Even as the remote nomadic communities of Merak and Sakteng in Trashigang open to tourism officially tomorrow, home ministry officials see an urgent need to draw up measures to safeguard its arcane customs and culture.

For more than three decades, these communities, located at an altitude of 3,000 m, were restricted to tourists, which officials said was done mainly to preserve their unique culture. "Their culture is so vulnerable that we don't want their dilution," home minister Lyonpo Minjur Dorji said. "Plans to preserve their culture and generate employment to the youth in these nomadic communities will take time."

Citing examples of Laya and Lingzhi, the minister said a proper plan has not gone into preserving the community's "thriving culture."

Lyonpo Minjur Dorji argued the cultures of the two communities were practised since the 11th century and that it should not be compromised at the cost material gains from tourism.

"Going by this experience, we feel we should first study and prepare Merak and Sakteng for tourists," he said."Unfortunately, what is being done now is not enough and works should have started a year ago."

Despite the "rush", the home ministry has seen certain strategies in place that would safeguard both the community and their cultures.

One is for tourists travelling to Merak and Sakteng to make do with the minimum facilities available within the communities.

"They cannot bring anything from outside," the minister said. "They have to use the community's transportation, guides and food and live there. We are also going to restrict what sort of culture should be shown to them."

For tourists to enjoy as well as respect the community's environment, Lyonpo Minjur Dorji said the road would end about half a day's walk before reaching the communities.

"We have to have some infrastructure like camp sites and washrooms along the tracks," he said. "We don't want guides from Thimphu explaining about Merak and Sakteng."

Close to the border with India's Arunachal Pradesh, Merak and Sakteng are located about 80 km east of Trashigang.

From the nearest road, it takes two days to reach Merak, while Sakteng is a days walk. The government in May 17 this year approved Merak and Sakteng open for tourism starting this September.

Tourism council of Bhutan officials and the ministry of agriculture and forests, however, said Merak and Sakteng were ready to greet tourists.

"Porter and pony charges have been fixed, enough trainings and awareness have been done and we feel that the communities are ready," a tourism council official said.

Merak and Sakteng, he said, was a diversification in the tourism packages that Bhutan offers, but not necessarily to bring in more tourists.

"Accessibility is still a problem and the number of tourists going there would still be less until there is an airport," the official said. "It's one of the means to spread tourism in the east." Tourism council officials have already received two bookings with about 10 tourists in each group for Merak and Sakteng sometime in the second week of September and another group in October.

Dr Karma Tshering, with the nature recreation and ecotourism division under agriculture ministry, feels Merak and Sakteng was closed for tourism because of lack of strategy and preparations to recognise the communities as one of the cultural icons.

"I wouldn't say it was enough but some level of preparations have been in place," Dr Karma Tshering said. "It's not mass tourism that's being implemented and what's taking place is still very much regulated."

With such measures in place, Dr Karma Tshering said the two communities' cultures were safe.

"Even without tourists, there is already a threat to the culture and I think tourism might just help preserve it," he said.

Lyonpo Minjur Dorji said, "We want the people of Merak and Sakteng to benefit from tourism." "I'm positive that by the end of this year, the airport in Yonphula will open and we must set tourism going" he said.

Source: Kuensel Online