Doc. 11059

4 October 2006

Promoting ecological tourism, developing protected areas and unique natural objects for the purpose of realising the human right to a safe and healthy leisure

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mrs Pirozhnikova and others

1.       During the last decades, as a result of the rapid development of civilization and the enlargement of the spheres of human activity, the agricultural and industrial utilisation of the surrounding space, following the processes of urbanisation as well as progressive environmental pollution, the opportunities of having a safe leisure - for human beings, on the one hand, and for the environment, on the other hand - accessible for all have been reduced drastically. Meanwhile, every citizen in a modern democratic society must have the right to this kind of leisure and to the possibility of realising it as well as to be informed on matters relating to ecologically efficient leisure. Parallel to the right to just working conditions proclaimed by the European Social Charter and reflecting the existing safety and hygiene requirements, every human being must have the right to have his or her leisure in conditions which really contribute to the improvement of health and creative potential, as well as the increased level of ecological responsibility without overcharging the environment.

2.       The aim of contributing to an ecologically efficient leisure is totally in line with the provisions of the Statute of the Council of Europe, especially with the one of facilitating economic and social progress of its Member States. The combined efforts of the Member States of the Council of Europe aimed at changing not only leisure preferences but also leisure psychology of their citizens are an important and ambitious challenge which they face at the beginning of the XXI century.

3.       On the present agenda of international community appear, among others, the efforts to be taken in order to change the nature of tourism: instead of the activity negatively affecting the environment, tourism should constitute a factor which will economically support the environmental protection and establish a mechanism affording an ecologically safe development of unique natural areas and will be an efficient means for ecological education of persons, especially of young persons and children (in particular, by organising for children ecological camps and launching relevant programmes).

      The right to have a merited and healthy leisure does not contradict the aims of economic and social development of national countries or their specific regions, on the contrary, in case of sound organisation and as a follow-up of effective co-operation among the Member States of the Council of Europe it is possible to transform it into a means which will afford the unique natural areas as non-industrial and non-polluting ways of development. Moreover, international tourism can become one of the most profitable spheres of economic activity which will attract new investments and international interests to these areas.

4.       Intensive industrial and economic expansion in its traditional forms will result in irreversible influence on reserved areas and on other natural objects.

Realising the importance of priorities and aims of regional development pursued by national parliaments, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe must support by all means ecological forms of national and international tourism and for this purpose to:

-       form new preferences in leisure, primarily among children and young persons, and in such a way realising their right to the development in a healthy environment;

-       promote by all means the realisation of national and regional programmes aimed at developing ecological tourism and unique natural areas;

-       give priority to those forms of exploitation of reserved areas which would not affect their conservation and ecological unicity but make these areas accessible for individual and collective ecological tourism.

Signed ¹:

PIROZHNIKOVA, Liudmila, Russian Federation, EDG

ATEŞ, Abdülkadir, Turkey, SOC

BARNETT, Doris, Germany, SOC

Baroness, HOOPER, Gloria, United Kingdom, EDG

ÇAVUŞOĞLU, Mevlüt, Turkey, EDG

CORTAJARENA, Elvira, Spain, SOC

COSIDÓ, Ignacio, Spain, EPP/CD

GROSS, Andreas, Switzerland, SOC

KIRILOV, Evgeni, Bulgaria, SOC

KOROBEYNIKOV, Anatoliy, Russian Federation, EDG

KOSACHEV, Konstantin, Russian Federation, EDG

MIMICA, Neven, Croatia, SOC

PANGALOS, Theodoros, Greece, SOC

PAPADIMITRIOU, Elsa, Greece, EPP/CD

PAPADOPOULOS, Antigoni, Cyprus, ALDE

RIGONI, Andrea, Italy, EPP/CD

SASI, Kimmo, Finland, EPP/CD

SCHREINER, Bernard, France, EPP/CD

STANTCHEVA, Darinka, Bulgaria, ALDE

STAPONKIENĖ, Aldona, Lithuania, EDG

WALTER, Robert, United Kingdom, EDG

ZAPFL-HELBLING, Rosmarie, Switzerland, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group