Madagascar: A Case of Vicious cycle between conservation and hunger

In 2009, several scientists from Stolk home Resilience Centre, under the leadership of Dr. Johan Rockstrom introduced the concept of Planetary Boundary, which defines unbreachable nine, quantified limit for the planet, for safe and sustainable living. (Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_boundaries)

In 2012, the Oxford University economist Kate Raworth, built upon the concept of planetary boundary and introduced the concept of Doughnut Economics, by incorporating twelve social blocks (Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doughnut_(economic_model)).

Both the model not just challenged the concept of traditional development and economics but also challenged the concept of exponential growth. And, in another way they challenged the traditional definition of sustainable development, which more often than not sounds like an oxymoron. The concept of United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) allowed trading off between various goals.

(Refer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals)

To ensure zero hunger (Goal 2), we may need to prioritize decent work and economic growth (Goal 8), and to ensure that we may need to focus on industry, innovation, technology and infrastructure (Goal 9), and that may climate action (Goal 13), life below water (Goal 14) and life on land (Goal 15) to back-burner.

This is how the vicious cycle between conservation and hunger starts.

Based on a research paper, Socioeconomic impacts of small conserved sites on rural communities in Madagascar, by D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez et al, published in Environmental Development, “Madagascar is one of the most important global biodiversity hotspots, where high endemicity rates spatially coincide with rapid loss of natural habitats (Mittermeier et al., 2011; Ralimanana et al., 2022). Madagascar is also one of the least developed countries of the world, ranking 173 of 191 in the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2022). Poverty and lack of access to basic services is widespread in rural areas, where populations heavily depend on the collection of natural resources for their subsistence (World Bank,

2021). Whereas Madagascar’s biodiversity is mostly hosted by the variety of forest ecosystems present on the island (Goodman and Benstead, 2005), these ecosystems have been rapidly declining due to human activities in recent decades to cover just 15 % of the country’s terrestrial area in 2014 (Vieilledent et al., 2018). The major pressures that forests face are the expansion of cattle grazing (Waeber et al., 2015), pioneering slash-and-burn agriculture on the western dry deciduous forests (Vieilledent et al., 2020), shifting cultivation on the eastern moist evergreen forests (Zaehringer et al., 2015), charcoal production, timber collection and mining (Raik, 2007). In addition to habitat loss, biodiversity in Madagascar also faces other important pressures such as poaching and illegal trade of wildlife (Borgerson et al., 2016; Mandimbihasina et al., 2020). Current farming and wildlife exploitation practices help, however, to provide food security (Llopis et al., 2021; Borgerson et al., 2022) in one of the most food insecure countries in the world (EIU, 2022).”

This is the vicious cycle between conservation and basic survival of poor people, which is prominent in most of the developing countries. Now, on which side of it, the ecotourism plays its influencing role, is a good question to ask.

We reached at our destination – Ranomafana national park at around 6:00 pm. And then did a night-walk on the road along the edge of the forest adjacent to the Andriamamovoka waterfalls, until 8:00 pm and then retired for the day when sudden gush of rain had halted us. However, we had already spotted Cryptic chameleon or blue-legged chameleon, Madagascar pimple-nose chameleon and elusive comet moth during our night-walk.

On 13^th April, as usual at 7:30 am we headed towards Ranomafana national park and stayed inside the park up to 12:30 pm. The highlights of our sighting were Madagascar scops owl which was roosting on a dim light branch, golden bamboo lemur, ring-tailed vontsira or mongoose, and the most remarkable one from conservation point of view – the greater bamboo lemur (Hapalemur simus), also known as the broad-nosed bamboo lemur and the broad-nosed gentle lemur.

The greater bamboo lemur, is one of the world’s most critically endangered primates, according to the IUCN Red List. Scientists believed that it was extinct, but a remnant population was discovered in 1986 (Wright, Pat (July 2008). “A Proposal from Greater Bamboo Lemur Conservation Project”. SavingSpecies. Retrieved 1 June 2012.). Since then, surveys of south- and central-eastern Madagascar have found about 500 individuals in 11 subpopulations. The home range of the species is likewise drastically reduced. The current range is less than 4 % of its historic distribution. The reason for the endangerment is climate change and human activities which depleted the primary food source (bamboo). This species of lemur is not capable of adapting to the rapidly changing habitat. Human activities and climate change have resulted in the depletion of populations and resulted in a few remaining patches of forest capable of supporting this species. The species is endangered by various anthropogenic activities such as slash and burn farming, mining, bamboo, and other logging, and slingshot hunting (Conniff, Richard (April 2006). “For the Love of Lemurs”. Smithsonian. 37 (1). Smithsonian Institution: 102–109.). As of October 2024, only 36 individuals are in captivity, world-wide (“Cotswold wildlife park successfully breeds endangered Madagascan lemur”. The Guardian. 20 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.).

The one we saw in Ranomafana during our exploration was an adult female and the only individual survived in that forest. According to Nandih, the local scientists were working on to find few other male individuals as her mating partners in order to conserve the species in that forest.

After lunch break on that day, we explored another side of the forest, the Voiparara Reserve from 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm. The addition to our list of lemurs was Milne-Edwards’s sifaka.

On 14^th April, at around 7:00 am we started to proceed from wet zone to dry zone – towards Isalo national park. On the way we stopped by at Anja Forest at around 12:45 pm. The Anja Community Reserve is a woodland area and freshwater lake, situated at the base of a large cliff. Much of the reserve is dominated by fallen rocks and boulders and there are two small caves providing habitat for bats and owls. This reserve has much sheltered habitat in the pocket of forest that has established between the vast boulders. The reserve was created in 2001 with the support on the UNDP to help preserve the local environment and wildlife, and to provide additional employment and income to the local community. The reserve is home to the highest concentration of maki, or ring-tailed lemurs, in all of Madagascar. The people, who have a belief in not eating the maki, used to sell the maki to outsiders. However, after finding that 95% of makis in Madagascar are now gone, the people initiated the formation of a nature reserve, effectively establishing the world’s largest congregation site for makis. Due to its high biological, cultural, and natural importance, scholars have suggested the possibility of its inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. (“Granite cliffs in the Anja Community Reserve near Ambalavao”. GettyImages.com. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2017.).

We saw plenty of ring-tailed lemur in Anja. And few more new birds such as olive bee-eater and Madagascar blue pigeon, and few more chameleons – Malagasy giant chameleon or Oustalet’s chameleon and Brookesia or Nosy Hara leaf chameleon. We had left that forest at around 1:30 pm and by that time we reached at our resort in Isalo, it was 8:30 pm. After dinner we did our customary night-walk within the resort campus located within Ranohira village. And we spotted Madagascar nightjar, fruit bat, Madagascar cat snake, and Malagasy hissing cockroach, various other amphibians, lizards and insects. The resort was also home of few radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata). Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can also be found in the rest of this island. It is a very long-lived species, with recorded lifespans of up to 188 years. These tortoises are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, mainly because of the destruction of their habitat and poaching.

We were about to start the second phase of exploration – the dry zone exploration. According to many of our team members, in the previous zone, i.e., in wet zone, we did not see enough frog species we should have had. In one such conversation during our trip, Achyuthan tried to explain few possible reasons what might have caused that. According to him less monsoon due to climate change, and chytrid fungus were primarily responsible behind disappearance of frog. The chytrid fungus attacks the parts of a frog’s skin that have keratin in them. Since frogs use their skin in respiration, this makes it difficult for the frog to breathe. The fungus also damages the nervous system, affecting the frog’s behavior. Wet or muddy boots and tires, fishing, camping, gardening or frog-survey equipment are suspected to be contributing to the spread of the disease. Achyuthan also said, bushes are thick in rainforest of Madagascar due to absence of any large herbivores. Therefore, there was not much gap between big trees and that could be a reason for not having suitable habitat for frogs.

Researchers Franco Andreone, Mike Bungard and Karen Freeman in their book Threatened frogs of Madagascar, have mentioned, “the frogs of Madagascar suffer from a series of threats, including habitat alteration, deforestation, pollution and collection for the pet-trade.” According to them the biggest threat to Malagasy frogs is loss of habitat, either by deforestation or through the conversion of pristine rain forest into agricultural land. They have also mentioned, amphibians are experiencing a dramatic decline worldwide. Apart from habitat alteration, one of the major threats to frog populations is the spread of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a fungus that attacks only amphibians, commonly called “Bd” and can result in a disease called chytridiomycosis. The origin of this fungus is not well known, but it has been found in many parts of the world, in both altered and pristine environments. Amphibians as bush-meat cited as another probable reason. Some species of Malagasy frogs are collected by local people for food, particularly large species of the genus Mantidactylus, such as M. guttulatus in central-eastern Madagascar, and Boehmantis microtympanum from the south-east. Another reason mentioned by them was the pet trade. Between 1996 and 2002 over 140 million amphibians were traded worldwide. In 1998 alone over 31000 golden mantellas (Mantella aurantiaca) were exported from Madagascar for the global pet trade. Species most commonly traded are green mantellas (Mantella viridis), harlequin mantella (Mantella cowani), the Baron’s mantella (Mantella baroni) and the expected mantella (Mantella expectata). Golden mantellas (Mantella aurantiaca) and tomato frogs (Dyscophus spp.) are particularly prized by collectors. Because they are active in the daytime and are brightly coloured, they are not only easy to catch but are also popular pets.

Although, there was no specific mention of reduced monsoon due to climate change as reason of disappearance of Malagasy frogs in the research done by Franco Andreone, Mike Bungard and Karen Freeman. However, climate change is projected to lead to an increase in temperatures for the entire island of Madagascar in the 21^st century (Tadross, Mark; Randriamarolaza, Luc; Zo Rabefitia, Zo; Ki Yip, Zheng (February 2008). “Climate change in Madagascar; recent past and future”). Climate change is a significant threat to Madagascar’s environment and people. Climate change has raised temperatures, made the dry season longer and has resulted in more intense tropical storms. The country’s unique ecosystems, animal and plant life are being impacted.

With this realization we started our dry zone exploration on 15^th April at Isalo National Park. It continued 8:30 am to 12:30 pm. In scorching heat, walking through rocky terrain with no canopy cover not only made our exploration harder but also reminded the real time effect of climate change. Isalo is a sandstone landscape that has been dissected by wind and water erosion into rocky outcrops, plateaus, extensive plains and up to 200 m (660 ft) deep canyons. There are permanent rivers and streams as well as many seasonal watercourses. Elevation varies between 510 and 1,268 m (1,673 and 4,160 ft). Isalo is primarily within the dry deciduous forest ecoregion, an ecoregion in which natural vegetation has been reduced by almost 40% of its original extent.

During our exploration in Isalo, we saw three more new bird species – Madagascar munia, grey headed love birds and Madagascar lark. Among reptiles the interesting observations were Malagasy iguanian lizards, and Jeweled chameleon or Campan’s chameleon or the Madagascar forest chameleon. However, as always, we were fascinated by adding one more lemur species in our list – Verreaux’s sifaka or the white sifaka.

On 16^th April, we started our journey to move further towards west-coast of the country. Started at 7:30 am we reached the coastal town Tulear or Toliara at around 8:30 pm. On the way we visited Zombitse National Park between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm. The main landscapes found in the park are forests, woodlands, open grasslands and there are also some limited wetland areas. The opening sightings in the park were a huge hog-nosed snake and then a Standing’s Day gecko. Some mention worthy bird species were lesser varsa parrot, Madagascar blue Vanga, and Madagascar black kite. And of course, Hubbard’s sportive lemur (Zombitse sportive).

The last exploration was in the forest of iconic baobab trees on 17^th April in Reniala Reserve of spiny forest between 6:00 am and 9:00 am. Reniala (meaning baobab in Malagasy) Private Reserve is a small 45-ha protected area less than 1km from the Mozambique Channel near the village of Ifaty-Mangily. The bizarre spiny forest (or spiny thicket) is one of the oddest and most unique habitats on the planet. Reniala is a small community-managed reserve of only 45 ha, but is a properly protected portion of spiny forest crowded with species found nowhere else on earth. It hosts more than 2,000 plant species, 95% of which are endemic to this rare habitat, including a whole plant family, the alien-like octopus trees (Didieraceae).

Iconic baobab in Reniala Reserve of spiny forest

Along the reserve’s botanical trail, we came across some of the most spectacular and oldest baobabs in Madagascar (there was a giant baobab of 12.5 m diameter). It is also a bird sanctuary and early morning exploration generally creates opportunity to sight some of Madagascar’s most sought-after endemic avian species. We could also see Madagascar cuckoo, Namaqua dove, Malagasy Harrier, green capped coua, and the elusive long tailed ground roller.

During our 11 days exploration starting from North-East part to South-West part of the country, in 16 different ecotourism destinations, we spotted and identified around 39 species of birds, 18 species of mammals (including 16 species of lemur), 25 species of reptiles, 12 species of amphibians, and 14 species of insects. But it was just scratching the surface.

“I Like to Move It”

As mentioned in the portal of Convention on Biological Diversity, Madagascar is a megadiverse country with a high concentration of endemic species. Its ecosystems include many types of forests, savannah, steppes, rivers, lakes, wetlands, mangroves, drylands and reefs. Currently, these unique ecosystems are home to approximately 12,000 species of vascular plants (96% endemic), 586 species of ferns (45% endemic), 194 species of palms (97% endemic), 1000 species of orchids (85% endemic), 389 species of reptiles (90% endemic), 278 species of amphibians (100% endemic), 282 species of birds (37% endemic), 159 species of fish (66% endemic), 104 species and subspecies of lemurs (100% endemic), 60 species of non-flying small mammals (92% endemic), 43 species of bats (73% endemic) and 13 species of carnivore (77% endemic).

Between 7^th and 17^th April of 2025, I explored some part of Madagascar including 16 various ecotourism destinations in wet and dry zone of the country. As per One Earth portal, the Madagascar bioregion, part of the Madagascar and Eastern Afrotropics subrealm located in the Afrotropics realm, is separated from the African continent by the Mozambique Channel dominated by humid tropical forests in the east, drylands in the south, and dry forests in the north. The bioregion contains eight ecoregions—Madagascar Humid Forests, Madagascar Subhumid Forests, Madagascar Dry Deciduous Forests, Madagascar Ericoid Thickets, Ile Europa and Bassas Da India Xeric Scrub, Madagascar Spiny Thickets, Madagascar Succulent Woodlands, and Madagascar Mangroves — with a total land area of more than 59 million hectares, making it the fourth largest island in the world.

Out of these eight ecoregions, my exploration covered four ecoregions such as Madagascar subhumid forests, Madagascar humid forests – together in general term called as wet zone and Madagascar succulent woodlands and Madagascar spiny thickets – together in general term called as dry zone.

Exploration Map between 7^th and 17^th April 2025

I reached Madagascar on 6th April afternoon after change of three flights, from Delhi to Mumbai and then to Adis Ababa and finally to Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, or commonly known as Tana. In the morning of 7^th April with my local guide John Razafindrakoto from Get Your Guide, after a 65 km of road drive through country side which often turned-out as bumpy ride with multiple off roading, I reached at Mantasoa Lake. As per original schedule we were supposed to start at 7 am, but due to miscommunication between Get Your Guide and John we could eventually start at 9:30 am. In order to explain reason behind dusty and broken condition of road, on the way to Mantasoa, John was telling me, how the current Government is indifferent about infrastructure development in Madagascar. Madagascar’s overall poor infrastructure is negatively affecting its economic growth and development opportunities. While 70 % of primary roads are in good condition, about two-thirds of secondary and tertiary roads are estimated to be in poor condition (as per World Bank report, 2018). In 2018, the World Food Programme and the Global Logistics Cluster classified 64 % of roads in Madagascar as in poor driving condition, 28 % in average condition, and 10 % in good condition; seven-in-ten of the primary roads fall into the latter-most category, which is defined as being navigable throughout all seasons of the year. As natural gravel is not regularly available on the island of Madagascar, many roads are composed of sand lined with crushed stone, (de O.S. Horta, Jose Carlos; Traverso, Carlo R. (1991). “Deterioration and rehabilitation of earth roads in Madagascar”).

Lake Mantasoa is a large artificial lake with a surface area of 20.05 km², created by the Mantasoa Dam on the Varahina river (an affluent of the Ikopa) in the municipality of Mantasoa, Analamanga region of Madagascar. It provides immediate irrigation for Betsimitatatra paddies in Analamanga and tabbed water for the capital Antananarivo. The water temperature reaches up to between 13–22 degrees in winter. The lake’s lack of basal microfauna and ferruginous soil provides clear water. While entering the lake area I had my first sighting of Malagasy kingfisher and African stonechat. Although my first sighting of endemic birds of Madagascar had happened in the backyard of San Cristobol Hotel near Tana airport, where I stayed for couple of days. Those were red fody or Madagascar fody and Madagascar wagtail. While crossing the lake on a boat to reach the Nosy Soa park we saw a flock of White-faced whistling duck. Approximately ten-fifteen minutes of boat ride took us to Nosy Soa Park which is a naturalized zoological garden on an island half way along the Great Lake of Mantasoa. Built on an island of one kilometer in circumference in the heart of the lake, the private reserve of Nosy Soa has for main objective the reconstitution of a natural space too often ravaged by human. The fauna and flora have been successfully reintroduced since 2002, transforming the place into a very pleasant zoological garden with an educational vocation. Five species of lemur such as ring-tailed, Coquerel’s sifaka, black and white ruffed, Eastern bamboo and common brown lemur – which were rescued from forest and some of them were bred in captivity could be easily spotted around the park. I also got so see fascinating O’Shaughnessy’s chameleon and giant hog-nosed snake, poisonous Mantella and tomato frogs. Of course, everything was in semi-wild condition kept within a naturally created and anthropogenically transformed habitat.

After all these experiences, again after a long drive through bad road, I reached at my hotel at around 7:30 pm. By that time some of our exploration team members had already arrived who were also staying in same hotel. Our main exploration was supposed to start from 9^th April. I reached couple of days earlier to see few more ecotourism destinations as it was my first trip to Madagascar and only second to Africa. The exploration was organized by Bangalore based ecotourism and wildlife photography company Darter Photography in collaboration with local Madagascar based ecotour company Cactus Tour. Therefore, my good friend and CEO of Darter Photography, M.V. Shreeram was leading the exploration assisted by a PhD scholar in evolutionary biology and herpetologist Achyuthan Srikanthan. The retired Chief Naturalist of Karnataka’s Jungle Lodge Resort group (JLR), Karthikeyan Srinivasan was also part of that group.

On 8^th April morning at 7:30 am, Shreeram, Achyuthan, Karthikeyan and I went for another exploration before our main exploration had started. Located in the heart of Antananarivo, the Tsarasaotra park is known for its 14 species and subspecies of endemic and threatened waterbirds. As the first private Ramsar site in Madagascar, it offers a glimpse into the richness of Malagasy avifauna. The Site consists of a lake of around ten hectares, with an islet, flood zones and wooded edge. The lake is surrounded by eucalyptus and camphor trees, as well as Juncus and Cyperus reeds. It plays an extremely important role in providing a refuge and nesting site amid the urban environment to waterbirds such as herons and ducks. Particularly during the hunting season, the Site is key to the survival of 14 threatened waterbird species and subspecies endemic to Madagascar. It is the only known site on the Malagasy highlands to host the endangered Madagascar pond heron (Ardeola idae), and it is also home to the endangered Meller’s duck (Anas melleri) and the vulnerable Madagascar grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii). The lake is privately owned, and a management plan is not yet available to address the eutrophication and erosion problems that are reducing the lake’s surface area and degrading its water quality.

During our three hours of exploration, there we spotted various bird species including black heron, red and blue billed teal, Malagasy white eye, Madagascar hoopoe etc. Some phenomenal reptile sightings were Madagascar day gecko and Lined day gecko.

Our actual exploration started from 9^th April, when we started for Andasibe at around 8:30 am. We were 8 people from India, and joined by our local Malagasy nature guide from Cactus Tour – Nandih. We reached at Andasibe at around 1:30 pm. Then after lunch we explored VOIMMA National Park until 5 pm. Then after a quick break and checking in hotel we did a couple of hours of night walk in the park between 6 pm and 8 pm.

VOI M.M.A (Vondron’Olona Miaro Mitia Ala, meaning “the villagers who love and protect the forest” is a community-managed reserve located in Andasibe, about 1.5 km from the Analamazaotra National Park, in the Andasibe region of Madagascar. Created in 2012 by local villagers, this initiative aims to offer a community-based alternative to the nearby national park, while promoting ecotourism and the conservation of primary forest. In short, VOI M.M.A is another forested area in the Andasibe region, managed entirely by the local community and adjacent to the national park. The reserve covers about 0.4 km² of protected primary forest. It is managed by the villagers, and the income generated helps fund community projects such as access to clean water and support for the local health center. The park is well known for sightings of the indri-indri, the largest of all lemurs, but visitors can also encounter the diademed sifaka, the woolly lemur, various frog species (such as Boophis pyrrhus and Boophis viridis), chameleons (Furcifer willsii, Calumma parsonii), geckos (including the famous Uroplatus phantasticus), and unique insects like the giraffe weevil. The flora is just as impressive — a dense, untouched primary forest perfect for nature lovers and botany enthusiasts.

Moment, we entered into the forest during afternoon exploration, we spotted Madagascar paradise flycatcher. Other bird species spotted were Speactacled tetraka, Souimanga sunbird, Nelicourvi weaver etc. But of course, the highlight of the day was sighting of largest species of lemur survived in wild – Indri lemur. Besides that, we also saw common brown lemur. Other highlights were spotting of Parson’s chameleon, mossy leaf-tailed gecko and satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus). Among many insects we spotted there during afternoon and night exploration, the mention worthy was colorful giraffe necked weevil. During night exploration, one more lemur species were added in our lemur sighting list – the mouse lemur.

Next day, on 10^th April, our exploration area was Analamazaotra National Park, from 8 am to 12:30 pm. The park is in the eastern portion of Madagascar’s Central Highlands. The neighbouring Analamazaotra Forest Station is a local reforestation effort. It adjoins Andasibe-Mantadia National Park to the north. The reserve is situated in the region Alaotra-Mangoro, close to Moramanga and Andasibe. There we had our first encounter with snakes of Madagascar – Pseudoxyrhophus snake, Fandrefiala (Ithycyphus miniatus), and Malagasy rat snake. The new lemur species added in list was Diademed sifaka.

Person’s chameleon

After lunch break the next destination of the day was lemur’s island, which was similar to Nosy Soa but wilder and bigger. I said wilder because of its high canopy tree and less human intervention. Lemur island is a sanctuary for injured or unwanted pet lemurs. A wide water channel surrounds the island for their own safety. We crossed the channel in a plastic kayak, quickest kayak trip I ever did. One mention worthy bird species immediately after entering into the park we spotted was cuckoo roller. The lemur species we got to see there were black and white ruffed, red ruffed, red-bellied lemur and Eastern grey bamboo lemur.

That day we did night walk at Mitsinjo reserve near Analamazaotra, from 6 pm to 8 pm. Heterixalus madagascariensis or the blue back reed frog, Boophis Pyrrhus, golden mantella (Mantella aurantiaca), and Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis or the Madagascar jumping frog were some of the amphibians we saw there. First time we saw woolly lemur during our night walk. the Mitsinjo Reserve is a community-managed protected area, situated right next to the entrance of the Analamazaotra-Andasibe National Park. It is managed by the Mitsinjo Association, a community-based organization founded in 1999 by local residents with the goal of protecting the surrounding rainforest and wetlands. According to available information, the association also manages the Analamazaotra Forest Station independently of the national park, in collaboration with local communities. The Malagasy word Mitsinjo means looking ahead or planning the future.

Diademed sifaka.

Next day, 11^th April was all about long road trip from Andasibe to Antsirabe, via Tana. We started at 7:30 am and reached in hour hotel at 8:30 pm. In Madagascar, Antsirabe is known for its relatively cool climate (like the rest of the central region), its industry and the high concentration of pulled rickshaws or Pousse-Pousse. That reminded us about Eastern Indian city Calcutta and neighboring country Bangladesh. Antsirabe attracts around 30,000 tourists a year. After a night halt in Antsirabe next day morning we headed for Ranomafana National Park. We started at 7:30 am and on the way we stopped by at Manandona community forest by the river Manandona, at around late afternoon. It is located at about 23 km south of Antsirabe on the RN 7, a primary highway in Madagascar running 980 km from the capital Antananarivo to Tulear at the South-West coast of the country. The Manandona river flows by this town. Highest Point of the commune is the Mont Ibity with 2250m, which is a tourism attraction point for local people and a customary stoppage cum bio break point for foreigner tourists.

The majority – 90% of the population of the commune are farmers, while an additional 10% receives their livelihood from raising livestock. As they know, international tourists would stop at this point therefore, they were prepared to welcome them in an unusual way. Tourists correlate Madagascar with its diversified, colorful and unusual looking chameleons. When we arrived at that point and got down from our twelve-seater traveler, we were astonished to see around 10-15 kinds with few adult male and female locals were waiting for us, holding twigs in their hands. All the twigs had at least one chameleon each, of different color. They were providing photo opportunities to foreigners in exchange of some money. Based on the conversation Nandih had with those kids and their adult companions, all those chameleons were captured from their farming lands and kept as pet. They keep them as long as these reptiles are healthy enough to remain as photography subjects and then leave them in farm or at roadside to die. And this cycle continues for ever to support their desperate effort to survive hunger and poverty. This is how human hunger, and poverty can accelerate extinction of other non-human species. Achyuthan identified most of those colorful chameleons were Calumma glawi, already declared as Endangered species by IUCN.

Ecotourism vs Ecocide in Northeast Hills of India

In spite of traditionally embracing shifting or jhum cultivation by majority of Naga tribes, which promotes sustainable land use and biodiversity, the forest and biodiversity are under threat in this northeast hill land. Nagaland boasts of the tallest rhododendron and the tallest rice plant in the Guinness book of world records, Naga King chilly is a contender for being the hottest chilly in the world. There are numerous rare and endangered species of plants; Blythe’s Tragopan, the state bird and the Mithun, the state mascot are themselves rare species in the world.

“Deforestation on a hilly state like Nagaland often irreparably damages the local ecosystem leading to the loss of native flora and fauna.”, mentioned in an article published in The Morung Express, written by Chizokho Vero. The age-old development versus environment debate has always put environment in losing side. That was not an exception in this land of indigenous people. Despite witnessing the terrible impacts in Malayasia and Indonesia, the notorious Palm Oil menace has been allowed to make an entry in this part of subcontinent as well. As per an article published on 31^st August online edition of The Morung Express, by Moa Jamir, “Oil palm plantation area in Nagaland has increased from 140 hectares (ha) in 2015-16 to 4,623 ha as of March 31, 2021. As per the Department of Agriculture (DoA) document, the State Government has further set a target of 15,000 ha for its cultivation. With the Union Cabinet approval for the implementation of a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) called the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), with special focus on the Northeast and the Andaman region on August 18, the area may increase further.”

According to this article, Member of Parliament from Nagaland, Ms. Tura Agatha Sangma, wrote a letter to Prime Minister of India expressing her concerns over imposing this programme, by stating, “introduction of the “foreign species” in the region would create irreparable ecological imbalance, distort the ground water table and “wreak havoc on the social fabric” in the pre-dominantly tribal community-based society.”

“Large-scale mono-cropping cannot and will not be sustainable for Nagaland’s already vulnerable biodiversity. Clearing large areas of forests and growing the same type of crop/plant will annihilate the remaining diverse species of flora and fauna, that too as identified by the world are endemic and found nowhere in the planet,” asserted Abokali Jimomi, who promotes local products, organic and sustainable farming, as mentioned in Moa Jamir’s article.

Local fruits and vegetables market of Nagaland

India is the world’s largest importer of palm oil, hence one of the main contributors of forest and biodiversity loss in Malaysia and Indonesia. There is a very interesting research paper published by Ward Berenschot and others from Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV), in May 2022, Volume 31 of Geoforum. The title of paper is “Anti-Corporate Activism and Collusion: The Contentious Politics of Palm Oil Expansion in Indonesia”. The authors studied and documented 150 conflicts between rural Indonesians and palm oil companies in four Indonesian provinces (West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Riau and West Sumatra). They found that palm oil conflicts generate a particular ‘rightless’ form of collective action. Instead of invoking legal provisions or rights, communities often avoid formal institutions while adopting largely accommodative forms of protest aimed at improving their bargaining position vis-à-vis companies. Despite regular and intense protests often directed at local governments, their study found that in 68% of the studied conflicts communities fail to address their grievances. Authors’ argument was that this limited success is not just due to the inadequacies of legal frameworks but also to the way in which Indonesia’s informalized state institutions foster collusion between powerholders and palm oil companies. Such collusion has facilitated the repression of protests and undermined the effectiveness of conflict resolution mechanisms.

Thus, the crony capitalism played a definitive role in such large-scale ecocide caused by the palm oil menace. The same argument could be applicable for Nagaland and other part of Indian northeast hill as well. In the 24^th June 2024, online edition of Northeast Live, an alarming news was published stating that state of Meghalaya has lost 17,100 hectares of forest land in six years from 2014 to 2020, as announced by H.C. Choudhary, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest of the state. In another report published in 22^nd December 2024, online issue of Business Standard, Meghalaya saw an 84 square km decrease in forest cover between 2021 and 2023 as per latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The report also says, except for Sikkim, which reported an increase of 2 square km forest cover, all other states in the northeast region witnessed a reduction of the area under forests.

Depleting Naga Forest a view from Mon village

The Business Standard report mentioned that the ISFR study did not specify what caused the loss of forest cover in Meghalaya, forest officials in the state said human activities, including agricultural expansion, increased settlement and infrastructure development are suspected to be the reasons. However, in a subtle way the report indicated towards jhum cultivation, as one of the probable contributing factors – “Widescale jhum cultivation holds cultural and economic importance for local communities; its ecological costs are immense.” Exactly what British government did in colonial India to cover up their uncontrolled timber logging and ban jhum cultivation in order to increase yield of crops.

Destruction of hills in Meghalaya for mining and road construction

However, I saw through my own eyes what caused and still causing the loss of forest cover in Meghalaya, when I explored upper Shillong, Mawphlang, and Cherrapunji between 5^th and 7^th January 2025 with my local nature guide Pallav Pranjal. We started from Guwahati at as early as 4:30 am to ensure reaching at Upper Shillong area, just before dawn. The forest on the both side of Shillong peak hiking trail, in Ri Bhoi forest division of Meghalaya, was covered with early morning light mist. The presence of mist was a barrier for winter morning sunshine to caress the canopy of northeast rain forest. That made the weather chilly and us a bit reluctant in exposing our fingers to operate camera. However, a repeated and fanatic, shrill “queek, queek, queek” sound put us on alert. It was elusive Assam laughing thrush. Upon hearing the call, we aimed our cameras to the source of it. But the bird was too quick to get captured. We saw it flew across from one aide of our trail to another side. After few unsuccessful attempts of locating the bird one more time, we decided to ascend another trail through dense bush and thorny forest floor which was still wet due to last night’s dew, hence slippery as well. We had to stop again after a while upon hearing sound of flattering wings and noticing rapid movement through thorny and leafy lower branches of a shrub. That was a flock of rusty-capped fulvetta. And we were lucky that time to get about thirty minutes or more to take enough photos of the flock.

Couple of hours later we started driving again towards Mawphlang and there we explored the sacred forest and the surrounding forests of Lawkyntang, up to noon. The exploration was quite productive with some fabulous sighting and shooting of grey sibia, crested finch bill, spot breasted parrotbill, spot breasted scimitar babbler and few other birds. After that it was time to take break from field work and checking in hotel for shower and lunch. Around 2 pm again we started our journey towards Sohra side of Cherapunji.

The road travel showed me the reality behind reported forest cover loss in that part of India. Actually, it was Pallav who drew my attention towards ongoing road construction and various quarrying activities. The mountains appeared as wounded after losing their skin and flesh. The green cover was completely gone from most of the hills on both side of the under-construction road. The red and white exposed rocks appeared as bloody remains of flesh attached with skeleton of once alive mother nature. Pallav told me, these activities have caused loss of many of his erstwhile birding spots, which were important for spotting parrot bill and scimitar babbler.

To find other birding sites, he had to explore around 150 km around Mawphlang. Although he was eventually able to spot a stunning tawny breasted wren babbler in Cherapunji, and we both could observe and take some very close shots of the bird for good 10-15 minutes. But he also mentioned that, earlier he used to know at least twelve different spots for this bird. Now, only one out of those twelve spots exist, where we could see the bird. In a research paper titled as, Relentless Mining in Meghalaya, India, published in Conservation Science, September 2013 issue, authored by Kiranmay Sharma and Pramod K Yadav, it was mentioned that, “Environmental sustainability of rural areas in Meghalaya has been marred by indiscriminate exploitations of natural resources, mainly mineral deposits”. According to the authors, Meghalaya is rich in large deposits of coal, limestone, gypsum and clay, including kaolin, glass, sand, quartz and feldspar. Local people of Meghalaya and migrants from neighboring states and even from Bangladesh have started mining to survive, putting increased pressure on land and water supplies of this state. The mining activities have brought in the desired effect of economic growth but on the other hand, affected the environment in a variety of ways, which contributed to its degradation. In this paper the authors have presented an interesting observation form their study on adverse impact of coal mining in plant species composition in Garo hills of Meghalaya. The study has shown, in three different sample study areas of Garo hills, in the unmined areas the tree species composition is 113, whereas in the mined areas the composition is an alarming 76. For shrubs the numbers are 39 and 36 respectively, and for herbs the numbers are 72 and 68 respectively. Minning activities also bring air and water pollution which results in the loss of top fertile soil. Hence the lush green mountains of Cherapunji now started appearing as rotten dead bodies with exposed flesh and bone. In the first climate change assessment report published by Ministry of Earth Sciences, in June 2020, pointed out decreasing trend in rain fall (the annual mean rainfall for the period 1973–2019 showed decreasing trends of about 0.42 mm per decade.) in this landscape, which is otherwise known as wettest place of the world.

The northward moving moist winds from the Bay of Bengal passing over the plains of Bangladesh are forced to converge in the narrow valleys of the Khasi Hills with orography providing forced ascent that causes condensation, formation of clouds resulting in rain on the windward side of the slope. But now we are losing this orography due to destruction of mountains by mining activities. Hence, this reduction of rainfall. This trend of rainfall was also resonated in, a very disappointed Pallav’s voice. “There is rapidly decreasing mountain and forest and decreasing rainfall. I would take Meghalaya out very soon from the itinerary of my birding ecotourism.”

Despite such huge loss of forest cover and habitat, in those three days in Meghalaya covering ten different birding spots, we sighted around 35 avian species including tawny breasted wren babbler, rusty capped fulvetta, grey sibia, spot breasted parrotbill, spot breasted scimitar babbler, flavescent bulbul, crested finch bill and rufous crowned prinia. Therefore, there is no denial about the inclusive ecotourism potential of this state. Unfortunately, either due to rampant growth of palm oil cultivation or indiscriminate mining activities, the places with huge inclusive ecotourism potential are facing this challenge of mass destruction of ecological habitat – the ecocide. And the crony capitalism is funding this ecocide.

Ecotourism and Climate Change

My ecotourism and photography adventures in the terai region of India were affected by unpredictable weather conditions. I witnessed that supporting the local community in various tiger reserves in terai of Nepal, is a way to become resilient to climate crisis. The nation state of Bhutan by integrating Buddhist philosophy of mindfulness and sustainability with core principles of deep ecology, has conquered climate crisis in ecotourism. And they did so, I noticed, without depending upon a single species, like the tiger.

In December 2020 I travelled to Dudhwa tiger reserve of Indian Terai and then in April 2023 I was in Terai of Nepal. Year later I explored across length and breadth of Bhutan. All these enlightened me role of ecotourism as a climate change resilient activity.

Dudhwa National Park is a national park in the Terai belt of marshy grasslands in northern Uttar Pradesh, India. It stretches over an area of 490.3 km² (189.3 sq mi), with a buffer zone of 190 km² (73 sq mi). It is part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in the Kheri and Lakhimpur districts.

The area of today’s Dudhwa National Park was established in 1958 as a wildlife sanctuary for swamp deer. It was notified as a national park in January 1977 thanks to the efforts of Billy Arjan Singh.^{[3][failed verification]} In 1987, Dudhwa National Park together with Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a tiger reserve named Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.

Parsa National Park is a national park in the Terai of south-central Nepal covering an area of 627.39 km² (242.24 sq mi) in the Parsa, Makwanpur and Bara Districts and ranging in elevation from 435 to 950 m (1,427 to 3,117 ft) in the Sivalik Hills. It was established as a wildlife reserve in 1984 and received national park status in 2017. It is surrounded by a buffer zone since 2005 with an area of 285.3 km² (110.2 sq mi). In 2015, the protected area was further extended by 49 sq mi (128 km²).

A community which protects part of Parsa tiger reserve

Chitwan National Park is the first national park of Nepal. It was established in 1973 as the Royal Chitwan National Park and was granted the status of a World Heritage Site in 1984. It covers an area of 952.63 km² (367.81 sq mi) in the Terai of south-central Nepal. It ranges in elevation from about 100 m (330 ft) in the river valleys to 815 m (2,674 ft) in the Sivalik Hills.

Bardiya National Park is a protected area in Nepal that was established in 1988 as Royal Bardia National Park. Covering an area of 968 km² (374 sq mi) it is the largest and most undisturbed national park in Nepal’s Terai, adjoining the eastern bank of the Karnali River and bisected by the Babai River in the Bardiya District. Its northern limits are demarcated by the crest of the Siwalik Hills. The Nepalgunj–Surkhet highway partly forms the southern boundary, but seriously disrupts the protected area. Natural boundaries for human settlements are formed in the west by the Geruwa, a branch of the Karnali River, and in the southeast by the Babai River. Together with the neighboring Banke National Park, the coherent protected area of 1,437 km² (555 sq mi) represents the Tiger Conservation Unit (TCU) Bardia-Banke that extends over 2,231 km² (861 sq mi) of alluvial grasslands and subtropical moist deciduous forests.

The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small, landlocked nation nestled in the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalaya. To its north lies the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and to the west, south and east lies the Indian states of Sikkim, Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The terrain is some of the most rugged in the world, characterised by huge variations in altitude. Within the 150 miles between the southern and northern borders, Bhutan’s elevation rises from 150 to more than 7,500 metres. This great geographical diversity combined with equally diverse climate conditions contributes to Bhutan’s outstanding range of biodiversity and ecosystems.

The tiger, one-horned rhino, golden langur, clouded leopard, hispid hare and the sloth bear live in the lush tropical lowland and hardwood forests in the south. In the temperate zone, grey langur, tiger, leopard, goral and serow are found in mixed conifer, broadleaf and pine forests. Fruit bearing trees and bamboo provide habitat for the Himalayan black bear, red panda, squirrel, sambar, wild pig and barking deer. The alpine habitats of the great Himalayan range in the north are home to the snow leopard, blue sheep, marmot, antelope and Himalayan musk deer.

As of 2017 there are 4567 known species of flower plants and another 709 species of ferns and mosses. Regarding vertebrates, there are 736 species of birds, 129 species of mammals and 158 species of amphibians and reptiles.

In Bhutan forest cover is around 71% of the total land area, equivalent to 2,725,080 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 2,506,720 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 2,704,260 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 20,820 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 15% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 41% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.

Philosophy of Buddhism influences ecotourism in Bhutan

How ecotourism can be used as effective tool to combat climate change read my book

OECM based Ecotourism

Other effective area-based conservation measures‘ (OECMs) are areas that are achieving the long term and effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas.

In my opinion nature related activities cannot be considered as mere supplementary pursuits, based on ecotourism in a few glorified destinations, visited by most ecotourists and photographers. I have explored and witnessed the ecotourism and photography potential in various natural areas in northeast hills of India, that are located outside protected areas but are home to endangered and ecologically important species. Thus, the next dimension of inclusive ecotourism, the I reckon, is exploring and understanding these ‘other’ areas.

I have been part of ecotourism based on OECM in the northeast hills and Gangetic plane tiger habitats comprising Buxa, Manas, Orang and Kaziranga.

Buxa Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve and national park in northern West Bengal, India, covering an area of 760 km² (290 sq mi). It ranges in elevation from 60 m (200 ft) in the Gangetic Plains to 1,750 m (5,740 ft) bordering the Himalayas in the north. At least 284 bird species inhabit the reserve. Mammals present include Asian elephant, gaur, Sambar deer, clouded leopard, Indian leopard, and Asian golden cat. The Bengal tiger is also present but rarely seen; as of 2005, Buxa Tiger Reserve had only one resident tiger.

Manas National Park is a national park, Project Tiger reserve, and an elephant reserve in Assam, India. Located in the Himalayan foothills, it borders the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. The park is known for its rare and endangered endemic wildlife such as the Assam roofed turtle, hispid hare, golden langur, and pygmy hog. It also hosts the only known population of pygmy hogs in the world. Manas is also famous for its population of the wild water buffalo. Because of its exceptional biodiversity, scenery, and variety of habitats, Manas National Park is a biosphere reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Orang National Park is a national park in India located on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam. It covers an area of 79.28 km² (30.61 sq mi). It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a national park on 13 April 1999. It is rich in flora and fauna, including great Indian rhinoceros, pygmy hog, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo and the Bengal tiger. It is the only stronghold of the rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra.

Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat, Sonitpur, Biswanath and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. KNP has 5 ranges. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world’s Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to a March 2018 census conducted jointly by the Forest Department of the Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,613. It comprises 1,641 adult rhinos and 385 calves.

In 2015, the rhino population stood at 2,401. Kaziranga National Park was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer. Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for conservation of avifaunal species which refers as the birds or types of birds found in a specific region, period, or environment. When compared with other protected areas in India, Kaziranga has achieved notable success in wildlife conservation. Located on the edge of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot, the park combines high species diversity and visibility.

Kaziranga is a vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests, criss-crossed by four major rivers, including the Brahmaputra, and the park includes numerous small bodies of water. Kaziranga has been the theme of several books, songs, and documentaries. The park celebrated its centennial in 2005 after its establishment in 1905 as a reserve forest.

To know, how the ecotourism based on OECM contributes to inclusive ecotourism read Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow of the Bengal Tiger.

The wise use of wetland

From deserts I headed to wetlands. In the wetlands of Pichavaram, Bharatpur and Mangalajodi I learnt the unique stories of ecological conservation and ecosystem services that also support human wellbeing. I perceived this as nature-based solution to preserve inclusive ecotourism and discard pseudo ecotourism.

Nature-based Solutions address societal challenges through actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural and modified ecosystems, benefiting people and nature at the same time.

The wetland ecotourism is a biproduct of nature-based solution provided by wetlands and also further strengthen various nature-based solutions.

Pichavaram is one of the villages of Parangipettai near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located between the Vellar estuary in the north and Coleroon estuary in the south. The Vellar-Coleroon estuarine complex forms the Killai backwater and the mangroves that are permanently rooted in a few feet of water. It is located at a distance of 243 km from Chennai and 15 km from Chidambaram.

Pichavaram consists of a number of islands interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with mangrove forest. The Pichavaram mangrove Forest is one of the largest mangrove forests in India covering about 45 km² of area (as of 2019). It is separated from the Bay of Bengal by a sand bar. The biotope consists of species like Avicennia and Rhizophora. It also supports the existence of rare varieties of economically important shells and fishes.

A dark morph of eastern reef egret at Pichavaram

Keoladeo National Park, or Keoladeo Ghana National Park, is a national park in Rajasthan, India. The national park hosts thousands of native, resident and migratory birds, especially during the winter season, when many different species fly to the Indian subcontinent to escape winter’s wrath further north in Eurasia. At least 400 avian species have been noted or observed in the national park.

The area was developed into a duck shooting reserve in 1899 by the administrator of the Bharatpur State. Through the efforts of ornithologist Salim Ali, it became the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in 1956, was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971 and established as the Keoladeo National Park on 10 March 1982. Due to its exceptional avian biodiversity, it has also been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1985).

Keoladeo Ghana National Park also features a human-made regulated wetland, providing a needed source of hydration for animals in this drier region of the subcontinent. The reserve also protects Bharatpur settlements from flash floods and provides ample pastures for the locals’ cattle and livestock. In the past, the region was primarily used as a waterfowl hunting ground. The 29 km² (11 sq mi) reserve is locally known as Ghana, a natural mosaic of dry grasslands, woodlands, swamps and seasonal wetlands located just on the eastern edge of terrain that eventually becomes arid desert.

Given its rather centralised location, where the “desert-meets-the-tropics”, Keoladeo Ghana is bursting with biodiversity. Beyond the hundreds of bird species, at least 20 fish, 70 reptile and amphibian, and 50 mammalian species inhabit the area, and over 60 unique species of Lepidopterans have been seen here, in addition to the more than 1,000 invertebrate species. Nearly 400 plant species have been documented in the park.

Mangalajodi is an olden village under Tangi block in Khordha district of Odisha at the northern edge of Chilika Lake. The scenery of this village and its wetlands attracts the visitors. In 2017, this village was declared and functioning as a separate Grama Panchayat (Mangalajodi Grama Panchayat).

Mangalajodi is an olden village under Tangi block in Khordha district of Odisha at the northern edge of Chilika Lake. The scenery of this village and its wetlands attracts the visitors.^{[citation needed]} In 2017, this village was declared and functioning as a separate Grama Panchayat (Mangalajodi Grama Panchayat).

Mangalajodi is known as “heaven” of water birds. Amongst the birds seen here Lesser Whistling-Duck, Garganey, Ruddy Shelduck, Little Grebe, Northern Shoveler, Knob-billed Duck, Gadwall, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Asian Palm-Swift, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Gray-headed Swamphen, Watercock, Baillon’s Crake, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Bronze-winged Jacana are worth mention. Beside those birds Slaty-breasted Rail, Pacific Golden-Plover, Greater Painted-Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Common Snipe, Collared Pratincole, Oriental Pratincole, Brown-headed Gull, Whiskered Tern, Little Cormorant, Yellow Bittern, Purple Heron, Cattle Egret, Osprey, White-throated Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Citrine Wagtail are also seen here.

Migratory northern pintail at Mangalajodi

To know more about nature-based solution and wetlands ecotourism’s influence on it please read the boo Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow of the Bengal Tiger

The review of the book can be found in Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214089550-pseudo-ecotourism

The book is available in Amazon

Ecotourism for sustainability

During my solo journey exploring the deserts of western India, I met two conservation crusaders who have successfully created ecotourism and wildlife photography opportunities in their respective areas. Areas that were otherwise considered wasteland. I realized the power and importance of community involvement in ecotourism and conservation. Then I further refined the concept of alternative ecotourism to regenerative and inclusive ecotourism.

Pseudo Ecotourism was awarded as the Nonfiction book of the year and displayed at Kolkata Literary Carnival 2025

Tal Chhapar Sanctuary is a sanctuary located in the Churu district of Northwestern Rajasthan, in the Shekhawati region of India. It is known for blackbucks and is also home to a variety of birds. The sanctuary is 210 km from Jaipur on the fringe of the Great Indian Desert and situated on road from Ratangarh to Sujangarh. The Tal Chhapar sanctuary lies in the Sujangarh Tehsil of Churu District. It lies on the Nokha–Sujangarh state highway and is situated at a distance of 85 km from Churu and about 132 km from Bikaner. The nearest railway station is Chappar which lies on Degana-Churu-Rewari line of North Western Railways. The nearest airport is Jaipur which is 215 km from Chappar.

Desert National Park is a national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan, near the towns of Jaisalmer and Barmer. It is one of the largest national parks, covering an area of 3,162 km² (1,221 sq mi) in the Thar Desert. Sand dunes form around 44% of the park. The major landform consists of craggy rocks and compact salt lake bottoms, intermedial areas and fixed dunes. It was gazetted in 1980. Despite a fragile ecosystem, it harbours an abundance of birdlife, both migratory and resident birds, including short-toed eagle, tawny eagle, spotted eagle, laggar falcon, kestrel, sand grouse and great Indian bustard. Desert National Park has a collection of fossils of animals and plants which are 180 million years old. Some fossils of dinosaurs which are 60 million years old were found in the area.

Simlipal National Park (ISO: Śimiḷipāḷa Jātīya Udyāna) is a national park and tiger reserve in the Mayurbhanj district in the Indian state of Odisha covering 2,750 km² (1,060 sq mi). It is part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which includes three protected areas, Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary with 191.06 km² (73.77 sq mi) and Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary with 272.75 km² (105.31 sq mi). Simlipal National Park derives its name from the abundance of red silk cotton trees growing in the area. The park is home to Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, gaur, and chausingha. This protected area is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2009.

Satkosia Gorge is a gorge in eastern Odisha, India, carved by the Mahanadi River. The gorge is located within the Satkosia Tiger Reserve which is a United nations Protected area. It is also a Ramsar site designated in 2021.

To know more on how ecotourism contributes to socio-environmental aspects of this planet, read Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow of The Bengal Tiger.

Agro-forestry ecotourism

Shreeram introduces me to herpetofauna photography. Trained in science of environment I quickly understood the vital role played by herpetofauna in forest regeneration, without whom even tigers wouldn’t survive. As I meander through the tea and coffee estates of Western Ghats, I discovered an alternative ecotourism to counter the tiger centric ecotourism.

I continued my exploration of herpetofauna in other areas of Western Ghats such as Munnar, Valparai and Parambikulam.

Munnar is a town in the Western Ghats Mountain range in India’s Kerala state. A hill station and former resort for the British Raj elite, it’s surrounded by rolling hills dotted with tea plantations established in the late 19th century. Eravikulam National Park, a habitat for the endangered mountain goat Nilgiri tahr, is home to the Lakkam Waterfalls, hiking trails and 2,695m-tall Anamudi Peak.

Valparai is a hill station in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nallamudi Viewpoint has vistas of the Anamalai Hills in the Western Ghats, and surrounding tea estates. To the northwest, in Kerala, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is a forested area, with teak plantations and trails, sheltering tigers and Indian elephants. Northeast of town, the Anamalai Tiger Reserve is home to tigers, panthers, elephants and macaques.

Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 643.66 square kilometres (248.5 sq mi) protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of 285 square kilometres (110 sq mi) was established in part in 1973 and 1984. It is in the Sungam range of hills between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills.

Agroforestry can be an object of ecotourism itself. This means that agroforestry farms (or complexes) can be converted into ecotourism destinations themselves. Yes, agroforestry can itself be a strong tourist attraction depending on what nature-based recreation features it can offer to tourists.

To know this new aspect of inclusive ecotourism read Pseudo Ecotourism.

The under(-rated-) story!

As a practicing environmentalist I believed although the core concept of sustainable development is integrating economy with ecology, but in reality, it’s always the economy which takes precedence. I saw reflection of this belief in tiger tourism. Then I met a photography mentor, named M.V. Shreeram, who told me, “To get a better perspective, you have to lie down!” I correlated this to principle of deep ecology, to find a solution to combat pseudo ecotourism.

After years of exploration in various tiger reserves of India, focused on the the undergrowth of forest to discover “inclusive ecotourism”! I started exploring the world of herpetofauna in rainforest of Western Ghats.

Agumbe is a high-altitude village in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka. Surrounded by the Western Ghats mountains and lush rainforest, it’s known its many waterfalls, such as Onake Abbi, Bakarna and Jogi Gundi falls. The Sunset View Point overlooks forested valleys. Nearby is Sri Venugopala Krishna Swamy Temple. To the south, tigers, leopards and king cobras live in Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary

Chorla Ghat is an Indian nature destination, located on the intersection of the borders of the states of Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. It lies to the north-east of Panaji, Goa and nearly 55 kilometres from Belgaum in Karnataka

Kodagu, also known as Coorg, is a rural district in the southwest Indian state of Karnataka. In the area’s north, Madikeri Fort has 2 life-size elephant statues at its entrance, plus a Gothic-style church with a museum on its grounds. Nearby, the Hindu Omkareshwara Temple dates back to the 19th century. Farther north are the domed Raja’s Tomb, a burial place of Kodava kings, and cascading Abbi Falls.

To know more about how I adapted the philosophy of deep ecology in ecotourism and discovered concept of inclusive ecotourism, read my book Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow pf the Bengal Tiger.

https://www.amazon.in/Pseudo-Ecotourism-Arnab-Basu/dp/9362693119

Fame breeds arrogance

This success (of tiger sighting) repeats itself in the forests of Corbett Park, and we conclude that today’s tigers in the wild are not as ferocious as described in stories of Jim Corbett. We were engulfed by commodity fetishism for tiger photography and tourism.

We visited Corbett Park in April 2018 and then in Nameri Tiger Reserve of Assam in December 2018. In Balipara of Assam the miserable side of Vedavyasa was unfolded in front of me.

To know, what was that and what happened after that, read Pseudo Ecotourism in the Shadow of the Bengal Tiger

Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state. The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named Hailey National Park after William Malcolm Hailey, a governor of the United Provinces in which it was then located. In 1956, nearly a decade after India’s independence, it was renamed Corbett National Park after the hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment and had died the year before. The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative

Parade of elephants crossing forest path

Nameri National Park is a national park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, about 35 km from Tezpur. Nameri is about 9 km from Chariduar, the nearest village. Nameri shares its northern boundary with the Pakhui Wildlife Sanctuary of Arunachal Pradesh. Together they constitute an area of over 1,000 km² (390 sq mi), of which Nameri has a total area of 212 km² (82 sq mi). Nameri National Park was declared as Tiger Reserve in the year 1999-2000, and is the second Tiger reserve of Assam after Manas Tiger Reserve. It has two core areas: Nameri National Park and Sonai- Rupai Wildlife (Satellite Core of the Nameri Tiger Reserve). The river Jia-Bhoroli is the lifeline of Nameri, which flows along the southern boundary of the park from northwest to southeast. In the east, the river Bor-Dikorai is a tributary of river Jia-Bhoroli, flowing along the southern boundary from northeast to southwest.

To know more about my book Pseudo Ecotourism in the shadow of the Bengal Tiger, read reviews at Good Reads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/212106582-pseudo-ecotourism