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Itacare’s Green Tourism Initiative
Itacare, a Brazilian beach town popular with surfers and nature-lovers, is pioneering an exciting environmentally aware tourism initiative.
Turismo CO2 Neutro (CO2 Neutral Tourism) is a unique project that involves tourists, local business owners, and farmers.
The project aims to transform the APA (Environmentally Protected Area) of the Itacaré coast and the Serra Grande area into a model of neutralisation and reduction of carbon, integrating environmental conservation with socioeconomic development of the traditional farming families of the area.
The basic idea consists of neutralising the CO2 emissions generated by the activities related to tourism, including accommodation, restaurants and bars, laundries, net cafes, supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies, other shops and even residential properties. Those that do, receive the “CO2 Neutral Tourism Label” (Selo Turismo CO2 Neutro). “The great thing is that every type and size of company can participate; it’s simple and accessible”, say the Mecenas da Vida team that run the program.
Businesses interested in acquiring the “CO2 Neutral Tourism Label” are visited by the Mecenas da Vida team, who calculate their emissions based on their consumption of energy and production of litter. Then, the quantity of carbon dioxide that the business emits into the atmosphere annually is calculated. From this figure, the team calculates the quantity of seedling trees that will need to be planted, per year, to neutralise those CO2 emissions.
Once the business begins to pay for the seedlings, it receives the “CO2 Neutral Tourism Label” to display in the establishment. Having to pay is a great incentive for businesses to reduce CO2 emissions.
Equally important to the project is the role played by local traditional farmers, who produce and plant the seedlings on degraded areas of their property. In order to receive the financial resources provided through the project, farmers must agree to several conditions, including that they will conserve and reforest their lands, send their children to school, and participate in training run by the program organisers.
The Mecenas da Vida team develops, executes and monitors the activities of the program in collaboration with the traditional farmers. The team explains that “the best thing is that it’s a local certificate and relates to our territory, and all the related activities are executed in the APA Costão de Itacaré/Serra Grande region – which means that you can monitor everything that happens, visit the rural properties, where the reforestation is taking place, and see for yourself all the activities of the technical team and the farmers”.
Launched in December 2008, the project now involves 130 micro, small and medium enterprises, which represent about 70% of the town. Tourists themselves also have an opportunity to be involved: On check-in to their accommodation, tourists receive information about the project (available in English, Portuguese and Spanish) and how to neutralise the emissions generated by the transport they use to get to and from the destination.
According to the United Nations Environment Program, tourism accounts for 5-14% (depending on how it is measured) of global CO2 emissions. “To understand the magnitude of these numbers it should be noted that if we compare tourism with the emissions of countries, tourism would be the 5th biggest polluter worldwide”. The tourist industry is showing no signs of decline, and the UNEP warns that CO2 emissions generated by tourism could increase threefold in less than 30 years if nothing is done to reduce them.
People are becoming more and more environmentally conscious and many try to do their best to reduce their ecological footprint. But nobody wants to give up their summer holidays. Plus, the income generated by tourism is an important part of many countries’ economies. So the best solution is not less travel, but greener travel!