SDG 12.b.1 - Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability (Number of Tables/Accounts compiled)
Definitions: The indicator “Implementation of standard accounting tools to monitor the economic and environmental aspects of tourism sustainability” relates to the degree of implementation in countries of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) and the System of Environmental and Economic Accounts (SEEA) tables that are to date considered most relevant and feasible for monitoring sustainability in tourism.
Further reading: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-12-0b-01.pdf
Ecosystems: all
Importance for ecosystem restoration: The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) promotes the programme Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (MST)2. MST provides to all countries a common framework to measure the impacts and contributions of tourism on the economy, society and the environment. Among the environmental impacts, the MST considers how tourism influences ecosystem conditions and services for tourism-related areas, water use, energy use, GHG emissions, solid waste, land and marine areas use, wildlife in protected areas, and green jobs.
The framework analyzes the local conditions, identifying the sustainability of tourism and the environment, and proposes the necessary institutional arrangements that assure its sustainability. Ecosystem condition can experience negative impacts in areas where tourism activity leads to poor quality water due to lack of sewage treatment or excessive number of visits affect forest condition. In other situations the interest of tourist for a particular landscape and the development of tourism businesses, leads to ecosystem restoration or protection (UNWTO, 2022).
The increase in the implementation of these type of tools has a positive impact on the conservation and restoration of ecosystems.
References:
UNWTO (2022) Statistical Framework for Measuring the Sustainability of Tourism (SF-MST). Draft
