The report recommends reconnecting people with nature. How?
Some hotels in the tropics connect consumers to the nature around them – often even food will be sourced locally.
Nature-positive tourism is also about connecting people within communities that can protect nature. In Colombia, for example, they had a terrible problem with the drug trade and they tried to turn their economy into a peaceful one based on tourism. You let former FARC guerrillas become guides. And in South Africa, where rhino poaching is a very big problem, many organizations, including government agencies, private nature reserves and safari lodges, have encouraged people so that local communities can actually earn more by protecting their rhinos. You’re also seeing this happening in Rwanda, where the government is working with local communities to take back land that had been converted to agriculture to rebuild some of the forests the gorillas live in.
What does investing in nature mean, which the report recommends?
There is now a lot of investment in greenery, with people planting things like mangroves and restoring reefs that have been destroyed by development. So it’s not just about protecting, it’s also about rebuilding. I was just at a resort in Bali that is using 3D printers to print coral and reconnect it in places to start rebuilding the reef and protecting the fish stocks.
The report recommends supporting sustainable value chains. What is that?
If you are a hotel, you look at where your energy comes from and how you can buy energy that has been obtained in a more sustainable way. Another concern: where do you buy your food? Has it been imported?
A hotel does not stand alone. It is provided by many people and when they buy things, the vehicles they use should be green. The goal is to try and spread that sustainability footprint throughout your supply chain, from transportation to food, energy and water.
How can a traveler be nature-positive?
The solution must be present at all levels. It should be run by the government. It must be led by the industry. And it’s clear that all of us as individuals need to be mindful and ask questions and challenge standards while traveling. In hotels you don’t have to change your sheets or towels every day. If hotels have plastic, ask why. In a hotel with small plastic bottles of shampoo, send an email to the hotelier and say, “You guys can do better.” Buffets cause a lot of food waste. So it’s looking at that stuff and, in general, being a mindful traveler.
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