Guides and best practices

Marrakech Task Force for Sustainable Tourism Development

http://www.unep.fr/scp/tourism/activities/taskforc...

A UNEP initiative that began in 2006 and resulted in the development of capacity building tools, policy recommendations and guidelines, new partnerships, and networks on sustainable tourism development.  An overview of the initiative was given in ‘A three year journey for sustainable tourism’.

Measuring Up: Synchronizing Biodiversity Measurement Systems for Markets and Other Incentive Programs

http://willamettepartnership.org/measuring-up

Emerging environmental markets, in tandem with existing incentive programs, have the potential to make effective contributions to conservation, but little is known about how these programs quantify biodiversity. This report, prepared for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Environmental Markets, focuses on two areas of action that could help improve effective investments for biodiversity:

1. Standardizing systems for measuring the outcomes of current incentive programs, and
2. Providing options for how federal agencies and others might support biodiversity incentives, particularly markets for biodiversity.

Millenium Ecosystem Assessment

http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/index.html

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is an international work program designed to meet the needs of decision makers and the public alike for scientific information concerning the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being, as well as options for responding to those changes. If the MA proves useful to its stakeholders, it is anticipated that an assessment process modeled on the MA will be repeated every five to ten years and that ecosystem assessments will be regularly conducted at national or sub-national scales

Mohonk Agreement

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/tourism/documen...

An agreement by a number of certification programmes on a common baseline for sustainable tourism and ecotourism certification. It provides a framework of principles and recommendations for the certification of sustainable ecotourism.

National Biotrade Project in Bolivia

http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Webflyer.asp?docID...

Bolivia´s National Biotrade Programme, to be applied for five years, has the following overall objectives:

1. To stimulate production of, and trade in, biodiversity goods and services following criteria of ecological, social, and economic sustainability
2. To strengthen value chains and related local economies, thus creating links with domestic and international markets.

It contains the following five components:

• Development of standards for promoting the sustainable management of biodiversity
• Development of skills for sustainable production
• Facilitating access to markets, certification, and financing
• Developing value chains
• and fostering access to information and training in biotrade for the various national stakeholders

National Business Initiative (NBI)

http://www.nbi.org.za/

The NBI is a voluntary group of leading national and multi-national companies working together towards sustainable growth and development in South Africa through partnerships, practical programmes, and policy engagement. As one of close to 60 global regional partners to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the NBI provides a platform for business leadership and a vision of how companies can contribute to shaping and achieving a sustainable society.

National Wind Coordinating Collaborative

http://www.nationalwind.org/

The US Wind Coordinating Collaborative (NWCC) provides a neutral forum for a wide range of stakeholders to pursue the shared objective of developing environmentally, economically, and politically sustainable commercial markets for wind power in the United States.

Ocean Conservation and Tourism Alliance

http://www.conservation.org/sites/celb/news/Pages/...

This partnership between Conservation International and the cruise line industry has developed practical guidebooks. These guides describe good environmental practices for a variety of key audiences including communities, small business owners, hoteliers, marine recreation providers, and tour operators.

Öko-Tex Standard 100

http://www.oeko-tex.com/OekoTex100_PUBLIC/index.as...

The Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 for textile products provides a scientifically-founded evaluation standard for the human ecological safety of textiles, from the raw material to the finished product, against the background of the globalized and extremely fragmented nature of the textile manufacturing chain.

Oree

http://www.oree.org/

Orée is a French organisation working on environmental issues and has published a major guide book on biodiversity for businesses.  This organisation has set up a "Business and Biodiversity” working group dedicated to developing guidance and best practices related to the introduction of biodiversity conservation into business operations.