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televisionThe resort is located on the edge of one of the world’s largest barrier reefs. To reduce its carbon footprint, the resort is solar powered and has no air conditioning or swimming pools. Most of the food is grown in the garden or caught from the sea, and all the staff are from the local village. This is Nukubati, located on the north coast of Vanua Levu, Fiji, and it is at the forefront of a movement to change tourism in the Pacific.
“Our goal is to actually improve the environment, not to extract resources,” said Jenny Leewai Bourke, director of Nukubati. Nukubati is a member of Duavata, an alliance of Fijian tourism businesses that says Fijian tourism businesses should improve the environment and cultural heritage. But the issue is complex.
Pacific island nations are among the world’s most vulnerable to the climate crisis and are struggling to balance the environmental and cultural impacts of tourism with economic demands. There is no enforceable, region-wide agreement on sustainable practices, only a patchwork of guidelines and initiatives. Tourism is the backbone of many island economies, which have begun to recover from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The influx of tourists has sparked calls for change.
“We must demand against business as usual,” said former tourism director Vanuatu “We have to consider the impact of our travel on destinations and Indigenous communities,” Jerry Spooner said of mass tourism.
New tourism models are emerging across the region. Vanuatu and the Cook Islands are promoting “regenerative” tourism, while French Polynesia is pursuing a “slow” tourism model. Bora Bora, an island in the French territory, has limited the number of arrivals to protect its way of life. Palau, an archipelago in the western Pacific, has asked tourists to Sign the letter of commitment Act in an ecologically responsible manner.
However, a lack of monitoring to track impacts, weak governance and limited resources are holding back environmental progress in the Pacific tourism industry, experts say, calling for softer measures – voluntary commitments or certification schemes backed by legislation.
This series consists of five partsThe Guardian explores the challenges Pacific island nations face in balancing economic dependence on tourism with its environmental impact – where tourism is causing damage, where new models are at work, and how tourists can make a difference.
Lack of supervision
Across the Pacific, there is a range of laws, regulations and strategies covering sustainable tourism practices.
Many governments have sustainable tourism strategies and environmental legislation. The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), the region’s leading industry body with 21 member countries, has developed Sustainable Tourism Framework and destination standardThey contain a wide range of guidelines, from reducing plastic and energy use to preserving culture. Sustainability certification schemes The country’s and global levels are also in place.
But in reality, most frameworks and guidelines are not enforceable or widely monitored. Joseph Chell, professor of sustainable tourism and heritage at Western Sydney University in Australia, said frameworks set “expected parameters” for the industry and compliance is voluntary.
“That’s one of the biggest challenges facing the Pacific,” Cheer said. “It’s entirely up to businesses to decide whether or not to comply with the regulations. There’s no enforcement or penalty if you don’t.”
While he cautioned against generalising about the region, Chell said the Pacific lacked data collection on sustainable development measures and had a poor governance record.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council is a well-known organization that sets standards and promotes certification for tourism destinations and businesses around the world. Singapore, Järvsø in Sweden and Thredbo, an Australian ski resort, have all been certified. No destinations in the Pacific region have been certified, but some have adopted the council’s standards.
One of these countries is Fiji, The most visited country in the Pacific, with more than 636,000 arrivals 2022. This year, Tourism Fiji adopted the GSTC standards as national guidelines. Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill acknowledged The measures are being rolled out slowly and remain optional. Tourism contributes nearly 40 percent of Fiji’s gross domestic product and the government is developing a national sustainable tourism framework that will include similar optional standards.
Vanuatu Tourism contributed to the country before the COVID-19 pandemic About 36% of GDPIt is the first batch of official Sustainable Tourism strategy. The country joins the Cook Islands in offering optional eco- and sustainable tourism certification to businesses. Vanuatu hopes to receive GSTC Certification and want 60% of tourism companies Obtain local authority certification by 2025.
Across the Pacific, however, there is “very little regulation or self-regulation” of sustainable tourism in the private sector, said Stephen Pratt, chair of the Department of Tourism, Events and Attractions at the University of Central Florida. This is largely due to a lack of government resources, “the limitations of distance” and the difficulty of monitoring remote areas.
New travel model
With the emergence of standards and “green” certification systems, countries are trying to attract tourists with an environmental and cultural focus.
French Polynesia, including Tahiti, promotes its 100-plus islands as “Slow Tourism“destination. Slow Travel It encourages staying in the same place longer, choosing modes of transportation such as hiking or cycling, and it also promotes cultural experiences, such as visits to taro plantations, which show visitors how to harvest and cook the edible root.
Other countries are exploring “regenerative” tourism, which calls on tourists to leave a positive impact. They can help restore coral reefs, stay in locally run hotels or eat locally grown food.
“More tourism dollars stay in Vanuatu, and visitors have a more authentic, meaningful experience,” said Spooner, who now runs the nonprofit Regeneration Vanuatu.
He said agritourism — combining farming with tourism experiences — turns traditional customs “into a story” and benefits communities.
“Visitors’ excitement about traditional food experiences can help to restore pride in local food systems and in turn dispel reliance on unhealthy imported foods, a major health issue facing Pacific Island countries.”
The Cook Islands’ five-year tourism strategy, which launches in 2022, includes attracting “responsible” tourists by: Marketing Regeneration ExperienceAs well as a focus on culture and tradition. Tourists are encouraged to eat local food rather than imported food in restaurants and to support certified “mana tiaki” (guardianship) enterprise. Mana tiaki is a free certification system for businesses that meet sustainability and environmental protection standards.
Elsewhere in the region, New Caledonia said sustainability is one of its core tourism values. Samoa The tourism development plan includes the goal of becoming a more “resilient, inclusive and green tourism destination”.
Pratt said that while niche tourism sectors were important, “they will never get as many visitors – at least not as they did before the pandemic”.
But Dr Susannah Becken, professor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University, pointed out that while small local businesses might attract fewer tourists than mass tourism models, “that doesn’t necessarily mean that local people receive less benefit”.
Becken said that such as mana tiaki or Palau Commitments are useful, but “ideally, these soft measures should be complemented by legislation and standards, for example through the Pacific Garbage Project to support the phase-out of single-use plastics”.
A clearer picture of the impact of tourism will help guide policy making, and Mr Behnken said there was a lack of data on the carbon footprint and environmental impact of Pacific tourism, although work was being done by the Pacific Tourism Organisation.
Due to their remoteness, reducing emissions from transport, whether by air or sea, remains one of the biggest environmental challenges facing Pacific nations. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council in 2021, travel and tourism account for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Report.
Christopher Cocker, Chief Executive Officer of the SPTO, said: Pacific Islands The impact on global emissions is negligible, becoming a “green industry dependent on the transformation of the transport sector”.
Visitors drive change
Despite the growing focus on sustainability, prominent Samoan climate change activist Brianna Fruane said the region needed to “reshape” its relationship with tourism.
“Not only are tourists allowed to come to our Pacific Islands, it’s free for everyone… We are the guardians of our islands and when you come as guests to our islands you have to be guardians as well, you have to be a good guest.”
Richard Markham, a member of the Fiji Duata Society, believes tourists need to take some responsibility for their impact. Markham said tourists who want to have a “green holiday” need to do their research.
“Where there is no regulation, the onus is on consumers to identify the most sustainable products,” he said, while acknowledging that “the risk of greenwashing and lack of transparency can make this difficult”.
Markham said tourists should try to “book with locally owned businesses and operators who demonstrate their concerns through real engagement with the local community and environment”.
“Tourists can show they really care and are not being deceived by ‘greenwashing’ – which could encourage the industry to make substantive changes,” he said.
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