UNEP Travel and Conservation
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is linking travel with conservation in order to conserve the Arctic’s habitat.
The UN News Centre reports that a joint campaign by conservation groups and tour operators in the 1990’s has helped set up protected areas in Svalbard, Norway. Svalbard is the closest tourism outpost to the North Pole, which is 1,000 kilometres away. The sustainable tourism initiative has enacted new laws protecting biodiversity and has led to the successful protection of polar bears and other native species in the area.
Currently in Norway, partners UNEP and GRID-Arendal are planning to replicate the success in Svalbard by studying how sustainable tourism can support the management and development of protected areas.
In June 2010, participants from 12 countries met in Arendal to discuss how tourism and biodiversity protection in marine protected areas can lead to conservation successes, reports UNEP. The meeting decided that financial, educational and political support are all important. Although differences between areas makes establishing criteria that can be used to replicate successful tourism/biodiversity connections difficult, the aim of UNEP’s Linking Tourism & Conservation (LT&C) initiative is to show, learn from and replicate positive examples where tourism supports the management and development of protected areas.
UNEP and GRID-Arendal are hosting a study expedition to Svalbard for conservationists, journalists and members of the public. They also plan to create an interactive map of tourist destinations engaged in conservation work that will allow travelers to view a destination’s green credentials before booking their trip. All hail green tourism!
Tags: Arctic, biodiversity, Conservation, map, sustainable, tourism, Travel, UN, UNEP
Assessing Puma’s Practices
Sustainability’s largest boost may happen as global companies sign on to environmentally friendly operations. The sportswear company Puma is establishing sustainable practices that include having their 20 key suppliers in South East Asia and other regions issue their own sustainability reports starting in 2011. Puma is also supporting conservation projects, albeit with some bumps along the way.
Puma’s supplier reporting guidelines align with the Global Reporting Initiative. According to Puma this means that twenty strategic suppliers in its supply chain from China to Cambodia will be trained to report on sustainability concepts such as social and working conditions. The project teaches participants how to measure sustainability by using key performance indicators, while becoming more transparent and learning how to report on energy consumption, waste production and other issues.
Puma, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has also announced three major conservation projects in Africa as part of its ‘Play For Life’ Campaign, a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of species and habitat conservation. ‘Play for Life’ has been inspired by the 2010 Soccer World Cup, explains Afrique Avenir. The campaign promoted the international year of biodiversity through events, fundraising initiatives and public service announcements which culminated in the public choosing three beneficiaries for campaign donations through online voting. Proceeds will be donated to help save endangered African lions in Zambia, elephant populations in the Ivory Coast and Liberia, and gorillas in Nigeria.
However, Puma is not flawless in its conservation efforts, as evidenced by its 20% share holdings in Wilderness Safaris, a tourism company that has built a lodge on land belonging to the Bushmen of Botswana. Afrique Avenir reports that Survival International recently urged Puma to separate from the company, which supports luxury tourism in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve while ignoring the inhumane treatment of the Bushmen who are not even allowed to access their own water.
Becoming a sustainable and conservation friendly sports lifestyle company is clearly a process of trial and error for Puma. If at first they don’t succeed, let’s hope they learn from mistakes and try again!
Tags: companies, Conservation, endangered, global, Global Reporting Initiative, Play For Life, Puma, sportswear, Survival International, sustainability, UNEP, Wilderness Safaris
