Tourism in the Himalaya
In a developing country such as India, the tourism industry can be main source of revenue and if carried out properly the tourism industry can also give an increase to the country’s economy. This paper on the case study of the Himalayas will discuss the effects of tourism in this area. The Himalayan Mountain is the longest and highest range of mountain compared to all the other mountain systems of the world (Sharma). The Himalayan Mountain range is separated into 3 sectors from east to west, The Great Himalaya, The Middle Himalaya, and the Outer Himalaya (Anonymous). The Himalayas also has a high diversity of flora and fauna and the mountains acts a barrier against the cold wind coming from Siberia. Tourist such as mountaineers trekkers and nature lovers, from around the world visit India, and especially the Himalayas because of its beautiful scenic views and its peaceful atmosphere (Anonymous). Since 1980 the number of tourist visiting the Himalayas has raised from 800,000 to 1.8 million (Dayal 1989 and Kottary 1994). The issues that have arisen from the great number of tourist in the Himalayas are the degradation of the environment. Over exploitation of the natural resource places the environment’s natural equilibrium in jeopardy. The great increase in tourist visiting the Himalayas led to cutting down of trees for constructions of new roads and the meadows replace for campsites (Anonymous) and as a result of improper use of the environment, it is estimated that 1.5 million hectors of forest is disappearing every year. Disappearing forest not only affect the tribal communities but it also has a huge effect on wild life as it disrupt the animals’ food-chain, other consequences such as landslides can also occur. The assortment of plants and flowers are also depleting due to tourist, plants such as the Juniperus bush are being pluck away because it easily catch fire while still green and it serve tourist as a source of amusement (Anonymous). The most popular
Cited: Sharma, B.D. Himalayan Environment Conservation. New Delhi: Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd., 2002. Anonymous. Himalaya Case Pp. 5 Kottary, Sailesh "Tourism 's Changing Focus" Institutional Investor Vol. 28, May 1994, pgs 26-27. Bala, Usha. Tourism in India, New Delhi: Arushi Prakashan, 1990. Dayal, Ajit. "India Tries Again to Boost Tourism Earnings: Standing Invitation" Far Eastern Economic Review, Vol. 44 June8, 1989, pg. 113. Kreag, Glenn. The Impacts of Tourism. Minnesota, Minnesota Sea Grant, 2001.