Welcome to the Webpage of the PPMT E-Consultations

"People, Park and Mountain Tourism" 
(PPMT), April 2-26, 2003

[A series of e- consultations co-organised by Asia Pacific Mountain Network and Bridges: Projects 
in Rational Tourism Development (Bridges-PRTD) in coordination with the Namche Conference, 
May 24-26, 2003, Namche Bazar, Khumbu, Nepal]

Dear Participant, 

From April 2-21, Asia Pacific Mountain Network will hold a series of e-consultations sponsored by the Bridges: Projects in Rational Tourism Development (Bridges-PRTD) in coordination with the Namche Conference, May 24-26, Namche Bazar, Khumbu, Nepal.

The Namche Conference coincides with the 50th anniversary ('Golden Jubilee') of the first ascent of Mt. Everest, as well as the first quarter century of Sagarmatha National Park. Sir John Hunt's 1953 expedition not only placed the first two summiteers on top of the world's highest mountain, it also unleashed a development process that has radically transformed the Sherpa homeland. The conference venue, Namche Bazar (3450 m), at the gateway to Sagarmatha National Park, is a significant departure from the usual academic symposium on mountain issues: rather than simply reading papers to each other, the delegates and participants will have the opportunity to 'ground-truth' their ideas and to learn from local experts. For detail info, please visit <http://namche.info>.

The e-consultations are conceived as a preliminary to the Namche Conference. Focusing specifically on issues that are of concern to the residents of remote mountain tourism destinations, we will compile a set of questions, generalisations, and suggestions to place before the conference participants (including members of the host community). In so doing, Mountain Forum subscribers around the world may participate by proxy, and the actual conference participants will have an opportunity to focus and sharpen their ideas in advance. 

We have proposed the following themes for e-discussion:
*April 2-6: Cultural and ecological impact of tourism in remote mountainous destinations
*April 7-11: Security issues related to tourism in remote mountainous destinations
*April 12-16: Management systems: parks, protected areas, community- based development
*April 17-21: Shaping the future: achieving optimal results in the global market

The outcomes of the e-consultations will feed into the Namche Conference for further deliberations.

Looking forward to a proactive and enriching discussion from you all.

All the best.

The E-consultation Coordinating Team
Dr. Seth Sicroff, Bridges-PRTD
Empar Alos, Bridges-PRTD
MF-Asia Moderator, APMN

Content Moderators
Beau Beza, BSLA (UC Davis), MUP (Melb), ASLA, Lecturer in Landscape Architecture
Dr. Seth Sicroff
Dr. Khadga Basnet
Dr. Andreas Ottitsch 

Session III (Apr 12-21)
Lead Paper
Discussion
Synthesis