ocr: A serious contlict exists between the wish to preserve the environment and the desire for tourist revenue. Areas in the northwest were opened up to tourists in 1989, but degradation caused by 72,000 hikers a year onl popular routes forced the govemment to set up the Annapurna Conservation Project. Firewood cutting for tourists is said to have increased deforestation, and hence soil erosion, by 10 0%.
