appropriation of the Environment............. 56 2.5 Discourses of Sustainable Development ................................................................................ 61 2.6 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 65 vi CHAPTER THREE: TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT .................................. 68 3.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 68 3.1 Tourism as Development Tool: Challenges. .......................................................................... 70 3.2 Development and Tourism Alternatives ................................................................................. 78 3.3 Structural Endorsements......................................................................................................... 85 3.4 Contested Environments: Tourism and its Environmental Contexts ...................................... 92 3.5 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 99 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES . 103 4.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 103 4.1 Justification of the Methodological