Forest Fires and Climate Change as They Affect Tourism

[...]Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency dispatched one Bombardier CL 415 amphibious aircraft, one Hercules C-130 aircraft and a survey helicopter to assist in dousing the fires. According to Márcio Favilla Lucca de Paula, UNWTO Executive Director for Competitiveness, External Relations and Partnerships, STREAM is a practical example of how the tourism sector can engage local communities to be part of a sustainable solution in adapting to climate change. According to Favilla Lucca de Paula, climate change is not a remote event for tourism, rather it is a recognised phenomenon that already affects the sector. On the one hand, tourism growth can increase GHG emissions, while on the other, the serious climate impacts resulting from the country's forest-fire problems may affect its desirability as a tourism destination. [...]Indonesia's need to mitigate, suppress or prevent the forest fires, physically as well as legally, is one part of a larger programme on climate mitigation, including measures to protect, rehabilitate and achieve sustainable use of the Indonesian coral reefs and their associated ecosystems which will enhance the welfare of the coastal communities in the long term.