A Wildlife Institute of India (WII) report has stressed the need for a scientific evaluation of the effects of eco-tourism on a particular area.

Presenting a paper on ‘Eco Tourism Policy - A Country Wide Approach’ at a workshop on eco-tourism here on Tuesday, Mr Anil Bharadwaj of WII said that though the Wildlife Eco-tourism Guidelines (2007), issued by the Tiger Conservation Authority had taken note of issues like animal corridors and carrying capacity of wildlife areas, no effort has been made for a scientific evaluation of the effects on the area due to eco-tourism. The two issues are crucial for the success of eco-tourism. Unless we determine how much tourists a particular wildlife area can carry, habitat management will be difficult, he noted.

Taking a dig at the Union Government’s Eco-tourism guidelines issued in 1998, Mr Bharadwaj noted that the policy dealt more with development, rather than with ecological conservation. Any eco-tourism policy should stress on protection, livelihood for local people and better options for development, he urged.