Canada Honors Year of Ecotourism With Public/Private Teamwork
The United Nations has designated 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism, and Canada has lost no time in setting forth its program to foster sustainable tourism. Read More
The United Nations has designated 2002 as the International Year of Ecotourism, and Canada has lost no time in setting forth its program to foster sustainable tourism.
Adam Belyea, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, and Tom Lee, CEO of the government agency Parks Canada, announced an Accord between the two organizations outlining principles to guide collaborative actions.
The two organizations have pledged “to manage and reduce the impact of visitors on natural and cultural features and to pursue leading edge solutions to environmental impacts.”
Belyea said, “The Accord provides an excellent opportunity for the tourism industry and Parks Canada to work together to foster sustainable tourism, tourism that is economically viable, environmentally supportable, and culturally acceptable.”
The Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) was founded in 1931 to encourage the development of tourism in Canada. Today it serves as the national advocacy body for this C$54 billion industry.
They will collaborate “to maintain and enhance the ecological integrity of the National Parks and the commemorative integrity of the National Historic Sites, and to enhance interpretive and educational programs for the experience, benefit, and knowledge of visitors.”
Parks Canada governs the 39 national parks and national park reserves in Canada, located in every province and territory. They range from Quttinirpaaq (Top of the World) National Park in the Eastern Arctic, which protects the most remote, fragile, rugged, and northerly lands in North America, to Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, the southernmost Canadian point of land.
Currently, the national parks system encompasses about 86,660 square miles or about 2 percent of Canada’s land mass. They include eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, which covers a land mass larger than Switzerland.
Speaking last November at the association’s National Conference on Tourism, Parks Canada chief Lee said, “The national parks and national historic sites rank amongst the great symbols of Canada. These are fragile places which must be handled with care. We are seeking collaboration based upon agreed underlying principles and a shared understanding of their application.”
The UN International Year of Ecotourism is based on the implementation of Agenda 21, the environmental plan of action agreed to by 181 governments at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Agenda 21 requires the full integration of sustainable development in the tourism industry.
Ideally, travel and tourism will continue to provide a source of income for the many people who depend on it and at the same time contribute to the conservation, protection, and restoration of the Earth’s ecosystems.
In support of the International Year of Ecotourism, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) has presented to the UN a Global Code of Ethics that says, “All forms of tourism development that are conducive to saving rare and precious resources, in particular water and energy, as well as avoiding so far as possible waste production, should be given priority and be encouraged by national, regional, and local public authorities.”
Canada will host the World Ecotourism Summit in Quebec May 19 to 22. A central goal of the year’s effort is to provide efficient coordination between public and private sectors, including the active involvement of local communities in the planning, developing, managing, and regulating of ecotourism projects.
Implementing those standards is the goal of the Accord between Canada’s private sector tourism industry and Parks Canada. The working relationship between the two organizations goes back many years, and now both see the signing of this Accord as opening the door to a new era.
A committee will be formed, consisting of leading industry representatives and senior Parks Canada officials, to identify opportunities for collaboration in sustainable tourism practices in or near national parks and national historic sites as well as “maintaining and enhancing the ecological and commemorative integrity of these national treasures,” the Accord says.
For Canada’s national parks system to be complete, there should be at least one national park located in each of Canada’s 39 natural regions, according to Parks Canada. To achieve this, 14 additional national parks are needed. Work is underway to create these new parks in cooperation with provinces, territories, Aboriginal peoples, other federal departments, interest groups, and the public. When the system is complete it will cover more than 3 percent of Canada.
“Cooperation and communication are key elements in protecting Canada’s heritage places for the enjoyment of future generations,” said Belyea. “This Accord is a significant step in making certain this objective is achieved.”
————————
Copyright 2002, Environmental News Network, all rights reserved. ENN is a GreenBiz News Affiliate.
