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.