GEOSS Support for Decision-Making in the Coastal Zone: Managing and Mitigating the Impacts of Human Activities and Natural Hazards in the Coastal Zone

A workshop series organized by the GEO Coastal Zone Community of Practice

Earth Observation Support for Sustainable Tourism in Small Island States
March 9-11, 2011, Puerto Rico

Recommendations

The Participants of the Workshop “Earth Observation Support for Sustainable Tourism in Small Island States in the Caribbean” jointly organized by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and the Coastal Zone Community of Practice (CZCP),

Recognizing that

• Sustainable Tourism is a fundamental pillar of development, well-being and economic growth in the Caribbean;
• The regional “Sustainable Tourism Policy” of the Caribbean Tourism Organization provides a framework for advancing sustainable tourism in the member States of that organization;
• Earth observations and related information and services are essential for a sustainable, environmentally sound, safe and attractive tourist industry;

And realizing that

There is a gap between the information needed by, and useful for, stakeholders of tourism, particularly the ends users, and the Earth observation information available by international and national agencies, researchers, and data providers;

In order to bridge the gap between providers and users recommend that

• GEO invites the United Nations World Tourism Organization to become a Participating Organization of GEO;
• The GEO Secretariat asks the GEO Principals in the region to work with relevant Participating Organizations and countries to initiate an intergovernmental dialog with the goal to:
  • encourage GEO membership of the Small Island States;
  • identify the information needs of the governments of the Small Island States;
  • initiate pilot projects;
• Regional organizations of the stakeholders in sustainable tourism consider to create (or use, if it already exists) a platform for a coordinated dialog with GEO and ask the CZCP to support this platform in its dialog with GEO;
• The CZCP considers to establish a web-based information system for Coastal Zone issues complementary to and/or leveraging existing systems;
• A pilot project be initiated to familiarize regional users with GEO facilities (GEO Portal, User Requirement Registry) and to enable feedback on these facilities and participation in developing user services (for example, coastal atlas);
• Arrangements be made for up-to-date presentations on GEOSS and Earth observations and the value for sustainable tourism to the Caribbean Tourism Organization, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, and other private organizations.