— Pulama Deka
Agenda 21 is an international blueprint that outlines actions that governments, international organisations, industries and the community can take to achieve sustainability. These actions recognize the impacts of human behaviours on the environment and on the sustainability of systems of production. The objective of Agenda 21 is the alleviation of poverty, hunger, sickness and illiteracy worldwide while halting the deterioration of ecosystems which sustain life. Adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) Summit meeting on 14 June 1992, Agenda 21 covers all the issues referred to UNCED by the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 44/228 of 1989. Agenda 21 is divided into four sections viz. social and economic dimensions, conservation and management of resources for development, strengthening the role of major groups and means of implementation. Essential to a proper understanding of Agenda 21 is an appreciation of several major themes and ideas, which run through the document. These include the key role that must be played by strategies, plans and policies at a national level, the need for integrated decision making at all levels, and the importance of community involvement in the implementation of Agenda 21.
The sustainable mode of tourism naturally forms one of the integral themes of Agenda 21, since it is a worldwide phenomenon and also an important element of socio-economic and political development in many countries. Tourism touches the highest and deepest aspirations of all people. It is an ambivalent phenomenon since it has the potential to contribute to socio-economic and cultural achievement and since it can at the same time contribute to the depletion of the environment and the loss of local identity, it should be approached with a global methodology. Tourism can afford the opportunity to travel and to get to know other cultures, and the development of tourism can help promote closer ties and peace among peoples, creating a conscience that is respectful of the diversity of cultures and life styles. The resources on which tourism is based are limited and that there is a growing demand for improved environmental quality. Thus development of tourism must meet the economic expectations and environmental requirements, and must respect not only the social and physical structure of a location, but also the local population. Hence the need to establish effective alliances among the principal actors in the field of tourism so as to build the hope of tourism that is more responsible towards our common heritage.
There exist various United Nations declarations on tourism, like the United Nations Conference on Tourism and International Travel of 1963. The international conventions that have a bearing on tourism include the Convention on Biodiversity, the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention and the CITES Convention. There also exist various declarations in the matter of tourism, such as the Manilla Declaration on World Tourism, The Hague Declaration and the Tourism Charter and Tourist Code, and the Declaration of the Human Rights of Future Generations. The World Conference on Sustainable Tourism, held at Canary Islands in 1995, taking into consideration of all these, had drafted a charter for sustainable tourism, which is being guided by the principles set forth in the Rio Declaration on the Environment and development, and the recommendations that emanate from Agenda 21.
The charter states that tourism development shall be based on criteria of sustainability, which means that it must be ecologically bearable in the long term, economically viable, as well as ethically and socially equitable for the local communities. The sustainable nature of tourism requires that it should integrate the natural, cultural and human environment; it must respect the fragile balances that characterise many tourist destinations, in particular many small islands and environmentally sensitive areas. To be compatible with sustainable development, tourism must be based on the diversity of opportunities offered by its local economy. It should be fully integrated into and contribute positively to the local economic development. Governments and authorities should promote actions for integrating the planning of tourism with environmental NGOs and local communities in order to achieve sustainable development.
Furthermore, it has been stated that environmentally and culturally vulnerable spaces, be given special priority in the matter of technical cooperation and financial aid for sustainable tourism development. Similarly, special treatment should be given to spaces that have been degraded by obsolete and high impact tourism models. Governments, authorities and NGOs with responsibility for tourism and the environment must promote and participate in the creation of open networks for information, research, dissemination and transfer of appropriate tourism and environmental knowledge on tourism and environmentally sustainable technologies. These stakeholders shall also monitor achievements, report on results and exchange their experiences. There is also a need to support and promote feasibility studies, scientific field work, the implementation of tourism demonstration projects within the framework of sustainable development, the development of programmes in the field of international cooperation, and the introduction of environmental management systems.
The active contribution of tourism to sustainable development necessarily presupposes the solidarity, mutual respect, and participation of all the actors implicated in the process, especially those indigenous to the locality. Solidarity, mutual respect and participation must be based on efficient cooperation mechanisms at all levels — local, national, regional and international. The adoption of, adherence to and implementation of codes of conduct conducive in the context of sustainable development by the principal actors, particularly industry members involved in tourism, are fundamental for tourism to be sustainable. Such codes constitute efficient instruments of the development of responsible tourist activities.
(The writer is a lecturer in the Department of Tourism Management of Pragjyotish College)
source: assam tribune editorial 12.09.08
Agenda 21 is an international blueprint that outlines actions that governments, international organisations, industries and the community can take to achieve sustainability. These actions recognize the impacts of human behaviours on the environment and on the sustainability of systems of production. The objective of Agenda 21 is the alleviation of poverty, hunger, sickness and illiteracy worldwide while halting the deterioration of ecosystems which sustain life. Adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) Summit meeting on 14 June 1992, Agenda 21 covers all the issues referred to UNCED by the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 44/228 of 1989. Agenda 21 is divided into four sections viz. social and economic dimensions, conservation and management of resources for development, strengthening the role of major groups and means of implementation. Essential to a proper understanding of Agenda 21 is an appreciation of several major themes and ideas, which run through the document. These include the key role that must be played by strategies, plans and policies at a national level, the need for integrated decision making at all levels, and the importance of community involvement in the implementation of Agenda 21.
The sustainable mode of tourism naturally forms one of the integral themes of Agenda 21, since it is a worldwide phenomenon and also an important element of socio-economic and political development in many countries. Tourism touches the highest and deepest aspirations of all people. It is an ambivalent phenomenon since it has the potential to contribute to socio-economic and cultural achievement and since it can at the same time contribute to the depletion of the environment and the loss of local identity, it should be approached with a global methodology. Tourism can afford the opportunity to travel and to get to know other cultures, and the development of tourism can help promote closer ties and peace among peoples, creating a conscience that is respectful of the diversity of cultures and life styles. The resources on which tourism is based are limited and that there is a growing demand for improved environmental quality. Thus development of tourism must meet the economic expectations and environmental requirements, and must respect not only the social and physical structure of a location, but also the local population. Hence the need to establish effective alliances among the principal actors in the field of tourism so as to build the hope of tourism that is more responsible towards our common heritage.
There exist various United Nations declarations on tourism, like the United Nations Conference on Tourism and International Travel of 1963. The international conventions that have a bearing on tourism include the Convention on Biodiversity, the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention and the CITES Convention. There also exist various declarations in the matter of tourism, such as the Manilla Declaration on World Tourism, The Hague Declaration and the Tourism Charter and Tourist Code, and the Declaration of the Human Rights of Future Generations. The World Conference on Sustainable Tourism, held at Canary Islands in 1995, taking into consideration of all these, had drafted a charter for sustainable tourism, which is being guided by the principles set forth in the Rio Declaration on the Environment and development, and the recommendations that emanate from Agenda 21.
The charter states that tourism development shall be based on criteria of sustainability, which means that it must be ecologically bearable in the long term, economically viable, as well as ethically and socially equitable for the local communities. The sustainable nature of tourism requires that it should integrate the natural, cultural and human environment; it must respect the fragile balances that characterise many tourist destinations, in particular many small islands and environmentally sensitive areas. To be compatible with sustainable development, tourism must be based on the diversity of opportunities offered by its local economy. It should be fully integrated into and contribute positively to the local economic development. Governments and authorities should promote actions for integrating the planning of tourism with environmental NGOs and local communities in order to achieve sustainable development.
Furthermore, it has been stated that environmentally and culturally vulnerable spaces, be given special priority in the matter of technical cooperation and financial aid for sustainable tourism development. Similarly, special treatment should be given to spaces that have been degraded by obsolete and high impact tourism models. Governments, authorities and NGOs with responsibility for tourism and the environment must promote and participate in the creation of open networks for information, research, dissemination and transfer of appropriate tourism and environmental knowledge on tourism and environmentally sustainable technologies. These stakeholders shall also monitor achievements, report on results and exchange their experiences. There is also a need to support and promote feasibility studies, scientific field work, the implementation of tourism demonstration projects within the framework of sustainable development, the development of programmes in the field of international cooperation, and the introduction of environmental management systems.
The active contribution of tourism to sustainable development necessarily presupposes the solidarity, mutual respect, and participation of all the actors implicated in the process, especially those indigenous to the locality. Solidarity, mutual respect and participation must be based on efficient cooperation mechanisms at all levels — local, national, regional and international. The adoption of, adherence to and implementation of codes of conduct conducive in the context of sustainable development by the principal actors, particularly industry members involved in tourism, are fundamental for tourism to be sustainable. Such codes constitute efficient instruments of the development of responsible tourist activities.
(The writer is a lecturer in the Department of Tourism Management of Pragjyotish College)
source: assam tribune editorial 12.09.08
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