Tools for a Greener Future: Measuring the Environmental Impact of Ecotourism in Protected Areas

Tools for a Greener Future
Measuring the Environmental Impact of Ecotourism in Protected Areas

Measuring the environmental impact of tourism is essential to understand and address any potential damage to the environment in our Protected Areas.

However, accurately measuring environmental impacts and the overall ecological footprint is a challenge. In recent years, several tools have been developed to approach this complex topic.

In this webinar, we dove into how environmental impact can be measured. We presented participants with a tool specifically devised for measuring ecological and social ecotourism impact in Protected Areas, all while ensuring the quality of the itinerary: the MEET Ecotourism Indicator Monitoring Platform, based on the MEET Standard.

The session provided both a theoretical framework of the impact measuring tool and complementary resources, and also gave two practical examples drawn from two Protected Areas that have been awarded with EUROPARC’s European Charter for Sustainable Tourism. These Protected Areas have already used the MEET Standard to develop their ecotourism packages and calculate and reduce their impact. We heard from La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park and Colline Metallifere National Park. Four new online courses developed by MEET on how to develop ecotourism itineraries in Protected Areas were also launched at the end of the webinar.

Webinar programme

1. Welcome and Facilitation
   Teresa Pastor Ramos, in charge of the European Charter of Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas, EUROPARC Federation
2. Unlocking Mediterranean Ecotourism: MEET’s Insights and Resources for Protected Areas
   Lucía Prieto Fustes, Ecosystem Programme Assistant, IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, Málaga, Spain.
   Get Lucia’s presentation
3. Case Study: Measuring the quality and the ecological impact of the ecotourism package ‘The Heat of the Earth’ in Colline Metallifere National Park (Italy)
   Fabrizio Santini, officer in charge for the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism
   Get Fabrizio’s presentation
4. Case Study: Measuring the quality and the socio-ecological impact of the ecotourism package ‘Walking on the Landscapes’ in La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park (Catalonia, Spain)
   Beth Cobo, CEO at Trescàlia travel agency
   Get Beth’s presentation

Links shared

• Sustainable Tourism Training for Tomorrow – online course on EUROPARC’s European Nature Academy;
• MEET Manual;
• Ecotourism Indicator Monitoring Platform
• Walking on the Landscape by Trescàlia
• Building and Managing Effective Ecotourism Partnerships – MEET Course
• Designing an Attractive Ecotourism Itinerary – MEET Course
• Guiding and Storytelling for an Impactful Ecotourism Experience – MEET Course
• Compelling Marketing of Ecotourism – MEET Course

Get to know the speakers

Lucia

Lucía Prieto Fustes

Lucía works in the Ecosystem Resilience and Spatial Planning Programme at the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. She is in charge of communications and helps coordinate a portfolio of projects related to tourism and spatial planning in protected areas. She is also part of the MEET Network Secretariat.

Fabrizio

Fabrizio Santini

Graduated in Educational Psychology, he is an expert on Education for Sustainable Development. Since 2003 he has been Team manager at the Tuscan Mining UNESCO Geopark and project manager for international projects.
Since 2011 he is a trainer and researcher at the Italian Cooperative Learning Trainers’ Company Scintille.it

Beth

Beth Cobo

Expert consultant in Sustainable Tourism and the creation of Ecotourism Experiences. Guide at La Garrotxa Volcanic Zona Natural Park (Catalonia, Spain). CEO at Trescàlia, the 1st travel agency in Spain accredited with the ECST.