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The official website of the World Ecotourism Summit has been launched. It announces the Summit in the three official languages of the event (English, Spanish and French) and includes a pre-registration form. http://www.ecotourism2002.org The World Tourism Organisation General Assembly meeting in Osaka, approved the re-election of Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli of France to a second four-year term for the period 2002-2005. For the first time in WTO's 25 year history, there were no opposing candidates. In his report to the First Session of the General Assembly, Frangialli said there were nine great challenges for the WTO: "A better understanding of the economic importance of tourism through Tourism Satellite Accounts, Site and infrastructure congestion from increasing tourist flows, encouraging the liberalization of trade in services while respecting sustainable development, culture of peace, the introduction of the new information and communication technologies, the contribution of tourism to the fight against poverty and in creating employment, a growing need for a balanced partnership between public and private sectors, and the growing decentralization of responsibilities and the efficient management of destinations." The September 11 terrorist attacks have hurt the tourist industry
worldwide and especially airlines such as Sabena (near bankrupcy),
Swissair, and Singapore Airlines A new report: "Protecting Paradise: Certification Programs for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism". The study, written by Martha Honey and Abigail Rome, found that with some 100-odd "green" certification and eco-labeling programs around the world, there is "overlap", lack of uniformity", and "consumer and industry confusion". Protecting Paradise compares nine certification programs (Australia, Costa Rica, Canada, Guatemala, The Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, and Europe). The study concludes that NEAP (Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program) in Australia and CST (Certification for Sustainable Tourism) in Costa Rica, offer the best models. It also discusses an initiative by the Rainforest Alliance, an NGO, to study the feasibility of creating an international accreditation system to license those firms that certify tourism businesses. The study itself is a result of an 18-month project funded by the Ford Foundation, to study the possibility of creating yet another green certification program, this one overseeing the certifiers...Necessary or Autistic? to judge for yourself http://www.ips-dc.org
S.AFRICA: The South Africa Medical Research Council released a report suggesting that as many as seven million South Africans will die of AIDS by 2010. This somehow does not make the headlines in the west, as apartheid did, although it is equally horrible. Maybe because embargo is not an option... TUNISIA: The Tunisian President announced the creation of two new national parks, the Zagouan National Park and the Orbata National Park, and the decision to improve nature conservation legislation in Tunisia. The Zagouan National Park, located 60 km south of Tunis, covers an area of 2000 ha and hosts the golden eagle. The Orbata National Park, which spreads over 3000 ha in the south of the country is a desert mountain haven to extremely important species such as the mouflon. KENYA: A battle has erupted in Kenya over a government decision to cut 10 percent of its forest cover despite vehement protests from the public and cases pending before the courts. Critics point out that 2002 is a year of general elections in Kenya. GHANA: Villages in the Wassa West District of Ghana's western region have been hit by the spillage of thousands of cubic metres of wastewater contaminated with cyanide and heavy metals apparently from a mine operation owned by a South African company. BOTSWANA: A programme to re-introduce the white rhino into the Okavango and the northern parks of Botswana was kick-started last week when Wilderness Safaris donated three rhino to Mombo in the Moremi Game Reserve. UGANDA: The Uganda Forest Department has initiated six forest ecotourism projects as a way of helping to conserve valuable wildlife habitats. A major investment programme entitled Protected Area Management and Sustainable Use (PAMSU) aims to reactivate all aspects of the country’s tourism industry. The end result will be a five-year policy for Uganda tourism, according to Green Globe. MOROCCO: Under heavy security, thousands of delegates opened a scheduled two-week conference in late October, on the fate of the Kyoto Protocol. Organizers hope the final document will clear the way for the treaty's ratification by the required 55 nations, including industrial countries that emit at least 55 percent of the controlled gases. So far, 40 low-emitting countries have ratified the treaty.
Asia & Pacific AFGHANISTAN: Human suffering often results in environmental disaster and vice versa in a vicious circle. The Economist points out that the latest estimates of forest cover is now just 0.5% of the country's land, by 2005 it may be 0% as most Afghans rely on firewood for cooking and heating. Firewood is so rare that a donkey-load of fuel to provide warmth for a family for a few days costs more than the average weekly wage. For those that can not afford, dried animal droppings are the last resort. INDONESIA: Two days after the attacks in New York and Washington, Indonesia launched a tourist promotion drive in Jakarta, using the slogan "My Indonesia, just a smile away." As soon as the bombing campaign against Afghanistan began last month, radical Muslims in some parts of Indonesia vowed to chase out American and British tourists. / On the southwestern tip of Java, in Ujung Kulon National Park, four Rare Java rhinos have been born in the past two years. Along with them, new hope has been born that the Javan rhinocerus as a species may not yet vanish from the Earth. NEPAL: A male tiger, strayed out of the Royal Nepal Chitwan National Park killed six people in Nepal. Local administration officials have given an order to kill the male tiger. The tiger is on a list of endangered species in Nepal, there are around 120 tigers in the Chitwan park, up from 70 in 1980. AUSTRALIA: The 2001 Ecotourism National Conference took place 23- 26 October at Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Conference website at http://www.ecotourism.org.au / The whale shark, the world's largest fish, has been listed as nationally threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity and Conservation Act. / On the contrary, Western Australian fisheries officers and police have been handed the authority to shoot sharks on sight if they threaten swimmers at beaches near Perth under a new plan introduced by the state government/ A landmark ruling handed down by the High Court of Australia has confirmed the validity of limited Aboriginal rights over 2,000 square kilometres of the seas adjoining traditional lands off the north coast./ New forecasts indicate that international visitor arrivals to Australia will decline by 0.4 per cent this year as a result of the terrorist attacks on the US. MALAYSIA: The World Trade Organization upheld a U.S. ban on shrimp imports from Malaysia which Washington hailed as a victory for the environment. The WTO's Appellate Body turned down a Malaysian appeal in the latest stage of the long-running case. The judges' report "confirms that our sea turtle conservation law is consistent with WTO rules,'' the office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington said in a statement. / A new ecotourism park covering 3,100 ha in Kuala Langat, a wetland, near Kuala Lumpur opened. RUSSIA: A total forested area of over 44,000 hectares burned in Russia's Far Eastern Taiga. Most of the fires were in the Khabarovsk territory. VIETNAM: A state committee in Vietnam has approved a controversial plan to route a new north-south highway through Cuh Phuong, the country's oldest national park, a habitat for many rare and endangered plant and animal species such as Delacour's Langur, a critically endangered primate. INDIA: Indian forest guards have found the bodies of 8 poisoned elephants in the country's northeastern state of Assam, near Nameri National Park where in the past three months 18 dead elphants have been found. Growing human settlement in their habitats has forced herds of wild elephants out of jungles to trampling paddy fields, destroying houses and granaries, according to Reuters. THAILAND: Thailand decided to start charging from this month scuba-divers 200 baht ($4.50) each time they visit popular diving spots in the Andaman Sea. The money collected would be used to help look after the fragile coral reefs skirting popular tourist destinations and to improve local services. "Those who go to enjoy nature and damage the coral should pay a maintenance fee," Forestry Department chief Plodprasop told Reuters. (The obvious question is how can you maintain something that you have damaged. And damaged coral is not like a car to be taken to the garage.)
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO: The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York have not had any negative effects on Tobago's tourism industry, Neil Wilson, secretary of Tourism in the Tobago House of Assembly, said yesterday at a news conference. JAMAICA: STRONG BUSINESS ideas that benefit both tourism and local communities could attract up to $3 million (USD 70,000) from the new Jamaica Tourism Challenge Fund (JTCF), which was launched earlier this month by Minister of Tourism and Sports and the British High Commissioner, in Kingston. The $38 million scheme, managed by Development Options Limited of Jamaica, and financed by the UK's Department for International Development, has been devised to help local communities share in the benefits that tourism brings. The Fund is seeking proposals from partnerships between businesses, trade associations, non-government organisations (NGOs) and community-based organisations (CBOs) for projects that link community development and tourism. Successful applications may receive up to 50 per cent of project costs in grant funding from the JTCF.
EU: The European Union has secured the right for airports within the bloc to tackle noise pollution by restricting aircraft access. CYPRUS: A joint operation by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BBC's Countryfile programme has revealed that illegal trapping still accounts for the annual slaughter of millions of migratory birds in Cyprus, including many familiar species such as robins and blackcaps. After having their throats slit, the birds are prepared to supply island restaurateurs and shopkeepers with the principle ingredient of the local delicacy ambelopoulia, which despite contravening Cypriot law is widely sold on the island. Each bird is worth around £1.50 and during the spring and autumn migrations trappers can bag in excess of £1,000 a week. GREECE: A fire that officials said appeared to be a case of arson has destroyed a forest around the Zakynthos Island National Marine Park in the Ionian Sea, established to protect rare Mediterranean sea turtles. UK: A rare Mediterranean "pistol" shrimp found off Falmouth Bay for the first time in 87 years could be a sign of global warming. / An Elephant killed its keeper at the London Zoo / A project "to bring wildlife to the cities" (and hopefully not the opposite) has been chosen as the world's leading sustainable tourism project at this year's British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.
MEXICO: The cultural Aztec
organisation YANKUIKANAHUAK Mexico organises the BRAZIL: Para State: The growing battle against
the mahogany criminals in the Brazilian Amazon reached flashpoint yesterday as
an unprecedented joint BRAZIL: WWF-Brazil launched in Florianopolis, a brochure entitled "Tourism Certification - world lessons and recommendations for Brazil", claiming it is the first publication in the country focusing on tourism certification. "There are over 100 quality labels in the world today and this overwhelms consumers, because they do not know which among them are serious and which are not. To prevent this from happening in Brazil, we are discussing the unification of labels. This should happen within a 2-year period", says Sergio Salvati, WWF-Brazil's Tourism and Environment Programme Officer." Necessity or monopoly? Judge for yourself at http://www.wwf.org.br VENEZUELA FIGHTS TO HALT RIVER-BORNE OIL SLICK
USA: This year off the coast of
California, whale watchers are spotting blue whales in record numbers. At least
100 of these huge mammals can be found near Channel A drunken man shoots a hole in the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, causing one of the worst oil spills in the pipeline's history, 6,800 barrels of crude oil. Cleanup workers will have to spend the winter digging up frozen, contaminated soil and chopping down oil-coated trees. Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted yesterday to ban shark feeding sessions for tourist divers, following shark attacks last summers. The FWC said that while there was no evidence of links between shark feeds and attacks on humans, the practice was harmful as it alters the natural feeding habits of marine predators and other marine life. The ban comes into effect Jan. 1 and already faces a legal challenge by the dive industry who apparently have other priorities rather than preserving the natural habits of sharks. |