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WRATH OF NATURE - 
by ECOCLUB Correspondent in Pakistan, Agha Iqrar Haroon, President Ecotourism Society Pakistan. 

"Pakistan is going through the second spell of drought; the first was experienced in last May when the most hitting area was Balochistan. Now, the whole country is under the clutches of drought. Major dams including Terbela and Mangla are facing the worst low of their history. Current government is busy in holding meetings to find out the way and artificial rainfall was done in the area of Islamabad this week. I think it is too late now. There is no doubt that the world is becoming increasingly vulnerable to humanitarian tragedies with a natural trigger. The reason is very simple. When your disturb Nature, it has all rights to react. On going dry spell blended with lack of water in dams is multiplying crises. The reason said by the government authorities for lack of water in dams is simple one- Dams are filled with silt and mud and their earth level had gone up. Why it has been done?. Everybody knows answer. Heavy deforestation in catchments areas of these dams, commercialization, un-controlled tourism and pressure on natural resources can be considered as major factors responsible for this "Wrath of Nature". Here I would only discuss issues related with Mountain lands--- in other words "Catchments areas" of these two huge dams. The increase in population compelled people living in mountain areas to clean their lands for more housing units. The result was deforestation. During this course of grabbing land, they did not follow the basic rules of land utilization. They built houses even at land where onslaught of glaciers was ultimate. On the other hand, deforestation played havoc with soil contour and erosion was the ultimate result. I disagree with this point that people did not know what they were doing. They knew. They did it. They thought that they were stronger than Nature. They thought they would control the impact of what they were doing. They built "retaining walls" after cutting trees around their houses. Could they save them?. No. In Pakistan construction of hotels, motels and rest houses in fragile ecosystems was major reason for land erosion, floods and landslides. In the areas of Hindukush, lesser Himalayas and Karakuram, these problems are playing havoc with people. There was no check on these unfriendly, unnatural and unplanned constructions from Government of Pakistan. Local people encouraged these constructions because they had share in increasing tourism in their respective areas. They followed the rule of "immediate benefit". Here I must criticize the role of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) working in the field of ecotourism and tourism. They did not play their role. Rather they were involved in negative activities. NGOs in Pakistan in most cases become "Friends of Local people" and "local administration". These "Local people" and "Local administration" are people who are always involved in deforestation. They are timbers Mafia. When you ask NGOs people that why they are "too close" to them, they say that they cannot work without support of "Local people". Can we help nature in these circumstances?. I am unable to find answer." 

"MILLENNIUM" MAN IN KENYA 2 Dec 00 - RT
Fossilised remains of mankind's earliest ancestor, nicknamed Millennium Man, that predate previous discoveries by more than 1.5 million years, were found in the Tugen hills of Kenya's Baringo District by a Kenyan-French team on October 25. 

MAINSTREAM TRAVEL INDUSTRY FINALLY GETS IT (?) : CONSERVATION PAYS 3 Dec 00 - Hartford Courant 
A recent  Travel Industry of America survey found that 83 percent of U.S. travelers want to support environmentally responsible suppliers of products and services and are willing to spend more money to do so. There's the Canadian golf course that eschews chemicals, using only elk manure to fertilize its greens, and the inn on Florida's Sanibel Island that asks guests to record what they did for Mother Nature during their stay. Budget Rent-A-Car now offers alternative fuel cars for rent in Los Angeles, and this summer, Carnival Cruise Lines announced its first "earth-friendly" laundry system aboard the new ship Paradise. The industry trend is so prevelant that Conde Nast Traveler as well as Ski and Coastal Living magazines have begun to make annual environmental awards. Eco-measures, including the towel and linen programs, water- saving showers, energy-efficient light bulbs, soap and shampoo dispensers, low-flow toilets, fluorescent lighting, occupancy sensors to control lights and menus that make clear "drinking water served on request only." And if you are going to take those measures -- measures that might annoy some guests -- why not turn them into positive publicity? "Hotels are becoming more conscious of the amount of energy and water being used unnecessarily. They see ecological measures as a good cause ... that also helps the bottom line," said Tia Gordon, a spokeswoman for the American Hotel and Motel Association. And more and more the industry has reason to believe that clients will appreciate the efforts. A midtown Holiday Inn in New York City, which serves 400,000 guests annually, recently reported saving $121,000 in one year through the linen and towel reuse program.  Project Planet estimates that its Conserving for Tomorrow program saves 6,000 gallons of water monthly and 40 gallons of detergent a month, at an average 150-room hotel. 

LARGEST U.S. PROTECTED AREA ESTABLISHED 4 Dec 00 - AP 
Outgoing U.S. President Clinton established the largest protected area in the United States, an 84-million-acre  reserve around the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, to be called the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. The area contains nearly 70% of the United States' coral reefs.

LARGEST SOLAR SYSTEM IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE CREATED 6 Dec 00 - ENS  
The largest private commercial solar power system in the Western Hemisphere was dedicated in California's Fountain Valley.

CENTRAL AFRICA UNITES TO PROTECT CONGO BASIN 8 Dec 00 - ENS  
The battle against poaching and illegal logging in the Congo Basin received a significant boost Thursday as three Central African nations agreed to share management of a 28,000 square kilometer stretch of forest.

GUNS INTO CAMERAS 10 Dec 00 - South China Morning Post
If renown naturalist Jane Goodall gets her way, former Khmer Rouge guerillas will soon be armed - with video cameras instead of guns. The British wildlife campaigner proposed the idea in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last week, where local conservationists try to contain a distressingly large trade in wildlife and animal parts. Dr Goodall, 66, successfully tried the videos-for-guns idea in Africa, where she spent years living with chimpanzees. She suggested providing video cameras to hunters living near prime habitats in Cambodia, such as the Cardamons mountain range in the southwest, and rewarding them for their footage. Scientists who visited the region early this year described it as a "lost world" teeming with rare and endangered species. The million hectares of forest and jungle was locked off for years by Khmer Rouge guerillas, who laid mines and used the area as a refuge.

S. AFRICA TO HOST EARTH SUMMIT 11 Dec 00 -  UNCED
The United Nations General Assembly on Environment and Sustainable Development (UNCED) had chosen South Africa to host the Earth Summit in 2002, In a statement, the S. African deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism, said  "Bringing the Earth Summit to South Africa is a major boost for Africa as the major conference on sustainable development on our soil will firmly place these issues and debates on the agenda of our continent". The summit, in Johannesburg, is expected to draw about 40,000 participants. 

S. A.:  WHALE WATCHING BEATS KRUGER PARK 11 Dec 00 -  ANS
South Africa's budding whale watching industry has quietly been drawing more foreign tourists to South Africa than the Kruger National Park over the last two years. A recent Satour survey reported that during the month of August, which is high season on the whale calendar, whale watching has consistently been more popular among foreign tourists than the land- based wild life viewing offered by the famous Kruger Park. According to Whale Route chairperson Greg Vogt this is not surprising since the whale watching industry in South Africa has grown by 112 percent per annum since 1994. From a US $504m industry in 1994, the global whale watching industry had grown to become a staggering US $1bn global industry by 1998. 

CAMEROON ASSIGNS ARMED GUARDS TO EACH REMAINING RHINO 11 Dec 00 - ENS
The Western black rhinoceros is under serious threat from poaching in Cameroon where the entire world population of less than 15 animals remains. Now conservationists plan to assign armed guards to each individual rhino around the clock to keep poachers at bay.

...AND ALSO CREATES LARGEST P.A. 12 Dec 00 - ENN
With the recent withdrawal of logging concessions in a corridor linking the Boumba-Bek and Nki reserves in the country's southeastern forests, the government of Cameroon has agreed to form what will be the its largest protected area, covering more than 4,725 square miles. "We have already accomplished the most difficult stages of the process, which entailed extensive consultation with the local communities to involve them in the plans and boundary demarcation," says Paul Noupa, WWF protected area adviser. The Boumba-Bek and Nki reserves are the only two unlogged areas in the Cameroon's southeastern forests. Both reserves are home to large populations of elephants, buffaloes, chimpanzees, gorillas, bongos, assorted drill species and antelopes. 

ASIAN ELEPHANTS LOSING THE WAR 12 Dec 00 - WWF
Asian elephants are being forced out of their forest homes by logging, agricultural clearance and ill-planned development schemes. Mass movements of people and resettlement programmes have led to fatal clashes between humans and elephants, according to a report "Asian elephants in the wild", released by WWF. The report  says that animals are being poisoned by plantation workers, shot by angry farmers, and killed for their meat, hide and tusks.  The 35,000 to 50,000 surviving elephants, only one tenth as many as the African elephants,  are being squeezed into increasingly smaller woodland areas".  As clearance of forests for settlement and agriculture escalates, traditional elephant migration routes are disrupted, leading to violent clashes when hungry elephants raid crops. Two years ago, poachers in Cambodia had slaughtered so many bull elephants for their tusks that the country was thinking of importing bulls from neighbouring Laos. Some elephants have even been "worked to death" in logging camps. 

BACKPACKERS GOA HOME 12 Dec 00 - South China Morning Post
The former Portuguese colony on India's west coast is a hot destination for cheap package tours and " bucket-shop" holidays on Goa's golden beaches. All-night parties and a hedonistic lifestyle has tarnished predominantly Christian Goa's reputation. "Because tourism is our main industry, we want wealthy tourists who can make a contribution to the local economy," says Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrika. Authorities in Goa are making it increasingly clear that they no longer want tourists on charter flights who stay in cheap hotels. Over the years, many foreign tourists have been charged with possessing drugs and served long sentences in Aguada jail, sullying Goa's international profile. The Government was forced to ban a 10-day millennium beach party in Goa last year after reports that the organisers themselves planned to sell drugs. They were also accused of violating strict coastal environmental laws for hosting what was billed as the biggest rave party in the world. Authorities have banned loud music after 10pm and closed down a flea market on Anguana beach, a popular hangout for hippies, to discourage low-budget visitors. 
A few questions, answers welcome:  Don't POOR people have a right to visit Goa too? Are POOR people travelling all the way to Goa for rave parties? Might there be something wrong with GOA's tourist policy instead? Has the closure of the flea market actually helped the local economy?

TANKER OWNER TO PAY RECORD $1 MILLION FOR REEF DAMAGE 13 Dec 00 - Florida Times
Biscayne National Park will receive a $1 million settlement from the owner of the German-registered M/T Igloo Moon tanker that tore into a coral reef in November 1996, officials said. The $1 million settlement is the largest ever under the Park System Resources Protection Act, park officials reported Monday. The 15-day grounding of the 464-foot tanker harmed nearly 500 square meters of the habitat. The case would have gone to civil court had the two sides failed to settle. 

TOURISM & CONSERVATION IN CUBA 13 Dec 00 - KR/TBN
During the past 40 years, coastal development and fishery harvesting in Cuba hasn't been as rampant as in neighboring Caribbean countries. With its sugar sector in decline, Cuba is banking on tourism to power its needy economy into the 21st century. Since the early 1990s, tourism has skyrocketed to almost 2 million foreign visitors a year, and that number is expected to reach 5 million by 2005. Conservation groups are keeping a close eye on development and its effects on the environment. Last week more than 450 scientists from 25 countries gathered in Havana for the fifth Cuban Marine Science Congress. The scientists presented new research on marine conservation and discussed management of depleted fisheries and the impact of coastal tourism. "Cuba is the Caribbean's biological crown jewel," said Environmental Defense senior scientist Ken Lindeman.  At the Havana conference, scientists exchanged case studies on ecotourism and marine conservation that have been conducted in Australia and North America. 

NIGERIA CHOOSES ECOTOURISM 13 Dec 00 - Africa News Service
The Nigerian Minister of Culture and Tourism, A. Graham-Douglas after the closing ceremony of the 4th Ecotourism Symposium and Fair held in Abuja from December 3 to 8, 2000, told an international audience that Nigeria have adopted international standards in its readiness to fully invest in the tourism industry. We are challenged by the vision of Africa Travel Association to promote the tourist attractions of the Continent and especially ecotourism for which we have substantial advantage". The minister said that he will focus on education and training skills to assess, monitor and implement ecotourism and cultural programmes since "it is only through these that we will be able to make our communities responsive and supportive of the industry." He emphasised that the government will persuade the media and the private sector to work in collaboration with them. The government would ensure travel agencies and tour operators are not motivated by financial gains alone. Rather they will be encouraged to accept responsibility for disseminating correct information about available facilities and tourist products in the country and help to rectify the existing prejudices against them.

REP. CONGO QUADRUPLES NATIONAL PARK 14 Dec 00 - Conservation International
The Republic of Congo announced today the expansion of Odzala National Park to 1.3 million hectares, more than four times its original size. The action will secure the habitat of the world's highest concentration of western lowland gorillas. "The expansion of Odzala means that a large area of productive forests previously set aside for timber exploitation is now protected. The park will be a pioneer in conservation in central Africa and one of the main tourism resources in our country," said Republic of Congo's Minister of Forestry, Henri Djombo. Located in the Congo Basin, the second largest tropical wilderness area after Amazonia, Odzala encompasses savannahs, marshes, forests and several hundred natural clearings known as bais. The Odzala National Park was initially created in 1935 and declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1977. It claims exceptionally high levels of species diversity, with 444 of the Congo's 626 identified bird species, one of the largest populations of forest elephants and forest buffalos, as well as the only lions surviving in central Africa.

650,000 WANT ARCTIC NATIONAL MONUMENT DECLARED 14 Dec 00 www.alaskawild.org/arctic/
Standing next to sacks holding more than 650,000 petitions, Robert Kennedy Jr. and members of the Alaska Coalition call on President Clinton to designate the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain a national monument. President-elect Bush reportedly wants to open the Refuge to Oil Exploration. 

GALAPAGOS: CONSERVATION vs. THE FISHERMAN'S COOPERATIVE 15 Dec 00  - Internet discussion list
The lobster fishing season should have been over, however due to a decree by the government the fishermen have the right to fish for 30 more tons of lobster. Due to alleged death threats and lack of government support for its employees the island of Isabela Conservation Station has been unmanned, there is no vehicle, no office, no equipment and no records, these were destroyed in the November riots. Three fishermen are currently in jail while the rest are out fishing. The latest report by the Minister of the Environment is that a six month pilot program of long-line fishing will be allowed in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

KENYAS' FLAMINGO EFFORTS 17 Dec 00 ANS/PANA
East African Rift Valley lakes are no longer habitable for the birds that attract many tourists in the region. Toxic wastes directed into Lakes Nakuru in Kenya and Manyara in Tanzania, once favourite habitats for tens of thousands of flamingos, have decimated the birds, experts say. According to Dr Ramesh Thampy, director of World Wide Fund [WWF] Eastern Africa Regional Programme in Nakuru, Lake Nakuru is a highly polluted ecosystem, which has now been shunned by the long-legged birds. The birds no longer trust the two lakes as a safe place to breed. Pollution aside, the 1997 El-Nino rains flooded the lakes with fresh water which drastically lowered their salinity and consequently disrupting the flamingo food base. Lake Nakuru, like Manyara, is a closed system with 10.5ph salinity level, and scientists say its water has a lot of pesticides. Scientists further say that in 1998, about 137 tonnes of chemical wastes were dumped into Nakuru town which has about 180 industrial plants. To save Nakuru's environment from further damage, the Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers, an environmental body in Kenya, has managed to get 16 industries to conform to required environmental standards in their operations.

SOUTH AFRICA ARRESTS HOLIDAY HOME DEVELOPERS 18 December 00 - ENS 
S.African government orders the arrests of 11 people and taken legal action against 25 others for building holiday homes on the Transkei Wild Coast, a conservation area on the Eastern Cape revered for its largely unspoilt wilderness.

EU HUNTERS LOOSE 19 Dec 00 - ornithologiki.gr
The latest concerted attempt by the hunter's lobbies to gather the signatures of at least half of European Members of Parliament so as to initiate a revision of EU Directive 79/409 which limits the hunting season, has spectacularly failed.

CONTROVERSIAL SKI LIFT OPENS 19 Dec 00 - ENN
After years of wrangling, millions of dollars and countless hours of study, Vail Resorts quietly opens the final lift accessing the much-touted Blue Sky Basin expansion. The development had met the opposition of environmentalists who chained themselves to backhoes used to clear the runs as well as more extreme action such as arsonists burning mountaintop restaurants. 

TSAVO PARK BLACK RHINOS POACHED TO NEAR EXTINCTION 19 Dec 00 -  PANA/KWS
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) intends to relocate the black rhinos from Tsavo National Park in the east to the Masai Mara reserve in the south. According to a wildlife conservationist who also works for the Serena Hotel Chain, Peter Mbugua, poachers in the vast Tsavo, were hunting the endangered species with abandon, almost eliminating them.  
In Meru National Park, Northern Kenya, poachers had slaughtered the last surviving six white rhinos after overpowering game wardens from an elite anti-poaching squad, which were providing a 24-hour guard to the animals.

VIETNAM'S ANTI-POACHING EFFORTS 20 Dec 00 - South China Morning Post
Vietnamese police have seized nearly three tonnes of protected animals destined for the wildlife market in China, state media reported yesterday. According to the An Ninh Thu Do (Capital Security) newspaper, the seizure - including pangolins, tortoises, lizards and snakes - is one of the biggest in recent years, with an estimated market value of US$70,000 (HK$545,000). The shipment was reportedly intercepted at the weekend just northeast of the capital while en route from southern Vietnam to the northeastern province of Quang Ninh on the Chinese border, a notorious gateway for all manner of contraband goods flowing in and out of Vietnam. Local and international conservation groups say the illegal exploitation of local fauna has depleted animal numbers to such an extent that Vietnamese poachers are now moving into neighbouring Laos and Cambodia in search of prey.  Huge profits meant smugglers continued to accept the risk of arrest and imprisonment. "The meat of a king cobra will sell for about US$100 a kilo while a single golden turtle weighing about 1kg will sell for US$1,000." 

US ORGANIC FOOD STANDARDS SET 20 Dec 00 - ENS
U.S. government unveils its final national standards for the production, handling and processing of organically grown agricultural products.

ECOLOGY GROUP BUYS VOLCANO 20 Dec 00 www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino
Conservationists have closed a deal to buy and protect a wildlife-rich volcanic crater in Arizona. The Grand Canyon Trust signed papers Monday obtaining title to the 247-acre Dry Lake property. The conservation group plans to turn it over in the next few months to the U.S. Forest Service, which will incorporate it into the Coconino National Forest. The caldera contains a wetland, grassland and oak, aspen and pine forests and is populated by elk, the Mexican spotted owl, the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. The total deal to buy the land from a local developer will run $3.5 million. The trust has raised about $960,000 of the $1 million it planned to put up. Congress appropriated $2.5 million. 

FOX HUNTING MAY BE BANNED IN UK 21 Dec 00 - AP 
An initiative to ban fox hunting with hounds passed its first legislative hurdle when the House of Commons voted to move forward on the bill, by a large margin. 

CARNIVAL CUTS SMOKING 21 Dec 00 - TravelMole 
Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, announced that it plans to fits all its 48 ships with smokeless engines. In conjunction with a Finnish marine power system supplier, Carnival is to fit the Carnival Spirit with the cruise industry's first environmentally friendly engines.

PLASTIC CORKS HARM MORE THAN WINE 22 Dec 00 - RSPB
A report commissioned by the RSPB warns that if the use of plastic wine stoppers continues to increase at the current rate, the cork industry could ‘crash’ in less than 15 years, resulting in the disappearance of one of Europe’s most valuable wildlife habitats. The cork oak forests provide food and shelter to a multitude of birds including turtle doves. The RSPB is urging shoppers to boycott wine with plastic stoppers.

CLINTON SIGNS SHARK FINNING BILL 27 Dec 00 - AP/ENS
Outgoing President Clinton has signed a bill that bans the practice of cutting off shark fins -- a culinary delicacy in Asia -- and throwing the dying fish back into the sea, in all United States waters.
Was this still legal? 

INDIAN POLICE SEIZE 800 TURTLES, ARREST GANG 28 Dec 00 - ENN/RTR
Police in the northern Indian city of Lucknow have seized more than 800 turtles from a gang suspected of trying to smuggle them to Southeast Asia. 

SOUND POLLUTION IN HAWAII, FROM FROGS 28 Dec 00 - AP
Noisy tree frogs have invaded the Hawaiian Islands, and have spread so quickly that state and federal officials say there's little they can do.  The cute green frogs, the size of a dime to a quarter, arrived in shipments of agricultural goods, possibly in potted plants, researchers say. Instead of croaking, they chirp -- loud and often. Individual males have piercing chirps that reach as high as 90 to 100 decibels from a foot and a half away. That's comparable to a lawn mower, table saw or helicopter, according to the University of Hawaii's Speech Pathology and Audiology department.  They don't create a major problem in their native Caribbean, where natural predators control their population. But with an exponential reproduction rate and no enemies other than angry humans, the frog population in Hawaii has exploded. In some areas, there are more than 8,000 frogs per acre.  Besides being a nuisance, the frogs compete for food with native birds and wildlife, he said. The frogs can consume as many as 46,000 insects per acre every night. ``There is a grave concern this could be a big problem,'' Campbell said. Fred Kraus, the alien species coordinator for the state land department, said the frogs may threaten the isle economy by bothering tourists at hotels, lowering property values and inhibiting the export of tropical produce and flowers.'

2000 ALSO WARM 28 Dec 00 - AP
The earth's temperature in the year 2000 was 6/10 of a degree higher than the long-term average and the fifth-highest since global records began 140 years ago, the World Meteorological Organization said. The overall high was set in 1998, followed by 1997, 1995 and 1990. 

ARCHITECT GETS LIFE FOR HOTEL COLLAPSE 29 Dec 00 - The Nation (Thailand)
The Supreme Court yesterday handed down a life jail sentence to the chief architect/engineer responsible for unlawful renovations blamed for the death of 137 people in the 1993 collapse of the Royal Plaza Hotel in Nakhon Ratchasima. The court said Bampen Phanrattanaissara violated construction and architectural regulations, causing death through his negligence. The Supreme Court also upheld an Appeal Court ruling to acquit the Royal Plaza and six members of the hotel management on grounds that the managers did not have the knowledge to be aware of the poor support structure. The court pointed out that the managers had been working in the hotel when it collapsed. The management had added four storeys to the hotel's original three and installed a massage parlour and a discotheque. 

PUERTO RICO BEACH RESORT FINED 29 Dec 2000 - ENS  
The owner of the Copamarina Beach Resort in Guanica, Puerto Rico, and one of the corporations that operated the hotel, plead guilty to discharging sewage into the Caribbean.

NEW LODGES ADDED
ECOCLUB is proud to announce that it has signed agreements with three 
Quality Ecolodges in Laos, Peru and Costa Rica, which have now been added to the growing ECOCLUB.com family.
These are:
  * The Boat Landing Guesthouse in Laos http://ecoclub.com/theboatlanding
  * Yacumama Lodge in Peru http://ecoclub.com/yacumama
  * Iguana Lodge in Costa Rica http://ecoclub.com/iguanalodge 

COMMUNITY BECOMES POPULAR
Following the redesign of the ecoclub.community along country lines, instead of by topic, new member may now opt to publish their profiles and pictures. Most have opted to do so. Old members are also invited to publish their profiles.
http://ecoclub.com/community

LODGES SEARCH PAGE REDESIGNED
The member lodges page has also been re-designed to become more user-friendly.

NEW EXPERT MEMBERSHIP THRIVES
A new type of membership - Expert membership is now available at ecoclub.com. Six Expert members are already advising other members on ecotourism related issues. 
At http://ecoclub.com/experts.html and http://ecotourism.cc/experts.html

NEW NATURAL PRODUCTS ADDED TO THE SHOP
Natural Products from the Aegean Island of Chios, produced by the local mastic growers association have been added to the ECOCLUB Organic & Community Shop. Order on-line at http://ecoclub.com/shop.html
20% Discount for Members ! 

A column for Ecotourism Ring and ECOCLUB.com Members news and views. 
The Editors are not responsible for any views expressed here and reserve the right to edit or reject manuscripts.

ECOCLUB Ecotourism Provider in the News: 
Bina Swadaya in Jakarta Post, Indonesia,  10 Dec 00 : "Off the beaten tourist track with special tours"

"You may be familiar with the term ecotourism, but this offering might be slightly different from what you are used to. Tour organizer Bina Swadaya includes some unconventional places on its list of tour programs, such as visits to urban renewal projects in Pluit, North Jakarta, or recycling projects in the capital city's slums and kampongs. There are also regular ecotourist attractions, with all the canoeing, hiking, trekking and snorkeling activities. Bina Swadaya's director Harjunani Kumoloraras said the organization was first established in 1984 as a non-profit organization working on "community self-reliance development projects''. A tour division was founded three years later. Harjunani said the tour programs were offered on a custom-designed basis due to the special requirements of each individual or group visiting a designated area. The current scope of the tours includes agricultural trips in and around Jakarta, and study tours on rural community development and environment conservation projects. The least expensive methods of transportation (non-AC bus, economy class trains, ``Klotok'' boats, fishing boats or water bus) and accommodation (homestays) are always suggested for the eco-tours' participants, but a more comfortable method of travel can also be arranged. The cost of the tours vary according to the method of travel and accommodation. A two-day and one-night tour to the isolated villages of Baduy tribe in Lebak regency, West Java, would cost you Rp 250,000. Another eco-trip to Ujung Kulon conservation forest in the western tip of Java coast, costs Rp 1.8 million. Our participants are mostly expatriates and environmentalists doing the tours in small groups,'' Harjunani said.

If you are organising or are aware of an ecotourism related Trade Show or Conference please send the details to
news@ecoclub.com to publicise it for free. 

More info on these and other events at http://ecoclub.com/events  
N.B. To get free access please join ecoclub.com at http://ecoclub.com/join.html

Jan 10 -14, 2001
International Symposium on Community Based Eco-Cultural Tourism 2001 Location Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, 
Jan 11, 2001
Secrets of Sustainability: An Executive Briefing and Discussion Location Hadley, MA, USA 
Jan 18-19, 2001
Sustainable Innovation Organiser Knowledge Management Consortium International Location Brulington, Vermont, VT, USA 
Jan 26-28, 2001
Organic Conference and Eco-Products Trade Show Organiser,  Location Guelph, ON, Canada 
Jan 31- Feb 3, 2001
13th PATA Adventure Travel and Ecotourism Conference and Mart, Location Dambulla, Sri Lanca 
Feb 7-9, 2001
Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, Location New Delhi, India 
Feb 14 - Mar 7, 2001 
Permaculture Course, Location Costa - Rica 
Feb 15-18, 2001
BIO FACH- World Organic Trade Fair, Location Nuremberg, Germany 
Feb 17-18, 2001 
IATOS 2001 EXPO, Location Chicago, IL, USA 
Feb 23 -25, 2001 
Independent Traveler's World, Location Islington, London, UK 
Feb 28 - Mar 2, 2001
WASTE 2001, the "Middle East Congress and Exhibition for Recycling and Waste Management", Location Cairo, Egypt 
Feb 28-Mar 3, 2001 
Nonprofits in Travel Conference, Location Washington DC, USA 
Mar 3-4, 2001 
Independent Traveler's World, Location Leeds, UK 
Mar 26-28, 2001 
Wilderness Britain, Location Leeds, UK Details 
Mar 30 - Apr 1, 2001 
Coastal Plain Waters 2001, Location Washington, N. Carolina, USA
Apr 1-8, 2001 
Mountain Travel Symposium, Location Park City, UT, USA
Apr 5-6, 2001
International Sustainable Development Research Conference 2001, Location Manchester, UK 
May 28-30, 2001 
Indigenous Knowledge Conference, Location Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 
Jun 3-7, 2001
 Wind Power 2001, Location Washington DC, USA 
June 6-8, 2001 
ECOSUD 2001, Third International Conference on Ecosystems and Sustainable Development, Location Alicante, Spain 
Jun 4-6, 2001 
Eco-Entrepreneur Conference, Location Oman 
Jun 21-22, 2001 
7th Annual Eco-Management and Auditing Conference, Location The Netherlands 
Jul 2-4, 2001 
7th International Interdisciplinary Conference on the Environment, Location San Francisco, CA, USA Details 
Sep 5-8, 2001
Conservation of Biodiversity in the Andes and Amazon Basin, linking science, NGOs and Indigenous People 
Location Cusco, Peru 
Oct 3-5, 2001 
eTravel World Conference, Location Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 
Dec 5-8, 2001 
EcoDesign 200, Location Tokyo, Japan

Internet & L@w W@tch

@One of the highest-profile dot-coms to die this autumn, Pets.com, goes out in a feel-good way: It donates tons of dog food to starving Alaska mush dogs. 

@Taking note of the many dot-coms failures the B2C market has seen lately, many small businesses have opted to create a Web site primarily to advertise and promote their business rather than to conduct e-commerce, according to a SuperPages.com survey conducted for Verizon Information Services. Results show small businesses that established a Web site to advertise and promote their business increased 123 percent over the past year (21 percent in 2000 compared to 8 percent in 1999).

@Efforts at what would reportedly be one of the first dot-com companies to unionize has been dashed with the layoff of 28 employees, including 13 the union hoped to represent, according to officials at etown.com, an electronics e-commerce and product review company. 

@A new report reveals while the digital divide gap is slowly closing, still only 5 percent of the world's adult population – or about 230 million people – are currently active Internet users. However, according to eMarketer's latest eGlobal survey, the number of active users is expected to rise to 640 million by 2004. Even then, only 14 percent of the world's adults will be actively using the Internet, or spending at least one hour per week online. 
 
@According to a "Green Design" team at Carnegie Mellon University, e-shopping generally relies on a transportation system that is more energy and pollution intensive than traditional retail channels. For example, research shows online book orders sent via air generate three pounds of carbon dioxide per book, while barely any emissions result from walking to the local bookstore for the same item

@If an airline determines that a passenger is big enough to fill more than one seat, it can charge for more than one ticket, a judge ruled Wednesday, dismissing a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines. Cynthia Luther, who weighs more than 300 pounds, alleged that Southwest harassed and discriminated against her in May before she boarded a flight from Reno, Nev., to Burbank. Luther was asked if she needed a seat belt extension, then was told to buy a second ticket "so as not to inconvenience other passengers seated next to her," her lawsuit stated.

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