Environmental ethics and biodiversity policy in tourism: the Caretta-caretta case in Greece

The radical tourism development and its adverse environmental impacts have revived the discussion about Environmental Ethics and the emerging Biodiversity Policy. The aim of this research paper is to explore the relationship between environmental ethics, the current Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism Development policy-making, and the tourism industry. More specifically, the conceptual analysis adopts an environmental ethics’ and environmental politics perspective. Based on the example of caretta caretta case in Greece, the EU Habitats Directive and the tourism development at the area, it is concluded that public consensus and discourse prove to be essential for a shift to a more attentive and less anthropocentic ethical approach by policy-makers and tourism actors’ in a multilevel governance society.