dear all,
first, there has been no stakeholder involvement in the developments on A&N.
I would request that we send a letter of protest to Sitaram Yechury on this
issue, since he is now the head of the Parliamentary Committee on
Tourism.Perhaps SANE could initiate the campaign since they are the local
activists and we can all support it. Administrative and donor led tourism is
the worst form of tourism and it benefits local people very marginally
whilst denying them access to their own resources. We should ask for a
stakeholder meeting first before any action is implemented.
Secondly, Green Globe is a private initiative for Foreign investors since
they charge a yearly fee of $3000/-. We had fought this in CSD and they had
said that they would reduce the fee for developing countries.This is looting
destinations with both hands, and the certification is related to
technologies which are provided from abroad and the criteria are theirs as
well.Again, local environmental groups should determine what criteria they
would like to set up, only after their prior informed consent. This might
help others also.
recently the tuscan people have objected to intensive tourism in their towns
and want to put an end to the disruption of their lives by day tourists who
just pass through medieval cities on sight seeing tours and cause untold
problems. We should also look at these issues instead of WTTC and the
Ministry setting up targets on their own.
Nina Rao


On 09/06/06, Ashish Kothari <ashish@...> wrote:
>
> Friends,
> Some of these islands are protected areas, and if I'm not mistaken there
> is
> guidance from central govt that no more tourist infrastructure is to be
> created inside PAs.
>
> Additionally, at least one is home to an indigenous group.
>
> I think on both these counts this proposal should be challenged...unless
> of
> course we think it is good to develop such "high-end" tourism in A&N?
> Ashish
>
> Ashish Kothari
> Member, Kalpavriksh
> Co-Chair, IUCN Theme on Indigenous/Local Communities, Equity, and
> Protected
> Areas
> Apt. 5 Shree Dutta Krupa
> 908 Deccan Gymkhana
> Pune 411004
> Tel: 91-20-25675450
> Tel/Fax: 91-20-25654239
> Email: ashishkothari@...
> Website: www.kalpavriksh.org
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Pankaj" <pankaj@...>
> To: <andamanicobar@...>
> Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 5:50 PM
> Subject: [andamanicobar] A&N Opens 15 islands to bidders to
> setupenvironmentally sensitive hotels
>
>
> > Andaman & Nicobar rides the eco wave
> >
> > Opens 15 islands to bidders to set up environmentally sensitive hotels
> >
> > http://www.expresshospitality.com/20060615/market01.shtml
> >
> > Preeti Kannan - Chennai
> >
> > In an endeavour to retain the pristine charm of its eco-heritage, the
> > Andaman & Nicobar Islands is to open up 15 islands for the development
> of
> > environmentally sensitive hotels and beach resorts. By the year-end,
> > tenders will be invited for five islands, while by 2008 the remaining 10
> > islands will be open to bidders.
> >
> > Speaking exclusively to Express Hospitality, Dharam Pal, tourism
> > commissioner and secretary, ministry of tourism, said, "We have selected
> > 50 sites on the 15 islands, and our strong focus is to set up
> eco-friendly
> > hotels and resorts in the high-end category instead of budget hotels."
> >
> > In the first phase, the government would introduce tenders from both the
> > Indian and international hospitality players keen in developing hotels
> and
> > resorts in Andaman & Nicobar, following which investors would put in
> their
> > related proposals. In the second phase, the investors would revert back
> to
> > the department with its projects, which would then be approved by the
> > government for investment and development. The islands open to the
> bidders
> > are Neil, Havelock, Little Andaman, North Passage, Peel, Aves Island,
> > Rutland, Baratang, Cinque, Interview, Long Island, Middle Andaman, North
> > Andaman, Smith and Ross Island and South Andaman.
> >
> > Further deliberating on the new development, Pal, said that the
> government
> > is keen on implementing the Green Globe standards - a global
> benchmarking,
> > certification and improvement system for environmentally sensitive
> > projects in all hotel projects in the selected islands.
> >
> >
> > C/o Kalpavriksh
> > Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
> > 908 Deccan Gymkhana
> > Pune 411004, India
> > Tel: 020 - 25654239
> > Web: www.kalpavriksh.org
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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