From Pollutants to Commodities - Tourism Sector

WWF South Pacific has embarked on a journey to transform the tourism sector with the development of a Project Design Document (PDD) that serves as a manual for the protection of the environment and sustainable development.

The manual was developed by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) after WWF South Pacific’s Tourism Energy Efficiency Investment Programme (TEEIP) conducted a feasibility study.

The study was aimed at establishing baseline data on emissions, the possibilities of reduction in energy consumption through the use of energy efficient technology transfer and building of capacity to accommodate for a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Clean Development Mechanism.

The manual defines project activities that contribute towards sustainable development along with the technology and the measures to put in place to achieve this.

For example the TEEIP PDD will concentrate on removing inefficient technology such as lighting, chillers and refrigeration units.

It will also focus on directing the revenue generated from energy savings to be invested into community led conservation agreements.

It prescribes the method that must be strictly adopted in order to achieve emissions reductions from TEEIP.

TEEIP Programme Coordinator Monica Patel said following on from the development of the PDD, WWF South Pacific will engage a third party independent body to evaluate the project activity against the requirements of the CDM.

“Thereafter registration, which is the formal acceptance of the validated project as a CDM project activity, will occur with UNFCCC,” she said.

“TEEIP aims to foster public, private, partnerships geared towards transforming the private sector business practices reducing their footprint and by extension the nation’s footprint on the environment.

“Through the CDM process pollutants can become a resourceful trading commodity generating a sustained source of national income to help communities protect the environment and adapt to climate change.

“It also decreases the burden the Government bears through the importation of fossil fuels.”

TEEIP is aligned to Fiji’s National Climate Change Policy, proposed Low Carbon Tourism Strategy and WWF’s deliverable’s on footprint and biodiversity.