4 MILLION CANADIANS IN NEED OF HOUSING

With 4 million Canadians in need of housing and 40,000 sleeping in shelters every night, Canada's affordable housing shortage is not a problem that is too big to fix; it's a problem that is to big not to fix, the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada said today.

Speaking at a meeting with provincial and territorial housing ministers, the Federation of Canadian municipalities, and other national housing organizations, Nicholas Gazzard, Executive Director, made a case for co-operative housing as part of the solution.

"Co-op housing in Canada is a success story. Co-op housing iscost-effective for government and offers a truly community-driven housingsolution that puts the residents in control of their housing."

CHF Canada recognized the importance of the renewal of the three federalhousing programs just prior to the call of the federal election and called onthe provinces and territories to make a matching commitment. But Gazzard called for a long term strategy."

The renewed federal spending, while welcome, will not deliver the newaffordable housing needed to address the challenges of core housing need.

The federal government must commit to further funding and develop a strategy to respond to the expiry of existing federal housing commitments.

Canadian housing co-ops are also calling for

- A strategic partnership among different levels of government- Consultation with stakeholder groups

- New spending tied to both supply and demand solutions, and

- Efficiency in scale in program design.

CHF Canada is the national voice of co-operative housing in Canada, with more than 900 housing co-operatives and other members, representing 56,000

The Role of Tourism as one of the Principal Sectors of the International Co-operative Movement

By PARAMASVARAN S. Kandiah

President, The International Cooperative Housing Foundation for Asia & the Pacific, New Delhi, India

Past President, The Cooperative Union of Malaysia Limited, Kuala Lumpur

Chairman, The National Railway Cooperatives Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

Vice Chairman, International Cooperative Alliance (TICA), Tourism Committee/Networking, Geneva

Presented at

The INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS CONFERENCE ON COOPERATIVE TOURISM – JAIPUR , INDIA ON 14TH & 15TH OCTOBER 2008

It is a truism that Tourism and the urge to travel have now become the world’s largest industry and the creator of jobs across national and regional economies. It is forecast that Travel & Tourism will generate, directly and indirectly, 11.7% of GDP and nearly 260 million jobs in the world-wide economy by the Year 2020. Tourism has now been acknowledged as one of the important Sectoral Organisations of the International Cooperative Alliance. Tourism unfortunately thus far has not played a dominant role in the overall economic and social development of the Cooperative Movement since the inception of Cooperatives more than a century ago.

Somehow Tourism was left to the sidelines by the Cooperative Movement for such a long stretch of time.

Steps now being taken in various forms to stimulate the Tourism Sector of the Cooperative Movement through the aegis of TICA ( ICA Tourism Networking) and the untiring efforts of persons like Dr Maurizio Davolio, Chairman of TICA Networking need to be lauded

Jobs generated by Travel & Tourism are spread across the economy - in retail, construction, hospitality, medical, ecology, handicrafts’ manufacturing and telecommunications, as well as directly in Travel & Tourism companies. These jobs which employ a large proportion of women, minorities and young people; are predominantly in small and medium sized companies; and offer good training and transferability.

Tourism can also be one of the most effective drivers for the development of regional economies.

These patterns apply to both developed and emerging economies.

The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Rio Earth Summit have identified Travel & Tourism as one of the key sectors of the economy which could make a positive contribution to achieving sustainable development. The Earth Summit lead to the adoption of Agenda 21, a comprehensive program of action adopted by 182 governments to provide a global blueprint for achieving sustainable development.

Travel & Tourism is able to contribute to development which is economically, ecologically and socially sustainable, because it:

· has less impact on natural resources and the environment than most other industries;

· is based on enjoyment and appreciation of local culture, built heritage, and natural environment, as such that the industry has a direct and powerful motivation to protect these assets;

· can play a positive part in increasing consumer commitment to sustainable development principles through its unparalleled consumer distribution channels; and

· provides an economic incentive to conserve natural environments and habitats which might otherwise be allocated to more environmentally damaging land uses, thereby, helping to maintain bio-diversity.

There are numerous good examples of where Tourism is acting as a catalyst for conservation and improvement of the environment and maintenance of local diversity and culture

To a greater degree than most activities, Travel & Tourism depends on a wide range of infrastructure services - airports, air navigation, roads, railheads and ports, as well as basic infrastructure services required by hotels, restaurants, shops, and recreation facilities (e.g. telecommunications and utilities).

It is the combination of tourism and good infrastructure that underpins the economic, environmental and social benefits.

Travel & Tourism creates jobs and wealth and has tremendous potential to contribute to economically, environmentally and socially sustainable development in both developed countries and emerging nations. It is an ideal industry for small scale Co-operatives because it has a comparative advantage in that its start up and running costs can be low compared to many other forms of industry development.

Travel & Tourism take many different forms - from a trip only a few hours away from home to long distance travel overseas. A common belief is that most travels involve large numbers of visitors from developed countries travelling by air to destinations in emerging countries.

In fact, in most countries, the domestic tourism market is larger than the inbound market. Of course, the social and cultural impact of inbound visitors is often greater than that of domestic tourists. Whether tourism is domestic or international, it involves visiting a destination away from the area in which one lives and using the services available in that destination.

Therefore, tourists’ requirements are for travel services to reach their destinations and once there, for services such as shelter, water, food, sanitation and entertainment. These are all areas into which small scale Co-operatives can easily venture into.

What makes tourism special is that, many of these different products and services are often supplied by different operators: usually small or medium sized businesses in local ownership and which are most ideal for small scale Co-operative industries. This makes tourism a highly fragmented and diverse industry and as such a co-ordinated, industry-wide action may be difficult to achieve.

Despite the difficulties caused by fragmentation and lengthy supply chains, there has been a steady growth in environmental good practice across the industry in recent years. There are examples of - airlines and airports reducing pollution and noise impacts; cruise liners practising marine conservation; hotels implementing energy consumption and waste disposal programs; car rental companies investing in increasingly fuel efficient fleets and railways sound proofing to dampen noise.

The ICA and its world wide members both at National and sub national levels can become the focus for TICA to become the global leaders’ forum for the Cooperative Tourism industry.

TICA at global, regional and national or grouping of nations level is slowly setting in place an extensive strategy to promote tourism as one of the main sectoral activities of the Co-operative Movement as a whole both in the ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ sphere of tourism and travel related activities whilst at the same time giving due regard to a culture of sustainable development. In this regard the Co-operatives could follow the private sector practise of putting into place an appropriate tiered structure for its achievement.

This would involve :

Launching an action plan for Cooperatives to work towards :

“Environmentally Sustainable Development” through a series of Regional, National, Continental and International level seminars to increase awareness of the conclusions, and to adapt the programmes for local implementation.

TICA has to involve itself with the private sector as well and could or may seek affiliation to the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), based in Paris, which represents over 700,000 establishments in more than 150 countries.

Its membership comprises some 50 national and international hotel and restaurant chains, over 110 national hotel and restaurant associations, independent hotel operators and restaurateurs, industry suppliers and 130 hotel schools.

The IH&RA has offices in Asia-Pacific and Latin America. It is also the voice of the world’s hotels and restaurants and plays a global role in representing, protecting, promoting and informing the industry to enable its members to achieve their business objectives.

The International Hotel Environment Initiative (IHEI), based in London, England, is a program of The Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum. Founded in 1992 by a consortium of chief executives from 10 multinational hotel groups and IHEI is an educational charity designed to encourage continuous improvement in the environmental performance of the global hotel industry. It does this through:

· raising environmental awareness in the hotel industry by promoting good practice internationally;

· developing hotel-specific guidance, enabling hotels of all sizes to implement environmental programs; and

· multiplying the reach and impact of IHEI by working with partners, including hotel associations, governments, NGOs, tourism bodies and businesses.

The Co-operative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, based in Australia, was established in 1997 to enhance the strategic knowledge available to the Travel & Tourism industry through:

· long-term high-quality scientific and technological research which contributes to the development of an internationally competitive tourism industry;

·strengthening the links between research and its commercial and other applications;·promoting co-operative research; and

·stimulating education and training, particularly in graduate programs, through active involvement of researchers from outside the higher education system in educational activities, and of graduate students in major research programs.

The number of initiatives undertaken and being undertaken by individual companies is large.

This Assembly would be proud to know that the Kandalama Hotel of Sri Lanka has been a recipient of the “GREEN GLOBE” award, 3 years in a row, for its commitment to environmental excellence.

The hotel is reputed to have undertaken measures in the following areas to ensure that its operations are more sustainable:

· cultural and social - hotel employment, providing community infrastructure and development;

· natural environment - soil erosion measures and planting forests;

· pollution - sewage, solid waste and noise pollution reduction programs; and

· environmental communication

- construction of an Eco Park where all waste is treated within the park, a dry debris sorting centre, a lecture room to promote environmental awareness and a sustainable development library.

The Cooperative Movement along with the public sectors, particularly national and local government, has an important role to play by setting the agenda and providing the framework in which action should take place. The regulatory environment also plays an important role in creating the conditions suitable for sustainable tourism. Self-regulation involving the agreement and co-operation of industry is always likely to be the most effective solution.

Therefore, the role of Cooperatives and industry organisations in distributing information among their members and encouraging participation is essential.

The major partnerships to be formed are between:

· industry and the public sector - to ensure consistency with the framework;

· industry and the Cooperative Sector - to tap into the enormous resources of expertise and good will that this sector is able to generate; and

· industry and the public - both travellers themselves and the people who live in the places they visit to develop more sustainable forms of tourismA broad based approach is called for - which requires Travel related Cooperatives to work with:

· national governments to raise the profile of environmental and social issues within the education system;

· NGOs to raise awareness of tourism issues in their work and activities and provide feedback to the Travel & Tourism industry;

· development organisations to communicate with host communities to understand their needs and requirements;

· local authorities to engage local people through the inclusion of tourism issues;

· national and international trade associations, labour representative organisations and training providers to increase awareness and training of staff in environmental and social issues;

· Publications (such as travel guides);

· Journalists to raise the profile of reporting environmental and social impacts of tourism among consumers and tourism businesses; and

· the Internet as a source of information for potential travellers.

The Cooperative Movement has a solemn duty and a vested interest in protecting the natural and cultural resources that are the core of its tourism business.

There are examples, however, from around the world where the impact of Tourism has been damaging to the local environment and people. Some of the factors which contributes to the harmful impact of tourism which can be addressed by Co-operators are:

· a lack of awareness on the part of those making decisions about tourism development of the social, economic and environmental balance to be pursued in achieving sustainable development;

· a lack of commitment by tourism operators and travellers to contribute to the maintenance of the local environment and culture of the host destination;

· a weak institutional framework with inadequate controls can lead to tourism development which is both inappropriate and intrusive;

· unfairly traded tourism, whereby local communities are unable to share in its benefits;

· large flows of visitors in remote or sensitive locations can place considerable strains on local resources (particularly water) and supply systems. Travellers’ expectations of the goods and services, which should be available, can lead to these items or services, being imported from outside or local supply chains, being distorted to meet demands; and

· tourism can change a destination’s cultural make-up and, if poorly developed, can increase crime, prostitution and other social problems.

In order for tourism to realise its potential to achieve broad-based sustainable development, an effective partnership between Government and all sectors of the industry will be required.

It is understood thast in India, that the government is pump priming local “eco-tourism” activities, which are primarily driven by local women. In Mexico, the government is kick starting village development for “eco-tourism” lodges in the Chiapas region involving the whole community. In England, the government has recently held a national consultation on sustainable tourism and, as a result, is developing a new strategy for tourism, which incorporates the principles of sustainable development as a core component.

Tourism provides an essential lifeline for many coastal communities.

Faced with the prospect of increasing financial hardship, more and more coastal communities have turned to tourism as a means of generating income and survival. Tourism’s impact on the coastal zone has, therefore, been largely positive. Of course, as in any area, if Tourism is not properly managed and developed, it can be harmful.

The development of a sustainable tourism industry in the coastal zone offers numerous opportunities. Opportunities includes, those for nature conservation – which, given the increasing interest in high quality natural and cultural experiences, can help to reverse the decline in market share of many coastal destinations.

Tourism also provides important opportunities for strengthening local industries. Where industries are in decline, tourism ventures can help supplement declining income. The following examples illustrate what can be done to make the most of the opportunities offered by tourism in the coastal zone:

We are fully aware that Tourism has a number of advantages over other industry sectors:

· it creates jobs and wealth whilst;

· at the same time, it can contribute to sustainable development;

· it tends to have low start-up costs;· is a viable option in a wide range of areas and regions;

· is likely to continue to grow for the foreseeable future; and

· the industry is, in a large part, aware of the need to protect the resource on which it is based - local culture and built and natural environment - and it is committed to these resources’ preservation and enhancement.

The Cooperatives in addition to entering into the fray of tourism at all levels should also make the attempt by making a concerted effort to build up programs for sustainable development. However, it cannot do this alone. If Tourism is to continue to flourish and to contribute to sustainable development, it needs help from all fronts and essentially from the national Governments.

This assistance is needed in two forms: - both positive encouragement for sustainable tourism initiatives and an understanding that policy decisions in other areas can effect Travel & Tourism.

Governments in most countries are already more than aware that Tourism is a core service sector which should always be considered when looking at policies to expand trade, increase employment, modernise infrastructure and encourage investment - at both domestic and Cooperatives should also seek Government intervention to minimise regulatory impediments and by offering appropriate investment incentives.

By supporting tourism and allowing it to compete in open and fair markets, tourism’s benefits can be more easily secured.

Finally, the Cooperative Movement must take the initiative to address some of the fundamental barriers to tourism growth by looking at how to expand and modernise infrastructure, to render fair services and to invest in human resource development.