The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has called for a shift towards “regenerative” tourism in a bid to further boost the country’s ecotourism sector amid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency made the call during the International Ecotourism Forum recently held in Manila, where DENR Secretary Antonia Loyzaga served as a keynote speaker.
Loyzaga, in her speech that was delivered by DENR Undersecretary for Legal and Administration Ernesto D. Adobo Jr., defined regenerative tourism as “leaving a place better than it was before.”
“It (regenerative tourism) goes beyond the environment and looks at the social and economic development of communities, preservation of local cultures, and protection of biodiversity,” Loyzaga pointed out.
“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.
The DENR chief emphasized the importance of transitioning towards tourism that regenerates the environment and provides economic, social and environmental benefits, and taking into account climate change.
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.
She stated 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.
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 the proper valuation of these assets is critical to recognize biodiversity’s actual and realized contribution to the economy and true cost of natural capital loss.
Under Loyzaga’s administration, the DENR has established a national natural resource geospatial database and a natural capital accounting system, which will significantly aid in the prioritization of investments and actions for the country’s environment and natural resources.
The DENR likewise instituted a climate change tagging system in its national budget and crafted legislation on the protection of millions of hectares of forests, wetlands, caves, and mangroves, and reefs.
The International Ecotourism Forum is the highlight of the first-ever 2023 International Ecotourism Travel Mart organized by the Asian Ecotourism Network, a regional initiative of the Global Ecotourism Network that showcased practical insights and effective steps on sustainable tourism.
Held from March 29 to April 2, 2023, the event is in collaboration with the International School of Sustainable Tourism. #
