PATA Code For Environmentally Responsible Tourism

PATA CODE FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

PATA GREENLEAF PROGRAM

The Pata Code urges Association and Chapter members and their industry partners to:

• Adopt the necessary practices to conserve the environment, including the use of renewable resources in a sustainable manner and the conservation of nonrenewable resources.
• Contribute to the conservation of any habitat of flora and fauna and of any site whether natural or cultural, which may be affected by tourism.
• Encourage relevant authorities to identify areas worthy of conservation and to determine the level of development, if any, which would ensure those areas are conserved.
• Ensure that community attitudes, cultural values and concerns, including local customs and beliefs, are taken into account in the planning of all tourism-related projects.
• Ensure that assessment procedures recognize the cumulative as well as the individual affects of all developments on the environment.
• Comply with all international conventions: all national, state and local laws in relation to the environment.
• Encourage those involved in tourism to comply with local, regional and national planning policies and to participate in the planning process.
• Provide the opportunity for the wider community to take part in discussions and consultations on tourism planning issues is so far as they affect the tourism industry and the community.
• Acknowledge responsibility for the environmental impacts of all tourism-related projects and activities and undertake all necessary responsible, remedial and corrective actions.
• Encourage regular environmental audits of practices throughout the tourism industry and to encourage necessary changes to those practices.
• Foster environmentally responsible practices including waste management, recycling and energy use.
• Foster in both management and staff of all tourism-related projects and activities, an awareness of environmental and conservation principles.
• Support the inclusion of professional conservation principles in tourism education, training and planning.
• Encourage an understanding by all those involved in tourism of each community's customs, cultural values, beliefs and traditions and how they relate to the environment.
• Enhance the appreciation and understanding by tourists of the environment through the provision of accurate information and appropriate interpretation.
• Establish detailed environmental policies and/or guidelines for the various sectors of the tourism industry.