fbpx
Palau ocean and land view

Palau: Carbon Neutral Tourism Destination

The Pacific Island nation of Palau is a tiny, yet remarkable country characterized by surreal landscapes, pristine seas, and a long cultural history. The archipelago is made up of more than 340 lush green islands jutting out from the glimmering ocean, only nine of which are inhabited.

Remote Palau island

Remote and Secluded

Palau is truly a hidden island paradise. The archipelago is surrounded on all sides by the vast Pacific Ocean and is located 400 miles north of Papua New Guinea, 550 miles east of the Philippines, and 800 miles southwest of Guam.

Pristine Marine Wonders

Palau’s waters teem with an abundance of marine life including over 500 species of coral and 1,300 types of fish. Thanks to its incredible natural beauty and biodiversity, Palau is considered to be one of the world’s top diving destinations.

Woman kayaking in Palau

Dependent on Tourism

In 2019, 90,000 tourists visited Palau. That’s five times the islands’ population. Tourism is the country’s main source of income and provides vital jobs for local people. In total, it accounts for nearly a third of Palau’s GDP.

Commitment to Sustainability

Though Palau may be tiny, it is bursting with big, bold ambitions. Environmental stewardship has always been the way of the Palauan people who know that their country’s future depends on healthy reefs, jungles, and beaches.

Issues

Flooding house icon

Vulnerability to Climate Change

As a remote island nation, Palau is extremely vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. Rising sea levels and intensified tropical cyclones threaten to destroy houses, beaches, and infrastructure. Coral bleaching and acidic waters endanger the marine life that tourists come to see. Climate change is also expected to disrupt global supply chains, leading to food insecurity.

Learn more about how climate change is impacting destinations. 

Airplane contrails icon

Carbon Footprint of Tourism

Tourism depends heavily on fossil fuels and produces emissions that contribute to the climate crisis. Consider the carbon footprint of a vacation to Palau. Getting to the remote islands typically requires flying thousands of miles. Once in Palau, tourists generate CO2 by going on boat rides, turning up the AC, eating imported foods, and engaging in other activities.

Learn more about the activities that contribute to tourism’s carbon footprint. 

Unhealthy food icon

Reliance on Imported Food

Palau’s hotels and restaurants rely on overseas imports to feed their guests. In fact, 85-90% of the country’s food is imported from abroad. The importation of food and drinks produces carbon emissions and causes dollars to leave the local economy. Imported foods also tend to be more packaged and processed which contributes to waste management and health problems. 

OUR ROLE

Palau Carbon Neutral Destination Program

With climate change a very real threat to Palau’s existence, Sustainable Travel International is implementing a project in partnership with Slow Food and the Palau Bureau of Tourism to help the archipelago become the world’s first carbon neutral destination. The project will combat climate change and boost community resilience by:

  • Neutralizing tourism’s carbon footprint
  • Improving the livelihoods of local food producers
  • Increasing local food security
  • Empowering women to participate more fully in the tourism value chain
  • Conserving coastal ecosystems that act as carbon sinks
  • Reducing food waste and building a circular economy

Our Approach

Fisher icon

Strengthening Local Food Production

The project will build the capacity of local farmers, fishers, and other producers to produce high quality products and market them to tourism businesses. 

Palau local foods icon

Promoting Local Foods

The project will reduce Palau’s dependence on imported foods and celebrate the islands’ gastronomic heritage by helping hotels and restaurants incorporate local ingredients into their menus.

Woman icon

Including Women

Palauan women are heavily involved in production activities such as farming taro and vegetables, crab harvesting, certain forms of fishing, and producing honeys and jams. Attention will be given to further link these female producers to the tourism value chain.

Circular resource icon

Encouraging Sustainable Resource Use

The project is optimizing resource use by encouraging local producers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices and helping chefs make the most of local food products. 

Carbon icon

Developing a Destination Carbon Calculator

We are creating an online platform that will enable tourists to calculate the carbon footprint of their trip to Palau, including flights, lodging, dining, excursions, and ground transport.

Conservation project icon

Funding Conservation Projects

Visitors will be able to offset their carbon footprint by contributing to conservation projects. These projects will reduce emissions and boost climate resilience by protecting/restoring coastal ecosystems that act as blue carbon sinks and natural storm barriers.

Our Partners

  • Palau Tourism Bureau
  • Slow Food
  • COFE
  • Palau Pledge
  • Palau Visitors Authority

Protect the Places You Love

Give back to conserve our planet’s most vulnerable destinations and empower the people who live there. Join the movement today.

Stay in Touch

Get our email updates to see how we’re protecting our planet’s most vulnerable and treasured destinations

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Fiji Women Credit Maggie Boyle / DFAT via Flickr

Sustainable Tourism Enterprise Program for the South Pacific

The islands of the Pacific are a popular destination for many travelers looking to trade in city life for secluded beaches, cultural authenticity and stunning natural environments. While the small size and remoteness of these destinations makes for ideal getaways, these characteristics also bring along many challenges. Visitors often put increased pressure on the already limited supply of agricultural products, water and energy. This results in a further dependence on imported goods and contributes to excess waste production. On top of these challenges, the transportation of imported goods drives up carbon emissions, exacerbating the climate change impacts to which small islands are particularly vulnerable.

The Pacific islands also must cope with economic vulnerability due to their geographic isolation and small size. According to the Asian Development Bank, 31 percent of Fiji’s population and 26.9 percent of Samoa’s population lived below the poverty line in 2014. Tourism is a key driver of economic development in these destinations. The industry has the potential to combat poverty by providing more jobs, growing incomes, and creating markets for local goods and services. However, there is still an opportunity for the tourism sector in the Pacific to be more inclusive of local suppliers and service providers and prioritize capacity building. This will help ensure that local communities are truly reaping the economic benefits of the industry.

What We're Doing

At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012, Heads of State adopted the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP), a global framework for action to accelerate the shift towards SCP including resource efficient and low carbon tourism, in both developed and developing countries. In 2015, the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Alliance (PSTA) was formed as a public-private partnership with the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) to help fast track sustainability in the region. Sustainable Travel International working with the SPTO under the auspices of the PSTA, was awarded a grant through the 10YFP Trust Fund call for proposals for Sustainable Tourism Programme to implement a pilot project focused on improving sustainable resource management in hotels in the Pacific.

The destinations participating in the preliminary stage of the project are Fiji and Samoa; however the eventual intention is to expand to other Pacific Islands. Through this work, the partners hope to inspire a new commitment to sustainability among members of the local tourism industry and empower them to improve their consumption and production behavior by:

  • Collaborating with local stakeholders to identify the barriers to sustainable consumption and production within the destination
  • Training 100 hotel managers on sustainable tourism best practices such as sourcing goods locally, using resources more efficiently, and utilizing a supply chain that is more inclusive of local people and cultures
  • Raising awareness among hotel managers on the financial and economic benefits of incorporating sustainability practices into their business operations
  • Equipping 100 hotels with a Sustainability Management System (SMS) – a digital tool to monitor energy-use, waste-reduction, water consumption, and sustainable sourcing

Long Term Impacts

By influencing the sustainability behavior in businesses and across destinations, this project will lead to a more robust economy and a better future for people and environments in the Pacific. The anticipated long-term impacts include:

Reduced consumption of nonrenewable resources (water, gas, electricity) and increased resource efficiency through recycling, greywater recycling and use of alternative energy sources

Decreased amount of waste and pollution generated by the tourism industry

Reduced dependence on foreign imports through local production and consumption

Less carbon emissions being generated from the transportation of imported goods

Increased tourism-related job opportunities and income streams for local people

Increased awareness and appreciation of local culture

Our Partners

  • 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Programme
  • South Pacific Tourism Authority
  • Fiji Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism
  • Samoa Hotel Association
  • Samoa Tourism Authority

Make the World a Better Place

Your gift will help us continue to work towards a more sustainable future for Pacific island nations and other destinations around the globe

Related Work

Pacific Sustainable Tourism Alliance

Learn more about how the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Alliance is combatting key environmental and human threats associated with tourism in the Pacific

Climate Change

Learn more about how we’re addressing climate change issues affecting other destinations 

Samoan women

Samoa Sustainable Tourism Charter and Foundation

Encouraging sustainable business practices in Samoa’s tourism industry and enhancing support of local initiatives. 

Located in the Pacific, Samoa is comprised of ten islands, the largest and most known being ‘Upolu and Savai’i. Each island features distinct landscapes from tropical rainforests and volcanic landscapes to crystal clear lagoons and sandy beaches. The tourism industry is critical to the prosperity of Samoa’s economy and the livelihoods of the local people. According to the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO), over 139,000 tourists visited the islands in 2015. Despite the influx of foreign visitors, authentic cultural traditions and values still dominate every aspect of life on the islands.

As a small island nation, Samoa’s ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to environmental challenges brought on by climate change, unplanned development, and natural disasters. Impacts from mass tourism can also threaten traditional knowledge and cultural expression, which play an integral role in the Samoan way of life.

Sustainably managed tourism has the potential to address these threats by enhancing climate change adaptation, strengthening community resilience, and funding environmental conservation. In addition to environmental protection, tourism also represents an opportunity to conserve the island’s cultural heritage, improve community well-being, and create career options for the Samoan youth.

Samoa has been a regional leader in sustainable tourism interventions, but there is still potential for the destination to further engage tourism businesses and travelers in destination stewardship and be a model for other destinations in the region to follow. Sustainable Travel International is collaborating with the Samoa Tourism Authority to help small and large businesses play a more active role in ensuring sustainable tourism development.

Our Role

Sustainability Charter

Hotels, tour operators, and other tourism providers have the power to either harm or benefit the destinations where they operate. Their impact depends largely on how they run their business – from who they hire to how they dispose of their waste.

Part of our work in Samoa is focused on guiding these businesses—through the development of a Sustainability Charter—to identify and adopt more sustainable business practices. That is, practices that are respectful of the local people and environment, such as composting food waste and sourcing products locally. Giving local stakeholders and community leaders ownership of this process will ensure that the practices are feasible, appropriate, and impactful within the destination context. The Charter will also help to reinforce business innovation by highlighting and providing recognition to those businesses that are finding creative ways to incorporate sustainability. Widespread business commitment to these practices will contribute to community well-being, economic development, and environmental conservation.

Foundation for a Sustainable Samoa

In addition to encouraging business sustainability, our work in Samoa is also focused on using the power of the tourism industry to strengthen support for local conservation and community development efforts. To accomplish this, we partnered with the community to develop a travel philanthropy fund for Samoa.

The travel philanthropy fund, the Foundation for a Sustainable Samoa, was launched in 2017 with a mission of maximizing community benefits from tourism in Samoa by creating opportunities for local people to improve their well-being and safeguard their natural and cultural resources. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting small-scale destination stewardship initiatives that contribute to the following four priority sustainability causes: youth career development, environmental education, community economic development, and waste management.  By capturing a largely untapped donor base of travelers and tourism businesses, the program will create a new funding mechanism for projects in need of financial assistance. In addition, the fund will raise traveler and resident awareness of key environmental and social issues facing the islands. By educating and uniting destination stakeholders around common causes, the fund will inspire collaboration to more effectively solve these problems. The fund will also be a way for stakeholders to highlight and share Samoa’s commitment to sustainability. By sharing stories of Samoa’s success, not only will the fund inspire activism locally, but it will also provide a sustainability model for other Pacific destinations to follow.

Location

destination pin icon

Destination: Samoa

Region: Pacific Islands

Dates

2016-2017

Our Partners

  • Samoa Hotel Association
  • Samoa Tourism Authority

Explore More Projects

Protect the Places You Love

Give back to conserve our planet’s most vulnerable destinations and empower the people who live there. Join the movement today.

Stay Connected

Get our email updates to see how we’re protecting our planet’s most vulnerable and treasured destinations

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.