G.B.G. Pananjay - Department of Natural Resource Management, Debre Markos University, Ethiopia.
K. Tiwari - Department of Tourism, Amity University, Noida, India.
G.B.G. Shashi - Department of Tourism, Amity University, Noida, India.
Keyvan Tiwari - Department of Botany and Microbiology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, India
S.C. Tiwari - Department of Botany and Microbiology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar, India

Protected areas are major tourism assets for a nation, particularly for developing countries providing sustainable benefit to the local community while funding for the maintenance and rehabilitation of the protected areas themselves. Valley of flowers national park is naturally meant for the conservation and study of western Himalayan flora. It became National park in ۱۹۸۲ and after that livestock grazing ceased and restrictions were imposed on nearby villagers. The valley has an unusually rich flora of over ۶۰۰ Himalayan species growing in an area of less than ۲۵۰۰ hectares with many rarities. Animals found are nationally rare or endangered. It is also a habitat of endangered Asiatic black beer, brown bear, Himalayan musk deer and snow leopard, blue sheep are rare. The common leopard is reported from lower parts of valley closer to the villages. Local people have also reported evidence of Himalayan brown bear. Other factors that are contributing to ecotourism are beautiful landscapes, peaks, lakes and tarns etc. Because of the heavy influx of tourists and improper management practices the problem of solid waste in increasing at an alarming rate. This paper is an overview of the present ecotourism resources of the area and their future prospects for sustainable ecotourism.   REFERENCES Agrusa, J. and Guidry, J. (۱۹۹۹). Ecotourism and Sustainable Development of the Maya Rain Forest in Central America / First Pan-American Conference Proceedings. Boo, E. (۱۹۹۰). Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls. World Wildlife Fund: Washington DC. Cater, E. (۱۹۹۳). Ecotourism in the Third World: Problems for Sustainable Tourism Development. Tourism Management, ۱۴: ۱۰۷-۱۱۵. Himberg, N. (۲۰۰۶). Community-based Ecotourism as a Sustainable Development Option in the Taita Hills, Kenya. MSc. Dissertation. University of Helsinki.  Inskeep, E. (۱۹۹۱). Tourism Planning: An Integrated and Sustainable Development Approach. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York. Lamba, B. (۱۹۸۷). Status survey report of fauna. Nanda Devi National Park. Records of the Zoological survey of India. Occasional Paper No. ۱۰۳, ۵۰ p. Lavkumar, K. (۱۹۷۷). Report on the preliminary survey of the Nanda Devi basin. WWF-India, Bombay, ۲۷ p. Mogal, Z and Agrusa, J. (۱۹۹۷). The Potential to Develop the State of Mississippi into an Ecotourism Destination. Published proceedings "Graduate Education and Graduate Students Research in Hospitality and Tourism," pp.۱۸۹-۱۹۸. Sherman, P.B and Dizon, J.A. (۱۹۹۱). "Nature Tourism: Determining if it pays." In T. Wheland (ed.), Ecotourism. Covelo, CA: Island Press. Srivastava, S. (۱۹۹۹). Management plan for the valley of flowers national park. Wildlife Preservation Organization, Uttar Pradesh. UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Center (۲۰۰۵). Under World Heritage sites Nanda Devi and Valley of flowers national Parks, Uttaranchal India. Ziegler, C.G. ; Lamatsch, D.K. ; Steinlein, C. ; Engel, W. ; Schartl, M. and Schmid, M. (۲۰۰۳) The giant B chromosome of the cyprinid fish Alburnus alburnus harbours a retrotransposon-derived repetitive DNA sequence. Chromosome Res. ۱۱: ۲۳-۳۵.

Ecotourism, Fauna, Flora, Glaciers, National Park, Solid Waste, Valley of Flowers