Vatican statement on tourism calls for conservation of water resources

July 11, 2013

Looking forward to World Tourism Day, which will be observed on September 27, the Pontifical Council for Migrants has released a statement highlighting the importance of water as both an asset and a resource, and calling for more greater recognition of the need to conserve and protect water resources.

The Vatican statement—entitled “Tourism and water: protecting our common future”—says that “all those involved in the phenomenon of tourism have a big responsibility for water management.” The state calls for “a change of mentality leading to adopt a different lifestyle marked by sobriety and self-discipline.”

Guided by the UN’s “International Year of Cooperation for Water,” the Pontifical Council for Migrants notes that one-third of the world’s people now live in countries with inadequate or barely adequate water resources. “Tourism also is often times in competition with other sectors for the usage of water,” the statement observes. And with 1 billion international tourists traveling each year, their use of water can have a major impact.

The Vatican statement advocates “an economy whose environmental impact is kept within acceptable limits. We are invited, therefore, to promote ecotourism, environmentally friendly and sustainable, that can surely promote the creation of new jobs, support the local economy and reduce poverty.”

 

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Further information:

• Pontifical Council issues message for World Tourism Day 2013: Tourism and Water (Vatican Radio)
• World Tourism Day: “Tourims and Water- Protecting Our Common Future” (VIS)