Introduction

The Asia-Pacific Region is considered a highly biodiverse region that is home to a total of 17 out of 36 global biodiversity hotspots. In addition, the region supports the greatest marine diversity with a wide array of islands, coral reefs, more than half of the world's mangrove ecosystems, and the highest seagrass diversity. The region has experienced rapid economic growth as well as population growth, with a total population of 4.5 billion inhabitants, 60% of the world’s population. As a result, the existing natural ecosystems have been extensively transformed, which has a huge impact on the environment as well as the communities whose livelihoods depend on these ecosystems (IPBES, 2018).

Sri Lanka is a small Indian Ocean island country in the Asia-Pacific region. It covers an area of 65,610 km2 (The National Red List, 2012) and has a coastline length of 1,340 km (Arachchige et al., 2017). The island is popular for its rich biodiversity owing to its wide range of (micro)climatic, topographic, and soil variations. Sri Lanka has been designated as a biodiversity hotspot along with the Western Ghats of India. The country’s coastal ecosystems include large lagoons and estuaries, covering various climatic zones and geographical ranges and sheltering a rich biodiversity. The country is home to 21 species of true mangroves, one third of global true mangrove species, and 208 species of hard corals (The National Redlist, 2012). Coastal ecosystems in Sri Lanka provide several benefits, for example by acting as excellent nursery areas for fisheries species by providing nutrients, shelter, and protection from predators (Manson, 2005); minimizing the susceptibility of coastal communities to hazards by acting as barriers and wave breaker; and providing tourist attractions such as the country’s beautiful sandy beaches, with especially the west coast being the most developed and tourist-oriented (Gamalath et al., 2021). In 2019, 1,913,702 tourists visited the country accounting for an income of Rs. 646,362.3 million (SLTDA, 2019) and creating many job opportunities across different sectors (Karunananda et al., 2020).

However, the past decades have seen an increase in threats to coastal ecosystems, such as unsustainable development activities, climate change, or overfishing and the use of destructive fishing methods (Bavinck, 2015; Wijayaratne, 2001; Sosai, 2015). This severe degradation poses a threat to local people and communities whose livelihoods directly depend on marine ecosystem services.

Globally, with the increase in climate change and threats to biodiversity, ecotourism has become popular. These concepts enable tourism to make a positive impact on the environment, society, and economy. This webinar is organized under SLYCAN Trust’s Blue-Green Protectors Programme and the project ‘Addressing Climate Change and Uplifting Marginalized Coastal Communities through Mangrove Restoration,’ which is supported by Mitsubishi Corporation. The event focuses on building awareness on the potential of promoting ecotourism in coastal and marine ecosystems, identifying gaps and needs in the promotion of ecotourism, and generation of livelihood opportunities through ecotourism. It targets an audience of government entities and officials, the private sector, community and civil society organizations, youth, universities, and other relevant stakeholders working on ecotourism.

Objectives

• Increasing awareness on the potential of promoting and strengthening ecotourism connected to coastal and marine ecosystems.

• Building capacities of participants on ecotourism-based concepts and the conservation of coastal and marine ecosystems.

• Building awareness on livelihood opportunities related to marine and coastal ecosystems connected to ecotourism and adjacent sectors.

• Identifying opportunities for youth engagement in the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems through ecotourism.

• Strengthening the understanding on the enabling environment for ecotourism and coastal and marine ecosystem conservation, including policies, laws, and regulations, but also the role of different actors and stakeholders.

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  Just transition in the energy sector
  - Key elements to ensure just transition in the energy sector
  - Gaps and challenges faced in integrating aspects and strategies of just transition in the energy sector
  - Institutional structures and role of actors in achieving just transition in the energy sector
  - Entry points and opportunities for integrating just transition into climate policy initiatives and actions
  - Success stories, best practices, and experience sharing on initiatives

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  Ensuring just transition in the food sector
  - Key elements of just transition and their relation to global and local food systems
  - Gaps and challenges faced in integrating aspects and strategies of just transition in the food sector
  - Institutional structures and role of actors in achieving just transition in the food sector
  - Entry points and opportunities for integrating just transition into climate policy initiatives and actions
  - Success stories, best practices, and experience sharing on initiatives

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  Gender, inclusion, social protection, and cross-cutting aspects related to just transition
  - Key cross-cutting aspects related to just transition
  - Interlinks for integration of just transition with climate action and into different climate policy and action processes
  - Impacts of COVID-19 and the role of recovery actions in contributing toward just transition
  - Success stories, best practices, and experience sharing on initiatives