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A delegation of the Canada-Japan Inter-Parliamentary Group and the Canada-China Legislative Association participated in the 15th Annual Assembly of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from June 6 to 9, 2011. The Canadian delegation was composed of the following member: From the Senate: Hon. Paul Massicotte, Senator, and leader of the delegation. Staff: Ms. Elizabeth Kingston, Delegation Secretary. Delegates from 18 Parliaments attended the 15th Assembly. The Asia-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED) was established by the Korean Parliament in June 1993. APPCED is designed to provide ample opportunities to share ideas, experiences and policies in order to enhance legislative activities for sustainable development within its member Parliaments. The aim of APPCED is to stress the importance of environmental protection and the maintenance of ecological balance throughout the Asia - Pacific region. The Conference, which is the only parliamentary conference dedicated to the environment and development, is held every year and is composed of the member parliaments of 46 countries. The theme of the 15th Assembly was climate change and tourism. In addition to attending a meeting of the executive and the presentation of country papers from the participating countries, the delegation attended presentations offered by the following experts: ·Professor Joy Jacquline Periera, National University of Malaysia: Climate Change and Tourism ·Mr. Luigi Cabrini, Director of the Sustainable Development of Tourism programme, UNWTO: Climate Change and Tourism ·Dr. Wonhee Lee from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute: Climate Change and Tourism, Policy of Green Tourism and Low Carbon The Canadian delegation gave a presentation on climate change and tourism within the Canadian context, and may be summarized as follows: Canada’s economy is not as dependent on tourism as are other Asia-Pacific nations, but tourism does contribute significantly. Canada may well benefit from climate change as the spring and summer season lengthens. Taking advantage of these opportunities will require some planning. However, there will be other aspects of Canada’s tourist sector which may suffer and adaptation of the industry or the community to climate change impacts will be necessary. In general it is very difficult to predict the impacts of climate change on tourism as it is a multi-facetted and complicated endeavour. In the absence of certainty, adaptation planning and capacity building should be built into current planning processes. In addition, the vulnerability of tourist-dependent developing nations must be taken into consideration in international negotiations to reduce GHG emissions, particularly from the aviation and transportation sectors. The Conference resulted in the adoption of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration. The text of the declaration adopted is set out in Appendix A. Conclusion As a member of the Asia Pacific Parliamentarians Conference on Environment and Development (APPCED), the Conference gives Canadian parliamentarians an opportunity to engage in dialogue with their counterparts from other countries on important issues relating to the environment and development. The issue of climate change and tourism was particularly highlighted at this 15th Conference, demonstrating that the tourism industry is sensitive to climate change. There is a real need for effective communication and partnership between the climate change community and tourism operators both at the regional and local levels, given the catastrophic extreme climatic events that have occurred. Scenario planning between these two sectors may help to balance adaptation and mitigation, thereby allowing the tourism sector to grow. Moreover, green investment in tourism has proven to allow for significant resource conservation and a reduced impact on climate change especially as it promotes a tourism trend towards less frequent and longer trips. A summary of the expenses incurred for this activity is attached.
Respectfully submitted,
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