SUSTAINABLE TOURISM STRATEGY FOR THE CARPATHIANS IN DEVELOPMENT

Posted on 30 July 2013
Representatives of governments, tourism agencies and NGOs of the seven Carpathian countries will be involved in the development of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy, the first common strategy for tourism across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia.

The strategy will be delivered for adoption at the next Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention in October 2014.

In 2010, a Protocol on sustainable tourism was adopted by the Conference of the seven Parties to the Carpathian Convention, which provided a legally binding framework for the development of sustainable tourism in the Carpathians. To assure the implementation of the protocol, the project “Development of a Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the Carpathians” (CarpatSusTourStrat) seeks to elaborate the strategy for the Carpathians in co-ordination with all relevant stakeholders.

The project is managed by Ecological Tourism in Europe (E.T.E.) with the support of WWF International Danube-Carpathian Programme, CEEweb for Biodiversity, the Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention and the Carpathian Network of Protected Areas.

Over the course of the project, various meetings with stakeholders are being organized – at a national, regional and local level , including state, non-governmental and private stakeholders - to reflect their opinions and needs in the strategy.

The first meeting with NGOs from the Carpathians took place on 12-15 June 2013 in Slovakia, where the first draft of the strategy was up for discussion.

Additionally, 14 tourism development initiatives will be compiled and the process of the elaboration of the strategy will be documented. This will potentially serve as a model for other regions where there are attempts to develop such a tourism strategy.

The project duration is March 2013 - November 2014. The project is financially supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety.
About the Carpathian Convention

The Carpathian Convention with the Interim Secretariat based at UNEP Vienna aims to protect and sustainably develop the Carpathians by improving the quality of life, strengthening local economies and communities, and the conservation of natural values and cultural heritage.

The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Carpathian Convention) was adopted and signed by the seven Parties (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine) in May 2003 in Kyiv, Ukraine, and entered into force in January 2006. It is the only multi-level governance mechanism covering the whole of the Carpathian area and, besides the Alpine Convention, the second sub-regional treaty-based regime for the protection and sustainable development of a mountain region worldwide.

WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme has been an important player in the development of the Carpathian Convention from the very beginning and seeks to support the implementation of the Convention through various projects related to nature conservation and regional development.

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Development with a Green Context

Posted on 30 July 2013 District development plans, that will protect natural resources and reduce the vulnerability of three Fijian communities to a changing climate, have been created.

The plans identify the key natural resources like mangrove forests, rivers, marine resources and forests that provide various ecosystem services like food, medicine and income that we see and others we do not see like fresh air, clean water, stable coastal and river banks for the communities of Labasa and Wailevu districts in Labasa and Nailaga district in Ba.

As a key tool used in sustainable resource management, the plans are able to guide those making decisions about developments in these districts on the types of developments that can be allowed which does not severely harm existing natural resources.

Mangrove forests for example directly support as many as 3,000 lives in the district of Nailaga in Ba through food and income derived from the crabbing industry.

An outcome of the formulation of the district’s development plan is a decision by the people of the district to ban the harvesting of mangrove forests even for firewood purposes.

District representative to the Ba Provincial Council Meeting Jeremaia Tuwai said this means that any future development that will result in mangrove destruction will not be allowed.

Development plan construction is an activity of the AusAID Building Resilience to Climate Change programme, coordinated by WWF South Pacific.

Programme Coordinator Stephanie Robinson said a pleasing point to note about formulating development plans at the district level is the united approach to sustainable resource management that is adopted.

“Development is taking place and will continue to take place in the various provinces and in the districts,” she said.

“Although it is great that individual communities are taking the initiative to protect their natural resource - they cannot do so alone.

“If communities (with similar issues/concerns) are able to foresee developments in their area, they can also ensure that when it comes, consideration of their natural resources is also taken into account and development proceeds in a sustainable manner.

“Working together as a district and then as a province, makes this plan stronger than if communities were to go it alone.”

Climate change field officer Apolosa Robaigau ran consultation workshops with the three districts, at the end of which development plans, which are also linked to Vulnerability Assessments/Action Plans, were developed.

In this way, communities can identify activities they can do to rejuvenate or protect their natural resources.

For example, in Labasa district riverbank erosion, improper waste management, soil erosion and declining water quality were some issues of vulnerability identified.

Vunivau community, within this district has undertaken a reforestation program and the digging of proper waste disposal pits for every household in the village.

Previously, rubbish was disposed off carelessly, usually ending up in rivers and waterways.

Vunimoli, Vuo and Mataniwai villages within Labasa district also carried out a mangrove replanting activity to protect their coastline and riverbanks.

Pigpens have also been relocated inland, away from the usual spots on riverbanks and seaside, harvesting of riparian vegetation has been banned and burning to clear land has been frowned upon.