Planeta Offers Indigenous Tourism Award

Planeta.com and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity are collaborating to showcase best practices in web-based technologies helping indigenous people manage tourism in a biodiversity-friendly way.

Indigenous tourism websites that promote sustainable practices and educate visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation are eligible to win Planeta.com’s Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website (ITBW) Award. Nominees include indigenous owned and operated tourism businesses around the world.

The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award has been designed in partnership with the United Nations Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) to motivate indigenous tourism operators and associations to improve their online communication and to highlight the best practices of indigenous and local communities (ILCs).

The winner of the first ITBW Award will be announced at a significant international tourism event to be determined. Nominations will be accepted until November 30, 2008. Voting takes place in January 2009.

The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is part of a larger initiative by the Secretariat, aimed at building capacity for ILCs with the view to support and strengthen sustainable tourism initiatives through the use of new information and web-based technologies. It is a complement to the Indigenous Communities, Tourism and Biodiversity Workshop Series: New Information and Web-based Technologies that started in Quebec, Canada in 2007, with a focus on the Arctic Region, and will continue in the Pacific in November 2008, Latin America in 2009 and Africa in 2010.

Throughout the workshops, indigenous and local communities from each region are developing their own web based tools and methods with a view to improving their websites and their capacity to reflect traditional ways in conserving indigenous land, and to allow potential visitors and clients to learn about indigenous practices and cultures.

Tourism websites owned and operated by indigenous people and communities are eligible for the Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award.

• Two awards will be given – one from a popular count and one from a jury. Runners-up will be recognized.
• The winning website will be showcased at a significant international tourism event to be determined. Information collected in all stages will help update the Planeta.com and the SCBD websites
• The winning websites will be featured on the Planeta.com and the CBD websites.

The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award represents an opportunity for indigenous people and communities to improve their websites. Among the criteria for selection, the website should …

* be regularly updated
* link to other relevant sites
* reflect indigenous ownership, authenticity and heritage
* encourage sustainable livelihoods, respect of life on earth
* be user-friendly
* be trustworthy
* provide clear contextual information

The Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award is sponsored by the Spanish Government for the Traditional Knowledge and Article 8(j) programme of the SCBD.

Further info: Planeta.wikispaces.com

Valere Tjolle