Sustainable Tourism Law

THE PRINCIPLES OF TOURISM LAW AS A BASIS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM 481 In that sense, we talk about a sustainable tourism that maintains a balance between social interests, economic interests and environmental interests. Thus, tourism must integrate economic and recreational activities aiming at preserving natural and cultural values. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Tourism Concern and the European Union, for their part, included tourism as a key sector that ought to be considered as a focal point for all measures related to the environment and sustainable development. Later, in 1993, the World Tourism Organization (WTO), in a document titled Tourism to the year 2000 and beyond Part One: Qualitative Aspects , defined the concept of Sustainable Tourism: “Sustainable tourism development meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing opportunity for the future. It is envisaged as leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social, and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity, and life-support systems”. In 1994, the WTO considered it essential to implement Agenda 21 at tourism centres. Agenda 21 sets forth management indicators: the reduction of waste to a minimum; energy conservation and management; water resource management; hazardous substances management; transportation; urban planning and soil management; environmental commitments of politicians and citizens; design of sustainability programs; collaboration on sustainable tourism development. In 1995, the Charter for Sustainable Tourism was established containing 18 principles aimed at setting the foundations for a world tourism strategy based on sustainable development. The Lanzarote Charter presumes the definitive acceptance of the links between sustainability, conservation, and development of resources, and the central role of tourism in the development of many entities across the world, quite specifically of the least developed countries featuring a rich variety of flora, fauna, landscapes and cultural elements. In 1999, the General Assembly of the WorldTourismOrganization adopted, by means of Resolution A/RES/406(XIII) the approval of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism on September 27 in Santiago de Chile. In the beginning of March 2000, the World Tourism Organization presented theUnitedNations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with UNESCO, in Berlin, an initiative of tour operators for the development of Sustainable Tourism, designed by the corporate sector itself. It’s a voluntary initiative, open to all tour operators, that intends to implement the best practices in environmental management based on information and the sharing of experiences, the implementation of new technologies, environmental audits and