7 March 2013: Indonesian school students have urged tourism leaders to “take climate change seriously,” through the Mangrove Ambassadors Programme, part of the Sustainable Tourism through Energy Efficiency with Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Pangandaran (STREAM) project of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

As part of the Mangrove Ambassadors Programme, 451 school children from Pangandaran, Indonesia, made the call through “Letters to Leaders.” The Programme involves planting and monitoring of mangroves by school children, to promote a local and long-term sustainable solution to climate change adaptation. The Programme aims to ensure that Indonesia’s future generations play an active role in addressing climate change, and that their voices are head by the older generations.

According to UNWTO, the US$1.7 million STREAM project provides a practical example of ways in which the tourism sector can engage local communities in climate change adaptation. The STREAM project also involves: seminars and workshops to increase the knowledge of local tourism stakeholders on climate change response; capacity building on energy efficiency; renewable energy technologies and energy management systems for hotelier; and the rehabilitation of mangroves and coral reefs. [UNWTO Press Release] [STREAM Website]