Motion 130

Explanatory Memorandum - for the motion titled “Strengthening protective measures for protected areas against unsustainable tourism development”
Protected areas are established to conserve biodiversity, ecosystem services and cultural heritage. The IUCN standards for categories I and II emphasize strict protection, with limited human activities allowed only if they are consistent with conservation objectives. However, the rapid growth of tourism – also in protected areas - has increasingly undermined these objectives.
While tourism is often seen as a means of promoting conservation awareness and generating local revenue, including in protected areas, it has also led to habitat destruction, pollution, ecosystem fragmentation and exacerbated climate impacts. Poorly planned and regulated tourism development within protected areas intensifies these problems and threaten the very values that these areas are meant to protect.
The case of Albania is a showpiece of the global problem. Amended Law No. 21 on Protected Areas (2024) allows large-scale tourism infrastructure, such as luxury hotels, in core zones of protected areas, including those designated as IUCN Category I and II. This law contradicts IUCN principles, undermines international conservation efforts and sets a dangerous precedent for other countries.
The main concerns regarding tourism development in protected areas are related to development practices that contradict the management objectives of the protected areas, weak management and enforcement mechanisms to regulate tourism in these areas, and excessive climate impacts on the natural environment.
Tourism infrastructure, such as roads, hotels and recreational facilities, often leads to habitat destruction, biodiversity loss and pollution. These impacts are particularly severe in the core zones of protected areas. Many countries lack a solid legal and regulatory framework for the sustainable management of tourism in protected areas. The example of Albania shows how legal changes can subvert protective measures. The development of tourism in protected areas reduces natural carbon sinks, increases greenhouse gas emissions and weakens the resilience of ecosystems, undermining global efforts to adapt to climate change.
The motion calls for a ban on tourism infrastructure in IUCN Category I and II core zones, covering at least 75% of the area, to prioritize conservation over tourism, calls on governments to align their national laws and policies with IUCN guidelines, particularly with regard to banning environmentally damaging developments, asks IUCN to provide technical and strategic support to its member organizations, including Albania, to restore and strengthen conservation measures, and calls for the application of standardized assessments before approving tourism developments in protected areas.
The motion is a call to the global conservation community to reaffirm the role of protected areas as havens for biodiversity and to ensure that tourism development does not jeopardize their most important objectives. By adopting these measures, IUCN and its members can conserve protected areas for future generations while meeting the challenges of modern tourism and climate change.