What would the green economy transformation actually look like on the ground?

In Uruguay, the sustainable tourism business in Farrapos National Park is paving a way to balance conservation and economic development in the area. With support from local and national authorities, two young men running a kayak school out of San Javier show that protecting nature and exploring the wetlands by boat are not at odds.

Happy World Tourism Day!

UNWTO designated World Tourism Day 2021 as a day to focus on Tourism for Inclusive Growth. After being profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this key sector has the potential to advance prosperity and drive inclusive, sustainable development.

What opportunities does your country/region have to ensure that nobody is left behind as the world begins to open up again?

Eco-tourism or “Community Managed Nature Tourism” in Odisha, India is providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to people in remote areas.

After two years of growth in the industry, the Odisha government has approved an action plan worth Rs 30 crore for the development of new eco-destinations.

Photo by Parij Borgohain on Unsplash

For many economies, COVID-19 pandemic is critical, and millions of tourism businesses and workers are eager for holidaymakers to return, especially given how badly the sector has already been hit.

International tourist arrivals last year fell to levels not seen since 1990. UNCTAD estimates the crisis has cost the world about $4 trillion and placed over 100 million direct tourism jobs at risk.

As the impact is so big as the numerous suppliers and businesses are linked to the core sector, the kick-start of recovery in tourism is urgent.

A senior manager at aircraft maker Airbus says that zero-emissions planes will be flying by mid-century, reports BBC News. It adds: “Airbus has set a target of commercial ‘climate-neutral’ flights by 2035, with hydrogen as a primary power source.” It quotes Gareth Davies, Airbus head of industrial architecture for wing, saying: “We have a challenge today to try and symbolically get towards a zero emissions product by around 2050…So, essentially, we’re looking at by the mid-point of the century, that we will have products flying with that target and with that goal.”

In spite of the global rollout of vaccines, many countries still have a long path to travel for economic recovery. At the same time, the economic toll is occurring at a time when biodiversity is globally imperiled. Can countries afford to bring even larger areas under protection and focus on biodiversity conservation when the need for economic recovery is so pressing, fiscal spaces tight, and many development challenges persist?

Assessing the economic impact of protected area tourism in five protected areas in Brazil, Fiji, Nepal, and Zambia, the World Bank recently launched a report that outlines how inclusive protected-area tourism can contribute a country’s recovery from the economic fallout of the pandemic, address longstanding development challenges, and conserve biodiversity.

Aviation is one of the world’s most carbon-intensive sectors and one of the hardest to decarbonize. Now, however, a new framework has been developed by a wide range of industry partners to cut emissions by stimulating the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) via a system of certificates.