Working with partners in the destination

- Training courses and technical advice;

- Guidance manuals supplemented by relevant local information;

- Incentives and financial support for biodiversity actions, such as subsidies and technical support for conservation activities; and

- Extending and sharing knowledge and good practice for biodiversity conservation.

• Assisting hotels and other businesses to develop partnerships with other organisations and community groups to support local biodiversity conservation and to undertake actions to protect biodiversity in the destination.

Promote the use by hotels of local products linked to sustainable use of biodiversity by:

• Helping local communities benefit from biodiversity by helping them to establish activities and enterprises based on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, for

example small businesses that can supply hotels with sustainably produced vegetables and fruit or offer sustainable tourism activities; and

• Working with hotels to understand their needs for quantity and quality of products that can be produced locally, and using this information to increase the suitability of local supplies for hotels.

Raising awareness of biodiversity among visitors, businesses and local communities by:

• Setting up awareness-raising campaigns to encourage protection of biodiversity in the destination;

• Providing local communities, schools and businesses with information about biodiversity conservation and sustainable use;

• Ensuring effective local information delivery and interpretation;

• Highlighting biodiversity resources in the destination, for example by producing maps and leaflets, and installing signs to provide information and interpretation; and

• Encouraging responsible visitor behaviour and awareness of the need to protect biodiversity in the destination, including

- Good-quality guiding, where possible involving local people;

- Interpretative events;

- Visitor centres, where appropriate, containing creative interpretative facilities; and

- Relevant information in leaflets, on signs, etc.

Setting up partnerships

By setting up partnerships with public authorities, community groups and associations, hotels can become involved in biodiversity actions that are of benefit to the entire destination.

To establish a new partnership, you should start by asking how working together for biodiversity protection could help each partner in achieving their objectives. Each partner should be prepared to discuss ideas for projects that could be carried out in a partnership, to explain why these projects are needed, how much they would cost, and what their benefits would be.

The decision to set up a partnership usually implies a commitment. This commitment means there may be formal agreements developed and signed, there may be financial or other obligations involved, and the new relationship can mean changes in the way each organisation works. For example, when a hotel takes the initiative to have special “biodiversity rooms,” this is often done in partnership with a conservation organisation. The hotel also can enter into a partnership with a local association to delegate the development and

implementation of special “edu-tainment” activities for hotel guests and their children, such as games, bird watching, gardening etc.

Some of the key factors that make partnerships and support activities effective include:

• Identifying key and reliable representatives of main stakeholders that should be involved in developing a partnership. This is particularly relevant when working with indigenous peoples organisations;

• Defining clear roles and responsibilities, including on sharing resources and accountability of actions;

• Ensuring that all organisations involved, including the hotel, benefit from working together, giving an incentive for them all to participate;

• Involving partners at an early stage, so that they can contribute their ideas and help with planning of activities;

• Working though existing networks that your hotel may already be associated with;

• Choosing projects that are realistic and achievable in relation to the resources of the partners and organisations who are working together, and are relevant to their own objectives;

• Selecting activities and projects where results are easily visible to all who are involved, which are realistic and achievable, and have strong leadership and wide community support; and

• Acknowledging in all communications the contributions and support from all partners.

There are many ways that you can begin to make links with groups and organisations with which you can build

partnerships for conservation, including:

• Networking: Through networking, hotels and their potential partners can exchange information and establish personal connections. Networks increasingly are seen as playing an important role in the way problems are solved, organisations are run and the degree to which individuals achieve their goals. There are various forms of networking, including tracking, informing, consulting, supporting, collaborating and partnering (in order of increasing mutual engagement).

• Tracking initiatives and organisations: Tracking allows a hotel to know what biodiversity initiatives are occurring at the local level, what biodiversity conservation or awareness-raising activities are being undertaken by national and international associations, universities, natural history museums, etc., and who the key contacts are and how to reach them. One of the advantages of tracking what is happening, building relations with the various actors interested in a cause, and engaging stakeholders in a proactive way, is that it can allow you to coordinate

activities, reduce duplication and support many people who can be engaged in working constructively with your hotel.

These people may include representatives of protected areas, zoos, botanical gardens, local communities, schools, government agencies, universities, conservation

associations and other stakeholders. There are a number of different ways to track biodiversity activities, including:

- Web searches;

- Subscribing to and scanning newspapers, magazines and newsletters (i.e. hard copy and/or electronic versions);

- Collecting project documents and reports, brochures and educational materials;

- Visiting institutions, associations and local initiatives to get to know their work;

- Attending conferences and biodiversity-related events;

- Conducting informal meetings with colleagues and peers (lunch-time discussions, recreational hours, etc.);

- Holding regular meetings with associations; and - Checking calendars of events.

• Communicating about your hotel’s biodiversity initiatives:

Once your hotel is genuinely integrating biodiversity into management strategies, it is important to inform local stakeholders about these efforts. This can be done through emails, letters, phone calls, short reports or articles, newsletters, informational meetings and presentations.

• Consulting on specific issues: A hotel does not necessarily have all the knowledge to integrate biodiversity into its management systems. In many cases, local conservation organisations or communities can advise you on topics such as which fish species to choose for a biodiversity-friendly menu, which plant species to use in order to integrate local biodiversity into your garden and public areas, or the selection of magazines in the lobby.

• Collaborating on conservation initiatives: Your hotel also can collaborate with other partners on conservation activities or events, for example to celebrate Earth Day, International Biodiversity Day, World Wetland Day or World Tourism Day, or in cleaning up a beach, coral reef or wetland. You might also choose to sponsor an exhibition in the local natural history or science museum, or an

Environmental Film Festival. During these events, your hotel can have its own biodiversity programme or host a

programme jointly with other organisations.

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