By Sudarshan Chhotoray in Bhubaneswar, March 18, 2016 : With a share of less than one per cent of the total foreign tourist arrivals in the country, Odisha has unveiled an ambitious plan to promote eco-tourism in big way to woo more foreign tourists to the state.

State’s Forest and Environment Department plans to develop 100 unique destinations in next five years with the initial budget outlay of Rs 100 core for creating nature friendly infrastructure.

The ambitious green tourism project will attract additional two lakh tourists to the state which will also generate employment for 2,000 people, officials said.

Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) have been asked to identify and map these places through active participation of local population and submit a details plan for consideration. Nearly 300 forest staff will be trained to build their capacity and a dedicated Eco tourism Cell is all set to be made operational in the department soon.

The basic objective is to explore nature and biodiversity of Odisha’s forest, protected areas and wildlife sanctuaries with minimal or no-impact on its flora-fauna and ecology. People visiting these new spots will definitely explore the nature and its biodiversity. Making them responsible to protect environment, nature, and above all ecosystem will be mammoth task for all of us, said a senior forest official.

The project being promoted by wildlife wing of Odisha Forest and Environment Department has stressed on taking on board the local population especially eco tourism groups who in turn will own and manage the tourist destination. The department will create assets, amenities and basic infrastructure but, it will be the duty of local groups to protect the assets and facilitate nature tourism.

Odisha Forest Development Corporation (OFDC) has been picked up as the nodal agency to implement this project which has already developed a portal for this purpose.

Principal chief conservator of forest [PCCF], projects, Ajit Patnaik, says, the plan is afoot to rope in professionals and marketing agencies for brand promotion as well as mobilization of serious nature lovers-who can come, stay and enjoy nature here. “There is a need to identify USPs of these places and destinations to market them before nature tourists”, he remarks.
.
There is also a plan to study carrying capacity of the place before opening it up for both foreign and domestic tourists as one of the basic idea is not to allow mass tourism, the numbers will be decided on assessing the feasibility.

While announcing the project Forest and Environment Secretary Suresh Mahapatra stressed on providing end to end packages to eco tourists besides standardizing services including accommodation, tenting and signage.

Sidhant Das, Chief Wildlife Warden while sharing his thoughts, had asked for minimal loss or impact, responsible and non-consumptive besides emphasizing on preserving culture, tradition and ethnicity of the region.

While states like Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are much ahead in generating employment, increasing revenue, and attracting tourists both foreign and domestic, Odisha is far behind. The need is to explore possibilities in state’s nature and diversity, its forested areas, protected areas, Sanctuaries’, hills, beaches etc. says an expert in the trade.