ECOTOURISM AND RURAL LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN EAST KHASI HILLS DISTRICT, MEGHALAYA

Abstract

Meghalaya is one of the states in North-east India that is blessed with beautiful and mesmerising natural scenic beauty. The undulating green hills, pleasant breeze, waterfalls gushing from the mountains, complimented with cool climatic condition is the best combination for nature loving tourists to experience. This paper identifies the livelihood opportunities that ecotourism has provided to the local communities. Three villages i.e., Mawlynnong, Riwai and Mawsmai has been selected for the study. Purposive Sampling was adopted to identify households engaged in ecotourism activities. Primary data was collected from the households that are engaged generating livelihood from Ecotourism related activities. There are a wide range of ecotourism related activities that are being engaged by the local community members to generate income. There are also livelihood activities engaged by the respondents that has a scope for providing employment for other community members as well. In the context of the three villages selected, ecotourism has served as both primary and also secondary sources of income for the local communities. it is evident that ecotourism has played a major role in promoting livelihood and village economy in the three villages. Ecotourism has the potential for the enhancement of rural livelihood through more innovative, sustainable and eco-friendly practices.