‘Goa’s rich biodiversity can help local eco-entrepreneurs flourish’

PANJIM: Top Goan environmentalists insist that time is of the essence to revive a popular reconnect with Goa’s biodiversity to aid overall conservation efforts and local eco-entrepreneurs can stand to benefit economically by implementing sustainable eco-tourism modules. 

The experts also mulled the definition of an ideal ec0-tourist at ‘Ensemble of the Wild: An Evening of Art, Culture, Music and Meaningful Conversations Around Conservation’, a curtain-raiser event of Echoes of Earth, India’s greenest festival, that provided a platform to raise widespread awareness about eco-sensitivity vis-à-vis discursive panel discussions, art and music on the ecological significance of the state’s rich biodiversity, especially in the Western Ghats region.

Titled ‘Ecotourism: A Guardrail towards Protecting Goa’s Biodiversity – in association with the Goa State Biodiversity Board’, the event’s first panel discussion, moderated by member secretary of Goa State Biodiversity Board Pradip Samorkadam, featured herpetologist and wildlife photographer Nirmal Kulkarni, Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) secretary Rajendra Kerkar and Goa State Research Foundation chairperson Prof M K Janarthanam. 

Kulkarni said, “Goa’s venture into ecotourism has an amazing future and we have the potential to become a model state for responsible ecotourism in India, only if it is carried out with small groups of people with appropriate guidelines in place that should be formulated in tandem with the local communities. There are also platforms where people are being trained to respectfully showcase Goa’s magical biodiversity.” 

The definition of an ideal eco-tourist was also discussed by the panellists, with Prof Janarthanam stating that education is a must for eco-tourists as “eco-tourism entails conservation, people who visit these ecologically sensitive sites should make an effort to learn about the local flora, fauna and cultural values of the local people attached to the environment. Only these tourists are fit to be called eco-tourism stakeholders.”

“A majority of forest systems are protected by the indigenous tribal people since time immemorial. Eco-tourists need to be respectful of the spaces in which they are entering, avoid littering and adhere to the local customs,” added Kerkar. 

Kerkar also highlighted the importance of respecting sacred groves and medicinal water bodies and stated that “the need of the hour is to create awareness surrounding the ecological importance of Goa’s ecology as a whole and increase the overall environment literacy.”

The second panel discussion, moderated by Aditya Kakodkar, senior coordinator, Marine Conservation, titled ‘Tales from the Wild: Exploring Goa – A Western Ghats Wonderland – in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India)’ further detailed the ecological diversity of the endangered Western Ghats region. 

Panellists Paresh Porob, Range Forest Officer; Dr Nandini Velho, project lead, Canopy Collective and ORA India Fellow and Benhail Antao, wildlife rescuer and National Geographic show presenter at ‘Snakes SOS: Goa’s Wildest’ shared personal experiences and encounters with the Western Ghats’ flora and fauna.

The keynote speaker Director of Tourism Suneel Anchipaka highlighted ways in which ecotourism can be sustainably carried out by presenting the Goa Tourism Development Corporation’s master plan. 

“The focus is on sustainable and responsible quality tourism to empower local communities by creating employment opportunities as per Goa’s G20 declaration. The key theme is ‘Goa Beyond Beaches’ under which we have launched the Homestay Policy and also introduced a Caravan policy to promote experiential tourism,” said Anchipaka.