Discussions | CEETO NETWORK

Sustainable recovery of tourism in protected areas from the COVID-19 pandemic  

In their guest post for Transforming One Planet Vision into Action, Spenceley et al share their reflections on working towards a responsible recovery from COVID-19 for the tourism sector.

Full paper “Tourism in protected areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is submitted to the Special Issue on Protected and Conserved Areas and Pandemics in the journal PARKS.

Some of their thoughts:

˝We recommend that protected area tourism is ‘built back better’ than before COVID-19, by not returning to business as usual, by taking into account climate change, biodiversity loss, and by being more inclusive, equitable and integrated with sustainable development principles. Nobody can predict how the pandemic will evolve, nor the recovery timeline, but stakeholders can identify plausible scenarios and create action plans that work towards sustainable tourism. Furthermore, market research suggests that post-COVID-19 people will seek out adventure travel, natural spaces, safe and quality experiences. Therefore, it is imperative that protected areas are prepared for directing this surge towards positive outcomes.˝

˝The way forward for tourism has five dimensions: (1) fostering openness to change, with a new way of thinking and acting; (2) developing a vision; (3) protecting natural and cultural heritage for their importance to the environmental services of the area and peoples’ dependency on tourism; (4) recovering and rebuilding local livelihoods and the health of residents and visitors; and (5) reframing tourism, including the resources it uses, to achieve productive and healthy livelihoods without degrading the biodiversity upon which it depends.˝

˝We recommend that planning be more holistic, inclusive, equitable, adaptable and focus on what tourism and outdoor recreation sustains.˝

Full post can be reached via the link: https://www.unwto.org/covid-19-oneplanet-responsible-recovery-initiatives/sustainable-recovery-of-tourism-in-protected-areas-from-the-covid-19-pandemic

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Editorial essay - COVID‐19 and protected and conserved areas

This special editorial provides a snapshot of how protected and conserved areas around the world are being impacted by COVID-19.

The essay brings a commentary on how effectively and equitably managed systems of protected and conserved areas can be part of a response to the pandemic that both lessens the chance of a recurrence of similar events and builds a more sustainable future for people and nature.

Editorial is concluded with a Call for Action made up of three elements:

• core principles (Principle 1: COVID-19 is a symptom of the wider environmental crisis; Principle 2: We must commit to and act to achieve a healthy, sustainable planet; Principle 3: Protected and conserved areas provide broad benefits to society, but these are now under severe stress due to our societal response to COVID-19)
• actions (1. Rescue: an immediate emergency response to cushion the shock from COVID-19; 2. Recover: a plan to overcome the damaging effects of COVID-19; 3. Rebuild Stronger, starting now: a strategy to put protected and conserved areas on a more secure and effective trajectory), and
• commitment from the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Area (establish a Task Force to collect and analyze information on the impacts of COVID-19 on protected and conserved areas; develop, refine and promote the Call for Action; develop principles and good practice for protected and conserved areas across the three phases of the response to the pandemic - rescue, recovery and rebuilding.)

Full editorial can be found at this LINK  

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