Problems and Prospects of Ecotourism in nepal (A Case Study of Bandipur, Tanahun)

Abstract

The thesis entitled “Problem and Prospect of Eco-tourism in Nepal : ACase Study of Bandipur Area in Tanahun” has been prepared for thefulfillment of Master Degree in Rural Development from the CentralDepartment of Rural Development, T.U., Kirtipur. Its entirely based on thefield survey in which researcher has exercised to highlight the eco-tourism isnatural environment and cultural richness. Eco-tourism is a new concept in the tourism sector and operations havebeen established all over the world particularly is developing countries on theassumption of poverty alleviation and environment conservation as well asminimum impact in environment sector. The general objective of the study was to identity the problem andprospect of eco-tourism of Bandipur in Tanahun District and used thepurposive and Random sampling method is selected areas of Bandipur. Theprimary data were collected using questionnaire through the field survey in thestudy area and secondary data from various sources. Based on the study, it is found that Bandipur located in Tanahundistrict, southern corner of Gandaki zone is sleepy old Newari village. It wasthe main link on the ancient trading route between India and Tibet andaccording to legend was once very assets, mountain and Himalayan scene,river, basin wildlife favourable climate and other attractions which will be ofgreat interest for the tourist. This place is famous for both domestic andinternational tourism for its peculiar village environment. In the view of itspotential for the tourism development, local community is seen to the moreinterested and aware on the development on this area jointly as touristdestination. The study identified that there were tremendous prospects of eco-tourism and problems as well. Siddha cave, Rock slopes, Fauna-flora, Scenicview, Historical movement, Local cultures mountain and Himalayan scene,river basin, wildlife and favorable climate. Similarly, the problems were found v mainly about the drinking water, trained manpower, health and sanitationproblem, lack of recreational facilities, lack of good qualities hotels, publictoilet, peace and security and lack of marketing etc. There were absence ofwell, electricity, sanitation, marketing medical facilities, recreational centre,visitor information center and entry of which were the vital challengingproblems. The research has been conducted on the basis of field survey applyingexploratory cum descriptive in which 60 locals, 28 hotels, 20 tourists and 20key informants were taken as sample and also applied interview, timeline andtable as tools. The study had found animal husbandry almost cover 20-30% andbesides, agriculture, seasonal migration and trade are ultimate economysector. The major issues were poverty, livestock grazing, crop and livestockdepredation, high dependency on natural resource and poaching. The speciesdiversity in SPNP areas were forest plant 200, birds 70 and wild animals 35.There were major trekking routes: Bandipur to Ramkot for 1:30 hour long trek,Bandipur to Mukundeshwori for 2 hours long trek, Bandipur to Siddha cave. 1hours long trek, Bandiprvia Hilekhadka to Chhimkeshwori for 4 hours longtrek, Bandipr to Saranghat, for 2 days long trek, Bandipur to Dumre for 1 hourlong trek. The best time to visit the area was September to October months. Hence, the future of eco-tourism in Bandipur area is found to be veryoptimistic and relies heavily on who is responsible for marketing, eco-tourism,planning, modifying entry fee, establishing infrastructure, making aware tolocals and tourists regarding to eco-tourism in the study area (Bandipur area).Apart this, eco-tourism provides a high level of education on ecology andenvironment, which has positive impact upon the protection of environmentand culture and brings about economic benefits for the host communities andcontributes to conservation activities efforts.