Benin Ecotourism Roundtable: Final statement
Considering the most varied ecotourism potentialities, the opportunities of wealth and employments creation, simply stated, the powerful economical lever that constitute the tourism activities;
Considering the continually growing ecotourism market segment at the world-wide level;
Considering that the anticipations of the United Nations World Tourism Organization puts Africa as the first privileged destination for international tourism for the coming years;
Considering the competences of communities and groups in application of the texts governing decentralization in the management of protected areas;
We, Participants at the National Ecotourism Roundtable hold at the International Conferences Center, Cotonou Benin, on January 15th 2007, after wide and fructuousness discussions and harmonization on ecotourism issues for a basis sustainable development,
- recommend that the strategic action plan takes into account all the ecotourism, patrimonial and socio-cultural dimensions;
- recommend local elected authorities to integrate in their Communal Development Plan ecotourism development in a realistic vision;
- recommend to local elected authorities the preservation of the ecotourism lands heritage;
- ask the scientific committee the pursuit of the long-term analysis for the definition of an dapted vision to our means and natural resources;
- wish that ecotourism funding in Benin be in the priorities of our partners for development.
Cotonou, January 15th, 2007
The participants
Benin Ecotourism Concern (ECO-BENIN)
Abomey-Calavi, Route de l'IITA
Rue début Clôture IITA, Immeuble Confhôtel
04 BP 0338 Cadjèhoun, Bénin
Tel.: +229 95 28 52 20, +229 97 27 31 57
Email: ecobenin@yahoo.fr
Web: www.ecobenin.africa-web.org