In a significant acknowledgment of tourism as a tool for promoting sustainable development, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution stressing ecotourism’s role in the fight against poverty and the protection of the environment.

The resolution, entitled, “Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and environment protection”, calls on UN Member States to adopt policies that promote ecotourism highlighting its “positive impact on income generation, job creation and education, and thus on the fight against poverty and hunger”. It further recognizes that “ecotourism creates significant opportunities for the conservation, protection and sustainable use of biodiversity and of natural areas by encouraging local and indigenous communities in host countries and tourists alike to preserve and respect the natural and cultural heritage”.

“UNWTO welcomes the adoption of this resolution on the importance of ecotourism,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. “The remarkable support that the resolution has received, from all regions and across the development spectrum, is a clear testimony that sustainable tourism has a vital role to play in a fairer and sustainable future for all.”

The resolution, facilitated by Morocco and sponsored by a record 105 delegations, draws on the recommendations contained in a report prepared by UNWTO on the basis of responses from 48 Member States which, in a notable departure from its normal practice, was welcomed by the UN General Assembly.

In line with the recommendations of the UNWTO report, the resolution underscores the need for national tourism plans to account for market demand and local competitive advantages. It also encourages Member States to promote investment in ecotourism, in accordance with their national legislation, including creating small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting cooperatives and facilitating access to finance through inclusive financial services such as microcredit initiatives for the poor, local and indigenous communities, in areas of ecotourism potential and rural areas.

The resolution builds on a UN resolution of 2010 on the same subject, and reflects developments since then, namely the inclusion for the first time of tourism in the outcome document of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20) and the results of the 11^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity. The resolution keeps ecotourism clearly on the agenda of the United Nations as it requires UNWTO to submit a follow up report to the sixty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly in 2014.

Source: UNWTO Press Release

Sacred natural sites occur at a variety of scales. They can be as small as a single tree or rock formation, or can extend to an entire mountain range. In some cases, whole landscapes are regarded by a community as sacred, containing within them areas of more special sacred focus.

One of the most salient forms of culture-based conservation has been the identification and protection of sacred natural sites, which often harbour valuable biodiversity and protect key ecosystems. Indigenous, local and mainstream cultures and spiritual traditions with their respective world views created protected areas long before the advent of the Yellowstone National Park model on which current protected area legislation, policy and practice are mostly based worldwide. Sacred natural sites are indeed the oldest protected areas of the planet.

Yet, unfortunately, many sacred natural sites are at risk. They are subject to a wide range of pressures and threats, external and internal, such as illegal extraction of timber and wildlife, impacts from extractive industries’ operations, encroachment by outsiders, disrespectful tourism, poverty and population dynamics, degradation of neighbouring environments, reduction of the availability of lands and resources for traditional peoples and so on.

Sacred natural sites have also been inadvertently integrated in legally declared protected areas by governments, without recognition of the local community values and of the traditional beliefs, practices, skills and knowledge that have sustained the associated locations, cultures and resources. At times, management direction has prevented access to, and use of, these areas by traditional communities, resulting in violation of indigenous rights, the creation of mistrust and animosity and a lack of local support for the effective management of such sites and areas.

Whether of indigenous, local or mainstream traditions, the management of sacred natural sites in legally protected areas is in its infancy.

Action is needed for culturally appropriate sacred natural site protection and management. Current conservation agencies and local traditional communities should receive the support they need to work together to face the threats affecting sacred natural sites. Local and indigenous traditional communities should be supported with economic and other resources to assist in their efforts in preserving the environment.

Protected area agencies should recognise the cultural and spiritual dimension of sacred natural sites included within their designated boundaries, and recognise the rights and interests of the communities concerned to continue using and managing those sacred sites as places for their cultural and spiritual realisation and reverence. National and international organisations should also recognise the skills and knowledge that local and indigenous communities have in managing the resources and areas associated with sacred natural sites. Furthermore, effective action in support of the preservation and effective management of sacred natural sites will have a large impact on enhancing biodiversity conservation, as well as on the long-term vitality of the cultures that have cared for them.

Come back regularly as we will add new posts in this series covering a broad spectrum of related issues.

Contact Lorton Consulting about help and support for communities and protected area managers, especially those with sacred sites located within the boundaries of legally established protected areas.

With acknowledgement to IUCN and UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme.

Rather than being pursued in isolation, community-based ecotourism should occur in the context of other options and programmes for conservation, sustainable development and responsible tourism.

The small scale of most community-based ecotourism initiatives means that their impact, both on nature conservation and on income and employment for the community as a whole, is limited. They can be more influential and successful if they are integrated within other sustainable development initiatives at a regional and local level.

Ecotourism can be integrated with other sectors of the rural economy, creating mutually supportive linkages and reducing financial leakage away from the area. It can also be coordinated with agriculture, in terms of the use of time and resources and in providing markets for local produce.
In principle, multiple sector activity within local communities should be encouraged. Ecotourism markets are small, seasonal and sensitive to external influences such as political changes or economic instability in the host or generating country. On the other hand, ecotourism can shield against threats to other sectors.

As well as horizontal integration within the community, the success of local ecotourism initiatives may depend on vertical integration with national level initiatives to support and promote responsible tourism. In addition to making linkages with what may already exist, efforts should be made to influence national policies in favour of ecotourism, including coordination between tourism and environmental ministries and policies.

National level support is needed in terms of linking conservation and tourism activities and responsibilities, appropriate legislation and assistance towards small enterprises and community initiatives, and national and international promotion.

At an early stage in work on ecotourism it is important to be aware of the work of other state or provincial, national and international agencies in this field and to seek mutually beneficial coordination.

Future posts will deal with ‘Planning Ecotourism with Communities’, ‘Working together to develop an agreed strategy’, ‘Ensuring environmental and cultural integrity’, ‘Ensuring market realism and effective promotion’, ‘Offering a high quality of visitor experience’ and more.

Contact Lorton Consulting about helping communities in your area develop a sustainable ecotourism offering — we would be more than willing to advise you.

With acknowledgement to WWF – Taking action for a living planet

Ecotourism is a frequently debated term. Sometimes it is used simply to identify a form of tourism where the motivation of visitors, and the sales pitch to them, centres on the observation of nature. Increasingly, this general sector of the market is called ‘nature tourism’.

True ‘ecotourism’, however, requires a proactive approach that seeks to mitigate the negative and enhance the positive impacts of nature tourism. The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people’.

This definition not only implies that there should be a recognition of, and positive support for, the conservation of natural resources, both by suppliers and consumers, but also that there is a necessary social dimension to ecotourism.

The term ‘community-based ecotourism’ takes this social dimension a stage further. This is a form of ecotourism where the local community has substantial control over, and involvement in, its development and management, and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community.

How the community is defined will depend on the social and institutional structures in the area concerned, but the definition implies some kind of collective responsibility and approval by representative bodies. In many places, particularly those inhabited by indigenous peoples, there are collective rights over lands and resources. Community-based ecotourism should therefore foster sustainable use and collective responsibility. However, it must also embrace individual initiatives within the community.

Some further general characteristics of ecotourism have been identified by UNEP and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) as:

• involving appreciation not only of nature, but also of indigenous cultures prevailing in natural areas, as part of the visitor experience;
• containing education and interpretation as part of the tourist offer;
• generally, but not exclusively, organised for small groups by small, specialised and locally owned businesses (while recognising that foreign operators also market and operate ecotourism);
• minimising negative impacts on the natural and socio-cultural environment;
• supporting the protection of natural areas by generating economic benefits for the managers of natural areas;
• providing alternative income and employment for local communities; and
• increasing local and visitor awareness of conservation.

While definitions can be useful, what is more important is the appropriateness and quality of action, not what it is called.

The processes involved in ecotourism include all aspects of planning, developing, marketing and managing resources and facilities for this form of tourism.

Visitor provision includes access to natural areas and cultural heritage, guiding and interpretative services, accommodation, catering, sales of produce and handicrafts, and transport.

Appropriate recreational and special interest activities, such as trail walking, photography and participatory conservation programmes, may also be part of ecotourism. In some locations, hunting and fishing may be included as appropriate activities, provided that they are carefully researched and controlled within a management plan that supports conservation. This kind of sustainable use relies on local knowledge, provides significant local income, and encourages communities to place a high value on wildlife, resulting in net conservation benefits.

Future posts will deal with ‘Adopting an integrated approach’, ‘Planning Ecotourism with Communities’, ‘Working together to develop an agreed strategy’, ‘Ensuring environmental and cultural integrity’, ‘Ensuring market realism and effective promotion’, ‘Offering a high quality of visitor experience’ and more.

Contact Lorton Consulting about helping communities in your area develop a sustainable ecotourism offering — we would be more than willing to advise you.

With acknowledgement to WWF – Taking action for a living planet

Biosphere Reserves are internationally recognised, nominated by national governments and remain under sovereign jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Biosphere Reserves serve in some ways as ‘living laboratories’ for testing out and demonstrating integrated management of land, water and biodiversity. Collectively, biosphere reserves form a world network: the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR). Within this network, exchanges of information, experience and personnel are facilitated. There are over 500 biosphere reserves in over 100 countries.

How did the Biosphere Reserve concept start?

The origin of Biosphere Reserves goes back to the “Biosphere Conference” organised by UNESCO in 1968. This was the first intergovernmental conference examining how to reconcile the conservation and use of natural resources, thereby foreshadowing the present-day notion of sustainable development. This Conference resulted in the launching of the UNESCO “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) Programme in 1970. One of the original MAB projects was designed to establish a coordinated World Network of sites representing the main ecosystems of the planet in which genetic resources would be protected, and where research on ecosystems as well as monitoring and training work could be carried out. These sites were named as “Biosphere Reserves”, in reference to the MAB programme itself.

What are the functions of biosphere reserves?

Each Biosphere Reserve is intended to fulfill three basic functions, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing:

• a conservation function – to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation;
• a development function – to foster economic and human development which is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable;
• a logistic function – to provide support for research, monitoring, education and information exchange related to local, national and global issues of conservation and development.

What are the Biosphere Reserve zones?

Biosphere reserves are organized into three interrelated zones:

• the core area
• the buffer zone
• the transition area

Only the core area requires legal protection and hence can correspond to an existing protected area such as a nature reserve or a national park. This zonation scheme is applied in many different ways in the real world to accommodate geographical conditions, socio-cultural settings, available legal protection measures and local constraints. This flexibility can be used creatively and is one of the strongest points of the Biosphere Reserve concept, facilitating the integration of protected areas into the wider landscape.

What are the benefits of biosphere reserves?

The Biosphere Reserve concept can be used as a framework to guide and reinforce projects to enhance people’s livelihoods and ensure environmental sustainability. UNESCO’s recognition can serve to highlight and reward such individual efforts. The designation of a site as a Biosphere Reserve can raise awareness among local people, citizens and government authorities of environmental and development issues. It can help to attract additional funding from different sources. At the national level, biosphere reserves can serve as pilot sites or ‘learning places’ to explore and demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development, providing lessons which can be applied elsewhere. In addition, they are a concrete means for countries to implement Agenda 21, the Convention on Biological Diversity (for example the Ecosystem Approach), many Millennium Development Goals (for example on environmental sustainability), and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. In the case of large natural areas which straddle national boundaries, transboundary biosphere reserves can be established jointly by the countries concerned, testifying to long-term cooperative efforts.

Who is in charge?

UNESCO does not require any change in law or ownership: each Biosphere Reserve has its own system of governance to ensure it meets its functions and objectives. The management system of a Biosphere Reserve needs to be open, evolving and adaptive in order for the local community to better respond to external political, economic and social pressures, which would affect the ecological and cultural values of the area. Hence it is necessary to set up an appropriate governance mechanism, for instance a committee or board, to plan and co-ordinate all the activities of all the actors concerned, each within their own mandate and competence. Usually a Biosphere Reserve coordinator is named as the contact person for all matters dealing with the biosphere reserve.

Who pays?

Everyone. The level of funding depends on the nature and extent of the projects and activities undertaken. Often, additional funding is not needed: existing budgets can be aligned to meet shared goals. Industry, tour operators, charitable foundations, research funding agencies, governments, local municipalities can all help. Continual support from government – even if only moral and technical ­– ensures good connections with national policy and international efforts related to sustainable development. UNESCO can provide advice and occasionally seed funds to initiate local efforts; these can help broker projects or to set up durable financial mechanisms.

What is the difference between a biosphere reserve and a natural World Heritage site?

A biosphere reserve is a representative ecological area with three mutually reinforcing functions: conservation, sustainable development and logistic support for scientific research and education. Collectively, all biosphere reserves form a World Network linked by exchanges of experience and knowledge. They are part of a UNESCO scientific programme, governed by a “soft law”, the Statutory Framework.

Natural World Heritage sites must be of outstanding universal value in accordance with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972). Efforts to enhance local development and to promote scientific understanding are the means to ensure the protection of the natural World Heritage values.

In some instances, a core area of a biosphere reserve can meet World Heritage criteria: the usually larger biosphere reserve can therefore serve as a complementary means to protect the integrity of the World Heritage site.

Can a biosphere reserve be “de-designated”?

The Statutory Framework makes provision for a periodic review every 10 years. The periodic review reports are prepared by the concerned authority, and forwarded to the UNESCO Secretariat. The reports are examined according to a set procedure. In the event that a site designated as a biosphere reserve does not satisfy the criteria, after a reasonable period of time the area will no longer be referred to as a biosphere reserve of the World Network. To date, this procedure has never reached this conclusion: however several counties have voluntarily withdrawn “non-functional” sites and this has been commended by the MAB International Coordination Council.

How does UNESCO ensure that biosphere reserves function properly?

Biosphere reserves are not the object of a binding international convention or treaty but are governed by a “soft law” — the Statutory Framework for Biosphere Reserves — adopted by the UNESCO General Conference and which all countries are committed to apply. In consequence, the UNESCO Secretariat does not have a ‘policing function’ and it is the responsibility of each country, through its MAB National Committee or Focal Point, to ensure that the Biosphere Reserves respond to the criteria and function properly. In most countries it is not necessary to enact special national legislation for biosphere reserves but rather to use the existing legal frameworks for nature protection and land/water management.

Thus said, an increasing number of countries are now giving biosphere reserves a special legal status in order to reinforce their application. In the case of a perceived problem, e.g. plans to construct an oil refinery within the site, the biosphere reserve status should be used as a platform for dialogue to arrive at an optimal solution. The MAB Secretariat will remind the concerned MAB National Committee/Focal Point of its responsibility in such cases.

Visit the UNESCO MAB Biosphere Reserve Directory to read details on all biosphere reserves, including contact information.

Contact mab@unesco.org

Lorton Consulting and our professional associates have had substantial involvement in planning and implementation of Biosphere Reserves. Please contact us to find out how we can assist you through the planning, consultation and implementation processes of establishing your Biosphere Reserve.

OPPORTUNITY FIVE: BRINGING LOCAL PRODUCERS INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN

Participation in the supply chain is less visible than participation in other parts of the tourism chain economy, and its benefits are more dispersed. It is easy to see where the poor are selling tea or crafts to tourists, working in hotels, or getting guide training. But their role in supplying goods and services to hotels and other established businesses is less evident. Nevertheless, it can be vitally important to boosting local economic linkages.

In some economies, the supply chain can provide the largest cash flow to poor people. Even if local supply chain inputs are currently insignificant, boosting local inputs into the supply chain may well be the change that could lead to the largest boost in poor people’s incomes.

Put simply, the issues are:

• How can hotels and other tourism product providers buy more locally-produced products and services?
• What is the potential to buy more soft furnishings (e.g. arts, crafts, table mats, candles), operational supplies (e.g. uniforms, bed linen), guest amenities (e.g. recycled paper, handmade soaps), services (e.g. floristry, entertainment) or food items from the local economy?

CONSIDER THE OPPORTUNITIES

For hotels, buying from local producers creates opportunities through:

• Utilising more distinctive products that differentiate the hotel environment and enhance the brand.
• Increasing the range of local activities increases motivation to stay and contributes to extended length of stay
• Enabling cost-savings, if local goods or services are less expensive.
• Building networks of local collaboration

For small and micro businesses, selling products to hotels can provide an invaluable market and the opportunities to expand and improve their product quality, range and business.

WHAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN DO: HELP TO LINK THE BUYERS AND SUPPLIERS

There may be local producers with goods or services to sell; and hotels or resorts with substantial demand. But if they do not know of each other, of there is not a well functioning market to link them, the hotels will buy from distant suppliers.

The most important first step is to get suppliers and buyers talking together. Government can:

• Bring them together in the hotels, farms, workshops or at an event.
• Stimulate regular communication, such as through monthly newsletters, meetings, radio programmes.
• Encourage established businesses to mentor small suppliers: recognise their mentoring inputs, perhaps in the same way as training investment is accredited.
• Ensure there is a functioning market – ways in which suppliers and buyers can agree contracts, negotiate prices, adjust quantities and prices over time, deal with transport and insurance.

WHAT HOTELS NEED TO DO

Change the payment period: micro businesses must be paid cash on delivery or within 15 days or they cannot operate.

• Think laterally rather than repeat past procurement: if new uniforms are needed, could local sewing and local design be used? If new buildings are being added, what local carvings and arts could be used for decoration?
• Change contract specifications: consider establishing a number of smaller contracts on a scale that local producers can handle; this spreads benefits and risks.
• Appoint a champion/facilitator to work on identifying and mentoring new suppliers: over time ensure they are integrated into daily operations and the normal supply chain.
• Prioritise which local products to introduce into the supply chain according to company strategy and market segment: consider also feasibility, cost, potential for quick wins, etc.

SUPPORT AGENCIES AND NGOS CAN HELP HOTELS TO SOURCE LOCALLY

• Research local skills and products, and how they can be adapted to suit hotel requirements.
• Stimulate communication between hoteliers, local entrepreneurs, and market intermediaries. Create an environment that encourages sharing of information and experiences. Increase opportunities for mentoring relationships through establishing mechanisms such as monthly newsletters, meetings, radio programmes, websites, etc.
• Support small businesses in product development, business planning, and quality standards (e.g. purchaser expectations, health and safety or other legal requirements, tourist preferences, seasonality of demand, etc). Business advice may also include simple items such as how to invoice or do stock control.
• Support credit systems that enable micro-entrepreneurs to invest in their business against the surety of a hotel contract. Encourage financial institutions to innovate to support investment by rural business people.
• Promote agro-processing and light manufacturing by the local community to supply hotels and visitors through gifts or souvenir items.
• Encourage creative collateral assessments made by financing agencies to encourage investment by locals, particularly in rural communities.

AS ALWAYS, THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES

Opportunities to purchase goods and services locally are often not exploited because:

• Local people produce goods that could be used in hotels, but the quality, quantity and reliability of supply are often inadequate.
• Local producers are not sufficiently aware of hotel requirements, health and safety regulations, and how to match tourist preferences to the required quality.
• Local producers often cannot access credit to invest in upgrading production for the tourism sector unless they have secure contracts to show banks.
• Skills are lost as cheap imports devalue local craftsmanship.
• Hotel managers and purchasing officers have grown used to securing products from longstanding existing suppliers, and rarely consider new local options.
• Hotels pay for goods received typically after 30 or 90 days. Local producers cannot operate to this timetable, as they lack working capital, and therefore cannot afford to sell to hotels.
• Local producers can supply goods and hotels want to buy goods, but there is no operating ‘market’ between them that would put them in touch with each other, share information and negotiate contracts and delivery.
• The seasonality of local goods often does not coincide with the tourist season.
• In some countries, changes in government policy are required to encourage farmers to facilitate the development of local economic linkages and to maximise national revenues from tourism.

Future posts will deal with ‘Stimulating micro and small tourism enterprises’, ‘Employing local staff’ and more.

Contact Lorton Consulting about diversifying your village, town or region’s tourism offering to generate benefits to the poor — we would be more than willing to advise you.

The Limits of Acceptable Change planning system was developed in the USA over a period of years in the early 1980s to address the problems of managing recreational use in national protected areas.

As originally described by Stankey and others in 1985, the LAC planning system included four major components:

• the specification of acceptable and achievable resource and social conditions, defined by a series of measurable parameters
• an analysis of the relationship between existing conditions and those judged acceptable
• identification of management actions necessary to achieve these conditions; and
• a programme of monitoring and evaluation of management effectiveness

The four components are then expanded into nine distinct steps for the purpose of improving the effectiveness of its implementation. For some protected area management agencies, these steps closely follow existing planning processes, while for others the LAC system may represent a significant departure. What is important is that planners understand the rationale for each step and its sequence in the overall process. By clearly understanding the rationale, the steps can be modified as needed.

This blog post provides a brief overview of each step.

STEP ONE: Identify area special values, issues, and concerns. Host communities and managers meet to identify what special features or qualities within the area require attention, what management problems or concerns have to be dealt with, what issues the public considers important in the area’s management, and what role the area plays in both a regional and national context. Scientists also or become involved because they may often hold information not readily available. The dialogue among scientists, managers and public helps unify agreement about important values and issues. This step encourages a better understanding of the natural resource base, such as the sensitivity of marine environments to recreation use and tourism development, a general concept of how the resource could be managed, and a focus on principal management issues. LAC is very much an issue-driven process; issues identified here will be addressed later.

STEP TWO: Identify and describe recreation opportunity classes or zones. Using marine protected areas as an example: Most marine settings of sufficient size contain a diversity of biophysical features, such as reefs, underwater cliffs, corals, beaches and evidence of human occupation and use. They may vary significantly in terms of the amount and type of development. Likewise, social conditions, such as level and type of use, and types of recreation experiences, vary from place to place. The type of management needed may vary throughout the area. Opportunity classes describe subdivisions or zones of the natural resource where different social, resource, or managerial conditions will be maintained. For example, deeper reef settings will require Scuba gear while in shallower areas snorkels may be adequate.

The shallower areas may also show more impact from human use, such as effects on coral, than deeper areas. The classes that are developed represent a way of defining a range of diverse conditions within the marine setting. And, while diversity is the objective here, it is important to point out that the conditions found in all cases must be consistent with the objectives laid out in the area’s organic legislation or decree. In this step, the number of classes are also defined as well as their general resource, social, and managerial conditions.

STEP THREE: Select indicators of resource and social conditions. Indicators are specific elements of the resource or social setting selected to represent (or be “indicative of”) the conditions deemed appropriate and acceptable in each opportunity class. Because it is impossible to measure the condition of (and change) in every resource or social feature within a protected marine setting, a few indicators are selected as measures of overall health, just as we relatively frequently monitor our blood pressure rather than more complete tests of blood chemistry. Indicators should be easy to measure quantitatively, relate to the conditions specified by the opportunity classes and reflect changes in recreational use. Indicators are an essential part of the LAC framework because their state reflects the overall condition found throughout an opportunity class. It is important to understand that an individual indicator might not adequately depict the condition of a particular area. It is the bundle of indicators that is used to monitor conditions.

(You can read more about the use of indicators for monitoring and evaluation in another of our blog posts here )

STEP FOUR: Inventory existing resource and social conditions. Inventories can be time-consuming and expensive components of planning; indeed they usually are. In the LAC process, the inventory is guided by the indicators selected in the previous. For example, level and type of development, use density, and human-induced impacts on coral might be measured. Other variables, such as location of different corals, shipwrecks, docks, and mooring spots, can also be inventoried to develop a better understanding of area constraints and opportunities. And, inventory information will be helpful later when evaluating the consequences of alternatives. Inventory data are mapped so both the condition and location of the indicators are known. The inventory also helps managers establish realistic and attainable standards. By placing the inventory as STEP FOUR, planners avoid unnecessary data collection.

STEP FIVE: Specify standards for resource and social conditions in each opportunity class. In this step, we identify the range of conditions for each indicator considered appropriate and acceptable for each opportunity class. By defining those conditions in measurable terms, we provide the basis for establishing a distinctive and diverse range of marine settings. Standards serve to define the “limits of acceptable change”. They are the maximum permissible conditions that will be allowed in a specific opportunity class. They are not necessarily objectives to be attained. The inventory data collected in STEP FOUR play an important role in setting standards. We want the standards defining the range of acceptable conditions in each opportunity class to be realistic and attainable; we also want them to do more than mimic existing (unacceptable) conditions.

STEP SIX: Identify alternative opportunity class allocations. Most attractive marine settings could be managed in several different ways. Marine parks often differ significantly in the amount of development, human density (both residents and visitors), and recreational opportunities available. In this step, we begin to identify some different types of alternatives. Using information from STEP ONE (area issues and concerns) and STEP FOUR (inventory of existing conditions), managers and host communities can begin to jointly explore how well different opportunity class allocations address the various contending interests, concerns, and values.

STEP SEVEN: Identify management actions for each alternative. The alternative allocations proposed in STEP SIX  are only the first step in the process of developing a preferred alternative. In addition to the kinds of conditions that would be achieved, both managers and citizens need to know what management actions will be required to achieve the desired conditions. In a sense, STEP SEVEN requires an analysis of the costs, broadly defined, that will be imposed by each alternative. For example, many people may find attractive the alternative to protect a specific area from any development, and restore to pristine condition any impacts that might exist. However, this alternative might require such a huge commitment of funds for acquisition and enforcement that this alternative might not seem as attractive.

In countries where Integrated Development Plans (IDP) are required for all Towns and Districts, the Community Tourism Plan may grow out of the recommendations concerning tourism in the IDP and be seen as adjunct to the IDP. In other areas the responsibility for driving the development of a Community Tourism Plan may be vested in a Local (or Regional) Tourism Organisation.

Tourism is the business of attracting and serving the needs of visitors – people travelling and staying outside their home communities for business or pleasure. Businesses that derive a majority of their revenues from visitors are clearly in the tourism industry, but since most other businesses sell goods and services to visitors as well, tourism has a substantial impact on the rest of the economy.

The tourism industry is made up of many types of attractions, businesses, organisations, and activities, and has five key components:

• Tourism Attractions
• Tourism Businesses
• Tourism Infrastructure
• Tourism Hospitality; and
• Tourism Promotion

Tourism Attractions include our parks, which provide outdoor recreational experiences, as well as museums, galleries, indabas or powwows, a variety of heritage and cultural festivals and experiences, agricultural exhibitions, craft fairs and more events reflecting the local way of life.

Other attractions provide palaeontological, mineral spa and casino gaming and sporting experiences. Events in nature, such as wild bird migrations, seasonal blooming of wild flowers, also act as attractions.

Tourism Businesses include the hotels, motels, campgrounds, holiday farms (agritourism), bed and breakfasts, guest ranches, outfitting camps, service stations, tourism boating (including sunset cruises; sport fishing; site-seeing and game viewing cruises), motor coach, car rental, airline and charter services, restaurants, and other retail businesses that can take care of visitors’ needs.

Tourism Infrastructure includes roads, bridges and ferries, airports and landing strips, parking areas, wastewater and solid waste disposal facilities, water and power services, boat launches and docking facilities, access to telephones, cellular service and internet, availability of fuel, location, distance and directional signage, and police and emergency services. The way people get to an area and the basic services available to them along the way and when they get there, affect the ability to attract visitors.

Tourism Hospitality involves how tourists are welcomed and looked after during their stay. It determines whether visitors have a pleasant and enjoyable experience, and therefore is critical to the success of tourism attractions and businesses.

Visitors to tourism operations have high expectations of the quality of personal service they receive. Courtesy, service, and genuine thoughtfulness are noticed and appreciated by visitors.

Tourism Promotion involves activities which individuals and groups undertake to attract potential tourists. Co-operative advertising, websites, social media, attendance at travel shows, magazine articles, brochures, maps, commercial and promotional signs, travel guides, newspaper, radio, television and tourism information centres are all examples of promotional activities.

In many communities tourism is recognised as an industry that can make a positive contribution to economic and social wellbeing. In others, though, it is seen as a potential threat to traditional lifestyles and related natural resources. Effective tourism planning can be used to balance the economic opportunities with the cultural and natural sensitivities of the area. Planning at the community level often ensures that a wider range of perspectives is brought into the process.

It is increasingly important for communities  to take the opportunity to prepare plans for tourism within their communities.

Community based plans can minimise or eliminate negative impacts which could result from tourism. They can also identify the educational requirements and support necessary for residents to start their own tourism business operations and to obtain employment in the industry. They should also identify areas in which the natural resources necessary to support tourism activities need to be conserved.

Many communities already possess outstanding ‘tourism assets’ including golf courses, national  and provincial or state parks, agricultural fairs, rodeos, museums, interpretive centres and other cultural facilities, sporting, and service club events. Many are located in close proximity to natural areas identified as prime locations for ecotourism, agritourism, and cultural tourism activities.

The impact of visitors’ spending in these communities is helping to retain retail services that would otherwise have experienced serious difficulty. The positive impact of tourism in terms of enabling people to stay in their local community and district while coping with low commodity prices is frequently apparent. On the other hand, community residents who have to compete with visitors at the local coffee shop or campsites in the regional park, for instance, may have second thoughts.

A Community Tourism Plan prepared with widespread local involvement and support helps to ensure that community and district residents can optimise the benefits available from tourism activities, while successfully dealing with any real or perceived negative circumstances.

Future posts will deal with ‘Developing a Local Tourism Policy’, ‘Establishing a Tourism Committee’, ‘Step-by-step preparation of the Community Tourism Plan’, ‘Implementation of the Pan’, ‘Monitoring the Effectiveness of the Plan’ and more.

Contact Lorton Consulting about planning for Community Tourism in your community — we would be more than willing to advise you.

The growing awareness that designation of protected areas does not ensure their preservation has stimulated an enormous level of discussion globally in recent years. Rights of indigenous people, off-site induced impacts and management of recreational uses have broadened the arena of both scientific and public debate beyond the biology of these areas.

While the biophysical characteristics of many protected areas remain the fundamental rationale for their initial designation, it has become quite clear that the values for which these areas were initially protected can be threatened by unmanaged or poorly managed recreational use.

The Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) planning system was initially designed to address visitor management issues in the U.S. National Wilderness Preservation System and was a product of the spreading realisation that “Carrying Capacity” failed in achieving its objectives. While there are many reasons why the carrying capacity paradigm failed, the most fundamental was that it impelled managers toward the wrong question: “How many is too many?” Carrying capacity is intrinsically a quantitative term, yet, research was showing that many problems of recreational use were a function not so much of numbers of people, but their behaviour.

LAC, on the other hand, dealt with a significantly different question: “What resource and social conditions are appropriate (or acceptable), and how do we attain those conditions?” This question represented a substantially different approach to thinking about recreational use questions, yet was actually more closely aligned with the principal job of recreation managers –protecting the values for which an area was established – than the carrying capacity paradigm.

Thus, Limits of Acceptable Change as a planning system was viewed as a way for managers to confront and resolve the complex issues of managing visitors to not only provide for the experiences they seek, but to deal with the problems of their social and biophysical impacts.

The LAC system is, in effect, built upon eleven principles that have emerged from research on visitor impacts and growing public interest to be involved in protected area decision-making.

While these principles had not entirely been formally and explicitly articulated when the LAC process was developed, they are now unmistakably recognised as fundamental components of any systematic planning system for natural area protection and management. In the section, that follows each principle will be briefly discussed.

Concepts and Principles

Principle 1: Appropriate management depends upon objectives

A clear and consistent theme expressed throughout the literature of visitor management in protected areas has been the need for explicitly stated objectives. Objectives provide definitive statements of the products or outcomes of recreation or protected area management. Objectives, either as formal statements of legislative or administrative policy or as explicit assertions in a management plan identify the appropriateness of management actions and indicate acceptable resource and social conditions.

Formally stated objectives allow protected area managers to determine how successful management actions may have been in resolving problems.

Unfortunately, writing good objectives is not easy; while people tend to agree about general values and concepts, specific and explicit objectives are likely to evoke considerable disagreement about what is to be accomplished or produced at a recreation site. It should be noted that the process of establishing objectives is an intrinsically political one, and therefore methods that include interaction with those affected will help develop objectives upon which a consensus can be developed.

Principle 2: Diversity in resource and social conditions in protected areas is inevitable and may be desirable

Resource and social conditions within any relatively large protected area are not likely to be uniform. Impacts, use levels, and expectations of appropriate conditions tend to vary. Topography, vegetation and access influence use densities and level of impact. Visitor use is frequently unevenly distributed. This diversity of conditions is inevitable, and sometimes desirable. For example, in large terrestrial protected areas, it generally would not be desirable to have developments spread evenly across the area, leaving no place untouched. The interior areas of protected areas often display fewer human-induced impacts than the periphery. Managers can identify this diversity and then make decisions on its desirability, thus separating technical decisions from judgmental ones. Finally, it has been argued that managing for diversity explicitly through some type of zoning process is more likely to lead to preservation of protected area values than existing implicit or de facto zoning.

Principle 3: Management is directed at influencing human-induced change

Many protected areas have been established to protect not only unique and valuable natural features and conditions, but natural processes as well. Management is generally oriented toward limiting and managing human-induced changes in these. It is human-induced changes that we find most disturbing in protected areas. Such human-induced changes may lead to conditions that visitors or managers may feel are unacceptable or inappropriate. Management then concerns itself with determining what actions will be effective in influencing the amount, type and location of these changes in addition to determining how much change is acceptable.

Principle 4: Impacts on resource and social conditions are inevitable consequences of human use

A variety of research has shown that relatively small amounts of recreational use lead to disproportionately large biophysical impacts. Thus, allowing any level of recreation in a protected area means that some level of impact will occur. The principal question that managers must ask is “how much impact is acceptable in this area?” Once this question has been addressed, managers must then deal with the appropriateness of various techniques or actions to manage to this level of impact. In a similar way, social impacts often occur with relatively small amounts of use. For example, a few people behaving in a rowdy manner may impact another visitor’s experience far more than many people being more quiet. This principal extends to types of visitors as well. A hiker may be more sensitive to encountering a single quad bike  than a large number of hikers.

Principle 5: Impacts may be temporally or spatially discontinuous

Impacts from visitor use or management activities may occur offsite and may not be visible until later. For example, a management strategy eliminating camping around a lake may simply transfer impacts to other, potentially, more sensitive areas. Inefficient water treatment may result in pollution of water downstream from the outlet. And, impacts, such as dying vegetation, may not be visible until long after recreationists leave the site. Such tendencies make understanding and managing impacts significantly more difficult, demand substantial knowledge about use/impact relationships at different scales, and require managers to carefully design appropriate monitoring strategies.

Principle 6: Many variables influence the Use/Impact Relationship

While the level of recreational use is an important consideration in managing protected areas, a variety of other variables affect the use/impact relationship. For example, it has long been known that behaviour of recreationists influences the amount of impact they cause. In marine settings, treading water with flippers may stir up sand that may impact coral. Other variables include travel method, group size, season of use, and a variety of soil and vegetation characteristics. Similarly, there may be coral settings that are more or less sensitive to recreational use. What this principle means is that the standard errors around lines depicting use/impact relationships will be extremely large because of these other factors and that attempts to control human-induced impacts solely through use limits or carrying capacities may fail. Education and information programs and regulations aimed at changing visitor behaviour may be more effective.

Principle 7: Many management problems are not use density dependent

Management problems that relate to the number of people using an area tend to be those that have relatively simple technological solutions, such as sewage, water supply and parking. Even for some of these, however, the intensity of the problem may not be linearly related to amount of use. For example, per capita consumption of water for sewage disposal may be reduced by using toilets with low water requirements. The lack of a precise linear relationship between use and biophysical impact implies that management problems are not density dependent.

Similar conclusions can be made with respect to social conditions. For many visitors to remote areas of national protected areas, solitude is not a significant or salient motivation. Thus, controlling use levels to optimise opportunities for solitude would be inappropriate.

Principle 8: Limiting use is only one of many management options

One of the problems with the carrying capacity approach is its emphasis on controlling or limiting the number of visitors as a key to limiting impacts (Stankey and McCool 1991).

Because carrying capacity carries with it the question “how many is too many?”, it tends to view imposition of use limits as an end in itself. A use limit policy is only one of a number of potential management actions that are available to address visitor impacts, yet is one of the most intrusive actions that managers could deploy. Use limit policies have historically carried with them a host of additional problems, such as choosing appropriate allocation and rationing techniques. These techniques have been among the most controversial actions protected area managers have ever taken.

Principle 9: Monitoring is essential to professional management

Monitoring, in an informal sense, has historically been a component of the protected area manager’s job. However, monitoring has generally been conducted informally, with little systematic planning and implementation. Monitoring is defined as the period and systematic measurement of key indicators of biophysical and social conditions. It performs two major functions in the LAC process. First, it allows managers to maintain a formal record of resource and social conditions over time. In serving this function, data points can inform managers of changes in these conditions rather than relying solely on informal perceptions of changes that might have occurred. This is particularly important in situations where managers change frequently or where effects are slow to develop. Second, it helps assess the effectiveness of management actions. Thus, monitoring helps managers understand, in a relatively objective way, if the action addressed the problem.

Principle 10: The decision-making process should separate technical decisions from value judgments

Many decisions confronting protected area managers are simply technical in nature, such as the number of toilets in a campground, the location of a trail, or the design of a visitor centre.

However, many others, including decisions to limit use (and how), reflect judgments about values – such as objectives for an area, spacing between campsites, types of facilities, or the kind of recreation opportunities to be provided. It is important in decision-making that these means/ends decisions not get confused. Decision processes should separate questions of “what is” from “what should be”. For example, identifying the range of diversity in resource or social conditions that exists within a protected area is a different task from determining the preferred range of diversity. Existing conditions may influence preferred conditions, but the two tasks should be kept separate.

Principle 11: Consensus among affected groups about proposed actions is needed for successful implementation of Protected Area Management Strategies

Managing visitor impacts in national protected areas occurs within a context of increasing public concern about both environmental quality and participation in government decision-making. Increasing conflict over natural resources indicates that successful decisions – ones that can be implemented – require not only a systematic and technical problem solving process but also one that incorporates public participation as well. Within the highly charged social and political contexts that protected area management frequently occur, technical planning processes tend to create more in the way of disagreement than agreement because proposed actions may adversely affect some well-defined value expressed by a group within the public.

While the LAC system does not specifically require public participation, the lessons from  experience suggest that the legal power to plan is separated from the power to implement. Individual interest groups have “veto” power over proposed actions. Planning is political and must proceed specifically with this acknowledgment. Thus, a consensus (“grudging agreement”) is needed for a protected area agency to implement.

With acknowledgement to the following sources:

McCool, S.F. 1994. Planning for sustainable nature dependent tourism development: The limits of acceptable change system. Tourism Recreation Research 19(2): 51-55.

Stankey, G.H., and S.F. McCool. 1991. Recreation use limits: The wildland manager’s continuing dilemma. Western Wildlands 16(4): 2-7.

Eagles, Paul F.J., McCool, Stephen F. and Haynes, Christopher D.A. (2002). Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas: Guidelines for Planning and Management. IUCN Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. xv + 183pp.

The next post in this series will deal with the four major components of the LAC planning System and the nine distinct steps of the planning process.

Contact Lorton Consulting about for professional input on recreational planning in protected areas, Limits of Acceptable Change and the use of indicators for monitoring recreational impacts — we would be more than willing to advise you.

OPPORTUNITY FOUR: Building neighbourhood partnerships

Partnerships with residents and neighbours can cover a variety of issues: waste management, water use, energy supplies, development of local craft markets, local guiding services, improvement of local enterprises and services, seafront development, creation of pedestrian streets and local restaurants and cafes, management of attractions and development of new ones, management of begging, traffic control, control of sex tourism and policing of crime, as well as festivals for local people and tourists to enjoy together.

There are many opportunities to enrich the destination. A successful tourism destination requires that the host community is welcoming to guests. Part of the business case for ensuring that there are significant local benefits from tourism for local communities is the ‘license to operate’. Local communities are reduced to hawking and begging when they are denied access to sell to tourists and when the community sees tourists as unwelcome and ‘fair game’. In order to avoid this, the tourism industry needs to work individually and collectively at developing positive relationships with neighbouring communities.

Building local partnerships can help the destination become a better place for tourists to visit and a better place for people to live. Local partnerships can do the following:

• Enrich destinations: the local area within walking distance or a short bus or taxi ride can become part of the destination used by tourists staying in the hotels and resorts.
• Boost local communities: local people not only gain opportunities to sell goods and services to tourists, but also benefit from enhancement of public spaces, parks, gardens, promenades and pedestrian streets. They may be developed for tourists but enjoyed by locals to play chess, talk with friends or sit in the shade of a tree. This in turn adds to the authenticity of a place and creates an ambience that tourists enjoy.
• Reduce hassle and feelings of risk to health or safety: effective local partnerships between government, hoteliers and local people can reduce hassle of tourists and thus greatly improve tourist enjoyment.
• Reduce the negative impacts of tourism, such as litter, waste, or sex tourism. Although one hotel or tour operator, with vision and commitment, can achieve real change, so much more can be achieved if stakeholders, and even competitors within a destination, work together.
• Economies of scale can be gained by businesses working together: If hotels and tour operators collaborate, they can provide a substantial market to local business that enables them to invest in expanding production, or they can provide inputs (such as health and safety training) that may be too expensive for one operator. Local entrepreneurs can collectively improve their transport or marketing in ways that cannot be afforded individually.
• If a new initiative is supported by different parts of the tourism supply chain, success is more likely. For example, a new craft centre will flourish if: tour operators are consulted on their client needs and then include it in their tour; international tour operators audit it to ensure its inclusion is allowed; hotels purchase its soft furnishings and provide information about it on notice boards; and agreements are made with local taxis and guides so that tourists are taken to it.

AS ALWAYS, THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES

For tour operators and hoteliers to encourage their clients to venture out of the hotel or away from organised excursions, health, safety and security issues have to be managed so that the necessary minimum standards are assured by the community, local government or the police.

Collaboration requires competitors to work with each other, and different sectors to come together.

Existing interests, taxi drivers, guides and street vendors are often well organised and adept at defending their interests. Taxi drivers who have borrowed to finance their taxi and buy a license will jealously guard their interests; they may make it very difficult to introduce a bus service from the hotel or resort to town.

Freelance licensed guides and unofficial guides touting for business may intimidate tourists and discourage them from venturing out alone.

Vendors selling cheaper imported crafts and paying for their pitches may crowd out local craft workers who could provide a more authentic local experience – including demonstrations of weaving, leather work or carving.

These issues are not easily addressed and generally require a transparent partnership approach engaging all the stakeholders with the support of government. All those involved need to share a common vision about how the relationships are to be changed and to support the changes knowing clearly what they will gain and lose.

Future posts will deal with ‘Boosting local inputs into the hotel supply chain’, ‘Stimulating micro and small tourism enterprises’, ‘Managing internal change for developing local linkages’ and more.

Contact Lorton Consulting about diversifying your village, town or region’s tourism offering to generate benefits to the poor — we would be more than willing to advise you.