ENR GP Nature-Based Tourism (NBT) Community of Practice (CoP)
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Dear Colleagues,
The NBT CoP has started off the year with a very successful conference in Nepal in pa
rtnership with the Govern
ment of Ne
pal, Environment Global Practice (ENR GP), Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation Global Practice (FCI GP) and International Finance Corporation (IFC). The aim of the conference was to
explore different models of sustainable and inclusive tourism that can benefit from Nepal’s immense natural wealth of protected areas (24% of Nepal land area in under its protected area network). It brought
together i
nternational experts from Georgia, Namibia, Peru, United States, and Thailand
to share lessons on public-sector, private-sector, and community-based partne
rship models for enhancing nature-based tourism in protected areas
. It also
supported the Nepal Sustainable Tourism Value Creation Project (P165130 – under preparation being led by FCI GP and co-led by ENR GP) and sought feedback for the
ASA – Nepal Sustainable Tourism Development and Value Creation (P167250).
We want to highlight some useful resources that came out of the conference and give you a quick overview of the upcoming activities and a recap of past efforts. In the future, we would also like to showcase projects from other regions and we will reach out to you for information.
We look forward to receiving your suggestions and feedback.
Thanks,
Urvashi, Claudia, Elisson and Hasita
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Conference on Sustainable Nature-Based Tourism, Nepal
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The conference covered three important topics:
- Enabling Policies for Protected Area Tourism Development,
- Establishing Community Partnerships and Enhancing Benefits at Scale
- Building Partnerships with Private Sector
For the full agenda click
here
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Chris Seek, President of Solimar International presented six different case studies on tourism models and concessions that can be created by private sector, community entrepreneurs, NGOs, and through joint ventures. Each of the examples demonstrated how concessions have the potential to improve tourism services available for visitors, support
conservation and provide community benefits.
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Leveraging public finance to increase private sector financing
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Jo Pendry, former Senior Adviser at the
US National Park Service (NPS) provided an overview indicating that the US government provides approximately $2.7 billion appropriation annually from
congress resulting in $35.8 billion in economic activities. The key takeaway from her presentation is that
investing in parks is a way to invest in economic development.
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Innovative eco-tourism ideas
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InkaTerra
Inkaterra is a Peruvian eco-tourism company that is committed to preserving the Amazon forests and its people. At the conference, they highlighted one of many activities that engage tourism such as a Birding Competition and setting up a 'Green Lab' which is the first molecular biology and genetics field research laboratory in the Amazon rainforest. For more ideas on how the private sector can help conserve species and landscapes
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Download the presentation
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Six Senses
Six Senses is a high end tourism global operator whose vision is he
lp to people reconnect with themselves, others and the world around them. They have created an
Earth lab
in their properties to showcase their sustainability efforts to reduce consumption, produce locally and support communities and ecosystems
.
Download the presentation
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Testimonial from the conference
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"
The NBT Conference held in Kathmandu, was extremely insightful in terms of providing a new view on overcoming some of the key challenges we face in making tourism in protected areas both feasible and sustainable via innovative models. Personally, I greatly valued the presentations made by the National Parks Service on the process of enhancing protected area regulations to encompass NBT related activities and private sector colleagues that showcased opportunities for PPPs that would benefit the growth of nature based models. These two areas are extremely relevant in the context of my home country of Sri Lanka where this seems to be the most practical means of ensuring sustained but soundly managed growth in this sector.
Submitted by Mokshana Wijeyeratne, Environmental Specialist, World Bank
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NEW! NBT Review of Tools and Resources
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With support from ENR GP, the NBT CoP has commissioned a comprehensive review of the tools and knowledge resources that could be used by World Bank staff, protected area authorities, and those that provide technical support, to help prepare and implement better NBT initiatives. This review will provide a consolidated list of tools and identify gaps of knowledge within NBT that can be used in the future to design new studies and technical papers. It will also generate a repository that contains all the information (guidelines, “how-to”, best practices), and a synthesis of valuable information.
We have contracted Dr Anna Spenceley to support this process, and she will be in touch with you to request your input. We hope that you can find a few minutes to assist her in developing this resource.
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Developing a sustainable tourism offering within protected areas is at the heart of Parks Canada's multi-facetted mandate. François Duclos, Manager for Visitor Experience Infrastructure at Parks Canada's presented on the processes that allow Parks Canada to make decisions on visitor planning, product development, operations, and M&E.
Download the presentation to learn more on their successful framework
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ENR NBT Leadership Meeting
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Urvashi Narain presented ENR NBT Community of Practice goals and vision to the World Bank Leadership Team. Her presentation focuses on what the NBT CoP has been doing and proposed - elevating NBT into the broader tourism sector to enhance ENR project development in country and globally, providing training to staff members on NBT and aligning NBT with ENR's Pro-Blue and Green agendas.
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Follow the latest on the GWP on our
website
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To receive regular updates about virtual events or to be added to the NBT CoP distribution list or the Onedrive account, please email Hasita at:
hbhammar@worldbank.org
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