Eaudyssey

Description of organisation

EAUDYSSEY is a self-enterprise providing international consulting services in water resources management, climate change adaptation and resilience and other natural resources and environmental management. Dr. Julie Ladel is the owner and only expert of this enterprise. She has worked in 35+ countries in Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Europe, mainly for EU, UN (UNESCO and FAO), AFD, GIZ and AfDB projects.

*Source

Multi-Topic

Our actions – the Pathway

• Mitigating the negative impact of tourism on the local ecosystem through collective action

The organization pledges to a commitment to water stewardship and collective action. The pledge seeks to address the issue more broadly than addressing water availability alone, we would like to address the impacts of tourism on the environment at large, e.g. looking at transportation impact on GHG emissions and at waste management.

Tourism and public transport:

We will multiply the rate by the number of kilometers in the Gorges of Herault river (3.6 km) by the total number of cars in the parking (that have been provided by the Mayor), calculated in accordance with established international methodology. This will foster discussions on the impact of tourism on climate change in our touristic village. Free shuttles have been provided by the regional administration and we could promote the use of these shuttles by the tourists more broadly, communicating on GHG emissions for example.

• KPI: Numbers of tourists using the shuttle (prior awareness campaign; after awareness campaign).

Water scarcity during summers:

There are droughts every summer and this situation is exacerbated by climate change. Water consumption will be monitored throughout the year and during the tourist season to show the proportion of drinking water used by tourists. This figure will be calculated using the number of overnight stays by the local tourist office.

• KPI: Drinking water consumption without tourists compared with water consumption with tourists. Water resources used for irrigation.

Waste management:

There are no sorting bins for tourists/visitors, and we will advocate for this improvement.

• KPI: Municipal collective recycled waste prior awareness campaign; and after awareness campaign.

Actions might be taken for the next touristic season starting in April 2023. In the meantime, local authorities will be sensitized, and an action plan jointly defined.

Status date: Submitted (14/01/2022)

Data source: https://www.iwrm.eu

More about this target

Eaudyssey has adopted a village, named Saint Guilhem-le-Désert and located in the south of France, one hour drive from Montpellier. The village is a world heritage site and a popular tourist destination. It is also a Natura 2000 biodiversity site. The village has 260 permanent inhabitants and during the tourist season, from Easter to All Saints’ Day, an average of 3,000 tourists per day visit the village. Most of them come only for the day, to hike, climb the mountains or swim in the river or canoe.

The intense tourist activity in the village has been a factor in aggravating the impact of climate change on the village environment (GHG emissions, water shortage, waste). The district council (CCVH) is currently undertaking changes in the village's water supply