THENMALA ECO TOURISM PROJECT

BY HAMSA.EMOHAMMED ASHARAF B.ACHANDRAKALA

Thenmala Eco Tourism• Located in Kollam district of Kerala

• ‘Then’ means Honey and ‘Mala’ means Hillock

• Thenmala is a small village at the foothills of Western Ghats and for the most part, a forest area with a lot of human interventions at the edge

• Peppara dam of Kallada irrigation projects of the State is located here.

• The water spread area of this basin is 22 sq. km with in the famous Shenduruni Wildlife Sanctuary,

• Thenmala ecotourism project is established around this water body.

• It is the first planned Eco Tourism in the country

Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society (TEPS)

• Organizing body of the project

• Established in 1998

• 1st phase – 1999

• 2nd phase – 2000

• Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society (TEPS) is a society registered under the Travancore Cochin Literary Scientific and Charitable Societies Act 1955

• TEPS adopted a strategy to co-ordinate with Forest Department, the Irrigation Department and Tourism Department

• TEPS measured Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) at the early stage

• Vana Samrakshna Samithi ensuring protection of nature and local benefits from ecotourism

• MoT chairs the society while Vice Chairman is Secretary to Tourism of Govt. of Kerala

• General body members consists of Secretary to Forestry & Irrigation, Director of DoT, District Collector, Local MP, MLA, Panchayat President etc.

• Currently there are about hundred workers under TEPS, 90 % of them are local people

Attractions and Activities• Vacation seekers paradise

• Lush green forest Park

• Adventure Park

• Children’s Park

• Butterfly Safari

• Musical Dancing Fountain

• Boating

• Trekking

• Hiking

• Night Camping

• Ayurvedic Centres etc.

Project Background• A separate ecotourism directorate has been created

• Developed awareness about ecotourism through medias, seminars and workshops

• The cooperation of departments such as Forest, Irrigation and Tourism

• It is about 100 sq. km and harbors of large varieties of flora and fauna within Shenduruni WLS

• Eco friendly General Tourism is planned in the periphery of WLS to avoid the pressure of huge crowd

• The real eco tourism is take place within the sanctuary – only for eco tourists

• Facilities such as boating in the Sanctuary reservoir, boardwalk, sculpture garden, amphitheatre, Musical Dancing Fountain, etc. are also provided at Thenmala for soft eco tourists.

Objectives• To develop Thenmala dam and its surroundings as a major

tourist destination

• To promote ecotourism on the basis of the principles of

ecological sustainability in the area surrounding Thenmala

• To have a well planned tourism destination with the emphasis

on sustainable tourism development as a model for other

destination development programs.

Components• Eco friendly General Tourism – Gardens, pathways,

fountains, statues, ropeways, artificial waterfall, Ayurvedic centre etc.

(Zoning into three)` Culture – Amphitheatre, Musical Dancing Fountains, Shop Court, Restaurant Leisure – Pathways, Gardens, Suspension Bridge, Sculptures Adventure – Bike Shop, Lotus Pond, Elevated Walkway, Rock Climb etc.

• Eco Tourism – 20 acres forestry areas for trekking, Environmental Education Study Centres, Boating, Kallada Dam, Zoological park, Deer Rehabilitation Centre, Palaruvi etc.

• Pilgrimage Tourism – ‘Eco Pilgrim Tourist Circuit’ including Mangrove Study Centre and Accommodation facilities

Why Thenmala is an Eco Tourism Destination ?

An eco tourism destination should be :

Nature based

Ecologically sustainable

Local community participation

Education and Research oriented

Awards• National Tourism awards 2001-2002 - the most Eco Friendly

   Tourism Organisation award for Kerala tourism

• National Tourism awards 2003-2004 - the category of Best Ecotourism Practices

• UNWTO selected as one of the 64 best practice from 47 countries for the sustainable development of Ecotourism

• Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold award for 2003-04 - the category Environmental Ecotourism /Travel related

WEBSITEwww.thenmalaecotourism.com

Important Issues

Source (Journal) : Thanal – Towards Zero Waste Thenmala

Important IssuesGraveyard issue

Migrat ion of fauna

Degradat ion of environment by throwing

waste mater ials

Deforestat ion

Lack of coordinat ion between the departments

Minimum Job opportunit ies for local people

Overnight program (Camp Fire)

Suggestions• Ensure full participation from the local community• Needs to be a focused efforts towards the

preservation of the environment and the prevention of ecological degradation

• Limits the number of visitors in each ecotourism spots• Ensure an efficient coordination between the

governing bodies• Create awareness regarding the need of protection of

environment among the tourist and host• For the economic development of the region, the

Government and Panchayat should take initiative to share profit and invest in the region

• Garbage wastes can be transformed to Bio Gas plants

Sum up……..• It was a significant initiative taken by Kerala Govt.

• Zoning of destination became a model for other ecotourism destinations

• But, Thenmala fails to qualify as a major ecotourism destination due to some weakness – Local participation, employment participation, political involvement, lack of proper waste management etc.