Ecotourism Destinations
Kahuzi-Biega National Park, Home to Africa’s Mountain Gorillas
In a desperate attempt to save Africa’s dwindling wildlife from poachers, ranger John Kahekwa of the Congo’s Kahuzi-Biega National Park set up a community-based conservation programme in the hope of encouraging ecotourism.
Originally a tracker at the park, Kahekwa was responsible for taming lowland gorillas, in a way. He would ‘habituate’ them to the presence of humans so tourists could visit and became so successful that he could eventually pick out and name around 155 animals. He now looks after 600,000 hectares of prime mountain forest on the east side of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1980 and more unfortunately as a World Heritage Site in Danger since 1997.
As local populations grew the fine line between people and animals became less distinct. Traps laid for game sometimes trapped gorillas and other animals and poaching was rife. ‘Keep Out’ signs were ignored and when, in 1993, Maheshe, the adult silverback depicted in blockbuster movie Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey, was killed there was wide-spread agreement that Kahuzi-Biega was just not working as a wildlife reserve.
Date: January 2nd, 2008 |
No Comments
Best Eco Travel Guidebooks for 2008
If you want to travel responsibly but aren’t quite sure how to go about it or where to go, check out Eco Travel’s choice of guidebooks for the coming year.
Green Places to Stay, Alastair Sawday
This holiday handbook lists ‘inspiring places striving to be environmentally and socially responsible’. Including tree houses in rainforests, Fairtrade tented camps, eco chic hotels and down-to-earth B&Bs, the illustrated guide covers 160 places in 50 countries making it a great guide for planning trips at home and abroad.
$21.95, Globe Pequot Press; £13.99, Alastair Sawday Publishing
100 Animals to See Before They Die, Nick Garbutt
Bradt Travel publishes some stonker books and this one is no exception; 100 Animals to See Before They Die should be on everyone’s bookshelf. No, stroke that, it should be in everyone’s backpack in preparation for their next big animal adventure abroad, before it’s too late.
£16.99, Bradt Travel
Green Travel: The World’s Best Eco-Lodges & Earth-Friendly Hotels, Fodor’s
Oh, to have been a researcher on this book. This eco guide features 100 green getaways around the world that work to support local communities. It discusses some of the ethics behind eco travel and everything from budget beds to sumptuous stopovers are listed, along with their green credentials, so it’s a great all-round guide.
$25.00, Random House (Not available until April 2008)
Date: December 30th, 2007 |
No Comments
Tourism Concern Works with Tsunami Survivors
The Tsunami of 2004 was the biggest natural disaster in modern history. Coastal communities across Asia were devastated, many loosing their relatives, homes, villages and livelihoods. Since then survivors have been slowly rebuilding their lives and have relied on tourists coming back into tsunami affected areas, adding much needed cash to the local economy.
Unfortunately tourism also adds to their problems. While many of the displaced of Sri Lanka and India are yet to be rehoused, there are plans for tourist developments on prime real estate positions which means the locals may …
Date: December 22nd, 2007 |
No Comments
Summer Ice to Disappear from Arctic in 5 years
Is a trip to the Arctic in your future summer travel plans? Well you better get a move on because it’s not going to be there in 5 years.
In April this year the BBC reported that Arctic ice was melting faster than originally calculated by computer models. They demonstrated the Arctic was loosing summer ice at a rate of 9% per decade since 1979 which meant the summer artic ice would be gone by the second half of this century.
Now, at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, scientists reveal their original estimates to be too conservative and that the Arctic may be ice free by 2013. They’re querying whether it can actually be saved at all.
Date: December 18th, 2007 |
No Comments
Natural and Kind luxury travel guide launches
A new luxury concierge travel company has launched just in time for the holidays. Nature and Kind market themselves as The Natural Choice and they do indeed have some fab holidays to choose from but the jury’s out as to whether they’re really eco-friendly.
A two week stay on Fiji includes volunteering with building and repair works in the local community or building a house for a poor farming family. This all sounds great …
Date: December 17th, 2007 |
No Comments
Whale Sharks Thrive in Western Australia
Thanks to a very successful ecotourism program whale sharks – the world’s largest fish – are positively thriving in WA’s Ningaloo Reef, reports Ecological Applications Journal.
Scientists are able to identify the whale shark’s ‘fingerprints’, or the unique white lines and spots on the flanks of the shark, through pattern recognition software developed by Australian marine scientist Brad Norman, computer programmer Jason Holmberg and astronomer Zaven Arzoumanian.
The software, which was adapted from software originally designed for the Hubble space telescope, has allowed the researchers to keep track of individual sharks since 1995 and has helped determine which sharks return to the reef every year.
Date: December 30th, 2007 |
No Comments
Santa Claus Finds New Home in Kyrgyzstan
A little something for the festive season (OK, it may not be eco but it is travel)…
Krazy Kyrgyzstan, the former Soviet republic with mountains named after communist and Russian leaders has decided to add another famous name to its peaks.
Since a Swedish logistics company decided a mountain in Kyrgyzstan was the most central position in the world for Santa Claus to base himself for deliveries, Kyrgyz authorities in the predominantly Muslim country jumped at the chance for a spot of publicity and decided to name one of their snow-capped mountains ‘Mount Santa Claus’.
Date: December 24th, 2007 |
No Comments
New National Park for Sierra Leone
Troubled Sierra Leone is discovering that tourism beats logging.
Until recently, residents of the Gola Forest, in Sierra Leone, made money by letting their land to loggers resulting in the area becoming endangered.
In a drive to stop logging and increase tourism the government have allocated an area of 75 sq km, which is home to chimpanzees, forest buffalo and leopards, to create a new national park. Locals are to be compensated for the money they would have made from logging via a trust fund to …
Date: December 21st, 2007 |
No Comments
Cheap flights to London and Jamble Mag’s Green Guide
StudentUniverse.com, a website popular with American college students, has just released its list of international and domestic destinations for Spring Break 2008.
Top of the lists are the ever-popular London and Miami and to mark the occasion Student Universe are offering student-only discounts, which means a return trip from New York to London costs $156 ($506 including taxes and surcharges).
If you’re lucky enough to get a cheap(ish) flight but care even a tiny bit about the environment, don’t forget to add on a few extra bucks to cover those pesky carbon emissions.
And if you are heading Europe way you should check out Jamble Magazine’s Green City Guide to London; it’s ace. Other guides include New York, Chicago, Hong Kong and Christchurch, NZ.
Read rest of article for Top 10 lists.
Date: December 18th, 2007 |
No Comments
Earthwatch – promoting a sustainable environment
Trips combining sightseeing with volunteering are more popular than ever with new companies and ideas springing up all the time so it’s difficult to know which to go with.
Earthwatch Institute is one of the matriarch’s in the business. The not-for-profit organisation has been around since the early seventies and could probably teach the new kids on the block a few tricks of the trade. The institute offers volunteers positions within ongoing scientific field research. Well, when they say volunteer they actually mean someone who has wads of cash and can afford to pay for the privilege. Their aim is to change how the public view science and its role in environmental sustainability.
Date: December 12th, 2007 |
No Comments
