Sustainable Tourism Law

SUSTAINABILITY: THE PATH FROM STOCKHOLM TO THE EUROPEAN CHARTER 619 “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations 6 to meet their own needs” 7 . Although it is the most widely known one, the Brundtland sustainable development definition is not the only one. According to the World Bank “ it is a process of administrating financial assets that permits to preserve and improve the population’s opportunities ”. The concept of sustainable development is not exclusively linked to ecological and environmental awareness. It has a clear economic element affecting the sovereignty and the freedom of the States in their decision- -making processes – Environmental Economy. One of the criticisms of the definition of Sustainable Environment on the Brundtland Report is the lack of definition regarding the needs of future generations. However, we should not confuse the definition with the concept itself and least of all with the birth of the idea of sustainable development. Just as in the Stockholm Declaration, in the Brundtland Report no references are included regarding the economic activity of tourism. Sustainable Development Objectives Political System Ensures effective participation of the citizens in decision making Economic System Able to generate a surplus and a sustainable and reliable knowledge Social System Predicts solutions for the tensions created in consequence of a non- -harmonious development Production System Respects the obligation of preserving the ecological basis for development Technological System Searches continuously for new solutions International System Encourages sustainable commerce and finances patterns Flexible Administrative System Capacity to correct itself 6 This intergenerational perspective is stated by Dionísio Pestana: “In this way we are contributing to the work of those that believe, just as we do, it is possible to reverse the most pessimistic scenarios preserving our planet for the future generations” (Sustainability Report of Pestana Group, 2009, page 5). 7 Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future in http://www. un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf . It is added in point 27: “The concept of sustainable development does imply limits – not absolute limits but limitations imposed by the present state of technology and social organization on environmental resources and by the ability of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human activities. But technology and social organization can be both managed and improved to make way for a new era of economic growth. The Commission believes that widespread poverty is no longer inevitable. Poverty is not only an evil in itself, but sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all the opportunity to fulfil their aspirations for a better life. A world in which poverty is endemic will always be prone to ecological and other catastrophes”.