TRIBHUWAN UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING
PURWANCHAL CAMPUS, DHARAN

ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION

AN ESSAY ON CONSERVATION AND TOURISM

ASSIGNMENT-II

SUBMITTED BY
KIRAN SUBEDI
073BAE014

SUBMITTED TO
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
 AR. SANJAYA MAHARJAN
DATE: 29TH DECEMBER 2020

ABSTRACT

Tourism and conservation interact principally through public visitation to public protected areas.
In addition, however, tourism can generate funding and political support for conservation in
multiple-use areas, community conservancies or private reserves. These tenures are likely to
prove increasingly important for conservation under growing pressure from human population
growth and anthropogenic climate change. The most successful model seems to be through up-
market wildlife-watching lodges in private reserves adjacent to larger public protected areas in
developing countries. Private sectors operating principally in place like Sauraha, have developed
successful business models which do also make significant net contributions to conservation of
biological diversity.
Nepal has abundance of opportunities of ecotourism industry. But its effective practice and
implementation is not promising due to lack of commitment of governmental policy and
planning strategy with combination of integrated conservation and development. Thus to run
ecotourism project properly, principles and theories of ecotourism must be considered a major
base while make its policy and planning. Policy must be integrative, collaborative and
comprehensive to achieve real outcome of ecotourism by realizing importance of environmental,
social and economic imperatives.

keywords — Connectivity, funding, ecotourism, wildlife, opportunity

INTRODUCTION
Tourism is a human activity which has been proved important for all nations since it fosters
international brotherhood and understanding. With the passage of time, and increasing affluence,
tourism is becoming more popular as well as important throughout the world.
Tourism is the world’s fastest growing industry. Nepal is the country of Mount Everest similarly
national as well as manmade heritages are famous and popular all over the world. Various places
of Nepal are listed in the world heritage site. Hospitality, friendly people, numerous attractions,
unique cultures are the main tourist attractions in the country.
In Nepal, the flow of tourist has been decreasing due to numerous factors are responsible, such
as conflict, political instability, lack of marketing, regional unhealthy competition, adverse
propagandas and so on. However, tourism is the bread and butter of Nepalese people. The future
of the country depends mainly on the tourism industry’s development. Nepal is a rural country
because majority of the people reside in the rural areas thus tourism is the most feasible sector
for the development of the country. This can be stated by considering the present tourism
scenario and that various programs have been launching for the promotion of tourism in the
country. Tourism itself has been providing job opportunities directly and indirectly.
Tourism is a system that brings together many interrelated issues such as society, nature, and
environment. It is also true that studying tourism means relating its different components and
analyzing its outcomes – both positive and negative. However, many scholars have come to
agree that the mass tourism of 21st century is becoming unsustainable. Problems introduced by
mass tourism of this age include overcrowding and disrupting of local communities, massive
commercial exploitation of cultural heritage, social conflicts, disturbance to natural heritage and
wildlife, increased economic dependency, the emergence of black markets and increased illicit
trade in every item from exotic pets to drugs and sex.
Tourism is the total relationship and phenomena linked with the stay of foreign persons to a
locality on condition that they do not settle there to exercise a major permanent or temporary
activity of a lucrative nature. The curiosity about why do people travel is a matter of concern in
tourism study. People travel for various reasons and purposes. Tourism can be classified on the
basis of several factors such as geographical location, purpose of visit, the number of persons
traveling etc. The basic distinction in tourism is viewed between domestic and international
tourism. During their stay in the destination, tourists interact with local residents and the
outcome of their relationship changes the host individuals' and host community's quality of life,
value systems, labor division, family relationships, attitudes, behavioral patterns, ceremonies
and creative expressions. The objective of the study is to study the socio cultural impact in
Tharu and other community’s culture, customs, and tradition and lifestyle by tourism.

CASE STUDY 1: CHITWAN-SAURAHA

The village of Sauraha, located in close proximity to Chitwan National Park, is connected with
Tandi village by a six kilometer seasonal road. The latter is situated on the East-West National
Highway at a distance of five kilometers from the main city of Bharatpur. The distance from
Kathmandu to the national park is 165 kilometers, and the road that connects the two places for
the most part runs parallel to Trisuli River, a popular spot for white-water rafting. In Tandi
tourists going to Chitwan National Park are transported by land rovers or jeeps.
Among the different national parks and wildlife conservations of Nepal Chitwan National Park
occupies the large share of tourists visiting. Tourism in Chitwan has been started since the early
1970, especially after the establishment of CNP (Chitwan National Park) in 1973, the volume of
tourists visiting Chitwan ever growing. In Sauraha endangered wild animals such as one horn
rhinoceros, tiger, gharial, crocodile etc. are found. Tharu culture in Sauraha is the main reason
for the large share of tourist arrivals over there.
Before the declaration of Park, Tharus were leading a peaceful environment within the distinct
identity. After 1973, most of the non-Tharus started to shift either form hill regions or out-side
Sauraha, because of expectation of getting good job in tourism industry. Not only tourists but
also local people who travel for different purposes bring in new ideas and behaviors that affect
cultural practices. Changes in people behavior, dress, lifestyle, family and social stronger and
values and expectations the degradation in local support for local rational and institutions
people’s preference for tourist related jobs over education, changed in traditional architecture are
generally cited as instances of tourism negative impact on culture.
Biannually, the people of Sauraha perform two rituals in their burumrhan, or village shrine.
Called usariburna and leuriburna, these rituals are observed in July and October respectively.
During the rituals of burumrhun, people are accorded a time of relaxation from their hard work
throughout the year. Nowadays, the rituals have been shortened to only one day, partially
because the inhabitants no longer work in the field. Another change is the inclusion of women’s
participation in handling water. In the
past, women were not permitted to take water from the well. These days, this rule is not adhered
to because the water supply is plentiful. As in most rituals, the village priest or the faith-healer,
also called quruu, performs the rites.
Tourism has played a main role in employment generation in Sauraha. Peoples in Sauraha area
have been turned and attracted towards tourist trade which has increasingly assisted people to
uplift the standard of life and strengthen economically. The local people have been benefited
from the development of tourism infrastructure such as transportation, communications and
electric facilities. Most of the local people believe that tourism has a good impact on local
residents with the growth of tourism. The value of land has been increased. A number of
associated activities, especially hotel, fruits farming, vegetable farming, poultry farming and
livestock farming are increasing. These activities have been providing employment to local
youths.
There is a high degree of significant relationship between the hotels facilities and the tourist
arrivals. It shows that hotel industry plays a vital role in promoting tourism industry. The number
of hotels is increasing every year in this area and it has bright prospects for the well facilitated
hotels and lodges. Economic impact of tourism in Sauraha is increasing. Similarly, social impact
like life style of people has been changing. Traditional Tharu culture has been becoming wider in
the sense that it has been performing the hotels facilities in front of tourists.
CASE STUDY 2: GHALE GAUN
It is situated along the Prithvi Highway stretch, some 130kms from Kathmandu, is Dumre
Bazaar, a pit stops especially known as a diversion point from the main road to Bandipur. But
take a different route towards Besisahar, 42 kilometers north from the highway.

The scenic village, situated on the foothills of mountains like Annapurna and Lamjung at around
2,100 meters above sea level, takes around three hours’ drive to reach from Besisahar, the district
headquarters. The most common route to reach Ghale Gaun is through Besisahar-Baglungpani-
Kapur Gaun route, but one can also travel the Pokhara-Thumsikot-Pasgaun-Bhujung route. If
you prefer hiking, then the Besisahar-Khudi route is a popular route to reach Ghale Gaun.

The village showcases the rich culture and history of the Tamu people through age-old cultural
dances like Ghatu, Krishna Charitra, Sorathi, and Jhyaure Nach. These dances are always
accompanied by traditional musical instruments and brought to life by dancers bedecked in
traditional Gurung dresses. The villagers come together on special occasions such as births,
deaths, and marriages to perform traditional customs passed down through generations. The
village also has a museum where artefacts and visuals representing the Tamu culture are on
display. Ghumaune Ghar (Oval House) in the village also houses examples of Tamu art and
culture and could be a good point to start exploring the local culture.
The Pokhara valley, the entire Ghale Gaun area, and nearby settlements, scattered across green
hills, can also be seen from the vantage point at the View Tower. The landscape offers a postcard
perfect setting with the sights of sheep and goats grazing across green pastures.

The best way to get to know a culture and a people is through food. Given the topography which
mostly features vast swathes of arid land, the staple food crops are potatoes, radish and other
vegetables which can be grown in dry conditions. Therefore, the food culture in Ghale Gaun and
surrounding areas revolve around these staple crops. For lunch, kodo ko dhido (a traditional
Nepali dish made from millet flour) with local chicken curry is the most popular dish. However,
a plate of traditional Nepali thali consisting of locally grown white rice, green leafy vegetables,
potatoes, local pulses, meat items, a variety of tomato chutneys and dollops of fresh ghee is very
famous.
The villagers are skilled craftspeople who have over the decades mastered the art of making
essential household items from locally sourced fabrics. Since they herd goats and sheep, they
have sheep wool in abundance. They use this wool to make Radi and Pakhi (the traditional hand
knitted woolen mats and blankets) and Bakkhu (woolen outerwear) that used to be an essential
part of their everyday wear in the olden days. These days, the villagers make this clothing to sell
as souvenirs.

CONCLUSION
Tourism is very fast growing sector in the world tourism industry. Nepalese tourism industry
also cannot stand without embracing ecotourism. Although the history of ecotourism in Nepal is
not that much long, its importance in Nepalese tourism industry is inevitable because it can be
regarded as one of the best approaches to promote sustainable development that can be helpful to
alleviate poverty by developing local economy and society and also conserving environment.
Furthermore, ecotourism in Nepal can be proved as boon for rural development, social
empowerment especially for marginalized groups. Ecotourism principles basically focus to
increase local community involvement in the planning mechanism that can support economic
development, environmental conservation, social and cultural awareness, capacity building, and
effective policy implementation. At the same time it is also necessary
to consider critically that ecotourism also creates many problems such as environmental and
cultural degradation and even economic imbalance (due to inflation and leakage) in local
scenario.
Besides various challenges and problems in the fields of ecotourism, it can be a great opportunity
for Nepal if all tourism resources are handled and utilized responsibly and it can be phenomenal
instrument to achieve real sustainable development of the country by promoting different aspects
and sectors – economy, environment, culture, and conservation procedure.
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