Annapurna an exception to rule<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): While Nepal poses a clear example of continued
\npoverty and environmental degradation amid so much potential
\nincome from tourism, it also hosts a fairly successful ecotourism
\nproject in the Annapurna region, where millions come in search
\n\"of one of the greatest walks on earth\".<\/p>\n
In 1986 the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP)
\nstarted, to safeguard 7,600 square kilometers which are home to
\n100 species of mammals, 1,226 species of plants and endangered
\nand rare animals such as the snow leopard, musk deer and blue
\nsheep.<\/p>\n
The project does have an inspiring achievement for popular
\nmountain destinations; predictions in 1969 that forests in the
\narea would vanish in 25 years may not materialize. In 1994 it was
\nfound that undergrowth had regenerated and that most mature
\nforests were intact, according to a report in a 1999 book, Tough
\nTerrain.<\/p>\n
The report cites tourism figures showing Annapurna replacing
\nMount Everest as the country's most visited site since last year,
\nwhen the former region saw 60 percent of Nepal's tourists, or
\n70,000 visitors.<\/p>\n
Before the project started, Keya Acharya writes, trekkers
\nwould \"leave behind 'garbage and the begging disease'\".<\/p>\n
Now ACAP charges a fee of 1,000 rupees for every visitor
\nentering the area, with the funds going to villages along the
\ntrails.<\/p>\n
Efforts to curb negative impacts of tourism are striving to
\ncatch up with the waves of visitors particular in high seasons.<\/p>\n
Acharya writes of the strain on electricity and water supplies
\nin Pokhara, the starting point of the Annapurna treks which sees
\nan annual average of 100,000 tourists from October to December.<\/p>\n
Despite shortcomings such as the absence of environment impact
\nassessments for developers, the writer stresses the key has been
\nthe participation of local communities. (anr)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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