Outcomes of the STSC Consultation Sessions at the IYE Regional Preparatory Meetings

1
Outcomes of the STSC Consultation Sessions at the
IYE Regional Preparatory Meetings

• By
• Fergus Tyler Maclaren
• Director, International Year of Ecotourism
• The International Ecotourism Society

2
Presentation Format

• Background to TIES Role
• Operational Parameters
• Six Regional Meetings Analysis
• Meeting Issues/Assessment
• Conclusions

3
Background

• the Rainforest Alliance partnered with TIES to
  support the incorporation of discussions about
  accreditation of ecotourism and sustainable
  tourism certifiers in the six regional meetings
  that TIES was conducting on behalf of UNEP.

4
Six Regional Meetings Leading up to WES

• Mesoamerica -- Belize City, Belize
• South Asia -- Gangtok, Sikkim, India
• Andean South America -- Lima, Peru
• Southeast Asia - Chiang Mai, Thailand
• East Africa -- Nairobi, Kenya
• Arctic -- Hemavan, Sweden

5
Operational Parameters

• obtain list of invitees
• provide a list of observations/recommendations
  for each group
• write a reflective report on the suitability of
  the methodology and the outcomes of the workshop,
  with suggestions for improving the following
  workshop

6
Regional Meeting Partnership Requirements

• agree upon 90 minute, Half Day or Full Day
  Workshop format
• provide venue for workshop
• market workshop in meeting program and
  announcements
• provide any further session logistics

7
Mesoamerica

• 23 participants / Full Day Session
• countries represented were Belize, Costa Rica, El
  Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua
  and Panama
• representatives from the Rainforest Alliance were
  in attendance and helped lead the process during
  the full day
• accreditation was considered necessary to support
  the growing development of certification systems,
  but there were concerns that those that did not
  use accredited certification schemes would be in
  an anticompetitive position

8
South Asia

• 30 participants / Half Day Session
• countries represented were Bhutan, India, Nepal
  and Sri Lanka
• one Australian researcher in group had experience
  with NEAP, and one country in particular, Sri
  Lanka, appeared to have the most experience in
  applying and using certification
• general consensus was that people appreciated the
  purpose of the STSC and the need to set global
  standard, and that any accreditation body of a
  regional nature should be non-governmental and
  affordable

9
Andean South America

• Half Day Session
• countries represented were Bolivia, Colombia,
  Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela
• several certification programs are being launched
  in the region. They want to know how
  accreditation can help with oversight on these
  programs and how it can help with the process of
  delivering more access to small business and
  communities
• general consensus was that accreditation was a
  good idea, and that a clear system of norms for
  all certification programs is wanted and that all
  tourism sectors can participate.

10
Southeast Asia

• 25 participants / Half Day Session
• countries represented were Cambodia, Indonesia,
  Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand
  and Vietnam
• one participant had previous experience working
  on tourism certification issues in the
  Netherlands, while others had worked in areas
  such as forest products certification
• general consensus was that accreditation was a
  good idea, but that people needed more
  information about certification, and how it could
  be applied

11
East Africa

• 22 attendees / Half Day Session
• Countries represented were Kenya, Tanzania and
  Uganda
• two in group had previous experience with
  certification, and made initial presentations
• Ecotourism Society of Kenya developing its own
  certification program and are looking to have a
  body like the STSC set baseline standards
• general consensus was that people appreciated the
  purpose of the STSC and the need to set global
  standards, but were concerned about costs and
  time required to participate

12
Arctic

• 60 attendees / 90 minute workshop
• Countries represented were Canada, Denmark,
  Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, United
  States
• many in group experienced in the area of
  certification
• incorporated into days session that included a
  general assessment of current certification
  products, the Swedish Ecotourism Associations
  Natures Best program and the Arctic LINKS
  program
• general consensus was that people were not
  convinced of the need for a body like the STSC,
  and were concerned about bodys need and
  viability, particularly on a global basis

13
Statement from the Arctic Regional Meeting

• We do not feel there is a need for a Sustainable
  Tourism Stewardship Council on the grounds
  that- It is introducing an unnecessary layer
  of administration and management, and- It is
  introducing an additional cost which most
  certification programs will be unable to
  affordFurthermore, the consultation approach
  has not clearly outlined the problem or explored
  alternatives. For such a large-scale project,
  consultation should have first sought agreement
  on the problem and then identified a range of
  solutions. This group therefore rejects the
  development of a Sustainable Tourism Stewardship
  Council.

14
Meeting Issues

• most participants were from NGOs or communities,
  with minimal participation from operators, with
  the exception of the Arctic
• concerns over how the questions were formulated
  and being presented
• many participants, while working in ecotourism,
  had limited understanding of certification, and
  attended out of interest to find out what
  certification and accreditation were
• audience members were often English as a second
  language speakers, and could not fully comprehend
  complex terms or explanations

15
Meetings Assessment

• need for basic understanding of what
  certification is and how and why it should be
  applied, and on what types of activities
• costs and effort to undertake accreditation are
  perceived to be detrimental to its successful
  application
• certification often perceived as a marketing, as
  opposed to a conservation tool
• concerns raised about delivery mechanisms for
  accreditation such as exterior consultants and
  new internal management systems
• need for basic understanding of what
  accreditation is and how and why it should be
  applied

16
Conclusions

• In principle, stakeholders in five of the six
  regional meetings favorably concurred that
  accreditation was a valuable tool for upholding
  the standards of conservation in ecotourism
  operations
• Ongoing education is critical in terms of
  generating awareness of what certification is,
  before dealing with issues of accreditation
• Cost is viewed by many, particularly in
  developing countries, as a barrier to access
• Accreditation will need to be done a regional
  basis, and have needs assessments undertaken to
  determine the appropriateness and viability of
  the process, before implementation
• Any accreditation body that becomes established
  must be neutral separate from political influence