Beyond Greening - Tourism Watch

Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperTourism and Food Sovereignty: Risks and Opportunities of Tourism inRural SettingsBy Ernest CañadaThe growing spread of tourist activities in various parts of the world, particularly in theSouthern Hemisphere’s new “peripheries of pleasure” and in areas with a tradition ofagriculture, livestock or fishing at the hands of peasant farmers and fishing communities, hasintensified the debate about the relationship between tourism and rural development.However, this discussion cannot take place without first considering the conflict that existsbetween two differing perspectives on the future of agriculture and food production, which iscentral to any analysis of rurality.Tourism in the confrontation between the agro-industry sector and food sovereigntyThe predominant rural model is one of neo-liberal inspiration, driven by large internationalagro-industrial companies and based on intensive production for export. The logic behind thismodel is that each region should specialise in the activities that give it comparative advantagesover other areas of the planet in a strongly globalised economy. This means that producingfood for the people living where that food is produced is not a primary concern. The focus ison selling it on the world market. There is also a growing tendency for foreign companies tocontrol production in certain parts of the world with the aim of guaranteeing subsequentexport to the markets where they have most interest, leading to the phenomenon of landgrabbing. In this arrangement, not even food production itself is given priority, due to thegreater profitability, in certain circumstances, of products such as agrofuels. These requireintensive land use, agrochemicals, genetically modified seeds, heavy machinery, and so on.Incentives for export-oriented agriculture promote the sale of food products in other marketsbelow the costs of production (dumping). Situations of food insecurity in a particular area orregion are not believed to be of major concern, as necessary food can be brought in from otherareas where it is cheaper to produce and acquire. In this context, the peasant family unitbecomes an anachronism in danger of disappearing due to inefficiency.Other activities that operate with this same logic of regional specialisation and are equallygeared toward the international market include resource extraction (oil, minerals, wood, etc.)and tourism. By one route or another, the affected rural population is pressured into takingpart in these activities, succumbing to the interests and strategies of large corporations. Theyare forced into highly precarious conditions, or into leaving their places of origin and findingwork elsewhere. The spread of these forms of "rural development" has meant a head-on attackagainst family-based peasant farming.Rural organisations, meanwhile, co-ordinated internationally through the Via Campesinamovement, have formulated and defended another model, based on food sovereignty and anunderstanding of food as a fundamental human right and not just goods for sale. The firstWorld Forum on Food Sovereignty, held in Havana in 2001, defined this new concept asfollows:"The peoples’ right to define their own policies and strategies for the sustainable production,distribution and consumption of food that guarantee the right to food for the entire population,on the basis of small and medium-sized production, respecting their own cultures and the37