By Ezra Lawanker Rynjah
It is often heard within tourism and conservation circles that the mass volume (MV) model that is most commonly used in Meghalaya has significant drawbacks in terms of environmental degradation. This is evidenced by the disturbed waters of the Umngot at Shnongpdeng or the trampled living-root bridge at Riwai/Mawlynnong, and the dilution (or adaptation) of local culture indicated by changing menus of jadoh shops around different destinations. An MV tourism model, as the name implies attracts a large number of visitors who would, ideally, contribute to the economy surrounding a destination or sight. However, such visitors often merely end up at a scenic location, but have no visceral engagement with the area, and therefore no connection or sense of stewardship.
The alternative model that is then put forth is what is termed as high-value low-volume (HVLV) tourism, one that seeks to reduce the footfall of visitors to a site. The idea is that a small number of “high-value” aka “high-spending” visitors would still significantly contribute to the local economy of a destination without causing ecological and cultural degradation. Such visitors would supposedly be seeking more engaging experiences, and be more sensitive to local people and conditions. An example of this could include Bhutan’s tourism policy of having a minimum daily charge on their visitors so that only those who are very interested, and can afford to, will visit. A problem of this model though, as you may have already noticed, is the tendency for exclusion – only those who have the money will be able to experience a place and what it has to offer. This can have adverse impacts that may not be evident at the outset, such as increasing existing wealth disparities.
A possible middle ground to these models can be considered to be “high-values” tourism, with an emphatic “S”. Here, the concept is to meet the goals and values of the local people first, and then attracting people to participate in those objectives. For example, conservation-based tourism, such as in Kaziranga National Park, prioritizes the conservation and well-being of the animals of the park first and foremost, and then attracts tourists to the destination who wish to share in that experience. This example is also illustrative of how visitor behaviour has to change to local settings since they are instructed carefully on how to behave within the park.
Following from this idea, I aim to use birdwatching and its associated requirements as a means to illustrate how high-value tourism can be a potential model for sustainable tourism and development in Meghalaya.
Firstly, imagine a location that wishes to boost their local economy through tourism. The first step would be to define the collective goal of the people there. Let us assume that it is monetary income and to address fundamental local needs such as education or healthcare, while also conserving, preserving and promoting their environment and cultural practices.
In such a scenario, birdwatching-based tourism has immense potential. The global birdwatching community is extensive. The recent global Great Backyard Bird Count, which I was coordinating in Meghalaya, is estimated to have had around half a million contributors from across the world. Additionally, there are birdwatchers who aren’t on the platform at all. These are people willing to travel and spend money and engage in locations where there are birds. Furthermore, birders would love to see rare or endemic birds at designated locations rather than trampling through scrubby undergrowth somewhere and this aligns well with notions of conservation and preservation. Therefore, appropriate infrastructure could be created where rules of behaviour are clear, thereby creating a high-value environment that needn’t exclude people through a price cap.
Birdwatching is ideal in terms of setting up a tourism ecosystem as well since it is a skill that can be taught and learnt fairly easily where technique and ethics of observation can go hand in hand. There are low barriers of entry as well, requiring at most a pair of long-range observation tools such as binoculars or a scope, and a trusty field guidebook to aid in identification. Furthermore, several of our people are already very good naturalists, being able to identify many species of birds by sight and sound, requiring only a bridge of language to communicate this to visitors.
This fairly nuanced idea requires further explanation and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to explore this avenue of progress at Mawphlang during the Monolith Festival, 2024. There I, and experienced professionals like Gaurav Kataria and Dr. Arpit Deomurari with the encouragement and support from Alan West Kharkongor, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, and Hima Mawphlang, have set up a few events that would help introduce this idea to the people around Mawphlang, members of the public, birdwatchers, as well as tour operators and guides of Meghalaya. The Lawkyntang at Mawphlang is a very good example of a values-driven form of tourism since the culture of the local people comes first, and then follows the tourism. It is my hope that people visit us at our setup and sign up for some of the events that we have planned over the three days of the festival. Together, we can perhaps find a way to move the needle forward in Meghalaya in the realms of conservation and development.
(The writer is an ecologist with international academic and practical experience in forestry, wildlife conservation and natural resource management).