Climate Change and Your Business Briefing Note Series | April 2014

gases in , a good business decision is to reduce emissions and the overall envi- Climate Change and ronmental footprint of your business. This leads to cost savings and can position your company as sustainable or eco-friendly. Sustainable is a growing and important segment of the tourism in- the Tourism Sector dustry. How Climate Change Impacts Your Tourism Business Climate change affects a wide range of environmental resources that are critical attractions for tourists, such as wildlife, biodiversity, and water levels and qual- ity. It also has an important influence on environmental conditions and incidents that can deter tourists, such as very high temperatures, infectious disease, wildfires, increased wildlife mortality, and insects and waterborne pests. Damage to infra- structure, such as roads and buildings, can

Box 1: Sustainable Tourism

Photo credit: Deborah Murphy Chris Breen, Chairman of the Association of Independent Tour Operators’ Sustainable Tourism he tourism sector is a highly cli- tourism industry contributed approxi- Committee, has noticed an increased mate-sensitive sector. Climate mately 14 per cent to GDP and employed desire from people travelling overseas change is not a remote future event about 12 per cent of Kenya’s workforce.1 to ensure that they are doing it the for your business; it is happening Wildlife tourism, including to Kenya’s nu- right way. He remarked, “If a company and has had negative impacts on merous national parks and reserves, repre- cannot be bothered to offer sustainable Ttourism in Kenya. As an example, in mid- sented around 70 per cent of tourism reve- 2012, the main highway to the Masai Mara nue.2 holidays, by definition it must have a National Reserve, one of the most popular limited lifespan. If what a company is Tourism is Kenya’s third largest earner of tourism destinations in Kenya, was closed foreign exchange after tea and coffee -ex offering is destroying the very place it for three days due to flooding and earth ports; generating US$ 4.7 billion in 2011 relies upon, then the product is finite.” movement damage. Around the same pe- according to the World Travel and Tourism riod, Mombasa, a major tourist destination Council. Sustainable tourism is better for city, experienced flooding.Climate change destinations, better for people, better affects tourism destinations, and their Climate change is beginning to influence competitiveness and sustainability. decision-making in the tourism sector, but for the environment - and better for accounting for climate change is not com- your business. Coastal rainforests, marine ecosystems, mon in business activities and decisions. wildlife and Mt. Kenya’s glaciers make Ken- Source: Blue and Green (2012), Striving for Your business will need to adapt and build ya one of the top tourist destinations in the Sustainability, The Guide to Sustainable resilience, preparing assets and operations world and Africa’s fifth largest tourist des- Tourism 2012 (Lincoln, UK: Blue and Green for climate impacts. While the tourism sec- tination. In 2012, Kenya received 1.24 mil- Communications), page 20. tor is a low overall emitter of greenhouse lion international visitors; and in 2011 the 2 Climate Change and the Tourism Sector: Briefing Note #7

limit access to tourist attractions and add to your operating costs. Several possible future risks to your tour- ism business were identified in Kenya’s Na- tional Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP): • Coastal and island destinations are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (such as storms, coast- al erosion, physical damage to infra- structure, sea level rise, flooding, water

Box 2: Reducing Your Greenhouse Gas Emissions

• Monitor energy consumption to determine opportunities for reduction. Photo credit: Deborah Murphy • Install energy-efficient lighting – replace incandescent lamps with compact fluorescent lamps or light shortages and water contamination) ment) has negatively impacted the emitting diodes (LEDs). because most tourist establishments migration of wildebeests through the are located within a short distance of Mara River from the Serengeti National • Install sensors for lighting in areas the shoreline. Park in Tanzania to Kenya’s National Reserve. and rooms that are not constantly • Extreme events, especially more fre- used. quent droughts, negatively impact • The Kenya Wildlife Service has claimed • Install sensors and timers to wildlife and biodiversity and can lead that droughts are pushing lions clos- to fewer opportunities for resorts and er to waterholes adjacent to human control heating and lighting based safari operators. settlements, fuelling human-wildlife on occupation of areas. conflict. • Gradual changes in temperature and • Install double-glazing and draught precipitation prompting species to • Bleaching of Kenya’s coral reefs has excluders. migrate to more favourable habitats been observed. can negatively impact certain locations • Install environmentally friendly • The Grevy’s Zebra population in Sam- for wildlife-based tourism. hot water systems (such as buru National Reserve was placed solar thermal or heat recovery • Changing environmental conditions under severe threat in 2007 due to caused by climate change can deter an outbreak of anthrax caused by systems). tourists, such as infectious disease, drought in Northern Kenya.4 wildfires, and insect or water-borne • Maintain equipment regularly The tourism industry has a strong poten- pests (jellyfish, algae blooms). to prevent efficiency losses and tial to deliver continued economic growth reduce heat losses or gains. • Increases in average annual tempera- and employment for Kenya, but adaptive This includes appliances, pipes, ture are likely to severely compromise or actions are important to manage the worst eliminate certain ecologically sensitive impacts of climate change. While climate air-conditioning systems and tourist destinations, such as the glaciers change certainly poses risks to your busi- insulation. of Mount Kenya, sensitive marine eco- ness, it brings new economic opportunities • Regularly monitor energy usage systems, and coastal rainforests.3 such as sustainable tourism. and observe any trends. • The action plan shows that climate Reducing Greenhouse Gas • Explore ideas from staff – they change is real and happening in Ken- ya, and has impacted businesses in the Emissions in the Tourism Sector may suggest useful energy-saving tourism sector: options. Greenhouse gas emissions in the tour- • Extreme weather events have re- ism sector are low relative to Kenya’s • Install shading to reduce heat gain duced access to tourist destinations overall national emissions, less than from the sun. because of damage to road infrastruc- one per cent of national emissions, ture, as was the case in the Maasai Mara mainly from transport and energy use.5 Source: Australian Government (2009), in 2011 due to flash flooding. Climate Change Guide: Mitigation and Many low carbon actions are being applied Adaptation Options for Australian Tourism • Reduction in Mara River flows (driven by tourism operators – such as solar water Operators (Canberra: Commonwealth of in part by climatic variation, but also heating, the use of energy efficient lighting Australia). by degradation of the Mau catch- and appliances, and the use of more effi- Box 3:

Climate Change and the Tourism Sector: Briefing Note #7 3

cient passenger vehicles. A concerted pro- • Incorporating expected climate im- gram could help to create a niche market pacts in planning and decision-mak- (Endnotes) by branding Kenya as an environmentally ing, such as siting of resorts and ho- Acknowledgements 1 Blue and Green Tomorrow (2013), Authentic Trav- responsible low-carbon footprint destina- tels. el, The Guide to Sustainable Tourism (Lincoln, UK: Blue and tion. This briefing note was written KEPSA can assist you by providing a list of by Deborah Murphy and Melissa Green Communications), pages 31-32. publically available climate risk assessment Harris (International Institute Climate Change and Your tools (see Tools and Planning Instruments for Sustainable Development). Tourism Business: What can to Assess Climate Change Impacts). The authors thank Victor Ogalo, Kenya Private Sector Alliance, you do? • Be part of the solution by reducing Maliza van Eeden and Margaret greenhouse gas emissions. Your tour- • Assess the climate risks to your busi- Kamau, Climate and Development ist business has numerous opportuni- ness. A systematic risk analysis would Knowledge Network, and Tom ties to reduce greenhouse gas emis- help to identify specific risks to your Owino, ClimateCare, for providing sions (see Box 2 for examples). Cost business and provide information for useful comments. savings will result from reductions in your business planning (see Briefing your energy use through improvements Note #2 – Climate Proofing Your Busi- For further information, please contact in lighting, heating, cooling, applianc- ness). Victor Ogalo, KEPSA (vogalo@kepsa. es, fuel use and energy management, or.ke), or Deborah Murphy, IISD • Take action to adapt to climate among others. You can support vol- ([email protected]). Infor-mation about change. Your actions depends on the untary carbon offsetting, including for KESPA and its work can be found at location and nature of your business, flights, which is one aspect of sustain- www.kepsa.or.ke. Information about and can include: able tourism. IISD and its work can be found at www. iisd.org. • Ensuring your premises will be com- • Become a sustainable tourism opera- fortable in hotter weather, without tor. Sustainable tourism is usually de- relying on air conditioning. fined as holiday travel that attempts to reduce harm to the environment and • Ensuring your buildings and infra- local people and cultures.6 The Kenya structure can cope with heavier Federation of Tourism identifies respon- downpours. sible tourism business practices that • Being prepared in the case of floods. you can adopt, including: • Managing your grounds for chang- • Use of sustainable and eco-friendly ing conditions and making space for materials. wildlife to adapt. • Resource saving initiatives. • Waste reduction and management. • Health and safety policy and proce- dures. Box 3: Sustainable Tourism in Kenya • Supporting local economies and communities by supporting local ini- tiatives.7 Some Kenyan community lodges • Work with the Kenya Tourist Feder- have developed into sustainable ation to promote Kenya as a leader tourist destinations. Originally these in sustainable tourism by creating a positive, climate-friendly image. lodges were built by farmsteads, Many tourists are looking to reduce their particularly in the Laikipia region, environmental footprint and produce that decided to switch from livestock fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The to wildlife conservation as a means Kenya Tourist Federation can promote ecotourism and sustainable tourism by of income. The sustainable tourism highlighting successful business mod- aspect comes from engaging the els with an environmentally responsi- local community as a stakeholder ble low-carbon footprint. Encourage in the building of accommodation in the federation to develop guidelines these private conservation areas and on resource efficiency and greening the sector. You, as a business owner, play directing a percentage of the profit to an important role in increasing resource that community. In addition, some of efficiency, protecting attractions and these lodges have installed solar water wildlife, and developing Kenya as a sus- heaters and energy efficient lighting. tainable tourism market.

Source: Blue and Green Tomorrow (2012), Authentic Travel, The Guide to Sustainable Tourism (Lincoln, UK: Blue and Green Communications), pages 31-32. 4 Climate Change and the Tourism Sector: Briefing Note #7

Endnotes

1. World Travel and Tourism Council (2012), Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2012: Kenya (London: World Travel and Tourism Council). 2. Cheung, H. (2012), Tourism in Kenya’s National Parks: A cost-benefit analysis (Guelph, Canada: University of Guelph). 3. (2013), Adaptation, National Climate Change Action Plan 2013-2017 (Nairobi: Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources). 4. Government of Kenya (2013). 5. International Institute for Sustainable Development and Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (2012), Mapping of GHG Emissions and low-carbon development opportunities to Kenyan Planning Sectors, prepared for Kenya’s National Climate Change Action Plan. 6. Blue and Green Tomorrow (2013), Authentic Travel, The Guide to Sustainable Tourism (Lincoln, UK: Blue and Green Communications), pages 31-32. 7. Kenya Federation of Tourism (2011), Kenya Tourism Awards, http://www.ktf.co.ke/documents/AWARD_CATEGORIES_NOMINATION_CRITERIA_&_ENTRY_FORM.pdf.

This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Netherlands Directorate- General for International Cooperation (DGIS) for the benefit of developing countries. However, the views expressed and information contained in it are not necessarily those of or endorsed by DFID, DGIS or the entities managing the delivery of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network*, which can accept no responsibility or liability for such views, completeness or accuracy of the information or for any reliance placed on them. © 2014, All rights reserved The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (“CDKN”) is a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Netherlands Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) and is led and administered by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Management of the delivery of CDKN is undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and an alliance of organisations including Fundacion Futuro Latinamericano, INTRAC, LEAD International, the Overseas Development and SouthSouthNorth.

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