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The
World Congresses on Tourism For the Environment were interactive
meetings designed to bring together leaders from around the
world in conservation, travel, government, science, and the
communities affected by tourism.
Organized by the Jacana Trust, and coordinated by Egret
Communications, these meetings were designed to bring these
groups into open discussion so that travel can directly
contribute to the protection of natural and cultural resources
and so that tourism can be developed and operated more
sustainably.
In
Belize
,
at the First World Congress on Tourism and the Environment, we
took discussions such as Wetland Protection, Local People
Involvement, Small Scale Operations, Small Island Development,
Dive Travel Impacts, and Watershed Impacts into the field and
involved the local people.
The sessions were spread all over the country - each
tailored to a specific conservation/tourism issue that applied
in its host community. The
results were outstanding. Ideas,
generated in the halls of academia or in the political arenas,
were tested in the field - and altered.
Techniques were shared.
Misconceptions were straightened out.
New paths of communication were opened.
A common language was forged.
People went home with a new understanding.
And real things emerged.
A causeway, which had bisected Crooked Tree Wildlife
Sanctuary for years, was cut, allowing the wetlands to resume
functioning as they had for centuries.
Policies, in
Belize
and
elsewhere, were rewritten.
Broad initiatives were undertaken.
Research projects were initiated.
Tourism became partners with government and conservation.
Financial assistance and other support developed.
Conservation gained new momentum. |
