As part of an extensive effort towards zeroing down environmental pollution levels and plastic items within touristic zones of the Tiger Reserve, Corbett National Park aims to eradicate plastic water bottles in all its areas from October 2026. Speaking on the eve of the World Environment Day, the reserve director Saket Badola, this move is expected to preserve the delicate ecology of one of India’s most renowned wildlife destinations and encourage eco-tourism.
The ban will begin as soon as the next tourist season following monsoon begins. In this new arrangement, people will no longer be able to bring plastic water bottles into the reserve. Rather, drinking water would be disinfected and provided to the tourists in a reusable “drinkable” glass bottle before tourist Safari in the park would begin.
As part of the project, the reserve administration is planning to build an in-house bottling plant where the purified water is to be bottled in glass containers. Carried around the safari, these types of bottles will be provided at entry gates. The visitors will then have to drop the bottles at specific drop-off stations when they leave the reserve.
A system of making deposits and returning them will be put in place to increase adherence to the rules, officials said. The tourists pay a deposit for the glass bottle on admission that is refundable. This will be returned when the container is returned in good condition, thus encouraging further reuse and recycling of the bottle.
The shift is expected to have a major impact on minimising plastic waste from tourist activities and retain areas where wildlife can thrive and forest landscapes remain, according to the reserve authorities. The movement has been regarded as a significant measure towards sustainable tourism and conservation of natural environment in forest protected areas in India.