Linking Culture and the Environment

M.E. Johnston and G.D. Twynam 113
by hiring local guides, purchasing supplies locally and supporting local businesses.
In addition, most operators (77%) train staff to follow local environmental,
cultural, social and legal rules. Eighty-five per cent of the operators
provide their clients with information on how to behave in Nunavut and the
majority (90%) follow safety rules for the Arctic environment.
The findings of the telephone survey demonstrate a general understanding
of, and commitment to, the kinds of ideals that are outlined in Linking
Tourism and Conservation in the Arctic, though it is important to note that some
questions are sensitive and so responses might reflect optimal behaviour
rather than actual behaviour. It is helpful in such situations to have recourse
to exploring specific actions that have been undertaken, in effect moving
from the principle, with which all might agree and want to achieve, to the
specific behaviour that is represented in the code of conduct. The degree of
operator acceptance of the general principles and specific activities in
Nunavut suggests that this international initiative may be well received and
ultimately effective in providing Arctic tourism operators with a template to
sustain their operations within this challenging environment.
In the future, with local and regional implementation, and the establishment
of the programme as a vital component in sustainable tourism in the
Arctic, a system of evaluation will be required to monitor not only effectiveness
of, and compliance with, the principles, but also emerging needs in the
industry and new issues that arise. This system should measure the level of
implementation and identify the particular initiatives taken in response to
participation in the programme. Also important is the inclusion of a mechanism
to provide feedback to operators in order to help them improve practice
and to recognize achievement. Experiences with the pilot projects across the
Arctic suggest that operators are in need of support as they attempt to promote
sustainable ideals and improve their operations; how well this need is
met by the Arctic tourism programme will be a key in its success.
Related Developments
In 1999 at the Northern Business Conference held in Rovaniemi, WWF’s initiative
‘Linking Tourism and Conservation in the Arctic’ was presented, clearly
connecting with the conference theme: Sustainable Tourism Development in
the North – Exploiting the Potential of the Information Society. This mix resulted
in an international workshop of Arctic tourism stakeholders held in Finland in
2002, leading to another initiative called ‘Sustainable Model for Arctic Region
Tourism’ (SMART, 2006). SMART was developed by the Sustainable Development
Working Group of Arctic Council, and the Northern Forum General
Assembly. Finland, Sweden and Canada were the initial participant countries
for this 3-year project. Supporting partners of the programme include Alaska,
Scotland, Faroe Islands and the Arkhangelsk Region of Russia.
The vision of SMART is ‘to empower the tourism sector in the Arctic to
continually innovate more sustainable practices’ (SMART, 2006, 10). The first
of five objectives of SMART was to define a set of common principles, seen