Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic sectors in India and is one of the major pillars of economy in North Bengal. Volume of tourists and tourism economy, both have grown many folds here during the last decade. In recent years North Bengal has witnessed booming growth in tourism infrastructures, certainly resulting into greater economic dividend for the local people as well as exerting considerable pressure on the environment in such ecologically sensitive landscape. Thus, a conflict of interests has come up with economic dividends being on the opposite end of environmental needs. Now whether this trend of tourism growth is a boon or a bane for the region can be best decided by the people living there, so their perception is of utmost importance. Again, to measure the impact 2 Corresponding Author 268 / Environmental Sustainability in the 21st Century: Emerging Issues… of tourism, concept of ecological footprint is considered where the rate of resource depletion is measured and compared against the actual yield of resources there. Thus, the exact level of stress on the environment resulting from tourism practices can be identified. The study area, Rishyap, is a famous hill station, located in the Kalimpong district in Northern West Bengal. With its varied offerings of natural wonders, Rishyap attracts tourists throughout the year which has instigated rapid growth of tourism infrastructure lately. But this growth is skewed towards ‘popular tourism’ instead of being ecologically sensible ‘low key tourism’. So, this paper attempts to identify the imprints of tourism on local environment and perception of the inhabitants of Rishyap about the changing scenario taking place.

For full paper visit http://books.google.com/books/about/ENVIRONMENTAL_SUSTAINABILITY_IN_THE_21ST.html?id=zK8HEAAAQBAJ