Biological Diversity and Tourism  in the Convention on Biological Diversity

Forum on Environment & Development

The Convention on Biological Diversity mainly relates to the settlement areas of indigenous peoples. At the same time, these lands are landscapes which attract more and more tourists and are thus of increasing interest to the travel industry. At the next Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2000 in Nairobi, a joint position on biodiversity and sustainable tourism shall be formulated in order to call a halt to the unrestricted development of tourism.

The ad-hoc Working Group on Tourism in the German Forum on Environment and Development is of the opinion that it is above all the people and the countries affected by the Convention who have to be given consideration in the Convention. The ad-hoc Working Group in the Forum on Environment and Development has therefore started a call for a dialogue, with the objective that the voices of indigenous peoples gain more weight at the next Conference of the Parties.

The following proposal focuses on the social and cultural aspects which have been neglected in the discussion to date, whereas natural science and ecological issues have been presented in detail (cf. UNEP/CBD/COP/4/21 and SBSTTA Paper UNEP/CBD/SBSSTA/4/11).

Many of these regions are homelands of indigenous peoples. At the same time, these regions are increasingly becoming tourist destinations:

• Being economically and politically marginalized, indigenous peoples often bear a disproportionately large share of the costs of tourism development.
• The demarcation of protected areas, which are often being made available for ecotourism use, often deprives indigenous communities of their hereditary land and their resources.
• The traditional forms of economy of the indigenous cultures visited are very diverse. The diversity of the anthropogenic landscape is irretrievably linked to these. More than one hundred different indigenous languages world-wide are still in use today. Most of the tourists come from the about six world-wide dominating consumer cultures with their respective behaviour patterns and languages. This contributes to the disappearance of the indigenous economic systems, local knowledge and the languages directly tied to this context. If all this knowledge, the economic systems and languages of these cultures fall into oblivion, this will have negative impacts on biological diversity.

1. The protection and sustainable use of biological diversity in developing countries cannot be achieved in a fair way without taking into account the cultural and social concerns of the local population. Various human activities, especially in traditional societies, have had a decisive influence on agro-biological diversity. The direct connection between the high diversity of species and cultural diversity has to be adequately taken into account.

 
2. Instead of prohibiting traditional forms of land use in protected areas and subsequently developing more or less successful forms of income (like tourism), traditional sustainable forms of land use should remain untouched. They might - in the framework of sustainable tourism development - be made usable in addition.

In this sense, the acknowledgement of the property rights of indigenous communities to their hereditary territories and of the use and administration of the natural resources has to be guaranteed in the framework of the CBD.
 

3. In-depth consultations with the communities concerned are the first step towards a full participation of the local population/indigenous peoples in the planning and implementation of tourism projects. In this context, it has to be considered that the local population is often not a homogeneous group and that there may be divergent interests. The communities concerned have to be put into a position of being able to decide if and in what form tourism projects are being realised in their catchment area.

 
4. If the indigenous communities want tourism development or the opening up to tourism, tourism concepts have to be developed which at the same time contribute to the conservation of biodiversity by the indigenous population and to the preservation of their languages.

Sustainable tourism projects should be based on the decisions made by the village community, increase the value of traditional knowledge and reinforce cultural values.
 

5. The Commission on Human Rights, the International Labour Organization (ILO) as well as the European Union have set up important regulations (no. 169 etc.) about the rights of indigenous peoples, which have to find entrance into the tourism guidelines of the CBD.

 
6. Indigenous peoples have to be actively involved in the development of Global Guidelines on Biological Diversity and Sustainable Tourism. If an ad-hoc Working Group is set up to develop Global Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism, it is indispensable that it also includes representatives of indigenous groups (cf. UNEP/CBD/COP/4/Inf.21, p.2; §"3 as well as annex to decision IV/).

 
7. The CSD in its final document clearly denounces any form of exploitative tourism, which includes especially sex tourism and child labour. The respect for human rights and the elimination of child prostitution as well as exploitative child labour also have to find adequate entrance into the Guidelines on Tourism and Biodiversity in the context of the CBD.

1. The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) at its 7^th session in April 1999 passed a five pages programme of work on sustainable tourism. In 2002 – the UN Year of "Ecotourism" – progress made in the national and international implementation of the action programme shall be assessed.

Among other things, the CSD calls upon governments to develop national strategies for a national tourism development. These strategies also have to be made available to the process on tourism in the framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
 

2. Only if the CBD and the CSD co-ordinate their work on "sustainable tourism", synergies can be effectively used, which is especially necessary in many countries of the South because of the scarce human and financial resources.

1. The CBD – as well as the CSD – have to have an effect on the leading international flora on finances and trade (International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, regional development banks and the World Trade Organization). They have to adequately consider the concerns for the conservation of biological diversity as well as a just distribution of profits from the use of biodiversity (here: tourism) in their decisions (structural adjustment programmes, lending policies, free trade agreements, etc.).
2. Especially the liberalisation protocol on tourism in the negotiations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has to be examined and monitored to this effect. The strive for privatisation and deregulation under GATS are aimed at eliminating barriers to foreign investors and measures which have so far protected the local service sector.

At the 7^th CSD conference, Gordon Bispham from Barbados expressed the fear that GATS and others will contribute to torpedoing the employment of local staff in the tourism sector preferred in his home county. GATS also facilitates the drain of foreign exchange from the local economies which is high already.

In the framework of the GATS agreements, sufficient possibilities for developing countries have to be strived for to self-responsibly design their tourism development, especially with regard to the social and environmental sustainability, in such a way that local economies are being protected or strengthened. Fair, humane working conditions for the (local) workforce in tourism have to be ensured.
 

3. The CSD working programme invites the World Tourism Organization to include major groups in the development, implementation and monitoring of their "Global Code of Ethics for Tourism". This process also has to be adequately acknowledged by the CBD.
4. In view of the serious impacts of air travel, the CBD in its work on sustainable tourism cannot avoid co-operating with the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
5. The possibilities for participation of the groups of civil society affected by tourism (indigenous peoples, women, children/youth, etc.) in international negotiation processes on sustainable tourism (CSD; CBD) have to be improved considerably. Southern NGOs as representatives of these groups often do not have the financial resources or staff to actively participate in these negotiation processes.

As a consequence, there is a North - South imbalance among NGOs in their presence and influence. This imbalance has to be counteracted, says Nina Rao /Equations/New Delhi, by increased financial support of Southern NGOs, improved network structures and information flow.

1. The CSD conference has decided on an informal ad-hoc Working Group to be set up to look at the issue of leakages and to examine how to maximise the benefit from tourism for indigenous peoples and local communities. According to a study of the "United Nations Research Institute for Social Development" (UNRISD), preference to domestic tourism over international tourism in developing countries could reduce many of the negative ecological (air travel), social/economic (leakages) and cultural (cultural transformation) effects of long haul tourism.
2. In the framework of the CBD guidelines, there is a possibility of drawing attention to a weak point of the CSD working programme, namely the support for foreign investment in tourism development without environmental or development related conditions. This can be counteracted for example by limiting the ownership / foreigners' shares in tourism enterprises. The development of tourism has to be integrated into local/regional economic activities.
3. From the side of the CBD, too, the review of voluntary initiatives in tourism suggested by the CSD (ecolabelling and best practice) and a definition of standards should be supported.
4. It must be ensured that the development of tourism and the concomitant facilitated immigration, especially in many countries of the South, does not at the same time give free reign to bio-piracy. It is feared that smugglers and poachers steal rare animal and plant species in the countries of the South or misappropriate traditional knowledge of indigenous societies and local communities and sell it as a valuable commodity in the countries of the North. The CBD has to provide counteracting measures to this.

Further information on the CBD and the Call for a Dialogue are available from:

Ad-hoc Working Group "Tourism"

of the German NGO Forum Environment & Development

Co-ordination: Ecoligical Tourism in Europe (Ö.T.E.) e. V.

Am Michaelshof 8-10; D-53177 Bonn, Germany; Tel +49-228-359008; Fax +49-228-359096

E-mail: forumue@csi.com; Website: www.oneworldweb.de/forum