Introduction

The progressive awareness of changes in our surroundings, often attributed to anthropogenic action has led to an increased emphasis on environmental policy, governance and management to mitigate negative effects and create symbiotically beneficial relationships. The focus of this section is to provide a holistic overview of relevant environmental policy, resource governance and management approaches to the tourism and environment relationship. A seminal work on the future of human and environment relationships is the Brundtland Report, which as Telfer comments, more than 20 years after its publication continues to have a far-reaching influence, including stakeholders in tourism. Telfer’s chapter offers an in-depth analysis of the context and content of the Brundtland Report, highlighting the inherent ambiguities of the meaning of the term, critically referring to its differing cultural and social interpretations and subsequent contestations. He then proceeds to analyse the effects of the Brundtland Report on tourism, its significance and meaning and how it has manifested itself in different guises of tourism.