1st February 2007

Ecotourism Australia says Australia must act on climate change.

Stephen Pahl, CEO of Ecotourism Australia, today called for an immediate and collaborative approach to climate change and greater awareness of sustainability principles.

Following initial reports based on the study of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due to be released tomorrow, Stephen Pahl said the issue is too important to be a political football.

“Man-made climate change would not have arisen if sectors of society had not pursued their own aims in isolation and if we had had more awareness of sustainability principles in the past,” he said.

“The ecotourism industry in Australia is already providing a model for a collaborative, sustainable approach to meeting diverse needs.”

Australia’s nature-based and ecotourism sectors are worth around $20 billion a year to the Australian economy and have a lot to lose if the predictions in the IPCC report prove correct.

Around 3.5 million international visitors each year participate in nature-based activities and Australians enjoying ‘their own backyard’ make around 12 million visits to natural attractions.

“Our members are showing how financial goals can be met without compromising the natural environment they rely on,” Stephen Pahl said.

“Ecotourism Australia is already working very closely with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) to help ensure the future of this irreplaceable World Heritage area and we are keen to participate in any initiatives that help protect our unique natural environment.

“While the report makes special mention of the Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu National Park, there are many fragile ecosystems around the country that could be threatened if we don’t work together to find better ways to address the challenges,” Stephen Pahl said.

Ecotourism Australia has developed a world-leading ecotourism certification system that requires tourism operators to demonstrate and maintain environmental sustainability and ethical operations.

A recent initiative of GBRMPA and Ecotourism Australia gives operators who have Ecotourism and Advanced Ecotourism Certification fifteen-year permits to operate on the Great Barrier Reef within a stringently monitored sustainable tourism framework. 


ENDS

For more information contact:
Kym Cheatham, Chief Executive Officer,
Ecotourism Australia
E: ceo@ecotourism.org.au M: 0427 279 414
www.ecotourism.org.au
ABN 92 909 103 274

The Ecotourism Australia vision: "To be leaders in assisting ecotourism and other committed tourism operations to become environmentally sustainable, economically viable, and socially and culturally responsible".
Ecotourism Australia was formed in 1991 as an incorporated non-profit organisation, and is the peak national body for the ecotourism industry. Ecotourism Australia aims to grow and promote ecotourism and to assist tourism operators to become environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially and culturally responsible.

Membership includes tour operators, ecotourism accommodation, tourism planners, protected area managers, academics and students, regional tourism associations and travellers.
Ecotourism Australia’s certification program ECO is a world first. It provides objective monitoring and auditing of organisations’ ecotourism claims and provides travel agents and tourists with an assurance of best practice ecological sustainability, natural area management and quality ecotourism experiences.

Ecotourism Australia recently added ROC (Respect Our Culture) Certification for Indigenous Tourism operators and Climate Action Australia Certification to help the tourism industry work towards a more sustainable future.

In 2008, Ecotourism Australia was awarded the prestigious World Travel and Tourism Council “Tourism for Tomorrow” Award for Conservation at the World Tourism Summit in recognition of Ecotourism Australia’s significant contribution to the conservation and preservation of natural heritage.