‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’: Theme of International Day for Biological Diversity 2017
TravelBizNews —
Madrid: United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has chosen ‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’ as the theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity 2017.
The celebration aims at supporting the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development which is being commemorated worldwide throughout 2017.
The International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, declared by the United Nations General Assembly, emphasizes among others the role of the tourism sector in the preservation of ecosystems and in raising awareness on the uniqueness of biodiversity.
Following these principles, the Convention on Biological Diversity of the United Nations has decided to dedicate the International Day for Biological Diversity, which is yearly celebrated on May 22 to ‘Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism’.
“Tourism is one of the best placed sectors to contribute to inclusive and sustainable development and, with the right policies in place, to preserving ecosystems, biodiversity and natural heritage”, said Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The contribution of tourism to conservation is increasingly recognized by the international community.
Monitoring, land planning, development of bio-cultural wealth and the promotion of technologies to transform tourism in a preservation tool of biological diversity are some of the components integrated in sustainable tourism approaches. This view also emphasizes the potential of tourism to raise environmental awareness worldwide on the value of protected areas , according to a statement issued by UNWTO .
April 2017
