Tools and Resources for Nature-Based Tourism - Second Edition

Nature-based tourism (NBT) plays an important role in sustainable development. It can support poverty alleviation, economic growth, and biodiversity conservation and contribute to key global agreements and frameworks, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. NBT’s singular potential to create jobs and growth, while protecting wildlife and ecosystems, makes it an enticing prospect for developing countries seeking to align those interests. The World Bank commissioned a comprehensive review of the tools and knowledge resources that could be used by practitioners in the field of NBT, to prepare and implement projects that promote sustainable NBT practices and policies. Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic have reverberated across the tourism sector since first publication of this report in July 2020. Those working in nature-based tourism, from tour operators to community organizations to protected area authorities, have faced particular challenges – and opportunities – as tourism revenues plummeted and slowly rebound. This second edition in 2022 aims to collect and share the many resources that have emerged to support nature-based tourism destinations and stakeholders to recover and reset in the face of the pandemic, including a new chapter on COVID-19 resources.