Mundo Azul

Related links

Still, the biggest part of economical development satisfies human needs in an incomplete way and frequently destroys or degrades the natural resources. As a reaction to the growing environmental impacts from this economic development a great number of organizations for the conservation of nature were founded around the world. Up till now most people perceive economic development and conservation of nature as two incompatible forces working against each other.

In the year 1980 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Program for the Environment and the Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF) published the “Global Strategy for Conservation”, which promoted as one of their main messages that conservation is not opposed to development. The document emphasized that conservation consists of protecting nature and of using it rationally and that this kind of conservation is necessary in order to reach that local populations may be able to live with dignity, guaranteeing the wellbeing of present and future generations.

In the year 1987 the Brundtland Report for the Global Commission on Environment and Development gave the Basic definition for sustainable development as being a type of “development that satisfies the needs of the present generations without compromising the capability of future generations to satisfy their own needs.”

It is obvious that the implementation of the principle of sustainability on a global scale jeans a fundamental change in the way of life for the majority of people. In order to live sustainable one has to first accept the fact that there is a duty to search for harmony with other people and nature.

In 1991 the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Program for the Environment and the Worldwide Fund For Nature (WWF) Publisher the Strategy for the Future of Life. This document defined the following principles for sustainable development:

Respect and care for the community of living beings
Improve the quality of human life.
Conserve the world’s diversity
Reduce to the minimum necessary the use of non-renewable resources.
Maintain ourselves within the limits of carrying capacity of the world.
Change personal attitudes and actions
Train local communities in order for them to be able to conserve their own environment.
Promote a national framework that integrates development and conservation.

Tourism is the biggest industry worldwide and is of great importance for the economic development of the poorest countries. Tourism itself depends on the presence of cultural and natural diversity. Tourism also has a great influence on how resources are used (including water, agricultural resources and energy). It also has influence about the way authorities deal with urban development and the management of natural protected areas.”

According to the Strategy for the future of life”, governments, NGOs and the tourism industry are called to:

Guarantee that tourism plans and is regulated with attention towards the control of its environmental impact and in order to maintain its natural resources. The tourism development should be object to Environmental Impact Studies and companies should implement regular environmental audits.
Control tourism impacts on the population. People which may be negatively impacted by tourism development should be involved in the decision making process. They should be given the power to modify proposals and to stop initiatives which they consider damaging to their lifestyle. Local communities should participate in an active manner in tourism development in order to guarantee that they are benefiting from the economic development.
Promote the importance of the interests of the tourism industry in comparison to other industries when decisions are made about resource extraction. Currently there is a tendency to give priority to extraction industries (like mining). Frequently governments simply ignore the vital importance of the natural and cultural heritage for the tourism industry and the tourism industry does not defend its interests sufficiently.
Educate tourist and tourism agencies in order for them to take responsibility for their behavior in natural environments, increasing the consciousness about the natural beauty and the need to preserve it.

The World Tourism Organization (WTO) defined in the year 1995 sustainable tourism as a type of tourism “that satisfies the needs of current tourists and the receptor areas, while at the same time protecting and increasing the opportunities for the future. In order to do so resources must be used in a way that satisfies economic, social and esthetic needs, while at the same time maintaining the cultural integrity, essential ecological processes and the biological diversity as well as life supporting systems.”

The framework for sustainable tourism development is based in the declaration of Rio about environment and Development, which puts forward the following principles:

Tourism must help people to live a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
Tourism must contribute to conservation, protection and restoration of the ecosystems.
Tourism must be based on sustainable models for production and consumption.
Nations should cooperate in order to promote an open economic system in which the international trade of tourism services may exist on a sustainable base.
Tourism, peace, development and environmental protection are depending on each other.
Environmental protection must be an integral part of tourism development.
Matters of tourism development should be managed in a participatory way. Decision making processes must be transparent for interested citizens and local communities must be involved.
Tourism must use its capacity to create employment for women and indigenous people.
Tourism development must recognize and support cultural identity and the interests of indigenous people.
International laws that protect the environment must be respected by the tourism industry.

Based on the conclusions of the Cumbre de la Tierra, celebrated in Río de Janeiro in 1992 the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the Earth Council formulated the “Agenda 21 for the Tourism and Travel Industry: Towards an Environmentally Sustainable Development”. The document promotes that tourism must

help people to live a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
contribute to conservation, protection and restoration of the ecosystems.
use its capacity to create employment for women and indigenous people.
recognize and support cultural identity and the interests of indigenous people.

The World Tourism Organization developed the “Global Ethical Code for Tourism”, that formulates in article 3 about tourism and sustainable development that tourism manager and agents:

have a duty to safeguard the environment and natural resources in order for development to be able to satisfy equally the needs of present and future generations.
Must accept limitation for their activities if these are implemented in vulnerable environments: deserts, polar regions, mountain areas, beaches, tropical rainforests or wetlands, especially if part of natural protected areas.

The Peruvian National Council for the Environment (CONAM) proposed in 2001 a vision for the development of sustainable tourism in Peru, as being part of the “National Strategy for the Tourism development with emphasis on sustainable development”:

“Tourism in Peru is an economic activity of national interest, with quality standards in infrastructure, services and human resources that guarantee the satisfaction of the client. Sustainable tourism includes the participation of local people, giving value and respect to their natural and cultural heritage and includes permanent improvement by supporting science, training and education, in order to be competitive and sustainable.”