70 years of IUCN - #NatureForAll

By Marcela Torres

Since 2017, I have been a proud member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Commission on Education and Communication (CEC). The organization is celebrating the 70^th anniversary of its creation on October 5, 1948 in Fontainebleu, France by governments and civil society organizations with a shared goal to protect nature.

Also created in 1948, the CEC was IUCN’s first Commission. Its more than 1,100 voluntary members contribute their expertise in education, social communication and behavior change communication to create a culture of conservation. The Commission drives change for the co-creation of sustainable solutions through leading communication, learning and knowledge management in IUCN and the wider conservation community.

Among its many contributions, the CEC is supporting IUCN’s global #NatureForAll movement, which was formally launched at the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Hawaii and is driven by a growing coalition of partners who represent a variety of sectors.

#NatureForAll aims to build support and action for nature conservation among people from all walks of life by raising awareness and facilitating experiences and connections with the natural world. Want to learn more about the movement? Check out this great video for inspiration!

Happy anniversary IUCN and CEC!

Living #NatureForAll

World Environment Day: Beat Plastic Pollution!

By Marcela Torres

Ending plastic pollution is the aim of the activities of two important international days celebrated this week: World Environment Day, tomorrow June 5, and World Oceans Day, on June 8.

“#BeatPlasticPollution” is a call to action for all of us to come together to combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time. The theme invites us all to consider how we can make changes in our everyday lives to reduce the heavy burden of plastic pollution on our natural places, our wildlife – and our own health. While plastic has many valuable uses, we have become over reliant on single-use or disposable plastic – with severe environmental consequences.

Although I’ve written before about plastic pollution and consumption patterns in the tourism industry, the problem persists, and it is necessary to insist on its importance.

What is being done?

Many countries, particularly those with long coasts, are taking actions to reduce plastic pollution. For example, on May 30 Chile passed a law banning single-use plastic bags in the entire national territory. The ban will enter into force in one year’s time for major retailers and in two years’ time for smaller businesses.  

Other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are implementing taxes, bans, and technological innovation to restrict the production and consumption of plastic bags and reduce their harmful impact on oceans and marine species.

On this occasion, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) is calling to action in four key areas:

• Reducing Single-Use Plastics: 50% of the of consumer plastics are designed to be used only once, providing a momentary convenience before being discarded. Eliminating single-use plastics, both from design chains to our consumer habits is a critical first step to beat plastic pollution.
• Improving Waste Management: Nearly one third of the plastics we use escape our collection systems. Once in the environment, plastics don’t go away, they simply get smaller and smaller, last a century or more and increasingly find their way into our food chain. Waste management and recycling schemes are essential to a new plastics economy.
• Phasing Out Microplastics: Recent studies show that over 90% of bottled water and even 83% of tap water contain microplastic particles. No one is sure what that means for human health, but trace amounts are turning up in our blood, stomachs, and lungs with increasing regularity. Humans add to the problem with micro-beads from beauty products and other non-recoverable materials. 
• Promoting Research into Alternatives: Alternative solutions to oil-based plastics are limited and difficult to scale. This doesn’t need to be the case. Further research is needed to make sustainable plastic alternatives both economically viable and widely available.

This World Environment Day is a culmination of years of effort by Member States aimed at focusing the world’s attention and galvanizing action around plastic pollution. UN Environment and its Member States have been developing innovative science and forging new consensus on the complex relationships between plastics, society and the environment.

International Day for Biodiversity: 25 years conserving global biodiversity

By Marcela Torres

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force 25 years ago, in December 1993. While we celebrate the International Day for Biodiversity today, it seems appropriate to highlight global achievements and pending tasks in such an important topic for sustainable development as well as the contributions tourism can make.

The achievements have been significant. As mentioned in the message by the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer: “Biodiversity and its ecosystem services are at the heart of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The Paris Climate Agreement includes biodiversity. The World Economic Forum recognizes biodiversity loss as a critical risk. The Food and Agriculture Organization has organized focal work on Biodiversity. Paris has declared itself the capital of biodiversity, and all the way around the world, countries, local governments and civil society are stepping up their actions to safeguard biodiversity.”

However, the challenges are also great and biodiversity continues to decline in every region of the world at alarming rates. So much so that at least 17 species have become extinct during the 21^st century, including the Pinta Island Tortoise in Ecuador, the Eastern Cougar in the Americas, the Formosan Clouded Leopard in Taiwan, and the Baiji Dolphin, in China, among many others.

How can tourism help conserve biodiversity?

Sustainable tourism can contribute to biodiversity conservation in several ways. As I have mentioned before in this blog, tourism can have both positive and negative environmental impacts.

Many types of tourism rely directly on ecosystem services and biodiversity (ecotourism, agri-tourism, wellness tourism, adventure tourism, etc.) to provide tourists with experiences of cultural and environmental authenticity, contact with local communities and education about flora, fauna, ecosystems and their conservation. On the other hand, too many tourists can also have a negative, degrading effect on biodiversity and ecosystems. Hence, careful planning and management are required to avoid negative impacts on biodiversity.

In that context, the European Union Business and Biodiversity Platform has identified the following seven best practices for tourism businesses:

1. Identify the impacts and dependencies of your business on biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES).
2. Assess the business risks and opportunities associated with these impacts and dependencies to educate employees, owners, suppliers and customers.
3. Develop BES information systems, set SMART targets, measure and value performance, and report results. This is a key step for building trust among external stakeholders, while creating peer pressure within the industry.
4. Take action to avoid, minimize and mitigate BES risks, including in-kind compensation (‘offsets’) where feasible. BES targets may build on the concepts of ‘No Net Loss’, ‘Ecological Neutrality’ or ‘Net Positive Impact’ and include support for biodiversity offsets where appropriate.
5. Grasp emerging BES business opportunities, such as cost-efficiencies, new products and new markets. Business can support the growth of green markets and can help design efficient enabling conditions for biodiversity and ecosystem service markets, which may lead to the diversification of tourism product and complements the efforts to fight seasonality of the tourism offer.
6. Integrate business strategy and actions on BES within wider corporate social responsibility initiatives.
7. Engage with business peers and stakeholders in government, NGOs and civil society to improve BES guidance and policy. Businesses can bring significant capacity to conservation efforts and have a key role to play in halting biodiversity loss.

Likewise, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have developed guidelines on how to plan tourism development within the frameworks of: the ecosystem approach; Akwé: Kon voluntary guidelines for the conduct of cultural, environmental and social impact assessments regarding developments proposed to take place on, or which are likely to impact on, sacred sites and on lands and waters traditionally occupied or used by indigenous and local communities; and the voluntary guidelines for incorporating biodiversity-related issues into environmental impact assessment legislation and/or process, and the draft guidelines for incorporating biodiversity-related issues into strategic environmental assessment.

Let’s celebrate this International Day of Biodiversity by reflecting on how we can further tourism’s contribution to global biodiversity conservation!

Earth Day 2018: End Plastic Pollution, Save Easter Island

Recycling campaign in Easter Island.

(c) Dirección Sociocultural de Chile

By Marcela Torres

Tons of plastic are carried by marine currents to coastal destinations, such as Easter Island. This is compounded by the garbage generated by tourists and residents within the island. Hence, this paradise in the Pacific is in trouble and we must help find a solution.

“End plastic pollution” is the theme for Earth Day 2018. Celebrated each year on April 22 since 1970, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. This year, the aim is to provide the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics.

Oceans of Plastic

A study conducted by researchers from three universities in the United States and published by the Journal Science estimated that “275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean. Population size and the quality of waste management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest mass of uncaptured waste available to become plastic marine debris.”

Among the top 20 countries generating the greatest amount of ocean-bound trash, China is ranked first and the United States 20th. The rest of the list includes 11 other Asian countries, Turkey, five African countries, and Brazil.

(c) University of Georgia

Plastics are non-biodegradable and just break down into ever smaller pieces as a result of their exposure to sunlight. Known as microplastics, these pieces measure less than five millimeters and are approximately the size of a sesame seed. Because of their size, they are easily ingested by fish and other marine wildlife and quickly enter the food chain, affecting humans as well.

The Easter Island Garbage Issue

Located in the South Pacific Garbage Patch, more than 3,500 kilometers from Santiago, Chile, Easter Island suffers not only from its own trash generation but also from plastic debris that is washed ashore by the ocean currents. To learn more about the situation, the non-governmental organization Race for Water Foundation conducted studies in the Ovahe and Anakena beaches in 2015.

Attracted by the island’s huge Moai statues, over 80,000 tourists visit each year this paradise with a size of only 163.6 square kilometers and a resident population of approximately 6,000 people. This influx of visitors also takes a toll on the island’s capacity to manage waste.

Local authorities estimate that, by 2025, Easter Island will import 32 metric tons of cardboard, 18 of plastic, 12 of aluminum cans and nine of glass. However, without a recycling plant of its own, only one-fifth of its garbage is sent to the continent for recycling. The rest is taken to the already overloaded landfill.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the islanders have already made great strides towards promoting sustainable tourism. Local youth are also actively engaged in cleaning beaches and ridding them of plastics as much as they can and a music school was built with reused elements such as aluminum cans, glass bottles and tires. But there’s still much to be done.

Rapa Nui School of Music and Arts

(c) Imagina Isla de Pascua

How can we help? Refuse and reduce the use of plastic. If this is not possible, then we can do our best to recycle and/or remove plastic waste from locations where it will cause most damage. Tackling this pollution issue is on us! Learn more, look for ways to help, ask authorities to act. Happy Earth Day!

Is there Sustainable Consumption and Production in Tourism?

 © UNWTO - International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

by Marcela Torres

Do you ever wonder where the food you eat at a hotel comes from? How much water and energy the hotel consumes? Do you consider sustainability when choosing a hotel or tour operator? Or when you buy things for your trip?

These are questions worth pondering upon in a week in which the world celebrated Environment Day on June 5 and held the Ocean Conference in New York, in addition to the fact that 2017 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. And questions like these are being discussed in the massive open online course (MOOC) on “Sustainable Consumption and Production”, organized by the UNDP through its NBSAP Forum, which I’m facilitating in its Spanish version.

What is the role of consumers in promoting sustainability in tourism or any other industry? Well, the main role is to exercise their power on the demand side of the economy. More and more, efforts are being made by international organizations and advocacy groups to promote green consumption and many countries and companies have already incorporated principles such as “the polluter pays” into their legislations or business strategies.

Nevertheless, there is still a myth that individual consumers are the most responsible for sustainable consumption and that by providing them with information about the social and environmental consequences, sustainable consumption can be achieved through the market. However, research by the United Nations 10YFP Sustainable Lifestyles and Education Programme has shown that there are some mental blocks:

ideologies (“I should be free to buy what I want” or “Technology will solve environmental problems”)

social norms (“I’ll look strange if I do it” or “why should I do it if they don’t?”)

‘lock in’ to unsustainable capital (“well I already have the car…”)

mistrust or denial (“Those eco-labels are just a marketing ploy!”)

perceived risks of sustainable consumption (“what if the photovoltaic cells don’t work reliably?” or “won’t my colleagues think I’m poor if I take the train?”)

feeling that individual actions won’t make a difference (“I’m just one in 7 billion”)

emotional manipulation through marketing and advertising (“You’ll be happier with these products.”)

Don’t get me wrong. Consumers can and should make a difference, either individually or collectively. But being informed is not enough for them to take action. Sometimes they don’t have options. How many recycling facilities are close to their homes or (in the case of tourism) in their hotels? What is the cost of choosing a sustainable option over another one that is unsustainable?

I have previously discussed this in a paper published in 2013 by the Journal of Ecotourism. One of the biggest hurdles that must be overcome by the responsible tourism movement is that this type of tourism is usually more expensive than traditional tourism. If you scour the internet for marketing data, you’ll find many statistics indicating responsible tourism is a growing global trend and that today’s consumers expect travel companies to build sustainability into their product offer. You will also find many surveys reporting high percentages of people who declare they will prefer a sustainable travel company over an unsustainable one. But how true is this really?

There’s a catch… I can’t say that people necessarily lie during a survey, but their answers may often be influenced by what they consider to be polite or politically correct responses. Honestly, would you ever say (given the global evidence of pollution) that you “don’t care about pollution” or that you “like to pollute”? Probably not.

On the other hand, they may actually want to choose sustainability but are unable to. The truth is, in general, people don’t “mean to pollute” or choose unsustainable options. But sometimes they don’t have alternatives, because there are no sustainability initiatives where they live or stay, because they have strong mental blocks, or because they simply can’t afford them.

The good news is that, more and more, the responsible tourism philosophy is permeating many of the traditional tourism companies. While traditional mass tourism perhaps will never disappear, I do think that all companies will, in the end, include at least some measures to contribute toward sustainability and that tourists (as consumers) have an important role to play in this process.

How to Take Care of Tourists and Wildlife during Whale Watching Trips

by Marcela Torres

I recently watched a beautiful and moving Argentinean-Spanish film called “El faro de las orcas” (The Lighthouse of the Whales), set in the coast of a small Patagonian village. Although it focuses on the story of a boy with autism, it also raises important concerns about encouraging tourists to get close to killer whales. Free killer whales don’t attack humans, experts say. However, others would argue that you can never be too careful.

Because of that, as I have mentioned before, several countries and organizations, including the InternationalWhaling Commission (IWC) and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), have issued guidelines for observing whales and dolphins, to prevent harming both marine mammals and humans. In Chile, the Government passed the regulation for marine wildlife observation, in 2011, and later published two best-practices manuals, one of them with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Argentina has regulated this activity as well.

Australia is certainly one of the leaders in the promotion of responsible tourism, particularly in marine habitats. In 2009, I had an unforgettable whale-watching experience on a ferry that took us from Sydney to the feeding site of a group of humpback whales.

It was a clear, sunny day and I can still feel the cold wind and the ocean water sprinkling all over me as the waves moved the ferry up and down. I was on the deck with other tourists who, like myself, were excited and yelled each time they spotted a tail, a fin or a head, triggering a frenzy to get a photo or video of these animals. The ferry crew kept us in line, however, with their staff on deck as well as with constant instructions and explanations provided through loudspeakers.

Educating and raising awareness is key for ensuring responsible tourism. For example, while we sailed towards the whales, we saw a short educational video about these animals and the rules for observing them. Many guidelines and regulations also demand companies to contribute to conserving and monitoring marine mammals, reporting any sightings to the corresponding authorities.

Besides keeping these guidelines in mind, there are two things you can do to ensure a safe and pleasant experience: Look for information about the species and their habitats before you encounter them; and check that you are traveling with a certified tour operator that is respectful of these animals and the regulations for approaching them.

Whales are amazing creatures! They have been around for more than 30 million years and fascinate people all over the world. But many of them are endangered and we must act responsibly when embarking on a whale-watching adventure.

Hernán Torres (1946-2017): A Great Nature Lover

by Marcela Torres

It was January 2000 and my dad and I were sitting on top of a rocky promontory in Torres del Paine National Park, in southern Chile, withstanding the strong cold Patagonian winds that pierced through our parkas, gloves and hats. But we were on a mission: To photograph the elusive Andean Condor.

We were fortunate enough to stay at a park ranger post, where the staff gave us tips on the best spots to find the Condor. Since this is a scavenger bird, they suggested we take with us some really stinky cat food that would surely do the trick of attracting it to us.

Following their instructions, we trekked for hours through the tall grasslands of the “pampa” to reach one of the hills they had recommended. It was a rocky mount, completely barren, but after climbing it we discovered it provided a great lookout point. There we sat, with our stock of smelly cat food, and waited, and waited, and waited…

As we waited, I remembered how we came to be there on the first place. In 1982, the BBC produced one of my dad’s favorite documentaries, “The Flight of the Condor”. Mind you, he got a copy and played it over and over again. Being just a girl, I was more into cartoons and Michael Jackson videos, but I ended up liking this incredible film about a bird that is a national symbol in most Andean countries, including Chile, where we lived.

In fact, it wasn’t the first time I had enjoyed a national park with him. My dad had been Regional Director for CONAF, the agency in charge of Chilean protected areas, in Arica between 1974 and 1985. As a child, I traveled with him many times to Lauca National Park, in the high Andes, during his field visits. He taught me about the Vicuña, the Flamingos, the Vizcacha, and the Condor.

It was so much fun that I never paid attention to the cold and loved accompanying him while he photographed nature, which was his passion. When I turned nine, he gave me my first camera, a Polaroid that I still have, and taught me how use it. I was so happy that I took pictures of everything!!

Thanks to him, my family and I enjoyed living in Ann Arbor, Michigan; San José, Costa Rica; New Haven, Connecticut; and Arlington, Virginia. This gave us some unforgettable experiences, such as camping around the Great Lakes and visiting all of the beautiful national parks in these areas.

Torres del Paine had always been on my wish list. So, when he offered to take me in 2000, I said yes immediately! And there we were, waiting for the condor…

A couple of hours had gone by and we had almost lost all hope when suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge bird appeared flying straight towards us. It was a Condor! We quickly ditched our gloves and grabbed our cameras, getting ready to take great shots of this amazing animal. But in only a few seconds it was right on top of us!

As it came, and we realized how low it was flying, we instinctively leaned back until we lay flat on the rock.  It was such an awesome sight, having this massive bird glide only a meter above us, that we completely froze. We could see all the details of its belly and the long wings. When we snapped out of our awe, we realized we had not taken any pictures! So, we quickly rolled over on our bellies and started shooting with our cameras to try to catch at least a glimpse of the Condor. It was too late! We were only able to capture a tiny speck that was quickly flying away from us towards higher altitudes.

We stayed there a while, letting the experience sink in. It had been so amazing! Finally, we grabbed our cameras and the stinky cat food and walked back to the park ranger post. At night, while we sat with the rangers around a fire sharing a “mate” (muh-teh) –a typical Patagonia herbal tea-, they laughed at our adventure.

Our common love for nature led us to co-author two editions of the Guide to Chile’s National Parks (1999and 2004), in Spanish, and to work together in the development of the firstsustainable visitor center in a protected area in Chile, in Los FlamencosNational Reserve, between 2005 and 2006. That experience made me decide to study my Master in Ecotourism at James Cook University, in Cairns, Australia, in 2009.

My dad always supported my endeavors and often contributed with photographs for my blog. He was a member of several professional associations and chaired for many years the IUCN South American Camelid Specialist Group, promoting the conservation of the vicuña until the end of his life. I will continue contributing as well, honoring his memory.

He passed away on Saturday, February 18, 2017. It is still so recent that it’s hard to believe… I still feel him close… He will be with me forever… And my love and gratitude for all that he taught me will remain…

HERNÁN TORRES BIO

Hernán held a Master of Environmental Studies from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from The University of Michigan, both in the United States. He was Regional Director for CONAF (1974-1981 and 1984-1985); team leader for protected areas management plans at the CATIE, in Costa Rica (1986-1988); Protected Areas Specialist of The Nature Conservancy’s Caribbean Region Department (1995-1998); and an accomplished international consultant in protected area planning and management, sustainable development, ecosystem services and biodiversity, working with multilateral agencies, such as the UNDP, UNEP, World Bank and RAMSAR, and actively participating in IUCN initiatives until the end.