The travel industry will be asked to join the fight to stop mass burning of the world’s rainforest at the opening of WTM World Responsible Tourism Day.
Dr. Andrew Mitchell, senior advisor to The Prince’s Rainforest Project (HRH Prince of Wales) and director of the Global Canopy Programme says that twice as much carbon is stored in trees as in the whole of the earth’s atmosphere and is absolutely critical in the struggle against climate change.
One of the world’s top rainforest specialists, Dr Mitchell opens WTM World Responsible Tourism Day on Wednesday 11 November.
In association with the UNWTO and supported by leading industry associations such as WTTC and PATA, this is the world’s most ambitious day of global action.
The aim is to signal to consumers that the industry is listening to increasing demands for a more caring and sensitive approach as well as to educate and inspire the international industry to work together.
Fiona Jeffery, Chairman of World Travel Market and a 15-year industry pioneer of the green agenda said that she was delighted Dr. Mitchell would be speaking at what is now a keynote event of World Travel Market week.
“Forests help dampen the effects of industrial emissions and are fundamental for jobs, incomes and livelihoods of 90% of the one and a half billion people who live in extreme poverty around the world”, she said.
“In the past 50 years, the world has lost a third of its tropical forests, and continues to lose some 13 million hectares of tropical forest each year – an area larger than Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark combined!
“What is worrying is that pressure on forests is even increasing.”
Earlier this year, Mitchell helped the UK government launch a new Forest Footprint Disclosure Project to encourage more rigorous international standards for certifying forests which are sustainably managed.
He said:”Tourism can be a great force for good…or bad. I think the industry recognises this and is doing a much better job than it has in the past.”
“Burning rainforests cause about 20 per cent of global warming. That’s more emissions than the entire transport sector put together – cars, trains, airlines and ships.
“But this doesn’t mean the travel industry off the hook. We are likely to travel even more and not worry about it.
“The difference is we can probably fix forests quicker than some of the other stuff. It might take ten years to come up with a new aircraft engine; it might be 15 to 20 years to build a carbon capture plant or nuclear power station.
“We can tackle deforestation now.”
Mitchell founded the Global Canopy Programme (GCP), an international network linking 38 leading scientific institutions in 19 countries engaged in research, conservation and education. GCP investigates the impact of climate change on biodiversity and ecosystem services in forest canopies.
He has coordinated the growth of the programme into an influential alliance, using networks developed within the international science community to offer a global perspective on forest canopies. GCP’s 2003 ‘20:20 Vision for Canopy Science’, for example, proposed a network of ‘Whole Forest Observatories’ and was approved by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) along with governments in Brazil, Ghana, Madagascar, India and Malaysia.
Jeffery said that this year’s rainforest focus for the opening of WTM World Responsible Tourism Day has particular significance this year because of the UN’s climate change conference in Copenhagen in December – a month after World Travel Market.
“If we are to impact climate change, the travel industry must play its part in helping to save rainforests,” she said.
More operators than ever before are participating in WTM World Responsible Tourism Day by applying to use the WRTD logo. Benefits include global profile and publicity opportunities.
For more information on WTM World Responsible Tourism Day 2009, or to apply for the WTM World Responsible Day logo, log onto www.wtmwrtd.com or contact
Araminta Sugden on the WRTD hotline service on +44 (0)1892 535943
