Synopsis of the Study of the Insertion of Environmental Management in Sectorial Policies: The Tourism Case in the Caribbean

Author
Universidad de las Indias Occidentales
Date
Apr 2002
This study is concerned with the insertion of environmental management in tourist sector policies to ensure that threats are recognized and addressed. Four main characteristics of Caribbean tourism provide the rationale for this study: 1) Tourism is the single most common industry in the region; 2) Tourism is the fastest growing industry in virtually every Caribbean country; 3) Tourism also is the most important and sometimes the only productive sector in some of these economies; 4) The environment (ecological and socio-cultural) which is the economic 'goose' that explains the initial three characteristics above, is under significant threat in several Caribbean tourist destinations. This document was commissioned for the Environment Network of the Regional Policy Dialogue's 1st Hemispheric Meeting: Towards an Effective Environmental Management held on April 4th and 5th, 2002.