Our parks and protected areas need a lot of resources in managing them.

They need to raise money for management, they need to involve local communities for conservation, they need to create awareness for conservation as well.

Finances: Our parks attract very little allocation from our union / state budgets. Eco-tourism has proven to be a big money earner. MP and Rajasthan will vouch for that.

Local Communities: Responsible Eco-tourism benefits the local communities if they are included. If local communities benefit, then they play a vital role in conservation

Awareness Creation: Children and youngsters are the pillars of tomorrow. It is important for them to understand the impact and pressures faced by parks. Responsible Eco-tourism addresses this issue.

From the above, it is clear that responsible eco-tourism has a key role to play in the conservation of our parks.

Now the question is, is Eco-tourism (the activity) considered as a forestry activity or not? (The typical activities include nature walks, bird watching, treks, jeep/boat based trips, camping, setting up of interpretation centres etc)

It will be great to hear your views on this subject.