Industry welcomes historic high seas treaty for marine conservation
PICTURESQUE hues of azure seas dominate travel ads to entice global travelers to visit the Pacific, and this marketing tool is no exception for Fiji’s tourism industry.
The ocean is but a crucial aspect in marketing Fiji to the globe, yet this critical resource is in dire need of saving due to a plethora of issues — ranging from pollution, overfishing, climate change and shipping traffic.
And a High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy — an initiative by 17 countries including Fiji — heard recently that over 50 per cent of global tourism is represented by coastal and marine tourism.
For most island states, tourism is among the largest revenue earning sectors and some states are highly dependent on pristine marine ecosystems and oceans to attract visitors.
This month, the High Seas Treaty was reached after 10 years of negotiations, aiming to place 30 per cent of the seas into protected areas by 2030, to help allow the marine ecosystem to recuperate.
The historic treaty has been welcomed across the globe, and here at home, agencies like Tourism Fiji are ecstatic with the development.
“It’s great!” a spokesperson said.
“For Fiji, this ensures we restore and conserve critical marine ecosystems and habitats, nurturing our oceans for future generations.
“As
Fiji’s tourism industry relies heavily on the ocean and its diverse marine life, this treaty is critical in ensuring the long-term sustainability of Fiji’s tourism sector and the economic benefits it brings.
“And considering how much tourism means to Fiji, the waters are more valuable to us healthy and abundant, so this helps greatly and is a step forward.”
But sustainability doesn’t just start from the top, and as the organisation stated, they were focused on working with stakeholders in the industry to ensure change occurred in the smallest interactions.
In this regard, Tourism Fiji said it had implemented several sustainability initiatives to promote responsible tourism practices and protect Fiji’s environment and culture.
“We have our very own sustainability officer, and through our sustainability programs we aim to encourage operators to use environmentally friendly practices, such as reducing plastic waste and conserving energy, and supporting
– local communities by promoting local products and services.
“Tourism Fiji also supports several conservation projects, such as the Mamanuca Environment Society’s coral reef restoration program, which aims to restore damaged coral reefs and enhance marine biodiversity.
“Furthermore, Tourism Fiji collaborates with local communities to develop sustainable tourism products, such as ecotourism and cultural experiences, that showcase Fiji’s unique culture and natural beauty while providing economic benefits for local communities.
“We have also recently partnered with Pacific Recycling Foundation for the Global Recycling Day to create awareness and promote recycling initiatives in the industry.”
And such actions carry enormous weight as internal sustainable practices here are tied in with the very resource they hope to protect and conserve for future generations.
“All our current actions are aligned with our industry. Tourism Fiji continuously collaborates with the industry, offering guidance and attentive listening, and we champion their interests!
“At Tourism Fiji we see sustainability as a very important issue which requires a collective approach, therefore any such initiative is highly supported.
“Budgets depending, we want to keep sustainability at the forefront of tourism promotion. In Fiji, we value our natural environment, and the commitment thus comes naturally to continue these sustainability efforts — as that’s what we are offering to our visitors.
“So, we want more tourists to come to Fiji, and we want them to come sustainably, helping us preserve and protect and grow what we hold dear.”
Meanwhile, addressing another aspect of sustainability, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says Fiji’s tourism sector also has the potential to tap into sustainable means of traditional shipping which would significantly reduce the carbon footprint on the environment.
“For Fiji, we have a very good opportunity opening for us in the tourism industry when big liners come over and anchor off Lautoka or Suva, they want to go into the island resorts in the Mamanucas and the Yasawas,” he said in an earlier interview with The Fiji Times.
“That’s where the local shipping companies, particularly those tourism based ones that are owned by Fijian Holdings or by private companies can move towards these environmentally friendly propulsion systems of hybrid sails and solar and wind mill powered for all the electricity needed on those ships.
“We can revive the local shipbuilding capacity not only in Suva but also traditional ones like on the islands of traditional boat builders of Kabara in Lau.”
Skills attained through our forefathers who voyaged across the seas could very well be used alongside the present modern technology to introduce a sustainable solution for the future, he said.
“Use those skills from ages past to the technologies of today for the transportation system of the future because that knowledge will not be there all the time.
“It will be good for us to be jerked back into realisation into memory at this time, those of us who can still remember history and folklore and we try and link those to the present day as well as the future technologies that we are listening to, hearing about being manufactured into the touristic transportation system.
“It is very important for us and we see that there can be a seamless connection between the past and the present for the future.”
As Fiji’s tourism industry relies heavily on the ocean and its diverse marine life, this treaty is critical in ensuring the long-term sustainability of Fiji’s tourism sector and the economic benefits it brings ... considering how much tourism means to Fiji, the waters are more valuable to us healthy and abundant Tourism Fiji