• IYE background
  
• UNEP activities for IYE
  
• Outcomes and follow-up projects
  
• IYE documents and publications
  

Outcomes of the IYE 2002

Three main conclusions

• Ecotourism is established as a politically valuable concept. Over 50 countries have developed special policies and strategies focused on ecotourism at national level. The World Ecotourism Summit (WES) was attended by more than 1100 delegates from 133 countries (45 ministerial level officials). The concept of ecotourism proved its relevance as it positions natural and cultural diversity as a tourism asset. It also stresses the participation of host communities and mandates the educational value of leisure experience.
  
  
• Ecotourism has mixed reviews. Concrete evidence shows that, if managed in a sustainable manner, ecotourism helps conserve biodiversity, alleviates poverty in rural areas, and can provide benefits to local and indigenous communities situated near, or in, officially protected areas. Evidence also suggests that "greenwashing" exists and the term "ecotourism" has been abused.
  
  
• Tourism is now acknowledged as a global economic driver. The main challenge for the future is to apply the principles of ecotourism/sustainable tourism to all forms of tourism development.

Results of the IYE

A global network of specialists and practitioners, with strengthened regional presence, is now more operational through the consultative process of the IYE 2002, managed by UNEP, the World Tourism Organization (WTO/OMT), The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) and several other partners.

The Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism is the main outcome of the World Ecotourism Summit (WES) held in Quebec in May 2002. The Declaration is the result of a multistakeholder dialogue involving over 5,000 experts globally, although it is not a negotiated document. Its main purpose is to set UN-level recommendations for the development of ecotourism activities in the context of sustainable development.

The Quebec Declaration, published in English, Spanish, French and Arabic and the Final Report of the WES are available on this website.

Ecotourism Australia's "Ecotourism - a world of difference" conference 21-25th October 2002, Cairns, Australia, the last event of the Year officially supported by UNEP, has examined the main elements for public/private partnerships in ecotourism, and produced a Cairns Charter on Partnerships for Ecotourism and Action Plan. The Cairns Charter on Partnerships for Ecotourism builds on the principles of the Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism and seeks to support the establishment and operation of ecotourism partnerships. The Charter is accompanied by an Action Plan that outlines activities identified at the Cairns conference, timeframes for their implementation and the organisation responsible for implementation.

Follow-up to the IYE

Partnerhsip project on promoting higher environmental and social standards for tourism
The project for Effective Implementation of Tools for Monitoring Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism, in partnership with The International Ecotourism Society, the Rainforest Alliance, and the Center for Sustainable Tourism will use a series of regional workshops to compile case studies of policy approaches, including examples of site certification by 'destination' owners, that can be useful to governments in managing their tourism resources.

One of the main outcome of this project will be a UNEP/WTO publication on strategies and tools for the integration of sustainability aspects in the development and implementation phases of tourism policies. The main goal of the book is to provide an overview of policy tools in support of sustainable tourism.

Mapping Tourism Footprints - evaluating where tourism development affects biodiversity
In partnership with Conservation International and the International Institute for Environment and Development, UNEP has produced a publication called "Tourism and Biodiversity: Mapping Tourism's Footprints".

The Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council, managed by the Rainforest Alliance through the support of the Ford Foundation, is a proposed global accreditation body for sustainable tourism and ecotourism certifiers.