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Outside/In

Tourism Spoils

Outside/In

NHPR

Society & Culture, Documentary, Natural Sciences, Nature, Science

4.71.5K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 2021

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

There’s a type of travel industry which defines itself as different: ecologically minded, even “responsible.” It’s a type of travel meant to support the conservation of threatened ecosystems. This is not just tourism, but “ecotourism.” This specific brand of tourism is a crucial part of the plan to conserve the Great Himalayan National Park in northern India, a gorgeous patchwork of forests, glaciers, mountains, and rare wildlife. From one perspective, the strategy is working: tourism is on the rise, which provides jobs to locals and incentivizes conservation. But from another perspective, the very thing meant to help conserve the area might also be one of its biggest threats. In our last episode, journalist Yardain Amron reported on the conservation strategy -- and the controversy -- around the creation of the GHNP in the 1980’s and ‘90s. Here, Yardain turns to 21st century ecotourism, and explores just how much the Tirthan Valley of India is changing. Who profits from tourism based on exploring wilderness? And just how eco-friendly is ecotourism? Featuring Raju Bharti, Karan Bharti, Dimple Kamra, Upi Kamra, Rosaleen Duffy, Stephan Marchal, Robert Fletcher, Narottam Singh, and a traveler named Nishant. Translation by Vibha Kumar. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In.  Subscribe to our newsletter. LINKS To learn more about this approach to conservation, check out our episode on the origins of Yellowstone National Park, “Fortress Conservation.”  Dorceta Taylor, “The Rise of the American Conservation Movement.” Bram Buscher and Robert Fletcher, “The Conservation Revolution.” CREDITS Host: Justine Paradis Reported and produced by Yardain Amron Edited by Taylor Quimby with help from Justine Paradis Executive Producer: Rebecca Lavoie Mixed by Yardain Amron and Taylor Quimby Additional Editing: Felix Poon and Jessica Hunt Special thanks to: Guman Singh, Tony Gaston, and Hema Marchal. Theme: Breakmaster Cylinder Additional Music by Blue Dot Sessions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

When picking a vacation destination, some people make their choice based on the white

0:06.6

sand beaches, others for the shopping or the good food, others pick their vacation spots

0:16.7

because they're on a list, specifically the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

0:22.9

In order to learn from the devastation and destruction of the two world wars, to promote

0:27.3

understanding between peoples and to secure peace, UNESCO was founded in 1945 as the educational,

0:35.3

scientific and cultural organization of the UN.

0:41.5

The UNESCO list of world heritage sites includes places like Stonehenge, Machu Picchu,

0:46.6

the Taj Mahal, the Galapagos Islands.

0:50.1

Many were already huge tourist attractions long before being added to the list.

0:54.4

But being put on the UNESCO list is special.

1:05.4

It comes with global recognition, international pressure to preserve the site for future generations,

1:11.9

and sometimes even funding to help with that conservation.

1:15.0

Who knows maybe this story, I wouldn't have heard about the park if it wasn't a UNESCO World Heritage site.

1:20.4

Interesting, yeah.

1:22.1

This is Yardane Amron.

1:24.1

He's a freelance journalist who traveled to the Teertan Valley in India, just outside

1:28.3

the borders of the Great Himalayan National Park.

1:31.9

This place is a gorgeous patchwork of forests, glaciers, mountains, and wildlife.

1:38.4

And coincidentally, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014.

1:43.4

I heard about, from a lot of these guest house owners, they had people coming through who

1:49.0

were just checking off boxes of going to all of the UNESCO sites around the world.

1:54.2

That was there, that was their travel matter.

...

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