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ISSN 1108-8931 |
INTERNATIONAL ECOTOURISM MONTHLY |
Year 5-Issue 50, July 2003 |
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International: The World Health Organisation has declared the SARS epidemic under
control. Meanwhile the total number of scheduled flights worldwide has
fallen by -3% year on year, equivalent to over 2.5 million seats. This
is largely due to the combined impact of SARS, war and the worldwide
economic slowdown. China and the Asia Pacific region have seen the
biggest impact with flights to and from China down -45% despite being
up 20% in the last quarter. Senegal: Six West-African countries and fifty conservation,
research and development organizations have agreed to work together on
marine and coastal conservation at a high-level conference in Dakar,
Senegal last Friday. Ten Ministers of Environment and Fisheries from
Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal
approved the new 'Regional Strategy for Marine Protected Areas in West
Africa', which will lead to a wide array of actions at a cost of EUR30
million over five years. The goal of the Strategy is to improve the
management of marine and coastal resources to optimise their
contribution to social, economic and environmental security, sustained
livelihoods and biodiversity conservation. "All partners share
the same vision and principles for achieving sustainable development
and biodiversity conservation in the coastal zone. Approximately 60%
of the 22 million people in the six countries of West Africa live on
the coast and depend mostly on fisheries. The coalition will work on
key recommendations of the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(2002) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD),
mainly to establish an efficient network of national or transboundary
Marine Protected Areas, to restore fisheries to sustainable levels, to
preserve the know-how and cultural heritage of local communities, and
to develop ecotourism. The Strategy is the result of intense
collaboration between IUCN - The World Conservation Union, the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Wetlands International, the International
Foundation for the Banc d'Arguin (FIBA), UNESCO and the SRFC. Barbados: Caribbean Hotelier of the Year, &
President elect of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Berthia Parle, at
the Caribbean Hotel Industry Conference (CHIC) in Punta Cana accused the cruise sector continued to flourish and grow at an
unprecedented rate, due largely to its tax-free status and the free
ride it enjoys on the back of hotels. The CHA first vice-president
said hotels provide 92 per cent of the Caribbean tourism revenue –
far in excess of the cruise industry’s contribution. Parle contended
that the Cruise sector refused to contribute to the regional marketing
campaign or any joint marketing initiatives, they refused to pay the
environmental levy that all land based hotels had no choice but to
pay; and they continue to make exorbitant profits (one billion plus
annually) with very little contribution to the social programmess on
island, except a few toys at Christmas, beach clean ups, painting of
some homes for the elderly, and donations to charitable organisations. Belize: Conservation International & Belize's
Friends of Nature have teamed up to purchase Little Water Caye, the
largest known meeting spot for whale sharks, a 5-acre (2-hectare)
island off Belize's southern coast and manage the surrounding water as
a protected area for whale sharks, the world's biggest fish species.
Washington-based Conservation International came up with most of the
US$300,000 price for the project on Little Water Caye Island, while
Belize's non-profit Friends of Nature has hired rangers and will
manage the reserve. As part of the May 24 agreement, the government of
Belize has signed a commitment to declare a protected area in waters
surrounding Little Water Caye, the largest known meeting spot for
whale sharks. Brazil: Scientists in Brazil's Amazon say they have
discovered a new fish, something that has not happened for more than a
century. They hope to categorize the small eel-like creature by the
end of the year. "It's a new species, which will require us to
create a new genus and a whole new family to accommodate it,"
said Jansen Zuanon, head aquatic biology researcher at Brazil's
National Amazon Research Institute (Inpa). Brazil: The deforestation rate in Brazil's Amazon,
the world's largest jungle, has jumped a dramatic 40 percent, sparking
alarm Thursday among environmentalists. "This is shocking,"
said Mario Monzoni, a project coordinator for Friends of the Earth
group in Brazil. "The rate of deforestation should be falling;
instead the opposite is happening." Preliminary figures from the
environment ministry, released late on Wednesday, showed deforestation
in the Amazon jumped to 9,840 square miles last year — the highest
since 1995 — from 7,010 square miles in 2001. Jamaica: A historic hiking trail used by the
Maroons over 300 years ago was reopened by the Bowden Pen Farmers
Association as part of its efforts to promote Jamaica's heritage and
ecotourism. The five-mile Cunha Cunha Pass Maroon Trail, which links
the parishes of Portland and St Thomas, was the site of some of the
most intense battles between British colonists and African runaway
slaves known as Maroons who eventually won their independence after
years of fighting. According to Robert Stephens, conservation and
sustainable development are at the core of the restoration of the
Cunha Cunha Trail. Stephens, a former director of tourism who now
chairs the Jamaica Conservation and Development Trust (JCDT), said the
project is expected to bring economic opportunities to the community
while giving visitors a chance to learn about Jamaica's historical
heritage, medicinal plants and cultural diversity. According to
Stephens, community members would not only be educated on some of the
resources in the area but they should also take advantage of economic
benefits such as filling the need for accommodation. USA: Texas: 'Ranching Aimed at Wildlife Habitat
Improvement and Diversification of Enterprises" is the name of a
symposium scheduled Aug. 4-5 at the Abilene Civic Centre and Aug. 7-8
at the University Centre at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. It
will cover several programs offered by U.S. Department of Agriculture
encourage conservation of lands and wildlife habitat, such as the
Wetlands Reserve Program, under which the government purchases
easements, about 200,000 acres, from the landowner and restores the
wildlife habitat. According to Martha Joseph, national program
management for wildlife habitat at the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, only one-in-five applications are funded. Easements have been
purchased in all 50 states but it's most popular in the Mississippi
and Pacific flyways because of 'migratory bird hunting' in those
areas. USA: South Carolina: Legislation in the U.S. House of
Representatives has been introduced to create South Carolina's first
national park, the Congaree Swamp National Park. According to the
National Park Service, the Congaree Swamp currently enjoys 120,000
visitors annually with a financial impact totalling $6.2 million and
the creation of 136 jobs. The new designation will not come with any
additional funding. However, with the recent addition of a 1.5 mile
paved entrance, three parking lots and a new education and
administration center, the Congaree Swamp is prepared to handle the
potential influx of new visitors. USA: UNESCO removed Yellowstone National Park, the
world's oldest national park, from its list of endangered world
heritage sites on Wednesday, meaning it no longer considers the vast,
U.S. national park to be in imminent danger, following the abandonment
of a nearby mining project. Canada: Water contaminated with residue from birth-control pills
can bend the gender of male fish, according to Canadian researchers
who presented scientific findings last week to the American Chemistry
Council. India: Andaman Islands. Anna University in
association with the Andaman administration, is India: Kerala: Tribal Groups are up in arms against a proposed
state-sponsored tourism project that includes setting up resorts and
elephant safaris in the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary in Wayanad
district. Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha leader C.K. Janu said the tribals
would resume the Muthanga stir much before their deadline of October
16 if the government failed to withdraw its proposal. The Tribals led
a 45-day stir ending in clashes with two casualties on February 19, in
the 77-sq km Muthanga range. In their view the government, was now
planning to 'sell off the rich forest to large-scale investors'. India: Agra: A state-run company building a USD 40
m. tourist complex near
the Taj Mahal was forced to stop after the federal government said the project violated laws
protecting the 17th-century monument. The proposed tourism complex
would be a 1.25-mile corridor with shopping malls, amusement parks and
restaurants. India's Supreme Court has ordered a high-level
investigation. India: Orissa: The Tourism Department in association with Chilika
Development Authority (CDA) announced it would formulate an ambitious
plan to boost ecotourism on the Chilika lake. Pakistan: The Ecotourism Society of Pakistan (ESP) for the
promotion of domestic tourism has decided to provide free of cost
information about destinations of Pakistan during the summer
vacations. Anybody planning to go for visit in any valley of Pakistan
can contact ESP for accommodation, road condition, guiding etc
information where tours is going to be planned. ESP is also involving
Ministry of Tourism for getting updated information about motels/
charges/road conditions. Balkans: Initial funding for the development of a
full transboundary project for Prespa Lakes Park has been secured. In
June 2003, the Prespa Park Coordination Committee (PPCC) was granted
initial funding (Programme Development Facility - PDF B phase) from
GEF (Global Environment Facility), in order to undertake preparatory
activities, which will enable the development of a full GEF project.
This project aims at the execution of a multi-annual programme
entitled: “Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Transboundary
Prespa Park Region”. The Ministry of Environment in Albania and the
Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning in the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia will be the Executing Agencies, and will closely
liaise with the Greek Ministry of Environment, Physical Planning and
Public Works as integral partner in the project. The Convention on
Wetlands and the MedWet Initiative, which were instrumental in the
establishment of the Prespa Park, will assist in the development of
the programme. Italy: WWF has asked the European Commission to
open a procedure of infraction against Italy for not respecting
European rules on quality measurements of its bathing waters.In 1982,
Italy acknowledged an EU directive aiming at eliminating negative
repercussions on the tourist-bathing activity through the requirement
of high-level criteria to identify the quality of the waters. But
since then another national rule was issued, softening the parameters
which measure the pollution level and consequently “lowering” the
quality of the sea in which people bathe. Malta: The local Tourism Authority awarded 11
hotels for 'demonstrating a commitment to reduce impact on the
environment. A total of 130 criteria were drawn up by the MTA, spread
over 10 areas of assessment of which 40 are compulsory. The hotels
included members of international chains Radisson & Le Meridien.
The MTA also found that 'rural tourism, agro-tourism and eco-tourism
were all becoming niche markets'. UK: Large UK Tour Operators First Choice, Thomas
Cook, MyTravel, TUI and Sunvil Holidays have given their support to a
new charity created to 'help manage tourism more sustainably and
increase economic benefits to local communities'. The charity,
recently named 'The Travel Foundation', developed from the UK Foreign
and Commonwealth Office initiative with backing from more than 40
organisations spanning government and industry associations including
ABTA, AITO and The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO). From December
2003, First Choice, My Travel and Sunvil Holidays will be piloting a
scheme for holidaymakers to give a voluntary contribution to The
Travel Foundation as they book their holiday. France: The government has banned the use of the
word "e-mail" in all government papers, it is to be replaced
by "courriel" short for " courrier electronique".
As inspired a move as freedom fries? Greece: Athens: Olympic Games visitors will be able
to visit nine locations of special ecological interest within and
around Attica on the 'Eco-trips' program launched by Athens 2004 Games
organisers in association with the Hellenic Society for the Protection
of Nature, the oldest environmental organisation in Greece. Greece: Riot police in Athens used tear gas to stop
around 100 angry protesters, residents of Areopolis in Mani, in the
southern Peloponnese, who were demonstrating against plans to
privatise the management of the renown Dyros Cave, a vast navigable
water cave and major tourist attraction. The demonstrators attempted
to break through a police cordon to gain access to the offices of
Hellenic Tourism Properties. Australia: Ningaloo: According to the Planning
& Infrastracture Minister Alannah MacTiernan Several Government,
officials from the departments of Planning and Infrastructure,
Fisheries, Conservation and Land Management and the Tourism Commission
who were preparing a report on the Ningaloo future when they were
allegedly kept hostage for several hours on a remote coastal road. According to
the minister pastoralists were making hundreds of thousands of dollars
a year through informal camps or by charging fees for people to travel
to the coast via their land, while the government was trying to develop the
Ningaloo coast as a 'model for world-class ecotourism'. Australia: The Australian army will kill as many as
15,000 kangaroos to keep an army base some 60 miles north of
Melbourne, from being overgrazed. The Defense Department said
kangaroos 'threatened the environment' in the 104,000-acre Puckapunyal
training ground near Melbourne. Animal activists argue that the real
problem is a fence surrounding the training ground that prevents the
kangaroos from roaming freely. |
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