How Can Tourism Help The Sustainable Development Goals? #16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Tags: Justice, Sdgs, Sustainable Development, Peace, Tourism

Tourism: A global meeting point in an increasingly divided world

Our world is increasingly separated between the have and have nots, peace with prosperity and conflict with violence.

Without a peaceful and inclusive environment, development isn’t sustainable ‘Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (UN WCED, aka The Brundtland Report, 1987) — lack of justice doesn’t meet the needs of the present, and may compromise the future.

High levels of hostility mean a destructive impact on a country, affecting economic growth, the physical environment and social fabric, often for generations of insecurity.

For this reason, Goal 16 of the UN 17 Global Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is:

SDG #16 “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

Mumbo Island, Malawi, where the Responsible Safari Company is committed to sustainable development through social enterprise, reducing the dependence on the aid industry and driving tourism-generated income to rural communities through partnership

What’s Peace and Justice got to do with Tourism?

At core, tourism relies on multicultural exchange, tolerance and understanding of — and often proactive interest in — diverse backgrounds. For this, peaceful societies are required.

For this to be sustainable, a viable, maintainable balance is required, without violence and conflict. Sustainable tourism “takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities” (UNWTO). Responsible tourism, in the words of the Cape Town Declaration (Fabricius and Goodwin, 2002) ), means “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit”.

Challenges in Tourism for Peace, Inclusion and Justice

Too often, tourism decisions have been taken away from host communities, by governments and corporations who put profit first at the expense of the local people and their environment. Corruption occurs in planning and development of infrastructure and environmental standards, with no accountability monitoring. Opaque and inefficient procedures enable opportunities for corrupt officials.

If communities are not key stakeholders in developing tourism in their area, it may disrespect the wishes of locals and lead to their exclusion, both in decision making and physically — such as private developments blocking access to public areas (eg. Jamaica beaches); due to land grabs (eg. after the Boxing Day Tsunami in Sri Lanka), being cut off from local and natural resources (eg. access to water prioritised to tourism developments), or being out-priced and overwhelmed by tourism and ‘Disneyfication’ by tourism corporations and authorities (eg. Venice).

Indigenous peoples and pastoralists have been prevented accessing and grazing their spiritual lands, their rights denied and/or their sacred for sale (for example, years of tourists climbing Ayers Rock, the Aboriginal’s sacred Uluru), or even destroyed (such as by dominant occupying forces like China in Tibet).

Irresponsible tourism leaves locals displaced and disempowered, poor communities left unsupported too often , exploited by institutions, unfair treatment and unscrupulous labour relations with little access to justice, affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

From construction workers developing resorts in unsafe conditions, to badly paid hotel workers, to bureaucratic ineffective institutions, to corrupt officials and organisations, or the stark contrast of unequal conditions in comparison to tourists, to tourism-created price inflation pushing locals out, tourism has its fair share of injustice which can lead to conflict and crime.

Refugees by politics, economy or even climate change are forced to migrate, creating further instability, insecurity and vulnerability to exploitation.

Discover more about how responsible tourism can make significant meaningful contributions to lasting peace, development, prosperity and business success:

https://www.earth-changers.com/purpose/peace-justice-strong-institutions