Sustainable Tourism: Sustaining the Environment While Fostering Economic Development

“OES promotes sustainable tourism as one tool for natural resources conservation and economic development. Tourism focused on wildlife viewing and photography, if carefully managed, can be of benefit to both the protection of wildlife and local economies.”

--Claudia A. McMurray, Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment, and Science

As a country with vast and diverse natural habitats, the United States has a long tradition of ecotourism on public and private lands. It is estimated that over 900 million visitors spend billions of dollars annually on trips to national forests, parks, monuments, historic sites, recreation areas, protected areas and wildlife refuges, reserves, and management areas.

The U.S. promotes sustainable tourism throughout the world, from pristine habitats to tropical forest areas and fragile marine ecosystems including coral reefs. The Department of State does this by initiating treaties, hosting meetings, funding projects, and awarding exemplary actions.

The International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) 
The U.S. and Mexico are co-hosting the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2009. During this time period, the U.S., through ICRI, will launch the International Year of the Reef 2008, to raise public awareness of the value of coral reefs, particularly for the tourism sector. The U.S. will also sponsor a regional workshop at the July 2008 International Coral Reef Symposium in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on how sustainable tourism can help conserve coral reefs.

Caribbean Marine Conservation
The U.S. is a strong supporter of the White Water to Blue Water Initiative, an international alliance of public and private institutions that addresses watershed and marine ecosystem management issues in the Caribbean region. A recent partnership between the International Council of Cruise Lines and Conservation International will promote environmentally sustainable cruise operations in the Caribbean.

Conserving Africa’s Forest Parks
Through the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, the U.S. supports ecotourism development in several regional parks. These efforts have resulted in transboundary cooperation and tourism revenue-sharing among parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda, home to the endangered mountain gorilla.

Ecotourism in Chile
The Department of State co-funded a project in 2006 with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Parks of Chile for ecotourism development in Chile as part of the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This project allowed U.S. Forest Service experts to conduct workshops on environmental interpretation and trail building in Puyehue National Park.

Antarctic Tourism 
Tourism is a major focus of U.S. Antarctic diplomacy. The U.S. made a series of proposals at the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in May 2007 to minimize the environmental impact and ensure the safety of growing numbers of tourists in Antarctica. All Parties reached consensus discouraging landings of cruise ships with more than 500 passengers. A U.S. proposal was adopted ensuring that only one tourist vessel visits a site at any time; restricting the number of passengers on shore at any one time to 100 or fewer; and maintaining a minimum 1:20 guide-to-passenger ratio while ashore.

UN Environmental Council Meeting
Assistant Secretary of State Claudia McMurray co-chaired the Ministerial Session on Tourism and the Environment at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council in Dubai February 2006. At this meeting, France announced the creation of the UNEP’s Sustainable Tourism Task Force. The Department of State participated in the task force formation meetings and contributed to the Sustainable Tourism Task Force web site on http://www.veilleinfotourisme.fr/taskforce

2006 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE)
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented the 2006 ACE award to Goldman Sachs Investment Company for its conservation of Karukinka, a 680,000-acre area on Tierra del Fuego Island in southern Chile. Goldman Sachs transferred ownership of the property to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and continues to provide financial support for management of the forest and wildlife, ecotourism, and community development. The Karukinka protected area is a premier area available to tourists in this remote and spectacular location.