INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES, TOURISM
AND BIODIVERSITY WORKSHOP SERIES:
NEW INFORMATION AND WEB-BASED
TECHNOLOGIES
PACIFIC ISLANDS WORKSHOP
Apia, Samoa, 3-5 November 2008
OVERVIEW
1. CBD
Biodiversity and the Convention
Role of the Secretariat
Relevant CBD decisions
2. WORKSHOP
Specific objectives
Expected results
Outcomes of the previous workshop
BIODIVERSITY IS...
Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is the term given
to the variety of life on Earth. It is the result of billions
of years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and,
increasingly, by the influence of humans.
It forms the web of
life of which we are
an integral part and
upon which we so
fully depend.
BIODIVERSITY IS...
1) Variety of species
2) Genetic differences
3) Variety of ecosystems
WHY IS BIODIVERSITY IMPORTANT
FOR YOU AND THE WORLD?
Protecting biodiversity is in our self interest, providing the
goods and services that sustain our lives including:
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Provision of shelter and building materials
Stabilization and moderation of the Earth's climate
Purification of air and water
Provision of food, fuel and fibre
Cultural and aesthetic benefits
etc
WHAT ARE THE
CHALLENGES FACING
BIODIVERSITY?
Species have been disappearing at up to 1000
times the natural rate
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An estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal
species face extinction, including one in eight
birds and one third of all amphibians
20% of known bird species have already
disappeared
41% of mammals are in decline and 28% are
under direct threat
45% of the Earth's original forests are gone.
Forest areas of about four times the size of
Belgium are being lost every year.
Human activities are
creating the greatest
wave of extinction since
the natural disaster that
wiped out the dinosaurs
65 million years ago
The Convention on
Biological Diversity
Opened for signature in Rio in 1992
(Earth Summit)
First global, comprehensive agreement to
address all aspects of biological diversity:
genetic resources, species, and ecosystems
It recognises - for the first time that the
conservation of biological diversity is 'a
common concern of humankind' and an
integral part of the development process.
Ratified by 191 countries
(including the European Union)
The CBD is an international
governmental agreement
The Parties are the primary
audience
The CBD Secretariat has a specific
mandate :
• To service CBD meetings
• To report to the Conference
of the Parties (COP)
• To coordinate with relevant
international bodies
• To perform functions
requested by the COP
Interactions at various levels
International CBD, other conventions
UN Agencies
IGOs and Regional Organizations
National
Ministry of Tourism
Ministry of Environment
Ministry in charge of ILCs
National NGOs
Local
Tour service providers and managers
Business owners and managers
Local NGOs
The Convention on Biological Diversity
Objectives (Article 1):
The conservation of biological diversity
The sustainable use of its components
The equitable sharing of benefits arising out
of the utilization of genetic resources
→
The Convention on Biological
Diversity and Traditional knowledge
Governments acknowledged in the Preamble:
The close dependance of many indigenous and local
communities on biological resources and the
desirability of sharing equitably benefits of
traditional knowledge, innovation and practices
relevant to the conservation of biological diversity
and the sustainable use of its components.
Article 8(j) Traditional Knowledge
Parties have undertaken to:
• Respect, preserve and maintain knowledge,
innovations and practices of indigenous and
local communities embodying traditional
lifestyles relevant for the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity and
• Promote their wider application with
the approval and involvement of the holders
of such knowledge, innovations and practices
and
• Encourage the equitable sharing of the
benefits arising from the utilization of such
knowledge, innovations and practices
Other relevant CBD
programmes of work
•Indigenous and Local Communities (ILC)
Article 8(j)
•Tourism
•Islands
•Invasive and alien species
•Protected Areas
•Information and Communication Technologies
Why a Workshop on ILC, TOURISM
AND BIODIVERSITY : NEW INFORMATION
AND WEB-BASED TECHNOLOGIES
In paragraph 7 of decision IX/13 E, on Article 8(j) and
related provisions, the Conference of the Parties requested
the Executive Secretary to convene , subject to the
availability of financial resources, further
regional and sub-regional
workshops on communityfriendly communication tools
on traditional knowledge
related to the conservation
and sustainable use of
biodiversity
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
1) development and management of biodiversity-friendly
tourism activities;
2) new information and web-based technology capacity of
ILC tourism operators;
3) marketing and development of the culturally and
biologically sustainable aspects of indigenous tourism
products and experiences via the Internet;
4) develop network and exchange information;
5) use successful tools from the first workshop
The participants are expected to
1) improve their web-based technological
capacities, thereby increasing their ability
to market and develop
their sustainable tourism products;
2) more effectively portray to their target
market through their website their
understandings of and unique connections
to conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity;
3) use their websites as internal
communication and management tools
within their local communities and to
connect them with broader stakeholder
networks;
Feedbacks from the Arctic
“This is more than timely for me: the tools for our web site will be
shared and presented to my board; we will create a focus group on
what needs to be done.”
“Biodiversity goes hand in hand with ethnodiversity”
“The workshop demonstrates the aboriginal communities can
bring to the world and can be source of inspiration to nonindigenous.”
PRACTICAL OUTPUTS
*concrete tools/improved
websites
*web portal for the region
*exchange of services
*networking and partnerships
*a scientific and collective paper
on the workshop methodology
*knowledge and vision sharing
within the region and with other
regions
THANK YOU!