Turtles Or Tourists? Assessing The Role Of Ecotourism In Wildlife Conservation - A Case From India

While ecotourism is a well-defined concept, operationalizing it to make it financially viable is a challenge. Ecotourism has a potential to conserve natural resources and biodiversity of the region, as suggested by many case studies across the world. In the last few years, Indian tourism has experienced an overuse of the term ecotourism. However, there are no standards nor guidelines to inspire confidence in tourists, nor policies to ensure its honest use. This chapter discusses the findings of the author's comparative study of conventional tourism in Murud and ecotourism in Velas. Murud and Velas are coastal villages in Maharashtra, with similar characteristics. The Olive Ridley turtles arrive every year to Velas to lay their eggs. However, with growing human disturbances, their numbers dwindled. Velas residents chose to protect this unique phenomenon and chose to fund their conservation program with an appropriate model of ecotourism. Today, ecotourism in Velas yields income for the residents, helps fund the turtle conservancy program, and generates employment for youth.