Climate change killing tourism

Carbon dioxide in atmosphere rising

Sri Lanka Tourism hosted the AGM and the Directors’ meeting of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) this weekend. In his “scene setting” presentation to the delegates, Prof. Mohan Munesinghe, Vice Chairman of the ICCP, explained how climate change is a potential threat to the tourism industry as it eats away at the globe’s attractions.

“Climate change is bad because it undermines sustainable tourism and suppresses the poor even further”, he said. The main victims of the global phenomena are the low income groups who cannot adapt fast enough to the situation which are caused by the rich.

According to him, the “safe” level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 280 parts per million. The global level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently at around 390 parts per million and growing. The EU has decreed 450 parts per million to be the danger zone. If this is to be averted a significant drop in carbon emissions worldwide is mandatory by 2015.

In the travel trade, airlines are considered to be one of the largest offenders of climate change. However, Munesinghe says this is not the case but that tourism itself should take steps to mitigate climate change. “Sustainable tourism can make a tremendous impact” he said, “It can develop the economy, protect the poor and protect the natural resources which tourism depends on”.

He pin-pointed small islands, the Arctic region, the Asian delta region and Sub-Saharan Africa as being areas that would be hit the hardest and earliest by global warming. He pointed out that many major eco-systems on which tourism thrives, will be damaged in the process.

“There are many known technological aspects that will help but for a lack of political will” he said. He encouraged the private sector to take responsibility via tools like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the ISO standards. (TR)