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Box 7: Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) for Coastal Development in MauritiusThe Ministry of Tourism and Leisure has reviewed and strengthened the Hotel Development Strategy for Mauritius in 2009, inorder to reinforce the country’s competitive edge as an attractive tourism destination. Strict adherence was to be required toPlanning Policy Guidance for coastal development in order to preserve the natural, pristine characteristics of the island’s seascapes.Hotel developments must observe setback, height and plot coverage regulations, with no derogations allowed. Developmentis to take place in clusters, with natural vegetation in between and beach recharging or re-engineering should as faras possible leave untouched the natural features of the site such as rock outcrops, mature trees and natural habitat. 55Box 8: Zoning and regulation of marine tourism activities in Saint LuciaIn the 1990s, rapid growth of the tourism sector in Saint Lucia brought significant pressure from marine-based recreation,including yachting, snorkelling and diving, resulting in conflict with fishermen and damage to the reef environment. In the villageof Soufrière, the Soufriere Marine Management Association, Incorporated, is a local Fisheries Management Authority responsiblefor managing over 22 km of coastline, including two parks. This non-profit body links various government agencies and localinterests and was established to develop and administer a management initiative, resulting in the identification of five types ofzone for different activities, regulated through a permit system. In 2011, the system was completely reviewed, with extensivestakeholder participation, leading to greater commitment and more effective monitoring and enforcement. 566.3 Voluntary instrumentsThese are instruments designed to influence stakeholdersthrough inviting voluntary compliance witha standard. They are often used to supplement regulations,identifying performance and actions that gobeyond a minimum legal requirement.The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) hasestablished global standards for sustainable tourismfor tourism businesses and for destinations. 57The Criteria are the minimum, not the maximum,which businesses and destinations should implementto achieve social, environmental, cultural,and economic sustainability. Both include variousrequirements to consider implications for biodiversity.Businesses are required to conserve biodiversity,ecosystems and landscapes. Destinations arerequired to have regulations to protect natural resourcesin place and enforced, together with a requirementto monitor impacts and protect sensitiveenvironments. 58Voluntary standards, codes and guidelines may beproduced for more specific tourism activities aimedat minimising their biodiversity impact. Examplesinclude IUCN’s work on the siting and design of hotels,or various local and global codes for wildlifewatching. Their success is entirely dependent onsector commitment. 59Standards and codes can be used on their own tobenchmark and promote good practice. They mayalso be backed by certification schemes that verifycompliance, leading to the award of a label. TheGSTC has established an accreditation programmefor certification schemes that work to their standard.A study of the coverage of biodiversity issueswithin criteria for sustainable tourism certificationand award schemes has concluded that whilemost schemes focus on the degradation of ecosystemsand the overexploitation of natural resourcesas the main causes of the loss of biodiversity, muchless attention is given, for example, to invasive alienspecies and to newer concepts such as the No-NetLoss approach or the mitigation hierarchy. One specificrecommendation is that a sustainable tourismstandard should have an explicit goal of making asignificant contribution towards halting the loss ofbiological diversity, and in creating the conditions tohelp achieve an increase in biodiversity. 60In 2014 the number of tourism businesses and destinationsthat are recognized through some form ofsustainability certification remains limited. A rangeof actions should be taken to promote the pursuit ofstandards, certification and good practice in general.These include:✤Encouragement of Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) and other reporting by tourism businessesthat embraces biodiversity✤Business to business influences in the supplychain✤Making financial and other support conditionalon compliance.✤Promotion to consumers, including encouragementof sharing and feedback via social media.Tourism Supporting Biodiversity 29