CTI-CFF and CMAR collaborates anew on tourism webinar

The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) and Corredor Marino del Pacifico Este Tropical (CMAR) had collaborated anew in the conduct of the webinar on tourism as a strategy for conservation, scientific monitoring and citizen science on 22 July 2021.

Dr Mohd Kushairi Mohd Rajuddin, Executive Director of the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat said the webinar is part of the two regional initiatives’ continuing shared efforts to strengthen and progress collaboratively on protecting our marine and conserved areas for regional economic growth as well as for food security and sustainable livelihood for today and future generations.

“We share the enthusiasm with CMAR in exploring further marine and coastal tourism and the benefits it can deliver for communities, the environment and the economy of both regions at the national and local levels. Marine and coastal tourism is just one of the scopes of the Ocean Economy, which is expected to gather momentum, and by virtue of their growth, will generate further demand in interconnected ocean-based industries,” Dr Kushairi said.

Mr Ricardo Meneses-Orellana of the Pro Tempore Secretariat of CMAR echoed the importance of tourism especially in time of pandemic. He stressed the importance of tourism as a source of preserving biodiversity, educating people about the environment and as means to create economic wealth. He also emphasized the need to collaborate with various stakeholders to generate information at the level marine protected areas.

At the webinar, Dr Sharifah Nora Ibrahim, Deputy Executive Director of Program Services of the CTI-CFF Regional Secretariat presented CTI-CFF’s pre-and post COVID-19 tourism scenarios. She highlighted the importance of conservation without heavy dependence on tourism, especially foreign tourists/visitors and diversifying sources of funding such as domestic visitors, virtual tours, online souvenirs among others.

Ms Jenny Paola Gallo Santos, Tourism Coordinator of CMAR, noted that CMAR considers ecotourism as a conservation and management strategy that contributes to the effective management of the protected area systems for the benefit of local communities and region.  She also said that ecotourism plays an important role in educating and raising the awareness of all the actors involved in the activity regarding the importance of natural and cultural heritage and in ensuring financial sustainability so that national parks fulfil their functions.

The webinar on tourism was a continuing activity of the September 2020 webinar which focused of tourism management and effective management of MPAs organized both by CTI-CFF and CMAR.