It is hard
to imagine a more spectacular - or pleasing - natural setting. Green
and purple hills rise around the tranquil Phewa lake that reflects the
colours of the sky. For most of the year, the further backdrop is formed
by the majestic ice-capped peaks of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas,
with the Machchapucchre (fishtail) peak the most prominent. Nearby,
there is a magnificent view into the hills surrounding the Seti river,
as well many other beautiful lakes that are ideal for boating.
Truly,
the town of Pokhara in Nepal has surroundings especially blessed by
nature. But the visitor to this town is struck most immediately by the
human degradation of this location. The lakefront is barely visible
along the main road of the town, obscured by tightly packed, determinedly
ugly hotels each blocking the view and spilling over into the street.
The construction all over this part of town is both haphazard and hideous
in the way characteristic of many parts of urban South Asia, but more
intensely so because of the severe jostling for "prime space"
evident in the manner of building.
This means,
of course, that from the town one can barely see the lake which is the
main pride of the town. There is a sad little open clearing remaining
on the lakefront, which serves as the remaining public space, but this
is effectively no better than a rubbish dump, strewn with litter and
foul smelling. This decay is apparently encouraged by the hoteliers
who now occupy the lakefront area, no doubt to preserve their advantage
in terms of providing a view. And most of the rest of the town provides
this same startling aesthetic contrast to the sumptuous natural beauty
all around it, producing dismal proof of the innate inferiority of human
creation.
It was
not always like this, of course. Even as recently as a decade ago, local
residents remember a more charming aspect for the town dwellers. Construction
on the side of the main road facing the Phewa lake was banned, and the
glorious vista was open for all to see and marvel at. Hotels were numerous
of course, given the town's eminent suitability as a base for treks
into the Himalayas, but they were not so packed that they generated
the sense of being crammed sardine-like into narrow boxes, as most of
them do now.
But the
pressure to gain more tourist income, combined with the inability to
regulate the urban space, inevitably left their mark. From the late
1980s, there was growing pressure from some entrepreneurs - who (again
typically) also had muscle power and political clout - to allow private
construction directly on the banks of the lake. Finally, in 1988, a
few privileged parties were allowed to construct along the lakefront
where the only previous construction was the large, heavily enclosed
palace of the King.
Once that
happened, it became difficult to stop others from joining in, and within
a few years the entire lake front was completely filled up by hotels
that were on uniformly narrow plots but with varying degrees of hideousness.
The same lack of discipline that characterised such construction is
also evident in other aspects of urban life : in the polluted waters
of the once pristine lake, in the littered streets and graceless buildings
that cram the area. This story typifies the problem of tourism in Nepal,
which has been characterised not only by oversupply and therefore falling
margins, but also by major environmental damage and relatively less
long term advantage to residents. Thus in Pokhara, most of the hotels,
restaurants and shops cater to the cheaper and lower middle range of
tourists, who spend less and mess up more. The large expensive resorts
have effectively distanced themselves away from the town
This in
itself is not necessarily a problem, but it does mean that the net gains
from tourism for the local economy and society may end up being much
lower than otherwise. Higher value tourism need not be but still has
the potential to be more easily controlled so as not to destroy the
environment, and also tends to be less invasive for the host society.
And lower-end tourism all too often brings with it other problems like
drug abuse and prostitution, as tourist havens such as Thailand and
Bali have already found to their cost.
