Valid Threat or “Tempest in a Teapot”? An Historical Account of Tourism Development and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site Designation

Abstract

UNESCO declared the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks of Western Canada a World Heritage Site (WHS) in 1984, based on a submission from Parks Canada, the federal agency charged with managing Canada's national park system. In the 1990s, increasing tourism development and related infrastructure in Banff National Park prompted environmentalists to express concerns regarding threats to the ecological integrity of Banff National Park and its status as part of a WHS. Parks Canada and the Town of Banff responded in various ways to the perceived threats. The criteria under which the site designation was approved, and the current state party dominated process outlined in the World Heritage Committee's Operational Guidelines, make it unlikely that the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks will appear on UNESCO's List of World Heritage Sites in Danger. Nevertheless, significant threats to the areas's ecological integrity remain, and warrant continued attention. Recommendations made by the IUCN to make World Heritage processes more democratic, and to clarify and focus natural criteria on bio-diversity and ecological integrity, would enhance the credibility of WHS designation as a conservation tool.