The International Ecotourism Society, TIES, is sponsoring its second conference focused on ecotourism in North America, in Madison, Wisconsin, September 26 to 28, 2007. TIES hopes to plant the seeds of ecotourism, which is thriving worldwide, in the domestic travel market.
The West Coast Green Residential Building Conference returns to San Francisco September 20-22, 2007. The professional conference will run all three days, while home owners can explore the expo floor and attend workshops the final day of the conference, Saturday, Sept. 22.
The conference will offer state-of-the-art resources and presentations for the residential green building field. The conference will offer state-of-the-art resources and presentations for the residential green building field. Sponsors of the event promise, “West Coast Green is a feast of innovations, ideas and opportunities designed to expand your business, widen your vision, and stimulate your thinking with the latest, best practices and key players in green building.
The Alliance of National Heritage Areas will hold its third heritage development conference, Passport to Crossing Boundaries, June 18 to 21, 2007, in Detroit. The alliance’s Heritage Development Institute opens the three day event with a workshop on the basics of establishing a heritage area. The conference will examine such issues as engaging constituents and generating political support, forming public-private partnerships, fund-raising, and creating a consensus-based regional vision.
More than 60 fishing communities will meet in Genoa, Italy, May 4 to 7, 2007 to discuss the sustainable fishing practices and to work on solutions to the problem of collapsing fish stocks worldwide.
The Slow Fish Conference is sponsored by the Slow Food Movement and the Terra Madre Foundation, which was created “to strengthen the network of food communities, cooks and universities and to support the continued development of Slow Food projects.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the City of Minneapolis are co-sponsoring the Fifth Annual International Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, April 29 to May 1, 2007.
The Mendocino Land Trust is pulling together businesses, land owners, and public land managers for a two day conference, March 28-29, 2007, focusing on sustainable, nature-based tourism on California’s north coast.
The Transportation and Land Use Coalition will focus on local solutions to climate change at their tenth annual summit Saturday, March 24, 2007, in Oakland. The summit will examine the alternatives to urban sprawl–smart growth, affordable housing, public transit and walkable communities–as a response to global warming.
The day-long event takes place at the First Unitarian Church, 685 14th Street at Castro in downtown Oakland, for $15 in advance or $30 at the door.
Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, Chair of the Natural Resources Committee, and Michel Gelobter, President of Redefining Progress, will address the summit.
The Transportation and Land Use Coalition is a partnership of over 90 groups working for a sustainable Bay Area by promoting alternatives through its grassroots campaigns. According to their website, the coalition seeks to preserve the environment and ensure that all residents have access to economic opportunities by:
- Refocusing public investment to serve and revitalize existing developed areas;
- Designing livable communities with housing near jobs, recreation, transit and services;
- Providing real transportation choices; and
- Reforming pricing incentives which promote unsustainable development.
For more information, contact the coalition at 510/740-3150 or email summit@transcoalition.org.
Members of academe are invited to the Rocky Mountain Sustainability Summit: Forging Solutions at Colleges and Universities at the University of Colorado at Boulder, February 22-23, 2007.
Conference participants will learn about environmental issues facing educational institutions, and explore ways of improving campus practices and policies, based on the triple bottom line of environmental, social and economic sustainability.
There are a number of nonprofit organization, publi-private partnerships, and community development agencies promoting sustainable economic development, smart growth and nature-based and cultural heritage tourism. These groups share a number of characteristics, including:
Among the more successful organizations are the Sierra Business Council and the Jefferson Economic Development Institute in California and the North Carolina-based Handmade in America.
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The Alliance of National Heritage Areas (ANHA) released its report, Economic Impact of Heritage Tourism 2005 (PDF) that examines the financial contribution of the nation’s five largest heritage areas.