Ecotourism in wetland environment: a case study of Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary (Ramsar Site) of Assam (India)

Resumo

Ecotourism in simple words means management of tourism and conservation of nature in a way so as to maintain a fine balance between the requirements of tourism and ecology on one hand. Well-planned Ecotourism can benefit both protected areas and residents of surrounding communities by linking long term Bio-diversity conservation with local social and economic development. Assam in fact is a global Bio-diversity hot spot (Myers, 1988; 1991) and has a rich cultural Heritage. It also forms part of two endemic bird areas, viz.-Eastern Himalaya and Assam plain. (Coller, 1994). Assam plain comprises a good number of Wetlands (Beels) in the Brahmaputra valley abounds in bio-diversity and productivity. These wetlands maintain ecosystem diversity, as they are the natural storehouse of valuable flora and fauna of an area. Besides these, they are also used for various economic purposes by the people living in and around it through ecotourism activities like bird watching, angling, boating etc. The wetlands are of great value for both man and environment for long term financial sustainability by the surrounding communities as well as conservation of nature. Through the paper the author tries to highlight such possibilities on the basis of assessment of potential ecotourism resources of the Deepor Beel (Wetland) of Guwahati through field experience gained in the area.