Livelihood Strategy of Workers in Community-Based Ecotourism: A Case Study in the Outer Channel Sector of Chilika Lagoon, India

Abstract

Community-based ecotourism (CBET) has been developed particularly in developing countries to reduce rural poverty as well as support environmental conservation. This article presents a case study of CBET in the Outer channel sector of Chilika Lagoon, India where boat-trip tour activities have been initiated by the fishers who lived in vulnerable areas and were suffering from poverty in response to changes in the socio-ecological system. It aims to demonstrate the effects and challenges of CBET by highlighting the management structure of CBET and livelihood conditions of the workers (boat operators) from the viewpoint of poverty alleviation. After 2003, the vulnerable fishers established CBET enterprises in four sites with due supports of the governments. The findings revealed that they developed the institutional mechanism by applying rotating shifts for boat navigation among the members and allocating some profits from ecotourism to poor relief, cultural promotion and tourism investment, taking into account equal rights and welfare improvement among them. At the individual level, boat operators, facing with difficulties in making a living in the off-season, adapted their livelihoods by shifting their efforts to fisheries which corresponded to higher catch of prawn in the lagoon, greatly contributing to poverty alleviation. The multiple livelihood strategy adapted by the workers is expected to enhance their motivation for better CBET development. Based on these findings, this article provides some insights on identifying pressing constraints and positive strengths of CBET management in the Outer channel sector of Chilika Lagoon.