BLUE COMMUNITY CONSORTIUM - UNWTO

The New Smyrna Beach Area Visitors Bureau is a member of the Blue Community Consortium. The Blue Community Consortium seeks to protect oceans, coastal habitats and marine environments in Florida through implementing Blue Community and other sustainable tourism strategies. The Waves of Change Clue Community program is an opportunity for coastal communities to declair their own work to protect the oceans and promote ocean sustainability. The oceans are under increasing threats from pollution, overfishing, impacts of climate change including coral bleaching, acidification, and increased storm intensity. The Waves of Change campaign is responding to these issues with ocean clean-up programs, improving ocean literacy, supporting ocean champions, ecosystems restoration, and programs to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Unless policies for protection of the oceans and promotion of ocean sustainability are increased, coastal communities are likely to experience adverse impacts. The Blue Community program is a place for learning and sharing those best practices, which mitigate those impacts. It currently has 12 strategies in place to protect coastal habitats and marine environments:

1. Improve building design - build more sustainably and for disaster reduction

2. Promote mass transportation - reduce carbon emissions

3. Reduce energy use

4. Water conservation

5. Improve waste management

6. Reduce use of plastic

7. Promote local Organic or Hydroponic food

8. Promote sustainable seafood

9. Protect coastal habitat and cultural heritage

10. Clean marina initiative

11. Education

12. Planning, policy and management