Our Global Climate & Biodiversity Initiative
Why is it important?
Biodiversity is essential for life on Earth. Without it, we would lack the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we rely on. Moreover, without biodiversity, tourism simply would not exist and communities around the world would not be able to harness its benefits.
Sadly, biodiversity is under threat. Climate change intensifies this threat, putting our collective well-being at risk. At Planeterra, we remain optimistic and believe that community tourism can be a powerful tool to help address the climate and biodiversity crisis.
“The environment is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become”
-Claudia Alta Johnson (Lady Bird Johnson)
What are we doing?
Over the years, we have seen many of our community partners use their tourism enterprises to support the protection, restoration, and management of their environment. So we know it’s possible!
We want to continue empowering communities to shape their futures. Working on projects to help more communities implement solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis through tourism, Planeterra’s Global Climate & Biodiversity Initiative is based on four pathways:
Regenerate
Support projects that regenerate biodiversity and protect Ecosystems, while directly benefiting communities.
Educate
Provide accessible and inclusive knowledge to our community partners so that they have access to solutions that can tackle the crisis.
Collaborate
Work with strategic partners who are taking climate action and actively delivering nature-positive solutions on the ground.
Innovate
Support communities to develop new and existing climate and biodiversity crisis solutions, which can be integrated into their community tourism enterprise strategy.
Growing Trees to Uplift Communities
Our Tree-growing Program
Trees are the lungs of our planet, providing us with clean air to breathe. But their importance goes beyond that. Trees play a vital role in restoring our planet and addressing some of the world’s most pressing issues, including climate change, deforestation, and poverty.
As a part of our Global Climate and Biodiversity Initiative, Planeterra launched its Tree-Growing program in 2023. Our mission with this initiative is simple yet powerful: “Growing Trees to Uplift Communities”. We work hand-in-hand with organizations representing local communities to ensure their active participation in every aspect of the project, from planning to implementation and monitoring.
Click here to learn more about this program.
The Glasgow Declaration
As a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration, Planeterra commits to:
- Support the global commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero as soon as possible before 2050;
- Deliver climate action plans within 12 months of becoming a signatory (or updating existing plans), and begin implementing them;
- Align plans with the five pathways of the Declaration (Measure, Decarbonise, Regenerate, Collaborate, Finance) to accelerate and co-ordinate climate action in tourism;
- Report publicly on an annual basis on progress against interim and long-term targets, as well as on actions being taken;
- Work in a collaborative spirit, sharing good practices and solutions, and disseminating information to encourage additional organizations to become signatories and supporting one another to reach targets as quickly as possible.
Click here to learn more about our Climate Action Plan.
Meet some of Planeterra’s community partners creating positive impacts on their environment
What can you do now?
- Share your climate & biodiversity initiatives with us.
- Are you a member of the Global Community Tourism Network? Sign up to do the climate & biodiversity module on the Planeterra Learning Hub
- Share ideas on how you can link Climate & Biodiversity initiatives to your community tourism experiences
- Make a donation to support our climate & biodiversity programs
