SUVA, Fiji (8 Sep 2003) -- Tourism development in Fiji is causing serious environmental degradation, in particular, coral reefs, which are suffering irreversible damage. This was revealed at a Stakeholders Consultation workshop on Tuesday in Nadi held by the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) of Fiji's Tourism Development Plan 1997 - 2005. The SEA was conducted this year through an agreement between the Ministry of Tourism and World Wide Fund (WWF) and is funded by the Asian Development Bank. The SEA was carried out to understand the likely environmental and social impact of the Tourism Development Plan by comparing the current environmental, social and economic baseline and likely trends under the Tourism Development Plan. According to a WWF press statement, one of the recommendations of the SEA is the implementation and enforcement of the Sustainable Development Bill by Government as well as the establishment of an Environmental Fund from visitor user fees and the establishment of effective "bottom up" planning of tourism at tikina and provincial level and only permit tourism developments that are approved through this process. | | In his opening address, Tourism Minister Pita Nacuva said the vulnerability of an island country such as Fiji to environmental and cultural erosion meant "small impacts can result in serious damage". He said that for the negative impacts to be controlled and the benefits to be equally distributed, "there is a need to develop partnerships between the different industry stakeholders". He added that in Fiji, the environment and social cultural importance are inseparable, as far as the local people are concerned. "It is therefore important to note that maintaining environmental and cultural attributes of the tourism product is essential to ensure that the products maintain a competitive edge internationally and they do not decline on the product life cycle," Mr Nacuva said. SOURCE - Daily Post |
