How Overtourism Can Damage Ecologically Fragile Areas

OT spoke to Goa-based environmental activist Abhijit Prabhudesai about the recent incident at Dudhsagar Falls, and the need for regulating the entry and number of tourists to ecologically fragile areas

Dudhsagar Falls Photo: Shutterstock

Piyali Sen

Updated on: 4 August 2023 4:52 pm

Dudhsagar Falls, located in the Western Ghats, is Goa's highest and largest waterfall. Pouring down in milky torrents (hence the name, which means "sea of milk"), the waterfall is created by the Khandepar River, a tributary of the Mandovi. Dudhsagar plummets 310m off a lofty ridge bisected by a railway track and a bridge. The rail track from Londa snakes down south and passes by the falls before heading northwest in a wide curve to Collem, giving train passengers a good view of the cascade.

Dudhsagar Falls was in the news recently when thousands of tourists were barred from visiting the stunning waterfalls by Goa police and Forest Department personnel. After two individuals perished at the Mainapi waterfall in Sanguem taluka, the government restricted anyone from visiting the state's waterfalls. On June 16, a video showing thousands of hikers stranded on the railway track after being stopped from proceeding toward the waterfalls by uniformed men surfaced on Twitter. Hundreds of visitors had then tried to walk along the South Western Railway line tracks to reach Dudhsagar but were also advised by the police not to go ahead. After being turned away from the waterfall, the tourists had to wait a long time at the Collem Railway Station for the train home. The South Western Railway tweeted after the incident asking people not to walk along the railway tracks. Dudhsagar waterfall is located on the Goa-Karnataka border, and the road through the forest has been closed as rivers are in spate.

According to local media reports, the government order states that visitors will be allowed to enter the base of the Dudhsagar waterfall area through prescribed routes, but only with permits or tickets purchased from entry points designated by the Goa Forest Department. As per the order, joint check posts will be set up at all four nearby railway stations, i.e. Collem, Castle Rock, Sonaulim, and Caranzol. These posts will be manned by police, RPF personnel, and forest officials round-the-clock to restrict any unauthorised entry to the waterfall area.

This incident highlights the impact of high-volume tourism and how it can damage the environment. Many reports on the effects of tourism say that excessive entry into protected areas, especially when combined with high-impact activities such as hiking or camping, can be particularly harmful.

We spoke to Goa-based environmental activist Abhijit Prabhudesai about the incident and the need for tourists to be more conscious of the ecological impacts of their footfall in fragile areas. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Abhijit Prabhudesai By Special Arrangement

Could you comment on what happened at Dudhsagar Falls recently (where so many tourists turned up)?

This incident results from an insensitive, inhuman, and profit-driven govt policy that fails to understand tourism and its pros and cons or the needs of the locals, tourists, or environment. The tourists were denied entry normally through guided tours and jeep rides in a knee-jerk reaction to two unfortunate deaths due to drowning. Still, nothing was done to prevent their attempts to trek dangerously to the falls along the railway tracks, which was a foreseeable, logical outcome.

In what way can such tourist numbers impact the area around Dudhsagar Falls?

Large numbers of tourists beyond carrying capacity effect the environment and local culture. This is the best part of the central Western Ghats and its sensitive biodiversity ranging from the tiger to numerous yet-to-be-discovered flora and fauna. Hydrology and the environment are destroyed by tourists' presence, movements, and activities and by the resultant pollution, infrastructure and commercial development, influx of workers and their needs, etc.

How (and why should) the number of tourists be regulated?

The numbers of tourists must be regulated so that (1) footfalls, infrastructure needs, etc., and resultant impacts on environment and biodiversity are reduced, (2) tourism ventures are restricted to local community ownership so that local culture and economy are strengthened, not destroyed, (3) the tourists have an enriching, educative experience in terms of environment, culture, and humanity.

What are the other instances of too many tourists harming Goa's ecology and habitats?

Too many tourists have impacted every nook and corner of Goa in a typical progression from paradise to hell. I have no place to go with family or friends for a quiet sit down in nature–every pristine cliff, headland, beach, waterfall, forested hill, or village is disfigured, polluted, and destroyed - environmentally and socio-economically. A simple labourer boarded our 2nd class compartment of Howrah Express from Goa to Kolkata in Orissa, listened to the rest of us in an animated discussion, and then asked me, "Tum Goa ke ho?" (Are you from Goa?) When I nodded, he said, "Tum Goa ke logon ne gazab karke dikhaya, das saal mein swarg ko nark karke dikhaya." (You people have turned this heavenly place into hell.)

How can tourism in Goa be made environmentally and socially sustainable? What steps should be taken?

Tourism needs to be restricted to activities that do not replace the local environment, economies, and culture but enhance them. That means only homestays with fishers, farmers, tribals, and other local community members. No big hotels, organised mass tourism, corporate or government control or ownership of tourism means, infrastructure, or activities. Mass tourism is undoubtedly the magic drug for our industrial economy - necessary for the sanity of every worker after a few months in the violent competition that drives it. The challenge is transforming tourism from a cancerous destroyer of everything that gave birth to it into an enriching learning experience for every tourist, where they can enjoy and learn without destroying local culture, economies, and the environment.