Chennai: The State government on Thursday released its “Ecotourism Policy 2017” envisaging a major role for the local communities and also to develop exotic spots spread across Tamil Nadu.
Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami had earlier announced that the State would come out with such a policy and accordingly he launched the policy at the Secretariat here on Thursday.
The first copy of the document was received by Forests Minister Dindigul C. Srinivasan. The policy has identified 58 ecotourism sites including Topslip, Mudumalai tiger reserve, zeropoint, Kalikesam, Dhimbam to Sultan watch tower, Longwood Shola, Avalanche, Kovai courtrallam, Kodiyakkarai, Bheeman falls, etc., from 28 forest divisions ranging from Anamalai, Mudumalai, Kalakad Mundanthurai, Nilgiris South, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Theni, Vellore.
The ecotourism sites identified and developed will have their uniqueness and value in terms of aesthetic, natural, cultural and landscape characteristics which will be recognised and developed into an ecotourism product with which the site could be recognised in future. The initiatives will include hiking, trekking, wildlife sighting, bird watching trails, boating, photography, visit to medicinal plants conservation area, craft making, local handicraft, promoting local festivals, and adventure sports, the policy said.
The Forest Department will be the nodal department for implementing the policy. A special purpose vehicle (SPV), the State Ecotourism Board (SEB) will also be floated. The SEB will finalise the strategies regarding pricing and appropriate packaging and branding of ecotourism destinations. The Ecotourism policy will be reviewed after five years.
