Some of the world's most influential groups in environmentalism and tourism have joined forces to set standards for eco-friendly and socially responsible business operations in the industries catering to travelers.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria were announced this week at the International Union for Conservation of Nature's World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.
Ted Turner, the founder of the United Nations Foundation, made the announcement and detailed the 15 months of work carried out by the 27 organizations and businesses that form the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, the coalition that drew up the standards.
The guidelines, which are voluntary, were derived from more than 4,500 industry best practices from around the world and comments were sought from some 80,000 stakeholders.
The standards are grouped into four categories that are stated as imperatives: "demonstrate effective sustainable management," "maximize social and economic benefits to the local community and minimize negative impacts," "maximize benefits to cultural heritage and minimize negative impacts," and " maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts."
The Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization with Turner's United Nations Foundation initiated the partnership. The three groups joined Turner introducting the criteria at the Barcelona conference on October 6. |
