Biodiversity and Oceans

Biodiversity is vital for tourism and a healthy environment is a critical factor for the competitiveness of the tourism sector. The conservation efforts of many destinations depend largely on tourism revenues. Coasts, mountains, rivers, and forests are major attractions for tourists around the world.  Biodiversity lies at the heart of nature-based tourism products – such as wildlife watching, scuba diving or tourism in protected areas Tourism connects people with nature, it can foster environmental responsibility and conservation if pursued sustainably.

Over the years, UN Tourism has actively addressed biodiversity issues at various levels and contributed to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)'s works. It has also participated in the CBD's discussions on tourism and biodiversity for various Conferences of the Parties (COPs), Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development. In 2004, the CBD Secretariat published the Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Development, followed by the Tourism for Nature and Development: A Good Practice Guide in 2009, Tourism for Nature and Development: A Good Practice Guide to which UN Tourism contributed.

In 2010, in the context of the International Year of Biodiversity and the Tenth Conference of the Parties to the CBD, UN Tourism prepared the publication Biodiversity, Achieving Common Goals Towards Sustainability. In 2016, the CBD's COP13 Cancun Declaration on Mainstreaming the Conservation and Sustainable use of Biodiversity for Well-Being, supported by UN Tourism, recognized tourism as a driving force for change. It acknowledged the tourism sector as one of the major sectors of the global economy contributing to conservation and raising awareness about the importance of biodiversity.

UN Tourism actively participates in the UN Environment Management Group (EMG), a coordination body addressing international environmental issues. It has contributed to the 2021 Report Supporting the Global Biodiversity Agenda, a United Nations System Commitment for Action to assist Member States delivering on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, as well as to the Environment Management Group’s Biodiversity Report and the UN Common Approach on Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions, among others.