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Call to preserve the future of outdoor sports
Outdoor sports enthusiasts all need to be part of a transformation of the industry, according to experts at a major international conference at Lancaster University Management School in April.
Recent research has predicted that climate change will mean many winter sports resorts will lose their snow within the next 25 years and that, as a result, affordable ski holidays will disappear. Other expected impacts of climate change on outdoor sports include more extreme weather, the loss of woodland and destruction of habitats for wildlife.
Manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and representatives from across the global outdoor sports trade met at the Innovation for Extremes conference (innov_ex 08) to discuss how to make their contribution to the struggle against climate change. A mixture of research papers, webcasts and interactive expert panels was used to create a blueprint for how the industry as a whole can be made more sustainable - including how consumers can be encouraged to contribute by buying sustainable products and supporting environmental protection schemes.
Iconic UK mountaineer and chancellor of Lancaster University, Sir Chris Bonington, opened the conference. "The outdoor sports industry is enjoying increasing commercial success and makes a significant contribution to the UK economy," he said. "The impacts of climate change are a threat to that success, and the industry has a responsibility to take a lead in innovating and adapting itself to the new challenges. The participants in the range of outdoor activities, the consumers, all have their part to play, but it is the industry itself which needs to set the agenda for change."
Frank Bennett, chairman of the Outdoor Industry Association, added: "There is no escaping the fact that climate change is already having an impact on all businesses that operate in the outdoor industry. As commercial organisations, the trick is to develop practices that are both profitable and sustainable. This is why the Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) is supporting innov_ex 08; we believe that the conference can play an invaluable role in plotting a course for the long term success of the UK 's outdoor industries."
Speakers at innov_ex 08 included Bob Headland from the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge; Bernadette MacDonald, founder of the Banff Centre for Mountain Culture in the Canadian Rockies; Nick Brown, the President of Nikwax Paramo and a director of the Association for Conservation.
More information on the conference is available at http://www.innovation-for-extremes.org/
