Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch
Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch
Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch
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<strong>Beyond</strong> <strong>Greening</strong>: Reflections on <strong>Tourism</strong> in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperIntroduction: Towards Rio+20At the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, the international community adopted important resolutionsconcerning how the precious resources of our planet should be equitably shared and protectedfor present and future generations. Despite positive projects achieved over the past twodecades, we are a far cry from the sustainable path. Sustainability is often reduced to itsecological and economic aspects. Social impacts, human rights and equity concerns are notsufficiently taken into account, and people (including the economically poor) pay taxes thatcontinue to finance unsustainable practices.The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 focuseson the "green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication",and on the "institutional framework for sustainable development – in relation to the objectiveof renewed political commitment to sustainable development, reviewing progress andimplementation gaps and addressing new and emerging challenges". New momentum isurgently needed, given the failure of international actors to keep most of the promises of Rio.<strong>Tourism</strong> and sustainable development"The sheer size and reach of the sector makes it critically important from a global resourceperspective", says the World <strong>Tourism</strong> Organization (UNWTO). <strong>Tourism</strong> is often seen as arelatively eco-friendly alternative to other industries like mining and manufacturing.International tourism has been identified within the "green economy" debate as one of tensectors that can lead the transformation to this new model. But testimonies from tourismdestinations show that unsustainable tourism development is often taking place locally,undermining real progress towards this proposed new model. What is needed, therefore, ismore stringent regulation.The "Green Economy Report" (2011) published by the United Nations EnvironmentProgramme (UNEP) dedicates one chapter to the tourism sector. The UNWTO co-authoredthis chapter and is taking Rio+20 as an opportunity to promote tourism as "one of the mostpromising drivers of growth for the world economy". The UNWTO amongst others argue thatbecause of its cross-cutting nature, sustainable tourism can "address meaningfully a range ofpriority issues identified, in the context of sustainable development at Rio+20. Among theseare: energy, water, oceans, green jobs, sustainable cities, sustainable agriculture and foodsecurity, disaster risk reduction, and investing in health, education, youth, gender equality andwomen’s empowerment." However, current mainstream tourism development underminesprogress in all these sectors. The growth forecast by UNWTO is incompatible with realsustainability.The need for scrutinyThe strategies discussed in Rio+20 and the underlying paradigms must be scrutinized by civilsociety. The "green economy" concept focuses on investment in energy and resourceefficiency. It fails to question the prevailing growth paradigm and seriously neglectsfundamental challenges of global equity and human development. According to itsproponents, in particular UNEP and UNWTO, the best way of responding to the challengesposed by environmental destruction and poverty is through more growth. However, this verygrowth-oriented paradigm has led to environmental destruction and human rights violationsin the first place. The debate therefore has to be focussed not only on "green" and "economy",but also on human rights, equity and justice. There is a need for a paradigm shift in tourismdevelopment.10