Context:

Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust in Odisha has won the prestigious United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Award for Innovation in Tourism Enterprise at the 14th UNWTO Awards ceremony held in Madrid, Spain.

Mangalajodi Ecotourism Trust

• It is a community-owned and managed venture on the banks of Chilika Lake in Odisha.
• It has won the prestigious United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Award for Innovation in Tourism Enterprise.
• The villagers of Mangalajodi were once associated with the poaching of birds near Chilika Lake but now they stand as true defenders of wildlife in the region.
• The change was mainly due to a coordinated effort in implementing an awareness campaign on the importance of preserving natural species and the benefits associated with wildlife tourism.
• The change has soared numbers of birds from 2000 (during peak unsustainable hunting) to over three lakh in the region.
• Moreover, other visible impacts of this change have resulted in increasing revenue through ecotourism, a sharp fall in poaching incidents, and increasing support of villagers.
• The award was given in recognition of Mangalajodi’s business model that is both economically viable and environmentally sustainable based on principles of community ownership and Eco-Tourism.