ECOCLUB Blogs™

April 8, 2010 - Burlington, VT USA Megan Epler Wood, the founder of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), is initiating a new short-course, Global Sustainable Ecotourism Development, at the University of Vermont, July 12-16, 2010. This course is being launched in honor of the 20th anniversary of TIES. In the past 20 years, ecotourism has emerged as one of the most dynamic and discussed tools for sustainable development. In the last 10 years, the field has been enriched by a vast array of disciplines, particularly economic development and social/pro-poor development techniques. Its broad and successful application as a rural economic and sustainable development tool is based on a set of methodologies that all students and development practitioners require to be successful. This course will look at ecotourism as a business model first and foremost, which requires a complex series of business approaches to deliver sustainable development benefits. It will review the big picture of tourism development impacts and strategies to deliver high quality, low impact results. It will teach a holistic approach to planning and tourism development that reviews governments’ and international donors’ role in rural land development, stressing bioregional planning as a key tool to move rural areas into a...

Surely a milestone in the quest for environmentally-friendly travel, 107 years after the first successful flight, the first take off from a Swiss airport of Bertrand Piccard's "Solar Impulse" a one-seat solar glider is a reality. From afar it looks like a strange craft flown by the Wright brothers, but it is really huge, with a wingspan as wide as that of a 747  carrying 12,000 solar cells. It travels as quietely and - unfortunately for v.i.ps with no time to waste - as slowly as a bicycle...  Among other things, Piccard is a psychiatrist, a baloonist, and a UN Goodwill Ambassador. Air travel carbon offsetters & hot air speculators: take note, take cover, do something.

According to reports  Thanassis Lerounis has been freed! Lerounis had been working for over 15 years with the Kalash communities of Northern Pakistan, when he was abducted last September. (Background ) He is said to be in good health and back in Chitral.

Ecotourism Society Launched in 1990 to Assist Parks Ecotourism 20 Years Ago In 1989, hundreds of thousands of acres were being added to park systems to conserve ecosystems around the world.  International conservation was going into high gear, driven by the rude fact that development was accelerating in the most vulnerable and biodiverse regions of the planet.  Conservationists were talking more about preserving the Amazonian rain forest, and less about “saving the panda.” As conservation objectives were being ramped up, parks had jumped from being places for family recreation to becoming a global tool to preserve the last “great” endangered places.  Costa Rica was winning awards for conserving the highest percentage of park land in the world.  But, the large majority of new protected areas worldwide were simply lines delineated on maps.  These under protected areas and fledgling parks became known as paper parks. While conservationists were thinking big, there was, unfortunately, little funding on the ground.  There was vision, and conservationists were quick to start raising funds to make these fledgling parks real.  But national budgets were short and economic resources within park agencies exceedingly tight.  Economic activity in these biodiverse zones was usually ranching, forestry and mining, or subsistence...

leaked, shocking video captures the barbarity of war...Apocalypse Again. maximum respect to wikileaks.org and to those who leaked the video. otherwise, lost for words...unlike the trigger happy perpetrators.

Enjoy the fresh spring of northern Chitral and the sensation of: Free Style Polo of the Mountain Communities in the Hindu Kush Football by the players with strong stamina characteristic to high altitude Tug of War played with raw power by study village-based teams Cricket with its sensational moments Shot Putt—the oldest living sport in the region Traditional Wrestling, oldest sport where sheer power is demonstrated Marksmanship with ‘chikit’—the oldest locally made traditional guns Bodi Dik—the endangered sport with unique rules Day & night cultural events with music of reed instrument, pure Chitrali sitar, pasture flute, reformative poetry and many more.   Our packages are as follows:   1.  April 15, 2010:   Flight from Islamabad/ Peshawar to Chitral & hotel stay 2.  April 16, 2010:  Transfer to the festival venue, food & accommodation 3.  April 17, 2010:  Tent stay, food, accommodation, sight seeing & night musical programme 4.  April 18, 2010:  Tent stay, food, accommodation, sight seeing night musical programme 5.   April 19, 2010:  Visiting Booni/Mastuj 6.   April 20, 2010:  Travel back to Chitral 7.   April 21, 2010:   Fly back to Islamabad/Peshawar ________________________________________________   Total Package =   1.   Top end hotel  =  Rs40,000 2.   Medium end hotel   =   Rs25,000...

Our Member in Laos, Sompawn Khantisouk, co-founder of award-winning Ecolodge "The Boat Landing Guesthouse" suddenly dissappeared on his way to the town in early 2007,  escorted by men in "green uniforms" according to some reports. I had dedicated my presentation at the World Ecotourism Conference to him in May 2007 and enquired for info through contacts, to no avail. Three years after his family is still waiting for him to return... One hypothesis at the time was that he would 'resurface' when things were quiet so that various "stakeholders" could "save face", as is supposedly the cultural norm in these parts. Another hypothesis was that he had stepped on the toes of powerful private interests. An alternative theory, published in an annual review of the region was that Sompawn was made 'an example' , a victim of geopolitics in a border region. Geopolitics is a polite word to describe all those, on all sides, who play bloody chess games on the backs of ordinary people and communities, for profits and domination. The best reply to the forces of darkness is for ecotravellers to Laos to make an extra effort to stay at The Boat Landing Lodge to support his family and...

Naurooz, the spring equinox festival, was celebrated in northern Chitral and Lotkoh valley of the Chitral district on March 21st, marking the commencement of spring with trees putting forward fresh shoots and blossom. In Chitral, it is a time of the year when the newly sprouted blade of grasses and flowers fills the air with aroma and the land with motley colors immediately after receding of the white sheet of snow. For people, then this particular time is the right season to celebrate.    Naurooz in the beginning of New Year is a refresher of commitment of the locals to practice noble deeds for the broader community welfare, adopting the tradition of hard work in their professional life. Besides, it is time when one evaluates one’s achievements in life. Thus numerous time-honored values, such as self-evaluation, self-discipline, creativity, truthfulness, happiness progressiveness and plentitude emanate from Naurooz.   The important socio-religious aspect of Naurooz is that it always encourages the social bonds by bringing together the community, promoting passion for charity and ensuring that the more needy members of the community are not overlooked. These are some of the guiding principles keep in mind whilst celebrating Naurooz.   Chitral has a tradition of...

The call for presentations for the European Ecotourism Conference, to be held 26th - 30rd of September 2010, is now open.More information at: http://www.european-ecotourism.com/conference-2010/call-for-presentations/  

Thanassis Lerounis, a greek teacher and lone volunteer, selflessly and tirelessly working for over 15 years with the famous Kalash people in the Chitral area of Northern Pakistan (2,500 m. asl),  was abducted, allegedly by Afghan Taliban in September 2009, and is still being held captive in Nooristan. His captors are reported to demand an exchange with a number of captive leaders imprisoned by Pakistani authorities. The last report I have seen on Thanassis was in January 12 2010 in the local Chitral Times  website after a delegation from Chitral went to hold talks with his captors, and includes a photo where he sports a long beard and even smiles. As a teacher he had read about the Kalash tribe, of whom just 4,200 remain, and was fascinated by their traditional belief that they are descendants of soldiers of Alexander the Great, a belief supported by their unique language, customs, and polytheistic religion (with 12 gods like the ancient greek one) and looks, so Thanassis first visited the remote mountainous area as a tourist in 1994. He was instantly hooked and when he returned to Greece he started lecturing across the country, raising funds and generating awareness. He would return each...