sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

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Tourism
Tourism continues to be a very important source of foreign exchange and job creation in many
countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. In <strong>20</strong>10, international tourism revenues in the region
amounted to US$ 166 billion. Preliminary figures for the first part of <strong>20</strong>11 indicate that the number of
international arrivals is continuing to climb (150 million in <strong>20</strong>10) (UNWTO, <strong>20</strong>11).
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg in <strong>20</strong>02, the importance
of the tourism sector and its sustainability were underscored as a key element in poverty reduction and in the
protection of the environment and of cultural heritage. At that summit the World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) presented its Sustainable Tourism for Eradicating Poverty (STEP) initiative, which places
priority on the three dimensions of poverty mitigation, fair trade and <strong>sustainable</strong> <strong>development</strong>. Technical
assistance projects are being carried out under this programme for the promotion of <strong>sustainable</strong> tourism in
the region in ways that will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The
“green passport” of the International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development (ITF-STD) <strong>20</strong> and the
Colombian <strong>sustainable</strong> tourism certificate are two examples of this type of initiative. 21
Tourism activities are highly dependent on weather conditions. Many tourism destinations
(especially in the Caribbean and other coastal areas) are vulnerable to the devastating effects of extreme
weather and climate-related events such as hurricanes and tornados, beach erosion and coral reef bleaching
and these pose a threat to local economies. In response to this situation, it is carrying forward the Davos
Process on Climate Change and Tourism in an effort to find ways of coping with climate change in the
sector by promoting climate-change mitigation and adaptation projects in the tourism industry.
Investment in <strong>sustainable</strong> tourism generates economic benefits, at the same time as it reduces the
sector’s impact on the environment (UNEP/UNWTO, <strong>20</strong>11). The aim of moving towards greater
sustainability in the tourism industry can be advanced by public-private partnerships such as the Global
Sustainable Tourism Council, which was founded in August <strong>20</strong>10 to develop and disseminate what have
come to be known as the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. These criteria, which were formulated after
an exhaustive analysis of certification standards and principles (including those applied in Latin American
and Caribbean countries, such as, for example, in Costa Rica), set out 37 straightforward standards to be
met by tourism enterprises in order to achieve a satisfactory level of sustainability.
The Latin America Community-based Tourism Network (REDTURS) is another noteworthy
initiative. Launched in <strong>20</strong>01, it was one of the first ILO-supported ventures in Latin America and the
Caribbean to combine eco-tourism with the protection of the natural and cultural heritage of rural and
indigenous communities. This project has created decent job opportunities for women and men in remote
communities and has thereby contributed to the <strong>development</strong> of rural areas and to poverty reduction by
providing access to supplementary sources of income and increased business opportunities. The Network
has created more than 300 community-based tourism destinations in 13 countries of the region
(Maldonado, <strong>20</strong>06, <strong>20</strong>05).
<strong>20</strong>
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The Green Passport Campaign seeks to raise awareness among travellers, through travel guides and other media,
of what they can do to ensure <strong>sustainable</strong> tourism. National Green Passport Campaigns are underway in Brazil,
Ecuador and South Africa (see United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “Holidays for a living planet”
[online]; http://www.unep.org/unite/30ways/story.aspx?storyID=18].
See Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, “Sello ambiental colombiano”
[online] http://portal.minambiente.gov.co/contenido/contenido.aspx?catID=1277&conID=7748