Can tourism have a positive impact on nature?
According to the WWF Living Planet Report 2022, wildlife populations have tumbled by an average of 69% over the past 50 years. Species loss is mainly caused by changes in land and sea use, natural resource exploitation, and climate change. Tourism can accelerate this loss, but if harnessed in the right way, it also has the power to help reverse these trends and drive positive change through habitat restoration and species protection.
Tourism has an integral role to play in reaching the recently agreed Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework, a global plan to protect and restore biodiversity, ensuring the health of ecosystems and the survival of diverse species.
Global Ecosphere Retreat® Grootbos Private Nature Reserve is a regenerated biodiversity hotspot.
Tourism’s important role to play
It includes targets to restore 30% of degraded ecosystems and protect 30% of the world’s land, waters and sea by 2030. One way is to take a Nature Positive approach to travel, as advocated for by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), requiring the tourism industry to work towards actively restoring our planet’s depleted resources by 2030 through integrating biodiversity safeguards, reducing operational impacts, supporting the sustainable use of natural resources, and actively restoring nature.
On the frontline of conservation
Biodiversity restoration is not just a concept, but a living reality for all Long Run members, many of whom are at the front line of conservation. Their tireless efforts to preserve invaluable biodiversity in each unique location are not only for the short-term enjoyment of visitors but, more importantly, for the long-term benefit of local communities and the species that depend on it all year round. As a collective, Long Run members are safeguarding nearly 22 million acres of land, directly protecting and regenerating over 1.2 million acres of ecosystems and protecting 455 animal species and 439 plant species from the IUCN Red List. Their work is a testament to the power of collective action in biodiversity restoration.
In the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil, one of our Global Ecosphere Retreats, Sinal do Vale, combines tourism with large-scale reforestation and community empowerment projects. This region is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and the source of drinking water for 70% of the population, yet over 80% has been lost to deforestation. Sinal do Vale acts as a guardian for over 400 acres of rainforest. It has restored acres of degraded land, planted thousands of native trees, and rejuvenated soil using cost-effective techniques. Sinal do Vale is also part of the Rio Green Belt conservation group and carries out environmental education programmes in the San Antonio community.
Six Senses Laamu’s sustainability strategy, led by its core value of ‘Local Sensitivity, Global Sensibility’, includes marine protection and seagrass restoration initiatives. The resort employs a team of marine biologists at its Maldives Underwater Initiative, who research the local marine habitats and biodiversity, all of which helped contribute to the designation of six local Marine Protected Areas in 2021. Six Senses Laamu, a Long Run member, now also hosts a Sea Hub for Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL), a space designed to work in tandem with the conservation work of the Maldives Underwater Initiative. The SHELL contains laboratories, exhibitions and a theatre, which employees, the local community, scientists, and guests can all access to learn more about the Laamu Atoll’s marine protected areas and the species within.
Tackling the climate crisis
Protecting nature through habitat restoration and conservation can also help tackle the climate crisis and have amazing benefits for biodiversity. In turn, stable climate conditions are essential for the survival and health of diverse species and natural habitats. Decarbonisation is a key component in preserving nature, so we are pleased to highlight that 46% of Long Run members are carbon neutral or will be in the next five years, 57% have a climate action plan, and 41% of energy requirements come from renewable sources.
Home to the marine ‘big five’ and more than 879 plant species, Grootbos Private Nature Reserve occupies one of the world’s most significant biodiversity hotspots, the Cape Floral Kingdom. Many of the plants found here are of conservation concern, and as many as 70% of the plant species are found nowhere else on Earth. Now a thriving ecotourism destination, Grootbos recognises how precious the region is. It has gone way past being carbon neutral to becoming a carbon sink, which means it sequesters more carbon than it emits due to its careful restoration and management of the conservancy alongside the use of solar energy. Grootbos was instrumental in establishing the 308,000-acre Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy, encouraging other local landowners to clear alien species and document any plants that are a conservation concern, and transforming over 2,500 hectares of dilapidated farmland.
In the Colombian Amazon, Long Run member Nomad Lodges, set in 237 acres of the Colombian Amazon, is also rich in biodiversity — home to 150 species of mammals, 500 species of birds and over 1,000 species of plants. They have worked hard to decarbonise their operations. The lodges are 90% off-grid due to locally produced renewable energy, locally sourced drinking water, rainwater collection and food and drink procured from the local region, which all help to minimise the lodge’s impact. Energy used to construct Nomad Lodges was also minimal. The local community made 90% of materials and furniture on-site.
