Gyalshing,7 April: A workshop on designing a sustainable tourism policy paper promoting green livelihoods for West Sikkim was organized today at the Zilla Panchayat Bhawan, Gyalshing. The workshop as a part of UNDPs Green Recovery Programme was organized by the Khangchendzonga Conservation Committee. The workshop was chaired by Shri Hari Chettri, Senior Superintendent of Police, Gyalshing District and also attended by SDM (HQ) , SDM ( Yuksam), Additional Director (Animal Husbandry), Additional Director, Tourism Department, Gyalshing, DFO and other representatives of the forest Department, UNDP India & KCC team, rural tourism representatives etc. The workshop started with a welcome address by P.G. Bhutia, Board member of KCC, thanking all stakeholders for attending the workshop. Ms Supriya Khound, Project Coordinator, Green Recovery Programme, gave a brief overview of the initiative. The Green Recovery Programme for West Sikkim, being implemented in convergence with the other ongoing GEF-GOI-UNDP SECURE Himalaya project, is addressing the key areas of green livelihoods, solarisation and One Health approach for zoonotic disease management. John Borgoyary, Regional Head for North-East India for UNDP shared his experiences in working on rural tourism in the region. The resource persons invited for the workshop, Renzino Lepcha, Consultant, Organic Mission and ecotourism & R. P. Gurung, CEO, ECOSS, Gangtok, gave insightful presentation on the tourism pattern and trends in Sikkim and the Sikkim tourism policy which was drafted in 2018. After a presentation, the baseline findings for the tourism policy were share by Dr. Amit Sharma, the consultant engaged for drafting the draft policy by UNDP, three thematic groups were divided based on the aspects of sustainability, conservation, policy level engagement and convergence. Discussions were held in each group regarding the existing patterns and challenges for each sector. After the discussion, the groups presented their major action points of discussion to the session Chair Jaimon Uthup, Policy Specialist, UNDP India and Co-Chairs Hari Chettri, Senior SP & Renzino Lepcha. Important issues like capacity building standardization of homestay and service provider rates, increasing publicity and information accessibility, enhancing connectivity were some of the pertinent issues highlighted by the groups. The discussions were summed up by Rinzino Lepcha who mentioned that we need to learn from good practices of rural tourism in countries like Nepal & Bhutan and also encourage the private sector including NGOs, CBOs to take the onus and ensure value addition to existing practices while showcasing the unique natural and cultural aspects of the state. In his remarks Jaimon Uthup mentioned that the district has immense potential for further promotion of eco-tourism and UNDP shall work with the district administration to make the tourism policy relevant and of the desired quality. In his concluding remarks, the Chair Hari Chettri (Sr.SP West) thanked UNDP & KCC for organizing the workshop emphasized on coordination between all stakeholders to enhance the eco-tourism sector. The program ended with a Vote of Thanks by Kinzong Bhutia, founder member of KCC. 
