Background/Need and Objectives: 

Bandhavgarh National Park in the district of Umaria, Madhya Pradesh is one of the most visited National Parks in the country. The villages near the Tiger Reserve entrance boast a vibrant hospitality scene, offering a total of around 100 establishments, including resorts, hotels, and dining options, to cater to the influx of tourists. The hospitality establishments under various Gram Panchayats around Bandhavgarh National Park are the bulk waste generators of waste which include dry waste, wet waste and domestic hazardous waste. However, Solid and Liquid waste management practices, segregated waste collection, processing of segregated waste and disposal along with the required infrastructure are yet to be established in these Gram Panchayats. With the proposed intervention in the Bandhavgarh National Park, the program will showcase a recipe for waste management for the hospitality services in the eco-sensitive destinations that can be replicated across other such eco-sensitive destinations in the country.

The objectives of establishing the Waste Management Program around Bandhavgarh National Park are:

• Setting up an Environmentally Sustainable Waste Management system in all the hospitality establishments and households around Bandhavgarh National Park. Driven by the core principles of prioritizing Decentralized Waste Management and Resource Recovery in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. 
• Encouraging behavior change towards proper waste management at the household level by means of IEC/BCC.
• Collection, transportation, and processing of waste; Door-to-door dry waste collection in every village; Storage centers in every village; Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at the village cluster level.
• Interventions with tourists and forest for an Enhanced Tourist Experience.