Policy Framework for Nature Heritage Tourism |
Contact:
John
Emmanuel
Friday, April
20, 2001
-
Some three years following the inception of the Nature Heritage Tourism
Programme on the island, organizers have begun working towards laying down a
policy framework to govern the management of those sites in an environmentally
sustainable manner. The
formation of the policy framework is expected to harmonize with the
programme’s objectives of providing an authentic experience to visitors, while
adhering to conservation ethics of environmental sustainability. Co-ordinator
of the Heritage Programme Felix Finisterre says, with the assistance of the
Natural Resources Management Unit of the OECS, site operators will be trained to
institute and subsequently monitor sustainability measures for the sector. Finisterre
says, “We have chosen a number of sites in St. Lucia to do a number of pilot
audits. Those pilot audits will now be used to help us design a framework for
St. Lucia, for the implementation of environmental systems.
It will not only be for St. Lucia’s use but will hopefully be
replicated in the other OECS territories. So in a sense, St. Lucia is a pilot in
this whole activity of trying to work towards site and activities having
environmental sustainability,” Finisterre said. The
policy framework will attempt to minimize negative effects of sites’
activities on the environment, examine the effects of the external community on
the sites, ensure that tour activities comply with basic environmental standards
and enhance St. Lucia’s image as a sustainable tourism destination. Initial funding towards the development of the policy and training for site operators have already been sourced, amounting to close to seventy thousand dollars. |
© 2001 Government Information Service. All rights reserved. Read our privacy guidelines. |