<span><span class="default-style" align="top"><font face="Arial" size="2" color="#000080">Arlington, VA - Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and Conservation International (CI) signed an agreement last night to renew the Ocean Conservation and Tourism Alliance, a collaborative effort to minimize the cruise industry&rsquo;s environmental footprint and protect biodiversity. Last night&rsquo;s agreement marks the latest phase in CLIA&rsquo;s ongoing partnership with CI. </font></span><span class="default-style" align="top"><p><font face="Arial" size="2" color="#000080"></font></p><p><font face="Arial" size="2" color="#000080"></font></p>Under the terms of the Alliance, CI will act as a trusted advisor to the cruise industry on key environmental and conservation issues of joint interest including waste water management, the ramifications of climate change to the industry and destination stewardship. In addition to CI&rsquo;s advisory role, the two organizations will work together to form working groups comprised of key CLIA and CI staff to address these priority issues. <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s renewal of the Ocean Conservation and Tourism Alliance reflects the cruise industry&rsquo;s strong commitment to address environmental and biodiversity concerns as they relate to industry operations and help us preserve the waters on which we sail,&rdquo; said Terry Dale, CLIA&rsquo;s president and CEO. &ldquo;Conservation International has been an invaluable partner in providing advice and recommendations as well as helping to raise awareness and understanding of the issues and their solutions. <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>&ldquo;As the cruise industry continues to grow and expand worldwide, minimizing its impact on the natural environment and biodiversity becomes an increasingly high priority. CLIA has taken a leadership position in finding solutions to a broad range of issues and we are confident that the industry&rsquo;s partnership with CI represents an important step forward,&rdquo; said Glenn Prickett, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, Conservation International. <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>Among the priorities of the Alliance, which will continue to be administered by CI, will be: <ul><p>&nbsp;</p><li>Acting as advisor to the industry, CI will proactively share findings from its scientific work conducted on cruise industry practices, such as wastewater management, with key audiences in order to facilitate greater understanding of the issues and allow for practices and policies to be adopted. <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p></li><li>CI will work with CLIA to increase awareness and understanding of the ramifications of climate change to the industry and provide information and advice regarding: ways to minimize the cruise lines&rsquo; green house gas footprint; science and policy issues related to biofuels; and the critical role of forest and nature conservation in climate change solutions. <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p></li><li>CI will continue to work with CLIA to develop and implement good practice standards and training tools for shore excursions, support conservation projects in key cruise destinations and raise awareness and support for conservation issues among cruise industry customers, employees and vendors. <p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p></li><li>CLIA and CI will work together to develop a rapid assessment tool for measuring changes in impacts and stewardship occurring in destinations over time.</li></ul></span></span>