[Reader-list] Please endorse - Campaign against Special Tourism Zones , Kerala

[Anivar Aravind]

Reply to: forumkerala at movingrepublic.org
<http://us.f537.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=forumkerala@movingrepublic.org>
===============================

Dear friends and colleagues,

 The Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan recently announced that
the creation of Special Tourism Zones (STZ) would be considered if private
parties having large tracts of land approach the State Government. He also
declared that government would change the rules relating to acquisition of
land for tourism projects in the State.

 The government's plan to announce STZs in Kerala has to be challenged
because it will augment the pressure over the natural and other resources
such as land, water, forests and will lead to environmental destruction,
revenue losses and lack of real economic development of the state, breakdown
of governance systems especially of the Panchayats with the creation of
enclaves and lack of equal and non-exploitative employment opportunities for
local communities in STZs.

 Now Kerala Tourism seems to be using "Responsible Tourism" for it's
marketing, especially in the UK market. The recent workshop organised by
Kerala Tourism mainly dealt with the responsibility of various stakeholders
in further development of tourism within the state. But at the same time,
they became mute on issues such as the constitutional rights of the
Panchayat Raj Institutions, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations by
hotels and resorts, backwater pollution by the houseboats and tourism
industry and various social issues. Who is responsible for these damages?
And for effectively addressing these problems?
  The need of the hour is the proactive involvement of the civil society
against these malpractices. We request you to support our call for a larger
debate on the true nature of tourism development in the state, on its
questionable economic contributions and its negative impacts upon vulnerable
communities and Kerala's fragile environment.

  If you can agree with the points we raised in our letter to the Chief
Minister (attached), please get back to us by 25th Feb. (Please E-mail your
endorsement to forumkerala at movingrepublic.org<http://us.f537.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=forumkerala@movingrepublic.org>)
and by signing the letter, support it as it is. Or
if you do not agree with all the points or want to raise additional points
of your own, additional initiatives supporting the cause are also welcome.

  In solidarity
  Forum KERALA



  * About Forum KERALA

*
* *
The *Forum KERALA, * a platform of civil society movements, people's groups
and individuals who are sharing a common vision and mission related to
Kerala Society â€" its developmental, environmental, social-cultural and
political issues â€" at various levels. The Forum will take up research,
campaign and mobilisation. We hope this will facilitate a creative space for
the civil society groups and concerned individuals to come together and
working for a better future.

=============
Open Letter to Kerala CM
 To
Sri. V.S. Achuthanandan
 Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala
 Thiruvananthapuram.

*Sub: Appeal against the approval of Special Tourism Zones within the state.
*
 Dear Sir,
 We express our serious concern regarding the proposal for the new Special
Tourism Zones on the lines of Special Economic Zones within the state. We
are writing this letter to you in the context of Honourable Kerala Tourism
Minister's statement on Special Tourism Zone during the inauguration of the
recent workshop on Responsible Tourism organised by Kerala Tourism. Minister
announced that the creation of STZs would be considered if private parties
having large tracts of land approach the State Government. He also declared
that government would change the rules relating to acquisition of land for
tourism projects in the State.
The proposal for Special Tourism Zones has to be dropped because it will
increase the pressure over natural and other resources like land, water,
forests and will lead to environmental destruction, revenue losses and lack
of real economic development of the state, breakdown of governance systems
especially of the Panchayats with the creation of enclaves and lack of equal
and non-exploitative employment opportunities for local communities in STZs.
Government should withdraw this move especially in the context of the recent
controversies on Special Economic Zones (SEZ).
Currently Kerala Tourism and industry says that Kerala has an upper hand in
tourism since it is now a much sought after destination. So it is in the
profiteering interest of the tourism industry to set up projects in Kerala.
The state should not provide further incentives and subsidies to attract
investments. Instead, the state should cut down existing incentives and
subsidies and introduce new taxes for the people of Kerala to benefit from
tourism.
Kerala Tourism has a strong record of proving that planning, policies and
regulations to date have not effectively addressed major problems caused by
tourism. These include the unsustainable extraction of ground water in
tourism spots such as Kovalam, which is causing a serious lack of drinking
water for local communities. Problems also include the land speculation
activities related to tourism especially in the coastal and backwater areas,
and pollution of the backwaters by the tourism industry. The tourism
industry has a significant role in spoiling the mangrove belt and the
breading areas of fishes in the Vembanad Lake. Sustainable waste management
systems are lacking in the state.
The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations by hotels and resorts are a
serious concern in the state, and so is the uncontrolled tourism development
in Kovalam and Kumarakom, which has lead to many environmental and social
problems. There are disturbing indications that prostitution including the
commercial sexual exploitation of children is happening in tourist
destinations in Kerala.
Here, we request you to appoint a commission, where representatives of civil
society organisations and people's groups should be part, to assess the
environmental, social and economic damages done by tourism industry within
the state before initiating new projects, plans and marketing strategies.
We would like to bring to your attention to amend the Kerala Tourism
(Conservation & Preservation of Areas) Act 2005, passed by the previous UDF
government, which effectively strips Panchayats of their powers by
constituting a committee dominated by bureaucrats.
We also appeal your intervention to stop Kerala Tourism's move to use
"Responsible Tourism" for its marketing. Foreign consultants with dubious
credentials have either been approached by the government or have
volunteered to showcase Kerala as an example of "Responsible Tourism" while
no serious steps have been taken to even remedy the environmental and social
damages created by irresponsible tourism development in State in the past
four decades. We request you to stop the involvement of these
industry-biased consultants in the development of tourism within the state.
 *Copy to: *

   1. Honourable Minister of Home Affairs and Tourism Sri. Kodiyeri
   Balakrishnan.
   2. Honourable Minister of Finance Dr. Thomas Isaac.


Media Release


*Government should not allow Special Tourism Zones (STZ) in Kerala. *

 * Thiruvananthapuram, 12/2/2007. Forum Kerala, A collective of civil
society movements, people's groups and individuals urged Kerala Government
to withdraw its move to introduce Special Tourism Zones within the state.
The group also asked Kerala Government to appoint a commission, where
representatives of civil society organisations and people's groups should be
part, to assess the environmental, social and economic damages caused by the
tourism industry within the state before initiating new projects, plans and
marketing strategies. The forum also demanded that the tourism industry
should give compensation to the affected people in the tourist destinations
for its damages.

*
The Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan recently announced that
the creation of STZs would be considered if private parties having large
tracts of land approach the State Government. He also declared that
government would change the rules relating to acquisition of land for
tourism projects in the State.
According to The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the STZs will be
on the line of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and also offer the same
facilities and incentives to the investors. The STZs are proposed to be
located in the major tourist destinations, cities as well as along the
coastline.
The state government's move to introduce Special Tourism Zones has to be
opposed because it will increase the pressure over natural and other
resources such as land, water, forests and it will lead to environmental
destruction, revenue losses and lack of real economic development of the
state, breakdown of governance systems especially of the Panchayats, with
the creation of enclaves and lack of equal and non-exploitative employment
opportunities for local communities in STZs. Kerala Government should
withdraw this move especially in the context of the recent controversies on
SEZs.
Currently government and tourism industry says that Kerala has an upper hand
in tourism, since it is now a much sought after destination. It is in the
profiteering interest of the tourism industry to set up projects in Kerala.
The state should not provide further incentives and subsidies to attract
investments. Instead, the state should cut down existing incentives and
subsidies and introduce new taxes for the people of Kerala to benefit from
tourism.
 Kerala tourism has a strong record of proving that planning, policies and
regulations to date have not effectively addressed major problems caused by
tourism. These include the unsustainable extraction of ground water in
tourism spots such as Kovalam, which is causing a serious lack of drinking
water for local communities. Problems also include the land speculation
activities related to tourism especially in the coastal and backwater areas,
and pollution of the backwaters by the tourism industry. The tourism
industry has a significant role in spoiling the mangrove belt and the
breading areas of fishes in the Vembanad Lake. The Coastal Regulation Zone
(CRZ) violations by hotels and resorts are a serious concern in the state,
and so is the uncontrolled tourism development in Kovalam and Kumarakom,
which has lead to many environmental and social problems. Sustainable waste
management systems are lacking in the state. There are disturbing
indications that prostitution including the commercial sexual exploitation
of children is happening in tourist destinations in Kerala.
  Forum Kerala asked Government to amend the Kerala Tourism (Conservation &
Preservation of Areas) Act 2005, passed by the previous government, which
effectively strips Panchayats of their powers by constituting a committee
dominated by bureaucrats.
The statement issued by the forum also strongly criticised Kerala Tourism's
move to use "Responsible Tourism" for its marketing. The forum views it with
concern that in the recent workshop organised by Department of Tourism
discussing the responsibilities of various stakeholders in further
development of tourism within the state, issues such as the constitutional
rights of the Panchayat Raj Institutions, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
violations by hotels and resorts, backwater pollution by the houseboats and
tourism industry, child abuse and child labour in service industries in the
state and various other social issues have been completely ignored. "Who is
responsible for these damages? â€" And for effectively addressing these
problems?" the Forum asked.
Recent media reports revealed that "success stories" of responsible tourism
in Kerala would be presented at the World Travel Mart, London . Foreign
consultants with dubious credentials have either been approached by the
government or have volunteered to showcase Kerala as an example of
"Responsible Tourism" while no serious steps have been taken to remedy the
environmental and social damages created by irresponsible tourism
development in State in the past four decades. It has a come as a surprise
to us that Mr. Harold Goodwin is announcing through the media that cases of
"Responsible tourism" exist in the state!" Harold Goodwin, faculty at the
Britain-based International Centre for Responsible Tourism, reportedly
announced to the press in Thiruvananthapuram that "Since the World Travel
Mart 2007 is being held (in London) in November, the biggest beneficiary
would be Kerala tourism <http://www.indiasnews.com/News-709828.html> because
there would be a separate session on responsible tourism and a few success
stories of Kerala in this aspect would be showcased" (Source: Indo-Asian
News Service, 3/2/07).
How can he announce the presentation of such case studies now? If he can, he
should reveal which are the case studies. The Forum asked Harold Goodwin
that he should make clear how governments' proposal for the STZ would match
with his theory of "Responsible Tourism"? The forum pointed out that neither
the Tourism Department nor industry lobbyists can use such ploys to undercut
the growing resistance to indiscriminate tourism projects and irresponsible
tourism practices that negatively affect the local communities and their
livelihoods in Kerala. The forum decided to continue the campaign to
democratise tourism practices to ensure people's participation in the
decision making process and to seek compensation for the victims of
displacement, environmental destruction and loss of livelihood systems
caused by tourism industry practices and policies in the state.

*For more details please contact:** *
Forum KERALA, C/o TC 354,Muttada.P.O, Thiruvananthapuram 25, Kerala.
Phone Numbers: Ajayan â€" 9895007171, Anivar Aravind â€" 9446545336,
Santhosh Kumar K.C. â€" 9447375708, Sumesh Mangalassery - 9388402948
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