English - Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal ...

Sustainable tourism and post-conflict state buildingand small scale tourism which is given with a number of different labels– appropriate, responsible, soft, eco, nature, green, and alternative etc.All of these forms of tourism have an identical goal, that of sustainabledevelopment.The sustainability aspects of tourism both in developing and developedcountries play the role of catalyst for multidimensional aspects ofdevelopment. The guiding principle for ST development is to manage thenatural and human resources so as to maximise visitors’ enjoyment as wellas local benefits while minimising negative impacts upon the destinationsite, community and local population (Kunwar 2007).3. Tourism and state building in NepalState building in its general sense is concerned with constructing andrestructuring the state by exploring the scope for various vital nationalaspects like people’s expected human rights, feasible economic growthcoinciding with equity, desired social harmony/integration, friendly naturalenvironment, enhanced capacity of state institutions, smooth state-societyrelationship, rule of law guided by commonly accepted constitution, andthe state of positive peace. A nation in transition is generally bound fortransformation on these vital agenda. That is what Nepal is seeking afterthe end of a decade-long (1996-2006) armed conflict and signing of CPAin the post-conflict state. She is looking forward for an epochal changein the state structure that has brought new implications in the form ofopportunities and challenges in socio-economic and environmentalsectors including tourism.The planned and careful positive steps on these agendas further opensthe doors for rooms with improved education, better health facilities,enhanced work and income opportunities and raised living standards forthe nationals which is termed as ‘development’ or ‘prosperity’. The goal ofsuch a development, even though quickly achievable, in a specific countryis always challenging to make sustainable.The close relationship between tourism and environment and theimportance of environmental planning and ST development planningare being increasingly recognised for state building purpose. Controllingenvironmental degradation in the pristine mountains as well as tobenefiting maximum numbers of grass root, marginalised and deprivedpeople in the balanced way will be commendable for the transformation of92