#InTheNews: 10 highlights this week re. #sustainable #travel #tourism & #development

1/ #Conservation/#Climate: #EU passes landmark law to protect #nature, ending months of deadlock of member states spooked by farmers' protests. #Austria’s #Green climate minister's late change of heart & vote saved the proposal! https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/eu-passes-law-to-restore-20-of-blocs-land-and-sea-by-end-of-decade #sdg15 #sdg14

2/ Conservation: The #IberianLynx, “The greatest recovery of a #cat #species ever achieved through #conservation", lifting numbers from 62 mature individuals in 2001 to 648 in 2022 & >2000 today including young, mostly in #Spain - moving from #endangered to #vulnerable https://www.iucn.org/press-release/202406/iberian-lynx-rebounding-thanks-conservation-action-iucn-red-list #redlist #iucn

3/ #Community: Despite the floating petri-dishes of #Covid, #cruise demand booms: “Ship-free Saturdays” referendum? Good for locals! Is this the 1st place to fix volume capacity max? Sure we'll see more & more with #cruising & #flights https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/15/alaska-capital-juneau-limits-cruise-ship-passengers-record-visitors #sdg12

4/ Community/Conservation: #Greece warned against #overtourism '‘In #Santorini, even #tourists complain about the great number of tourists’. It needs to reduce #construction, #protect #water & #coast to not 'exhaust & waste its potential, making #tourist #destinations unattractive” https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/greece-tourists-heat-wave-temperatures-b2563724.html

5/ Community/Conservation: #MountFuji overtourism prevention gate installed + #tourist limit 4K/day + reservations + fee required + optional conservation donation https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/17/mount-fuji-crowd-control-gate-limit-tourists #Japan #safety #mountain #hiking #bulletclimbing #mountains

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6/ Conservation/#Climate: ~2,300 miles west of central #Chile, #EasterIsland (#RapaNui) is among the most remote spots on Earth – & among the most #polluted. It is estimated that 50X more #plastic washes ashore on these beaches than on the Chilean mainland https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jun/18/your-plastic-is-here-how-easter-island-rapa-nui-copes-with-500-pieces-of-rubbish-an-hour-washing-ashore #plastics

7/ Conservation/#Communities: How small #Pacific #island nation #Vanuatu drastically cut #plasticpollution: With lagoons once choked by #waste, pressure from the appalled #community led the government to ban certain #singleuse https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/20/how-the-small-pacific-island-nation-of-vanuatu-drastically-cut-plastic-pollution #responsible #consumption #packaging

8/ #Commerce: #UNTourism has established 2027 as the International Year of Sustainable & #Resilient Tourism (serendipitously when we launched, #IY2017 was Int'l Year of #SustainableTourism for #Development) https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/2027-year-of-sustainable-and-resilient-tourism/ #IY2027?

9/ Conservation: Surprised? Ought to know better that #animals (& #indigenous #forest people) know their nature better > Wild #chimpanzees eat #plants that have pain-relieving & anti-bacterial properties to ‘self-medicate’ with healing plants https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce994dv9q4eo

10/ Conservation: #Birders! Help find 126 ‘lost’ #bird #species not seen for 10-100 yrs. Some may be in #remote locations, not lost to local & #Indigenous communities https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/17/birders-126-lost-bird-species-aoe #birding #ornithology #threatened #extinct