On World Migratory Bird Day the United Nations announced a plan to introduce sustainable tourism to the front-lines of habitat and ecology preservation. The UN will begin to work with eight key sites across Africa, Asia, and Europe to celebrate local biodiversity while implementing sustainable tourism practices.

Each year, millions of migratory birds set out to travel the world, flying along the same routes, also known as ‘flyways’. Spanning continents and oceans, and used by a myriad of bird species, the flyways represent one of the most spectacular and valuable assets of the world’s natural heritage.

During their travels, migratory birds depend upon a chain of vital sites for breeding, staging and wintering. Due to their natural values, these sites are often managed under different conservation schemes and also endowed with great tourism potential.

By providing an adequate framework for sustainable tourism management and diversifying the tourism offer along the flyways, the UN program aims to generate revenue for improved management of biodiversity and spreading the benefits of tourism to local communities, while creating attractive experiences for tourists.

Destination Flyaway Enhanced site management plans will bring together environmental and tourism objectives; sustainable tourism will serve as a strategic mechanism for the conservation of vital sites for migratory birds and the spread of benefits to the local community.

UN officials also hope to use the ecotourism as a means to boost local economies along the flyaway routes. The program will offer innovative sustainable tourism products in collaboration with local communities and authorities and the private sector, which will hopefully result in employment opportunities and greater competitiveness of the tourism destinations.

The UN hopes to tap tourism as an engine for sustainability and behavioral change. The program will carefully monitor its impacts to allow prioritizing sustainable tourism as a viable alternative in comparison to other productive sectors and disseminating the value of ecosystem services.