‘Regenerative’ tourism eyed
IN order to further boost the country’s ecotourism sector amid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to shift towards “regenerative” tourism.
This is the call made by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Antonia Loyzaga during the International Ecotourism Forum recently held in Manila, wherein she explained that regenerative tourism goes beyond the environment and looks at the social and economic development of communities, preservation of local cultures, and protection of biodiversity –regenerative tourism as “leaving a place better than it was before.”
In her speech that was delivered by Ernesto Adobo, Jr., DENR Undersecretary for Legal and Administration, Loyzaga stressed the importance of transitioning towards tourism that regenerates the environment and provides economic, social, and environmental benefits and taking into account climate change.
“It is the understanding that everything is connected and the interactions between every stakeholder throughout the tourism value chain have impacts on each other and our ecosystems,” she added.
She noted that the Philippine tourism sector faces “challenges” brought by climate change, extreme weather events, and slow and rapid onset hazards, which impede its potential to be a driver of environmental and cultural protection, economic progress, and social development.
Loyzaga added that the DENR has been at the forefront of ecotourism development through sustainable management of protected areas (PAs) under the National Integrated Protected Areas System or NIPAS program.
The program promotes sustainable tourism and responsible travel to natural areas through national and localized guidelines and standards, educational conservation, and economic and social development of local communities.
“Equity is central to ecotourism. Development assistance for communities to help them leverage the economic value of their natural assets should be strengthened,” Loyzaga stressed.
According to the DENR chief, ecotourism “can be a powerful tool for conservation, community development, and education, but it requires careful planning and management to ensure that it benefits both the environment and the local communities.”
Ecotourism development is also supported by the National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP), jointly developed by the DENR and the Department of Tourism (DOT).
NESAP is currently being updated to incorporate strategies on disaster risk reduction and management, address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, expand its scope from PAs to ecotourism areas, and participate in monitoring and conservation initiatives.
Loyzaga further emphasized that ecotourism serves as an avenue for the participation of local communities in biodiversity conservation in PAs, which is critical to climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction.
To sustainably manage PAs and biodiversity resources, Loyzaga said that properly valuing these assets is critical to recognize biodiversity’s actual and realized contribution to the economy and the true cost of natural capital loss.
