Nature Conservation and Tourism a Win Win Approach Gina De Ferrari and Seleni Matus 1 A partnership solution WWF seeks a constructive and proactive relationship with the tourism industry in implementing responsable tourism Where? in WWF Ecoregions where large scale tourism leads puts pressure on ecologically important but fragile ecosystems How? raising awareness about conservation issues influencing policy and practice relating to sustainable tourism development To what end? strengthen biodiversity conservation and with benefits shared among tourism businesses, nature and local people 2
Partners for Nature WWF & TOI WWF 5 million supporters worldwide present in 100 countries 2000 fieldprojects worldwide 4000 employees TOI 17 important companies in tourism business over 50 million customers per year present worldwide supported by UNWTO, UNEP and UNESCO 3 The WWF & TOI partnership Tourism and protected areas a tool for efficient conservation? The Croatian example 2005 4
First joint project on Lastovo Island testing the partneship 5 Joint lobbying Urging the Croatian Government to declare Lastovo archipelago as an official Protected Area by emphasizing the importance of integrating environmental criteria into the island development strategy stressing the value of nature conservation from different economic, social and ecological perspectives 6
Achievements: Lastovo Nature Park has been established in October 2006 Tourism steering committee to initiate a strategic tourism plan established TOI offered training assistance for inbound tour operator 7 More best practice: Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion Andaman Sea Ecoregion 8
Playa del Carmen - 1974
Playa del Carmen - 2007 Accelerated Growth in the Riviera Maya Increase in hotel rooms 1995-2010 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 3,597 1995 1996 1,470 10,095 4,918 15,297 18,731 12,653 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 21,014 23,512 22,624 30,705 26,980 36,914 34,113 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 39,452 38,192
WWF & TOI Pilot Project in the Mesoamerican Reef Ecoregion 2008 2010 The project partners Working together to link tourism business opportunities and conservation to reduce threats to ecologically sensitive areas including marine protected areas in the Riviera Maya and Costa Maya in Mexico. 13 Project Goals by year 2010 1. By building on the successes of the Mesoamerican Reef Tourism initiative, the partners will work towards adoption of Good Environmental Practices by TOI hotel suppliers. Which means: Significant and measurable reduction of potable water consumption in TOI suppliers hotels and resorts, waste water and solid waste generation. 14
Scaling Up Efforts: on the ground impacts Decrease of 300 liters (80 gal) of water consumption per guest night for approximately 21 million guest nights in the Riviera Maya per year. This translates into potential water savings of 6.3 billion liters of water each year. Water Consumption Difference liters/gn % in liters Hotel 1 484 0.0 0 Hotel 2 623 28.7 139 Hotel 3 684 41.3 200 Hotel 4 790 63.2 306 Hotel 5 819 69.2 335 18
Project Goals by year Project 2010Goals by year 2010 2. The partners work towards the integration and adoption of sustainable Siting, Design and Construction practices in federal regulations. Which means, TOI, CI, MARTI and WWF are acting as a strong policy and advocay force to ensure that newly built and remodeled hotels and resorts are constructed in accordance with sustainable Siting, Design and Construction standards to avoid the continuation of inappropriate and unplanned tourism development 19 Project Goals by year 2010 3. Tourists contribution to Natural Protected Areas Which means, tourists visiting the area through TOI members contribute voluntarily to increasing the financial sustainability and strengthening the management effectiveness of natural protected areas in the Riviera Maya and Costa Maya 20
WWF TOI Pilot Project in the Andaman Sea Ecoregion inthailand 2008 2010 The project partners TOI, the Department of National Parks Wildlife, Plant Conservation and WWF (Greater Mekong, Germany), create concrete synergies between tourism stakeholders to promote sustainable tourism development in the Andaman Sea Ecoregion. 21 Project Goals by year 2010 22
For a living planet! 23