Most of the lower Himalayan cities/towns/villages have lost a balanced relationship with their natural resources like forests, watersheds, flora/fauna etc. Since the start of 20th century, deforestation, climate change, tourism explosion and exponential increase in population have been causing tremendous pressure on the local ecosystem. One such example in North-East is East Khasi Hills region in the state of Meghalaya. There is a very distinct relationship of climate and the Landscape of the Khasi Hills. This region encompasses the Central and Eastern parts of Meghalaya and it is characterized by meandering plateau, rolling grassland, hills and river valleys. The Khasi hills have many profound valleys with steep gorges and abrupt slopes which channel the low-flying-moisture-laden clouds from vast sylhet plains region to concentrate upon the plateau, which is currently the second wettest place on earth. With its first policy in place since 2001, there hasn’t been a noticeable upliftment in tourism revenues. Presently, Meghalaya government is coming up with policies and plans to bring tourism based economic reforms in the state. Various studies reveal that there is a scarcity of water for domestic consumption in the region, though it receives extreme quantum of precipitation during wet months and scanty rainfall during lean months. The region is situated in the highest seismic risk zone (V) of earthquake probability in India. This paper talks about the criticality of this fragile region and its various issues before pivoting Cherrapunjee as destination tourism branding for Meghalaya. It also highlights various successful examples of tourism destinations in the neighbouring states of North East India.
Jhorar et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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