Sustainable tourism, livelihood and coastal governance: Chilika lake, India

Chilika, the largest brackish water lagoon in Asia is located on the east coast of India. The ecological condition of the lake has deteriorated over several decades, impacting two lakh fisherfolk living in the region. The state government with an aim to provide livelihood security to local communities, has been promoting ecotourism in the region. This qualitative study based on Focused Group Discussion (FGD) carried out in Satapada, Puri district of Odisha explores the nature of tourism in practice, its role in providing livelihood support, and its linkage with ecological conservation. It shows that the recent crisis in the fishing sector was triggered by a hydrological intervention in the form of a new sea mouth dredged in 2000. It has forced the fishing communities to engage in dolphin-based tourism services and juvenile fish-catching as a coping mechanism. Tourism in turn has led to significant increase in number of motorboats further endangering dolphins and other aquatic species, making this form of nature-based tourism unsustainable. The study calls for an adaptive governance framework that allows multiple agencies at different levels to work together with shared objectives, and remain in continual dialogue with local communities.