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
Workshop Pre-Study
Sustainable Tourism in Small Island States: A Review of Needs for Earth Observation Support
Overview of previous studies and relevant organizations
United Nations studies
The Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSNET) is the global network for small island developing States. This is a service provided by the UN Division for Sustainable Development (DSD), Department of Economic and Social Affairs DESA DESA. The mandate of SIDSnet is to promote and facilitate the efforts of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to implement the Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA). Although the BPoA was written in 1994, Chapter 8 of the BPoA addresses tourism resources and may contain material relevant for the CZCP workshop. See also here for a web version.
Some historical information on the implementation of Chapter 8 is available on an older SIDSNET page. A first assessment of the implementation carried out in 1996 is available at a UNEP page. Of interest is also Decision 7/3 of the Seventh Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the the UN; see the web page for details. A history of the BPoA review process is available at a International Institute for Sustainable Development page. The results of a 2005 review, the so-called Mauritius Strategy provides more information on the status of the implementation of the BPoA.
A high-level review of the Mauritius Strategy has been conducted in 2010. In preparation of this Mauritius Strategy of Implementation + 5 review, several regional events took place earlier in 2010. The one most relevant for the Workshop, i.e. the Caribbean Regional Meeting, took place in Grenada, 16 and 18 March 2010, and the draft "Outcome statement" is available on the event web page. This statement is of considerable relevance for the CZCP workshop. An Inter-regional Meeting was held in New York, 8 May 2010. Finally, the national and regional assessments were consolidated at the SIDS Day of the eighteenth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-18). Finally, the High-level Review Meeting took place in New York, 24 - 25 September, 2010, See the MSI-5 web page for a full documentation. The Resolution adopted during this session emphasizes the importance of a premptive approach to natural disasters and the importance of coastal and marine resources for the SIDS.
Regional Intergovernmental Organizations
The Association of Caribbean States is an organisation for consultation, cooperation and concerted action. Its current focus is on Trade, Transport, Sustainable Tourism and Natural Disasters. The ACS organized a conference on Expert Consultation on Operationalization of the Caribbean Sea Commission with the title Building a science-policy interface for ocean governance in the Wider Caribbean. This seems to be relevant to our workshop; see here for details. The pages on Sustainable tourism and natural disasters also contain valuable information.
The 2nd Meeting of Ministers of Tourism of the Greater Caribbean (TMM-2) took place in the City of Barranquilla, Colombia, April 24th, 2009. This conference produced a number of valuable assessment reports available at the meeting web page.
The Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) of UNEP is also relevant for the Workshop. It focuses around the Cartagena Convention, that is the "Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment in the Wider Caribbean Region." There are four Regional Activity Centres that might be of interest, i.e.
Of crucial relevance is the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and information on its activities are available at the
CARICOM Secretariat.
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (see http://www.caribbeanclimate.bz/ is "the official archive and clearing house for regional climate change data in the Caribbean. The Climate Change Centre coordinates the Caribbean region's response to climate change, working on effective solutions and projects to combat the environmental impacts of climate change and global warming."
Web pages of potential interest
The UN ESA has a page with Information for Decision-Making for Sustainable Development for Caribbean Small Island Developing States with many links to relevant pages; see here.
The World Bank Initiative "National Strategies for Sustainable Development of Caribbean Small Island States - From Vision to Action" descriped at the web page provides some thoughts concerning a vision for the Caribbean.
The UN World Tourism Organization published in 2005 the report Making Tourism Work for Small Island Developing States. See the abstract and contents at this web page.
Relevant publication media
A relevant journal is the Journal Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Networkon JoHLSTE, which is the peer-reviewed, international e-journal of the Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism Education (JoHLSTE). The journal is published twice a year in the Spring and Autumn and is freely available via its website.
Regionally relevant activities
On July 28-29, 2009, a conference on Turtle Conservation, Ecotourism, and Sustainable Community Development took place at the Univeristy of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad. The proceedings of this conference are available here. These proceedings migh help to identify experts concerning ecosystems and ecotourism.
See also Turtle Village Trust, which was aco-organizer of the above conference.
Tourist Organizations
A regional tourist organization is OneCaribbean.org.
The 11th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development was held on May 9 - 12, 2010 in Barbados. The title was "Keeping the Right Balance: Creating Opportunities through a World Class Sustainable Tourism Product. The STC 11 Presentations are on the STC event webpage. STC12 will take place on April 3-6, 2011 in Bermudas.
The Caribbean Alliance For Sustainable Tourism (CAST) is an organization established in 1997 "to promote responsible environmental and social management of natural and heritage resources respectively, within the hotel and tourism sector." In March 2010, CASR signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Confederación de Organizaciones Turísticas de América Latina (COTAL) to the joint support of both institutions for initiatives that promote sustainability of Caribbean tourism industry (see here for more details).
The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), "founded in 1962, represents the entire spectrum of the hospitality industry's private sector including 36 national hotel associations across the Caribbean region".
A major cruise ship association is the the Cruise Lines International Association CLIA). "CLIA is the world’s largest cruise association and is dedicated to the promotion and growth of the cruise industry. CLIA is composed of 25 of the major cruise lines serving North America and is an organization that operates pursuant to an agreement filed with the Federal Maritime Commission under the Shipping Act of 1984 and serves as a non-governmental consultative organization to the International Maritime Organization, an agency of the United Nations."
Geohazards and tourism
Relevant links are:
References
McElroy, J. L., 2000. Managing Sustainable Tourism in the Small Island Caribbean. Manuscript submitted to J. Ecological Economy. Available as pdf. (Author information: Jerome L. McElroy, Professor of Economics, Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, jmcelroy@saintmarys.edu).
Goodwin, J., 2008. Sustainable Tourism development in the Caribbean Island Nation-States. Michigan Journal of Public Affairs, 5.
King, J., 2010. Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caribbean. Blog contribution on ehow.com. updated: May 17, 2010. Read the article.
Lewis, A, 2005. Rationalising a Tourism Curriculum for Sustainable Tourism Development in Small Island States: A Stakeholder Perspective. J. of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 4(2), DOI:10.3794/johlste.42.93 (Author information: Acolla Lewis (alewis@fss.uwi.tt), University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad, West Indies.
Lewis, A., 2006. Stakeholder Informed Tourism Education: Voices from the
Caribbean. J. of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 5(2),DOI:10.3794/johlste.52.120
Lighthouse Foundation, ?, Sustainable tourism and Cruises. Forum. Read the commentary.
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