Climate Change and Tourism - UNEP - Division of Technology ...

UNWTO, 9 July 2008
Impacts and Adaptation at Tourism Destinations
9.2.6 Adaptation in Natural and Cultural Heritage Destinations
The range of adaptation measures available to natural and cultural heritage destinations overlap
somewhat with those already outlined in Sections 9.3.1 to 9.3.5 of this Chapter. Particularly those
suitable for natural heritage destinations (mountain regions, coastal zones and small islands) make up
a significant number of those destinations that could be classed as containing natural heritage assets.
However, there are also strategies which are specific to heritage sites; and adaptive and preventive
measures which can be taken at the local level of World Heritage sites (Table 9.5).
Table 9.5 Summary of possible adaptation strategies for natural and cultural heritage destinations
• Master plans and response plans: e.g., water supply planning (in drought susceptible destinations), risk
assessment and preparedness strategies, and implementation of early warning systems (e.g., flooding).
• Scientific monitoring survey programmes to assess changes and necessary protection (e.g., levels of endemic
species Cape Floral, South Africa; flood protection Thames Barrier, London; glacial lake levels to prevent
outburst flooding, Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal).
• Reconstruction and stabilization of historic assets such as architecturally rich buildings and archaeological
sites using a combination of traditional materials and skills (to preserve their historic aesthetics and attraction),
and modern engineering techniques to enhance their longevity.
• Product diversification; for example: opening up new ‘micro’ destinations and attractions within an adjacent
to an already popular heritage site.
• Translocation; a final strategy for species such as flowering plants that will not survive in their current location
involving safer wild habitats or storing the genetic resources in gene or seed banks.
• Protected area re-design/redefinition; i.e., zoning certain areas, protecting a larger area, creation of migratory
corridors to allow threatened species to more easily find new geographic ranges and alleviate the effects of
climate change.
• Combining traditional materials and skills with modern engineering when reinforcing, stabilizing and
renovating historic sites.
• Education and awareness raising on minimising external stresses; increasing the profile and knowledge base
of users and stakeholders of the undermining nature of external stresses to a destination struggling to deal
with the impacts of climate change.
• Reduction or removal of external stresses such as overuse, pollution and in the case of marine resources,
agricultural run-off.
Source: UNESCO-WHC (2007)
For example, a range of strategies are being taken in the cases of glacial areas visited by tourists that are
being impacted by climate change, such as the glacial lake of Tsho Rolpa in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest)
National Park, Nepal. Sagarmatha Park is populated by the Sherpa people, and receives over 20,000
tourists a year. Almost 67% of the glaciers in the park have retreated in the past decade and local
communities, animal populations and tourists suffer from the threats of glacial lake outburst floods,
reduced water supply and changes in biodiversity. Adaptation strategies include: artificially lowering
the water level in the glacial lake of Tsho Rolpa by 3 metres in 2002 to reduce the threat of flooding 484 ;
as well as implementing an effective monitoring and early warning system within a risk preparedness
strategy. 485
To adapt to the impacts of climate change on the popular Cape Floral Region in South Africa, one of the
world’s biodiversity hotspots with a level of over 30% endemism, different stakeholders are assessing
the implementation of various adaptation strategies. Monitoring and risk assessment studies have been
conducted 486 , programmes to reduce or remove external sources of stress have been implemented
to increase resilience, risk preparedness strategies for wildfire management are being considered
by national and regional agencies 487 , the redefinition of protected area design to allow threatened
species to shift geographic ranges, and finally the translocation of exceptionally threatened species to
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