Regional environmental policy and sustainable tourism development in the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Framework for implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in the small island developing states of the Caribbean subregion

Includes bibliography

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2008

Includes bibliography

Report on Expert Group Workshop on macroeconometric modelling in the Caribbean: new challenges and new directions

.--I. Background and justification.--II. Critical issues in macroeconometric modelling in the Caribbean.--III. Critical issues in macroeconometric modelling in the Caribbean.--IV. Economic modelling to determine the impacts of climate change in the Caribbean.--V. Wrap up

Fortalecimiento de la cadena de turismo de Antigua Guatemala y de los municipios rurales del Departamento de Sacatepéquez

En este documento se analiza la cadena de valor del turismo en el Departamento de Sacatepéquez, Guatemala, a partir de la generación de nuevos productos y destinos en algunos municipios rurales que rodean la cabecera departamental de Antigua. Se examinan los aspectos generales de la industria del turismo a nivel mundial, centroamericano y guatemalteco. También se detallan las características del Departamento de Sacatepéquez y de la cadena de valor de Antigua junto con la descripción de destinos/productos turísticos en los municipios seleccionados. Con posterioridad, se presentan los eslabones principales que conforman la cadena. A continuación se realiza un análisis de mercado y estándares en el turismo nacional y en Antigua como marco para el estudio de la gobernanza y los vínculos intereslabones, poniendo de relieve el papel del Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo y los desafíos de articulación con los gobiernos locales que integran la oferta turística. Se exponen también los recursos, la productividad y la sostenibilidad ambiental, así como las principales restricciones identificadas para el escalamiento económico y social. Las restricciones se estudian en términos sistémicos y por eslabón, y luego se las agrupa en cuatro categorías: restricciones sectoriales, de mercado, institucionales y de conectividad internacional y transporte interno. Por último, se exponen conclusiones y se señalan los próximos pasos para resolver las restricciones y estimular el escalamiento.

Caribbean tourism and agriculture: linking to enhance development and competitiveness

Includes bibliography

Report of the Wider Caribbean Expert Meeting on Tourism and Environment in Caribbean Development

Contiene organizacion, resumen de los debates, conclusiones y recomendaciones de la reunion de expertos del Caribe, cuyos principales objetivos fueron discutir y considerar los borradores de estudios de casos preparados en el marco del proyecto conjunto CEPAL/PNUMA sobre turismo y medio ambiente; intercambiar experiencia tecnica entre los participantes, desarrollar recomendaciones y preparar lineas de accion concretas sobre el tema para ser consideradas por los paises.

Tourism and environment in Caribbean development with emphasis on the Eastern Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Tourism-environment-development: the role of an environmental impact assessment and beyond

Analiza la importancia de una evaluacion del impacto ambiental de los proyectos de desarrollo turistico en la region.

Application of the concepts of agro-tourism, agricultural diversification and food and nutrition for the development of Caribbean communities with reference to standards and priority setting

Introduction There is a renewed call for a new approach to development with emphasis on community empowerment or participation, with the belief that more sustainable activities will be undertaken in those communities. Much of that call, however, is coming not from within the communities, but primarily from advocates of change who may have little to do with those communities. What then will the new approach bring apart from a change in who are the decision-makers? And how do we ensure that the change that is called for will, in fact, bring added benefits to the communities themselves? To be sure, there are some successful stories of a community approach to problem solving. However, there are also many more stories of project failures. Serious analytical work, therefore, needs to be done to determine the factors that promote a successful community-based approach; when this approach should be used; and the methodology that should be employed. In an attempt to determine these factors, a brief analysis will be made of some of the governing structures in the subregion and their possible impact on the proposed new approach. Some of the earlier efforts at stakeholder and community approach to projects will also be examined as well as the new development strategy that is prompting the call for this new paradigm. The new paradigm focuses to a large extent on decision-making and community empowerment. With few exceptions, it is short on the promotion of tangible activities that are based on the resource inventory of the communities. This is not surprising, since, as noted before, the advocates of community empowerment may have very little connection with the communities and, in most cases, are unfamiliar with the resource base. Hence, a theoretical case is made, suggesting more style than substance. Another obvious shortcoming of this new paradigm is its continued over- dependence on assistance from the outside to build communities. Externally funded projects, seminars and meetings outside of the communities and foreign technical assistance continue to dominate these projects. While, of course, all communities have basic common needs such as water, health, education and electricity, there is sufficient diversity within communities to allow for tailoring of activities and programmes such that their differences become assets. It is in that context, that agro-tourism activities, standards, agricultural diversification, food and nutrition and priority setting have been chosen as aspects and activities for promoting community development, drawing on the various strengths of communities, rural or urban.

The tourism sector and the global economic crisis: development implicatins for the Caribbean

Over the past two years the global economy has experienced substantial economic turmoil, resulting in severe economic contraction. While there has been a recent return to growth, this situation has impacted all economic sectors worldwide. In the highly tourism-dependent region of the Caribbean, the impact of the global economic crisis has been most notable on the tourism sector, which, from the early 1990s, became the key driver of economic growth for the region. The eventual emergence of this sector reflects an economic development history which was previously underpinned by the export of agricultural commodities, and subsequently by the adoption of the import substitution industrialization model as promulgated by Arthur Lewis. This was further stimulated by spectacular economic contraction in Caribbean economies during the 1980s as a result of changes in the global terms of trade for commodities, generally low levels of competitiveness for manufactured goods, as well as weak institutional and governance frameworks. Ultimately, many economies began to reflect fiscal and balance of payments constraints. By the end of the 1990s, too, evidence of declining competitiveness even in the tourism sector began to become apparent particularly when evaluated under the framework of the Butler Tourism Area Life- Cycle (TALC) model. The recent economic crisis, therefore, provides an opportunity to reflect on the overall approach to economic development in the Caribbean, and to assess the implications of the region’s response to the crisis. This analysis makes the case for the future development of the sector to be based on two broad strategies. The first is to deepen the integration of the tourism sector into the broader economy through the diversification of the regional tourism product, as well as the enhancement of linkages with other sectors, while the second is to expand the tourism sector into a total service economy through the introduction of new services. Considering linkages, the development of clusters and value chains to support the tourism sector is identified with respect to agriculture and food, handicraft, and furnishings. Among the new services identified are education, wellness, yachting and boating, financial services, and information and communications technologies (ICT). This overall strategy is deemed to be better suited to the macroeconomic realities of the Caribbean, where high labour costs and other structural rigidities require a high-valued specialty tourism product in order to sustain the sector’s global competitiveness.

Caribbean tourism and agriculture: Linking to enhance development and competitiveness

This study examines current trends in tourism and agriculture in Caribbean countries and the strategy for linking them in order to facilitate their future development. The tourism industry has, in the past, developed largely apart from other sectors such as agriculture. On the other hand, agriculture has developed mainly to satisfy export markets. Domestic agriculture has had limited development and has therefore been displaced to a considerable extent by food imports. The recent promotion of agriculture tourism linkages is an attempt to enhance the local value added of the tourism industry, while at the same time promoting the development of domestic agriculture. However, it is argued that agriculture-tourism linkage per se will not facilitate the development of either tourism or agriculture. The nature of the tourism product in each country has to be understood before effective strategies could be devised for improving competitiveness. A similar approach is also necessary in respect of the agriculture sector. Increased linkage between tourism and agriculture could be enhanced through the adoption of a cluster-based strategy for improving the competitiveness of the tourism sector and for improving the livelihoods of communities and rural areas.

The outlook for agriculture and rural development in the Americas: a perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean, 2009

Includes bibliography