SPEAKER Muru Loganathan, Climate Change Officer

DATE 28/10/2009

Muru Loganathan, Climate Change Officer gives a speech at the award show on behalf of the British High Commission.

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Good evening.

The British High Commission is honoured to be given an opportunity to say a few words at this year’s event, organised here in Kuala Lumpur.  

These awards were started in 2006 with financial support from the British High Commission in Malaysia. I remember attending the first ever event in 2006, which was held in Langkawi. It is therefore immensely pleasing to see them now in their fourth year and already recognised as coveted awards in the tourism industry. I congratulate Wildasia for their perseverance for keeping this going and long may this continue.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Asia is one of the world’s greatest diverse regions in terms of the bio-diversity and culture. Sustainable development and responsible tourism are essential to ensure the survival of these diversities. I commend Wild Asia for their continued work to drive home the message about the importance of taking responsibility for the impact of tourism on our environment.

Tourism is an important industry in many countries in Asia, adopting a sustainable approach that addresses the risks of over-development, pollution and environmental degradation will help ensure its long term survival. Responsible Tourism also offers a way to ensure that local populations enjoy real benefits from tourism.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

But the sustainability of the tourism industry is facing yet another challenge - Climate Change. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has warned that climate change threatens tourism, a lucrative industry for the world’s poorest nations. For example, rising sea levels could inundate coastal holiday spots while melting snowcaps could spell an end to ski resorts.  

Anybody who follows current affairs will know that the issue of climate change is attracting increased attention as we near the all-important Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen in December. The physical impacts are becoming more widespread and severe. And scientists tell us the worst is yet to come. In fact, scientists in the UK now are already talking about future scenarios of a 4-degree world.  

Unless something is done, there is a 75% chance that the average global temperature will rise by 2-3 degrees over the next 50 years. As you are already aware, the likely consequences will include sea-level rise, extreme weather, falling crop yields and a massive displacement of populations. All these have direct implications to the tourism industry.  

Practical examples of the physical impacts are easy to find. Increasingly violent cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes will continue to affect millions more than before  - including countries in Asia. The recent incidents of extreme weather in the region are cases in point.

From an economic point of view, a recent study commissioned by the British Government – a study known as ‘The Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia: A Regional Review’ - which was carried out and authored by the Asian Development Bank, gives some alarming statistics of the state of play in the regional economies if climate change continue to take place unabated. I am sure some of you are aware of this report by now.  

Please allow me to say a few key points on the findings of this report, which might be relevant to the tourism industry.  

The ADB found that South East Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change – particularly as most of the population and economic activity is concentrated on low-lying coastlines; and the region heavily reliant on agriculture, natural resources and forestry.

The ADB found that climate change is already happening, and the worst is yet to come. The mean temperature is projected to rise 4.8°C by 2100 if its business as usual, and the sea level to rise by 70 cm in the same period.    

This means that the region is likely to suffer greatly. The report predicts a loss of 6.7% of combined GDP, each year by 2100 – which is more than twice the world average.  

What all these facts mean to the tourism industry:

Tourism is seen as a major economic driver in poor countries. Nearly one third of the US$735 billion generated by tourism in 2006 went to developing nations, with the industry serving as one of the major export sectors for poor countries. In most cases, these poor countries are also the most vulnerable to climate change. Take the island nations in the Pacific as an example.

From 2000-2007, international tourism was the main source of foreign exchange in nearly all of the States classed as least developed countries (LDCs) – we have seen records of 100 per cent growth in these nations on tourism. Unabated climate change can hurt income earnings for these nations.

People often do not realise that the tourism industry constitutes at least 5 per cent of economies in many countries, having a catalytic effect on a further 5 per cent. As a result, “anything which affects the industry has a big spin-off effect on the economy”, this include impacts from climate change. In short, we are saying that your industry will not be sheltered by the impacts of climate change – there’s so much to lose in terms of economic returns, especially in poor and vulnerable countries if climate change is not addressed in the mid and long-terms.

But, we appreciate and understand that efforts are being made all over the world to make the tourism industry to be more responsible towards the environment generally, having lower impacts on the climate with the inclusion of a social dynamic to the process.

Responsible Tourism also calls that people travel responsibly - “You can choose what you do and how you do it. Travellers now can opt for example to stay in resorts that is identifiably trying to reduce their carbon footprints and to offset their flights by buying carbon credits – I think our next speaker from Malaysian Airlines may have more to say on this.  

Climate-induced environmental changes – including water availability, biodiversity, and coastal erosion – will have an impact on tourism. I could give more examples – for instance, changes in agricultural production could hurt agro-tourism, while increases in temperature are forecasted to hurt highland tourism. I am sure there are many more examples that we can pick from the Asian region.

As a result, adaptation to climate change is vital tourism. There have been calls for poorer nations to be provided with the necessary technology and financing “to create jobs, not just helping foreign tourists have a good time.”  

Awards like this are here to reward those who have made the changes.  Customers and clients are gradually demanding for it – so there’s a potential for green tourism to prosper.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In this context, the December meeting in Copenhagen to agree on a new climate change agreement - intended to go into effect after the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012 – is something I would encourage everyone to keep an eye on. Along with emissions reductions targets by industrialised nations, helping developing countries adapt to global warming’s effects is also a large component of the pact set to be reached in the Danish capital. But while the Copenhagen talks are crucial, those negotiations – and their outcome – need to be supported by concrete action on the ground. Action to transform societies to a low carbon economy, including de-carbonising the tourism industry.

Like it or not, tourism has reached a crossroad, but we are optimistic that the industry will rise to the climate challenge as with other challenges that have come your way before.  

Finally, I would like to thank all the sponsors of this year’s event. I congratulate those who have been nominated for awards. My warmest congratulations go of course to the winners. Each of you has made a significant contribution to sustainable development and climate change agenda wherever you are from. I applaud your efforts.

Thank you and have an enjoyable evening.

Muru Loganathan, Climate Change Officer speaks at the award show on behalf of the British High Commission.

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