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A Call from Africa for Sustainable Tourism: the Lusaka Declaration
an article by Louis J. D'Amore
The Lusaka Declaration on Sustainable Tourism Development,
Climate Change and Peace was unanimously adopted by the fifth African
Conference of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism held
at the Hotel InterContinental Lusaka, Zambia, from 15–20 May, 2011.
IIPT
Board Chairman Timothy Marshall offering a prayer to begin Peace Park
Re-dedication Ceremony; Hon. Catherine Namugala plants the first tree;
and the Chieftess of the Toka Leya tribe waters peace tree.
click on photo to enlarge
More
than 440 delegates from 36 countries participated, sharing their
experiences, ideas, wisdom and commitments toward the theme: “Meeting
the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism in Africa and the Developing
World”. The Conference showcased models of “best practice” in
mitigating and addressing the anticipated impacts of climate change to
tourism in Africa and the developing world.
In his keynote address, Zambia President Rupiah B. Banda stated
that the tourism sector plays a very important role in the social and
economic development of Africa and the developing world, and that
tourism can only flourish when there is peace. He emphasized that
tourism to Zambia, like many African and other developing countries, is
nature-based, and therefore highly sensitive to climate change. He noted
that Zambia is activating a national climate change response strategy
with a number of projects and campaigns that are designed to control
emissions; address the issues of desertification and deforestation; and
provide climate resilience for agriculture.
Hon. Cathering Namugala, Zambia Minister of Tourism, Environment
and Natural Resources emphasized the need to mobilize a global agenda
in meeting the challenges of climate change, noting that Africa, with
approximately 14 percent of the world’s population, contributes only 2.3
percent of Global Green House (GHG) Gases, yet is particularly
vulnerable to its effects. She said that tourism has the potential to
reduce poverty in developing countries but is already being adversely
affected by climate change.
Zoltan Somogyi, Executive Director, World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), noted the importance of tourism to the socio-economic growth of
African and other developing countries and urged that the continued and
rapid advancement of tourism be green and sustainable. He called on the
travel and tourism industry to address climate change by both reducing
GHG emissions and taking measures for adaptation.
Geoffrey Lipman, Director, GreenEarth Travel, said it was time
to unleash the potential of tourism with a paradigm shift that envisions
tourism as a mainstream change agent embracing quadruple bottom-line
reporting and "smart travel" that is carbon neutral, environmentally
green, ethical and of high quality, regardless of low economy or
luxurious travel.
Other featured speakers included ministers of tourism, senior
representatives of U.N. agencies, regional organizations, tourism
boards, non-governmental organizations, the media and leading academics.
For further details, see www.iipt.org.
(The Lusaka Declaration is reprinted here in the discussionboard - see righthand column of this page)
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(This is continued from the article, A Call from Africa for Sustainable Tourism: the Lusaka Declaration.
LUSAKA DECLARATION ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND PEACE
We,
the more than 440 participants from 36 countries of Africa, Asia,
Europe, North America and the Caribbean, assembling for the 5th IIPT
African Conference: “Meeting the Challenges of Climate Change to Tourism
in Africa and the Developing World, ” at the Hotel InterContinental,
Lusaka, Zambia, 15-20 May, 2011, in support of the U.N. Millennium
Development Goals –
Considering:
World population has
increased from 1.6 billion in 1900 to 6.0 in 2000 and will reach 9.0
billion by 2050, with 90 percent of this growth in developing countries.
Growth in population, global consumption and the global economy
has stressed the Earth’s ecological systems and depleted much of the
world’s natural resources.
It now takes the Earth one year and
six months to regenerate what our world population consumes in one year,
resulting in collapsing fisheries, depleting forests, species
extinction, water shortages and crop failures – all with
disproportionate impacts on the poor regions of the world.
U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has stated, “Climate change is the
pre-eminent geopolitical and economic issue of the 21st century.. . ...more.
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