Sustainable tourism and sustainable
development in Central America
A/RES/74/211
Reaffirming further the Paris Agreement 1 and its early entry into force,
encouraging all its parties to fully implement the Agreement, and parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 2 that have not yet done so to
deposit their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, where
appropriate, as soon as possible,
Recalling the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, 3 in
which Member States recognized the need to promote and integrate disaster risk
management approaches throughout the tourism industry, given the often heavy
reliance on tourism as a key economic driver,
Noting with concern that, owing to its geographical location and its geological
and hydrometeorological characteristics, Central America is a region prone and
vulnerable to adverse natural events which have caused substantial human and
economic losses, including impacts on gross domestic product per capita, income,
and poverty reduction,
Recognizing that Central America is a region of significant natural resources
and that its rich biodiversity provides invaluable benefits to its populations and to its
countries’ economies, and noting that sustainable tourism can contribute directly to
the conservation of ecosystems through a variety of activities and by raising
awareness of the importance of biodiversity and, in this regard, that the Central
American countries are improving their institutional and policy frameworks,
strategies and action plans,
Noting the role of the World Tourism Organization as a member of the informal
advisory group on mainstreaming biodiversity, which is tasked with supporting the
Executive Secretary and the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity in developing a coherent outline for a long -term approach on
mainstreaming, including on ways to integrate mainstreaming adequately into a
post-2020 global biodiversity framework, looking forward to the convening of the
summit on biodiversity in 2020, and looking forward also to the fifteenth meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in
Kunming, China, in 2020, which is expected to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity
framework,
Recalling its resolution 70/193 of 22 December 2015, entitled “International
Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017”, and noting the efforts and
initiatives taken to celebrate the Year, with a view to creating awareness of the
important contribution of tourism to sustainable development while promoting the
exchange of good practices, knowledge and experiences, as well as increased cr ossborder collaboration by developing joint ventures to increase the synergies of tourism,
including the sharing of tourism-related data and statistics, as appropriate,
Recognizing the important cross-cutting role of sustainable tourism as a positive
contribution to the three dimensions of sustainable development and the achievement
of the Sustainable Development Goals, including the eradication of poverty, with a
focus on ecotourism, rural tourism, community-based tourism and micro-, small and
medium-sized enterprises, the generation of trade opportunities, protection of the
environment, improvement of quality of life, and advancement on gender equality
and the empowerment of women and girls, especially in developing countries,
Recognizing also the importance of promoting tourism product development by
indigenous peoples and local communities in order to support their economic
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Adopted under the UNFCCC in FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21.
United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1771, No. 30822.
Resolution 69/283, annex II.
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