OBJECTIVES :

1. Assess the nature tourism site(Vetal hill), its value to the society and
to the environment as a whole.
2. Realize and understand the importance of hills and mountains as
preferred tourist destinations.
3. Understanding different types of impacts resulting from tourism
activity on the Vetal hill.
4. Mitigation measures needed for minimizing any adverse impacts of
nature tourism on the hill.
5. Bringing awareness about the sustenance of the nature tourism site,
its ecological importance.
6. Bringing awareness among the people and encouraging them to
conserve the environment on the natural tourism site(Vetal hill).

IMPORTANCE :
Tourism has become one of the most important aspects of man’s
spatial behavior in modern times. It is as some say, the most
important civil industry in the world growing at a phenomenal rate.
For a country like India which is endowed with vast natural wealth
and human resources, tourism acquires a place of special importance.
However, one should not turn a blind eye to the ecological and
environmental changes brought about by the increasing tourism
traffic. With the kind of growth rate, tourism assumes a particular
significance in India. Our project emphasizes on the various aspects
of nature (Vetal Hill)tourism and analyses its impacts on the
environment.

Vetal Hill/Tekdi is one of the most famous places amongst the locals
residing in Pune. It is a popular tourist destination which has a rich
flora and fauna along with man-made lakes, colorful birds, peacocks,
falcons and many more. It is a perfect place for family picnics,
photography, bird watching or just to walk, trek or cycle. Vetal Hill
 has a temple at the top of the hill dedicated to Goddess Vetala. This
makes it even more favoured by the tourists.

OBSERVATIONS:
In this section we would be presenting the data collected and our
understanding of the same.
Summers are hot and dry on the hill. The summit is difficult to climb
during the monsoon season and is usually foggy. Winter days are also cool
and foggy. Sunrise and sunset at Vetal hill attracts many photographers.
The area shares almost same climatic conditions as that of Pune.
The forest type in this area is dry-deciduous as that of hills around Pune.
Medium-sized trees along with shrubs constitute majority of the
vegetation. Diversity of herbaceous species is at its peak in monsoon
months. The area is important on account of the occurrence of some
important endemic species.
The forest officials have constructed a deck at the top of the hill which
offers a spell-bounding landscape of mother nature. Vetal Hill is a popular
tourist destination which has a rich flora and fauna along with small lakes,
colourful birds, green in every shade and a breathtaking view of the
surroundings.

The hill is dotted with chirping birds, peacock, rabbits, falcons and
colourful butterflies. Birders frequent this place to spot colourful birds like
robin, francolin, minivet, bulbuls and many more. An early morning trek to
Vetal Hill is highly recommended to witness the gorgeous sunrise.
You could do a lot around the hill, but locals usually come here for their
morning jogs and you'll spot several walking and trekking enthusiasts. It's
one of Pune's most mesmerising and treasured experiences.
Yoga: Fitness freaks from the neighbouring areas have made Vetal hill their
favourite den especially during the weekends to indulge in a few hours to
rejuvenate the body and mind. Apart from yoga, visitors indulge in
walking, jogging, cycling, hiking and running. The fresh air of the hills
does magic to the body and makes it even more refreshing.

Birding: Vetal hill is a famous place amongst the birding community.

Birders visit the hill early in the morning to catch the sight of rare and
exotic birds in their natural habitats. Bulbuls, parrots, francolins, robins,
green bee-eaters, White-browed Wagtail, Tickell’s blue flycatcher and
many more can be abundantly found frolicking here.

The tekdi is different in different seasons and that makes it a unique place
all year round.Ten thousands of people visit the hill every year, many of
them being the ones who come here daily for exercise or just to witness the
beautiful scenery and sunrise/ sunset.
During the last few years the area has been subjected to various stresses of
anthropogenic activities. Plantation of exotic species by forest department,
urban development, tree cutting are few of them. Due to increased
urbanization and increased population the biotic pressure in the form of
cutting of trees has increased on forest of Vetal Hill.

RESULT AND CONCLUSION:

All the major hill stations are under tremendous ecological-cultural stress.
The tragedy with hill tourism is that as the hill regions are trying to emerge
from their subsistence economy, they are seized up by modern exploitative
forces causing rupture in the ecosystem.
Nature (hill) tourism has a good potential for growth in India. Efforts
should be taken to mitigate the harmful effects of tourism on the hill
environment. Hill tourism needs to be carefully organized. The hilly
regions are eco-fragile and cannot sustain tourism activity beyond a certain
point. Macro-planning for the region must account for ecological and socio-
cultural concerns of the people of the region.
Through working on the project, we picked up various insights, learned
quite a lot about tourism, its wide ranging socio economic implications
along with its obvious and not so obvious environmental impacts. We as a
team concluded that natural tourism serves as a great developmental
factor, with sustainibility playing the most important role.

METHODOLOGY:
A) What is methodology?
Methodology is a system of methods used in a particular area of
study or activity. It comprises the theoretical analysis of the methods
and principles. It is the general research strategy that outlines the
way in which research is to be undertaken and identifies the methods
to be used in it.

B) Role of methodology in research :

The process is used to collect information and data for the purpose of
study. The methods describe actions to be taken to investigate a
research problem and specific procedures. The methodology may
include surveys, intervews, public research etc.

C) The methods available in methodology:

1. Surveys : When, where and how the survey was conducted.
2. Experiments: Give full details of procedures and techniques.
3. Existing data
4. Interviews or focus groups : Verbal method
5. Content analysis
6. Questionnaire : questions usually sent by post, with a request to
answer the questions and return the questionnaire.
7. Case study method : Careful and complete observation of a
person, situation or institution.

D) Methods we are going to use :

Surveying during the pandemic and resultant lockdows created various
impediments, yet through various technological and ad hoc means we
managed to collect authentic data for our project, the methods are
explained breifly as follows

1. Observation (existing and recent data) - Being frequent visiters of ARAI

hill, we recorded various observations collected over years and analysed
them throughout the project.

2. Telephonic surveys -We contacted people living near the tekdi, frequesnt
tourists, environmental enthusiasts to know more about ARAI, its
environment over the years etc.

3. Survey thorugh google forms - questionaires about frequency of visits,

environmental friendly steps takes, if any etc.

4. Short visits when possible - to analyse flora, fauna, seasonal variations

etc.

5. Public research

6. Interviews - with the security enforcement present there, locals

7. Data from official governmental websites, NGO groups etc - about tree
plantation drives, deforestation, commercialisation etc.

All the Data collected through these sources was perused through to get a
broader idea for our project, its objective and importance. Connecting the
data (statistical, verbal, written etc) would be presented with the ecological
and environmental factors in mind.

ANALYSIS:

In this section the stated observations would be analysed in the following

manner :
1. Impacts of current tourism atmosphere on the hill
 2. Statistical representation of surveyed relevant data

(1)With various interactions with tourists that visited the place, we could
discern that Hills and mountains are unique ecosystems; their ecological
and cultural attributes make them favourite tourist destinations. As ‘zones
of refugia’ they offer ideal conditions for the three R’s – rest, relaxation and
recreation. They cater to the varied demands of a vast segment of society.
For all these considerations, Vetal Hill proved to be the perfect suited
natural tourist desination for many!
We would be discussing the environmental factors that have been affected,
altered, improved and simultaneouly harmed due to extensive tourism on
the Vetal Hill
Tourism’s impact vis-à-vis physical environment has come in for a lot of
debate. Tourism does not necessarily have a negative impact, in many
cases particularly in the economic field, it promises a huge growth
potential. Generally speaking, however, it is the unrestrained mass tourism
which leaves a trail of disasters.

In the case of our selected site - Vetal Hill, the following impacts could be
observed -

1. Deforestation for the building of infrastructural and industrial

requirements such as Roads, walking trails, Quarrying etc.

2. Loss of flora and fauna -While not rampant, visitors could be seen
plucking flowers, plants despite the watch by authorities. In the case of
animals,
shrinkage in natural habitats, flourishing industry, contamination of
ecosystems have been primary decimating factors.

3. Garbage trails and pollution – Waste generation especially solid

 waste by the tourists like food, vegetable, paper, rags, clothes, bottles
etc. is causing major damage to the local ecosystems. The hill lacks
sewerage and waste disposal facilities too.
What needs to be done -
The need of the hour is to address the issue with urgent sincerity. There
could be many possible suggestions in this direction like devising a
tourism management plan for every region; a plan that encompasses all-
important aspects and is interactive in nature. Any successful management
strategy has to be very comprehensive in scope and address all possible
ramifications of tourism development. The tourism industry has to take a
serious view of this regard not merely through resolutions but through
actual practice in their operations.

ADD PIE CHART