**3. Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI)**

The ANI form an important group of oceanic islands, situated in the Bay of Bengal, extending between 92° to 94° East and 6° to 14° North latitude, with rich biodiversity and high degree of endemism. It is presumed that these islands had a former land connection from Cape Negris at south part of Burma to Achin Head (Cape Pedro) in Andalas (Sumatra). Since pre-historic times, these islands were the home of aboriginal tribes. The vulnerable tribal groups who have been identified in the Andaman group of islands are the Great Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas, and Sentinalese, all of Negrito origin, while the tribes in the Nicobar group are the Nicobarese and Shompens, both of Mongloid origin. These islands have the total geographical area of 8249 km2 and total coastline of 1962 km. These islands have been designated as one of the "Endemic Bird Areas" of the world [31–35].

"The Chinese knew of these islands over a thousand years ago and called it the 'Yeng-t-omag' in the First Millenium" [36]. These islands also find a place in the first map of the world drawn by Ptolemy, the renowned Roman geographer during the second century [36]. The famous Forester Champion has passionately remarked, "If tropical rain forests are to be seen in their pristine glory anywhere in the world, it is in the Andamans." The forests are quite rich with tropical evergreen, semi-ever green, moist-deciduous and littoral forests, mangroves, bamboo, and cane brakes. Mr. Jacques Coustoue, the famous marine explorer, who made a film on these islands titled "The Invisible Islands," said that he had never come across such clear waters during his many voyages across the globe, as in Andaman he could see live corals even at a depth of 60–100 m off the Narcondam Islands.

To preserve the rich natural, cultural, and wilderness areas of the ANI, the UT Administration is bringing ecotourism policy guidelines. A tourism management plan was prepared for various islands of the UT of A&N by the MoT, GoI, in 2003, indicating the potential tourism sites and recommending various options for the development of the tourism sector keeping in view of environmental protection. In a study conducted by Sridhar et al [37], it was observed that tourism sites in Andaman region exhibit a cluster distribution pattern. They suggested that tourism activities need to be promoted and expanded in other potential areas of Andaman through the establishment of necessary infrastructure. However, there have been little or no study on assessing the TCC of these islands. The main objective of this paper is to assess the recreational carrying capacity of some popular beaches around South Andaman by means of assessing the PCC (assuming that every beach has a limiting size of people that it can accom‐ modate), RCC, and the effective carrying capacity (ECC).
