Mission "Build prosperity through sustainable tourism in the Himalaya."
HSV’s Socio-Economic Strategies to benefit the community at three levels— local panchayat (where HSV will be based),
— broader Kullu Valley
— and finally the entire state of Himachal
Department of Sustainable Practices (DSP)To bring prosperity and employment to naturally beautiful local areas without harming their social traditions or the ecological balance
DSP Core Themes : Community Care (in the adjacent villages); Environment Care (EIA for the Project Site and Environmental care for the adjacent villages); Capacity Building and Outreach (to sustain Local Culture and Heritage)
Community Care: Indirect Employment through Local Produce & Services— supply of organic agricultural products in the construction and operational phases
— tourist services to be provided by local adventure tour companies
— capacity building for the Organic Farming practices
— HSV to buy all or most of the quality organic farm products produced by locals via this initiative for its operations
Let Conservation Pay: through responsible tourism; economic gains to the local villagers;effectiveness of the “Good Quality of Life” Approach not in the economic empowerment alone; need to incorporate a back-up of socio-political empowerment, conservation education, collaborative management, and effective policy and legislation
A survey of prioritized villages using GIS; Developing leadership in villages to take forward the agenda of forest, land and water in their respective watersheds; Gender Sensitization; Capacity Building; facilities and opportunities in the villages for health, veterinary health, and formal and informal education; Training for Vermicomposting (organic farming), Women and Child care; Vet Care; Celebration of wise practices in the villages through HSV newsletter, “Himalaya Charcha”
Community Care, A Key Aspect of Responsible Tourism to insure distribution of prosperity to the local communities, through investment in education, sanitation, health services, and other infrastructure, as well as offering jobs and business opportunities locally 
Environmental Sustainability from site planning to landscape design and architecture, the principles of "green design" to be embodied in the resort community; the socio-economic environment that HSV to be a part of is not only sustainable, but also enhanced positively as a result of this project30th September 2008: One Day Seminar to explore possibilities for the development of new goods, enterprise and services and to highlight the barriers to move towards social and ecological sustainability in Kullu Valley
Emerging Issues and Learning from the Seminar
In summary the morning session showed that there are many NGOs working in small scale projects in the development space around HSV. The various speakers revealed a range in their cultural, religious and philosophical starting points and their mode of operation. Significantly though none of the speakers came from large organizations and there is an order of magnitude difference between HSVs potential impact and that of any of the NGOs around. This could be viewed as a threat or as an opportunity for HSV to become a co-ordinating body for development of a complex human and ecological landscape. HSV could also consider how we might interact meaningfully with actors ranging from a NASA earth scientist (Payson R Stevens) to a woman (Shanta) from a village of 110 people.
The current buzz-words like ecotourism, socially responsible business, green architecture, and sustainable livelihoods need to be grounded in the standards and criteria set by accredited international organizations. It is hoped that the HSV would establish an ethical culture for its operations and employees where they move from the heart to help those who most need it in the Kullu Valley. HSV with enormous potential for social and environmental enrichment but because they are working in a complex human and biological context at a time of rapid change there are…Huge opportunities, huge threats. If the ski area industry is to lead in the development of a more sustainable practices, it must accomplish at least two cornerstone tasks; (a) the development of a consensus-based set of sustainability principles for ski area developments. (b) the creation of a commonly accepted environmental management framework for ensuring that these principles are implemented.
The three stages of Sustainable Practices are
a. Development of principles, expressed in codes of conduct or environmental policies.
b. Translation of principles into ‘greening’ practices.
c. Implementation of environmental auditing programs to assess the effectiveness of these practices.
Given that the tourism/ski industry is strongly rooted in social, cultural and natural environments, any concerns to the loss and degradation of these values need to be addressed. At the same time, the investments on these issues potentially return increased revenue and support, and also contribute to the spreading conservation awareness.
The following NGOs and institutions took part in this Seminar:
Environment and Welfare Institution, Manali
Society for Advancement of Hill and Rural Areas (SAHARA), Banjar (Kullu)
Himalayan Paryavaran & Vanya Prani Suraksha Samiti, Manali
Community Health Actions and Initiatives (CHAI), Banjar
Gurukul Bahumukhi Shiksha Sansthan, Kullu
Society for Holistic Action in Rehabilitation and Ecology (SHARE), Shuru (Manali)
Morarka Foundation
Biolaya, Dashal (Nagar)
Lady Willingdon Hospital, Manali
Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Kullu
Following workshops were conducted by the DSP for the villagers living close to the HSV Project site:
3rd July 2008: Villagers Workshop on the issues of Water, Land and Forest
Three topics pertaining to the villagers’ interactions with the forests, land and water were identified to conduct this workshop.
The motivated Ski Trainers (Department of Mountain Sports) proved very effective facilitators during the villagers’ workshop. In association with the well-qualified facilitators from Palampur, the Ski Trainers availed an opportunity to interact with the villagers so that they can together look at HSV’s Responsible Tourism approach with the perspective of the forests, land and water.
The Villagers’ Groups displayed an immense understanding about the forests, land and water. At the same time they added many new dimensions to their knowledge and understanding. They underlined a number of areas where HSV project can help them in improving the natural resources in their vicinity which included improvement/maintenance of water sources, making and use of compost/vermicompost in their fields or orchards, protection and improvement of their watershed by planting indigenous and a variety of trees and bushes.
Some of the issues raised/suggestions made during the workshop pertain to the government rules and regulations. The Palampur team has been interacting with the govt on the matters related to forest, land and water. This team will take up such issues on an appropriate forum with the govt departments.
19-20 August, 2008: Two days village visit with the Newsletter and sensitization of youth on the issues of water, land and forests
a. The first Newsletter could clearly establish an effective communication between the local people and DSP/HSV. The next Newsletter will cover the achievements, anecdotes and other news items that would CELEBRATE the good practices of the local villagers.
b. The development of readers’ and writers’ forums in the villages is an attempt to network the local people and stimulate thinking about various aspects of water, land and forest. This exercise is expected to bring more cohesiveness and transparency about the HSV’s social agenda.
c. The start of vermicomposting training in the villages is a start of organic farming in these villages.
21 August 2008: One day workshop at Palchan with the village youth
1. The Seminar for Youth was a very important outcome of the five days effort by DSP. Through this Seminar, the youth got an opportunity of voicing their sentiments about water, land and forest.
2. The following three activities which are low budget and of high value to the society were decided by the participants to be taken up jointly by the Youth Clubs and DSP/HSV:
· plantation,
· vermi-compost and
· solid waste management at local level
3. The concept of Incentive Based Mechanism (IBM) for environmental services w.r.t tourism in Manali were presented in the plenary. A suggestion came up that the Manali Hotels should pay directly to the local institutions such as Youth Clubs, Mahila Mandals as these local institutions are protecting the upper part of Beas River.
24-26 September 2008: Three days Village Visits and Meetings
Prize distribution in the schools in Palchan Panchayat where the children had responded to the nature-quiz in the HSV newsletter.
Discussions in the Palchan Panchayat schools to conduct a nature conservation education programme for children in coming winter season.
Distribution of the newsletter in the villages close to the HSV project site. This also resulted in further strengthening of the reader and writers network in the villages
Start of actual making of vermicomposting in such homes who had made preparations such as collection of vegetable waste, cow-dung, etc
17-18 November, 2008: Three days Village Visits and Meetings
The Palampur team visited the vermicomposting sites and demonstrated methods of extracting the vermicompost from the pits
Interactions with the villagers of Palchan Panchayat contributed to the Himalayan Charcha/ Newsletter through the readership and writers forums formed in the villages.
1 comment:
Sanjeeva, can you give me an update on what is happening with the HSV. I have some interested real estate investors, but am unclear on what is happening at this point. Please email me at the address in this comment.
Thank you.
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