ECOTOURISM

PAPER 4

EVALUATION OF CONTINGENT VALUE OF THE SCENIC BEAUTY BY TRAVEL COST,

TIME AND BIODIVERSITY DATA

Name : ANINDITA ROY Class: ESDM PART -2

Roll : 4

College: R.J COLLEGE SEM: 3

Introduction: -

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable

transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment and improving the well-
being of the local people

• Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components of

the natural environments. Ecotourism focuses on socially responsible
travel, personal growth and environmental sustainability.
• Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna
and cultural heritage are the primary attractions.

Ecotourism also helps in creating socio-economic benefits for the commodities

of the area visited.

Responsible ecotourism programs include those that minimize the negative

aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural
integrity of local people

Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors an integral

part of ecotourism is the promotion of recycling energy efficiency, water
conservation and creation of economic opportunities for local communities. For
these reasons, ecotourism often appeals to advocates of environmental and social
responsibility.

Principles of Ecotourism: -

• Minimize physical, behavioral and psychological impacts

• Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
• Provide direct financial benefits for conservation
• Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry
• Deliver memorable interpretive experiences to visitors that help raise
sensitivity to host political environmental and social climates
• Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
• Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the indigenous people in your
community and work in partnership with them to create empowerment.
Location Identification

Powai Lake

Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra India

Lat: 19.120429 N

Long: 72.906093 E

Near Mumbai IIT area.

Why I choose Powai Lake

❖ Powai lake is an oasis in the concrete desert. You cannot miss visiting this
beautiful lake. It always mesmerizes you. The lake provides you
opportunity to enjoy the nature at its best as it is the combination of
concrete desert and nature. Even when it is crowded it always pleasures
you with a soothing experience

But the same lake is in danger now as the pollution level of this lake is increasing
day by day and this needed to be stopped as soon as possible because this lake is
used as a tourist attraction, fishing, cattle washing and gardening and this lake
supplies water to Aarey colony and Larsen and Turbo for the industrial purposes.
Goal for Ecotourism
(i) Sustainability
(ii) Development and increase economic value
Here the importance of this lake

• Water is the single most important abiotic components of an

ecosystem
• Water is needed to sustain life
• About Powai Lake when it was built the lake had a water spread
area of about 2.1 square kilometers.
• Powai lake supplied two million gallons of water to Mumbai
when it was built (It is an artificial lake)
• The importance of the lake is very important to the industries and
as this beautiful place to relax and take a break from the busy
chores of life. To get a clear picture of the lake and its
surroundings a boat ride is organized which is quite a tranquil
experience. There is also Powai Lake garden where we can sit and
enjoy the serenity of the surroundings. Another major attraction
of this lake is that it is situated close to the luxurious Hiranandani
gardens.
 Flora and Fauna of Powai Lake:

Flora:- Balsam Bushes, in their full bloom, in pink purple color are
seen around the lake periphery like a carpet.
And here attached some photos of flora in Powai lake garden.
 Baubinia –Hongkong

Orchid tree

Lake View
 Bougainvillea Spectabilis

Bambusa textilis(Bamboo)
Borassus sp.

Albizia sp.
 Delonix regia(Fabaceae)

Local fisherman got benefit from lake. But now fishing is not
allowed in Powai lake.
Fauna: - Many crocodiles have been seen on the lake side. White
throated kingfisher, small blue Kingfisher, Indian spot billed duct,
spotted dove, a few purple samphire purple-rumped sunbirds, bronze
winged and pheasant –tailed jacanas, ashy prinias , brahminy kite, red
whiskered and white, browed bulbuls ,cormorants , lemer whisling
ducks, grey, purple and indian pond herons, little intermediate egret and
great egrets ,falcon, greater cousal, hoope, hoope, and butterflies
,honeybees, bumble bees, beetles have also been sighted.
Attached photo of some butterfly here-

Flora name : Sphagneticola trilobata

Fauna: Eurema sp.
Flora :- Cucurbilaceae
Fauna : - Epiphyas
Eco sustainable travel by bicycle
Travel cost to Powai lake
Travelling cost from my house
Ghatkopar station (metro) (By train)
11 m by subway every 10 minutes
30-45 Rs/head
Marol naka

By Bus:- Mittal Estate

17 m by bus every 30 minutes
20-40 Rs /head
Powai Vihar complex

By Rickshaw fare :- Rs 82
By sustainable transport
By cycling

Time taken to reach Powai lake

• Time taken from Ghatkopar station to Powai lake : 11 – 11:45

min
• By Bicycle time taken:- 25 min
• By Metro time taken :- 15 min
Ecotravel:
Government should start the regular BMC buses specially to reach
Powai lake so that the tourist will find it accessible as well as
affordable.
Public transport also helps in mitigation the air pollution caused by
several private vehicles.
Fare of the buses should be kept minimum to attract the people
belonging to different economical background.
Bed & Breakfast Facility near Powai lake

Super Dormitory AC DELUXE, 3.1 km from Powai Lake Breakfast

included within Rs 1494 /-
Bed in 10-Bed Mixed Dormitory Room
2 beds in dorms , 2 bunk beds
28, Barnard Market, Opp. Asha Krishna Building, A.G.Link Road,
Sakinaka, Mumbai 4000072, Mumbai 28, Barnard Market, Opp. Asha
Krishna Building, A.G.Link Road, Sakinaka, Mumbai 4000072,
Mumbai, 400072 Mumbai, India – Good location – show
map – Subway Access

How can we improve the condition of Powai Lake as a citizen?

• There is an urgent need to create an awareness among the people

who are visiting to Powai Lake as tourist to keep the surrounding
clean and not to harm the environment prevailing there.
• Tourist should be restricted from plucking the flowers and from
disturbing the flora and fauna present there.
• Mumbai citizens should start an awareness campaign to prevent
Mumbai’s famous lake from dying.
• There should be a notice board of Dos and Don’ts so that people
would behave in a conscious manner
 • Those tourists should be fined who are throwing their garbage
into the water.

For tourism what can we do for Powai Lake:

There should be proper arrangement of beautiful and attractive resorts
so that people could come there for relaxation. Here the charge of
resorts should be such that a normal person could afford it.

• Proper bridges should be constructed so that the tourist will not

find it difficult and strained to cross the roads.
• Comfortable sitting arrangement is must at the tourist spots so
that people could happily enjoy the sunset.
• Around the area there should be the presence of small restaurants
so that whenever the tourists are hungry, they can have an easy
access to food, and it also help local people (Local businessman
improved their business economic value increased)
 • This will help in creating employment opportunities around
Powai Lake as the small shopkeepers could easily run their small
businesses
• Those things are important which can beautify the environment
and can attract large no of tourists such as the fountains and water
parks.
• To develop such kind of Infrastructure there is a need of public
private partnership model. Here the private sector can play a
prominent role of financer
• Government can create the elaborate and beautiful garden which
will act as a natural scent to nullify other stinky smell. It will also
help in providing job opportunities to the gardeners living there.
• The system of ferry and boating can be started so that the tourists
can get the whole view of the lake.
• Seeds of new fish species can be implanted in the lake which will
biologically help in biological cleaning
• There is an urgent need to protect the lake from eutrophication as
it increases the BOD of the lake environment
• Government with the help of private sector can also form the bird
sanctuary nearby the lake which will serve both function of bird
conservation as well as forest generation.

Initiatives taken by the Government

In 2015 BMC planned to remove hyacinths and wastes from the lake to
improve water quality for which money spend was Rs. 715 crore. But
much little was bee achieved.
In 2021 unable to control the flow of effluents into the Powai Lake, the
Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now floated a Rs.
16.45 crore tender to clear hyacinths from the waterbody.
Currently nearly 25% of the lake is covered with water hyacinths and
it has to be reduced to 10%. The hyacinths ,other floating vegetation,
materials and garbage will be picked up using a harvester or
amphibious machine and disposed of at site specified by BMC officials
said.
Pramod Salaskar who has been doing research on the Powai lake said,”
what is needed” is to stop untreated sewer water draining into the lake.
The BMC is taking steps to contain it but people too should stop doing
dashkriya vidhi (10th day rituals for the deal) at the lake.

Conclusion:
The status of the lake was transformed from Hypertrophic condition.
Use of the aeration and Bioremediation technique was effective for
improving the quality of lake water to the accepted standard for the
water bodies used for fishing and recreational purpose.
Though the installation cost of equipment power and monitoring water
quality is high the cost of maintenance is relatively low.
That’s all if we do all this things we can save the lake from getting more
polluted and save the lifeform in the water.