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ECOCLUB® |
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ISSN 1108-8931 |
International Ecotourism Monthly |
Year 4, Issue 42, Nov. 2002 |
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scanning airwaves, e-waves and brainwaves
For the fourth year, WWF will be presenting its Arctic Award to recognize
arctic tourism initiatives, businesses or organizations with outstanding
commitment to nature protection. Entries for the Arctic Award 2002 will be
accepted until February 1, 2003. At the Cairns Ecotourism Conference in Australia earlier this month, Green
Globe 21, a private certification concern, delivered a "global standard for
ecotourism". The Standard is a collaborative work with the Ecotourism
Association of Australia and is based on the Australian Nature and Ecotourism
Accreditation [Certification] Program (NEAP) Standard. During the month of
November 2002 the Draft Charter and Action Plan are available for review online. At the close of the first-ever Global Mountain Summit, in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan, participants adopted the Bishkek Mountain Platform, designed to guide governments and other actors involved with mountain issues toward achieving the objectives of improving mountain people’s livelihoods, protecting mountain ecosystems and using mountain resources wisely.
Tour d' Afrique is the first ever bicycle race and expedition from Cairo to Cape Town. The Tour
begins on January 18th in Cairo and ends on May 17th in Cape Town. The mandate
of the event is threefold: first, to create an athletic event for both amateurs
and professionals; second, to foster international goodwill; and third, raise
funds to promote environmental, ecological and educational charities throughout
Africa. For the first time in decades there is an increase in the population of the mountain gorillas that inhabit the forests of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Annette Lanjouw, director of the International Gorilla Conservation programme, who said that much of this success could be attributed to ecotourism as more than 10,000 tourists have now visited the gorillas. In 1989, the population of mountain gorillas was estimated at 620. today it stands at 674. The species was "discovered" exactly 100 years ago today. Poachers have killed a number of elephants and rhinoceroses in a series of illegal hunts in South Africa's Kruger National Park, park officials said.
Zambia's five rare white rhinos are facing starvation due to a drought that has nearly destroyed grazing pastures in the famine-threatened southern African country, according to the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA). Increased co-operation between South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland on a uniform spraying program against malaria-carrying mosquitoes has resulted in a drastic drop in malaria cases, say South African health officials. Malaria figures have dropped by 87 percent in Swaziland and 45 percent in Mozambique. The combined malaria-spraying program had started in 1999. At least 10 children have starved to death among drought-stricken families who fled to one of Ethiopia's most important national parks seeking refuge. The children were among some 20,000 people who have descended on Bale National Park in search of food, according to the UN's Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia (EUE). The Ecotourism Society of Kenya (ESOK) announced Kenya will become the first African destination to implement a voluntary certification scheme, aimed at checking and improving the performance of tourism accommodation facilities in a bid to further the goals of sustainable development. The scheme, dubbed the ESOK Eco-rating Scheme, is described as "a voluntary initiative for sustainable tourism." and "the product of several stakeholder consultations." As trade in Ivory resumed, "KENYA'S POSITION ON THE RE-OPENING OF THE IVORY TRADE" - by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) indicated that CITES does not protect elephants in the first place: "CITES Appendix I : does not prevent countries from managing elephants that are a menace, does not prohibit culling of large elephant populations for environmental protection, does not prohibit trophy hunting of elephants, does not prohibit elephant back safaris or any other domestic commercial use of ivory including domestic ivory trade. CITES allows for sales of registered ivory stockpiles through non- commercial transfers of ivory (Decision 11.2 ex 10.10). This would transfer ivory into non-commercial status into perpetuity while still paying the source country for it's legal and registered stocks. Non-commercial buy-outs of ivory stockpiles are an un- exploited mechanism that could allow for the removal of Africa's ivory stockpiles to buy time for elephants, and to remove threats to elephants. " Planeta.com co-sponsored Oaxaca's Ecotourism Fair which took place on October 31, 2002. More than a dozen exhibitors from the state of Oaxaca were on hand. The goal was "to increase sales of the ecotourism and responsible travel operations and educate locals and travellers alike about what constitutes ecotourism". Details: http://www.planeta.com/planeta/02/0210oaxaca.html According to the latest Travel Poll from the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), 64 percent (83 million) of past-year leisure travellers planned at least one of their trips within two weeks of taking their trip. Forrester Research finds that despite the sluggish economy, an increasing number of travellers "are flocking to the Internet to snap up great bargains", This year, nearly 26 million US households - 43 percent of Web travel households - will book leisure travel online, 12 percent more than in 2001. By 2007, 32 percent more households will spend 39 percent of their travel budgets online, generating $49.7 billion. The pending $5.4 billion takeover of P&O Princess Cruises by Carnival Corp., owner of Holland America Line, would give birth to the world's largest cruise company. In Alaska, especially, the industry giant will all but monopolise the cruise sector with 75% of the market and will be able to dictate prices to the Alaskan tour companies. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, responsible for preventing monopolies, paved the way for the takeover in a narrow 3-2 vote. The company would own 62 ships, with 24 new vessels on order. At the World Travel Awards held in St. Lucia a total of nine awards went to the Jamaica including that for being the Caribbean's leading destination. The national airline, Air Jamaica was voted the Caribbean's leading airline. The big winner was the Sandals Hotel Group, which copped five awards including the world's leading all-Inclusive for the ninth consecutive year. An organic compound naturally produced by oak trees contributes between 40 and 70 percent of the ozone destroying Sierra Nevada pines. But the answer, say scientists, is not to chop down more trees. Ozone, a major component of smog, is the product of a reaction between the isoprene gas released by oak trees and gaseous nitrogen oxide emitted by industry, agriculture, and automobiles. Such reactions are likely wherever forests are downwind of gaseous pollution, say atmospheric chemists from the University of California at Berkeley.
The Economist reports that EnviroMission, an Australian firm got permission to build a 1km tall solar chimney, enclosed by a shallow 7km circular greenhouse, that will use hot air produced by the solar heat to generate electricity ! It will cost an estimated USD 440m and is bound to become a tourist attraction visible, from 100 km afar. Chinese officials have discovered a new 80-kilometre section of the Great Wall of China in northwestern China (PRC). This portion of the wall was built in 1531 and was gradually buried by sands that swept across the arid landscape. From its starting point in the northwestern province of Gansu, the Great Wall spans 6,000 kilometres across lands which dynastic Chinese emperors considered vulnerable to attack. A Tokyo court finds the central government as well as the regional government guilty of pollution and orders them to compensate those suffering from asthma, while acquitting car manufacturers. Indonesian President Soekarnoputri declared 2002 as the year of ecotourism at a ceremony in a small village north of Merapi volcano in Central Java inaugurating the Merapi National Park. At the same time a forested area to the south of the mountain was being razed by fire. Central Java Governor Mardiyanto said in his speech that the opening of an ecotourism area connecting Surakarta, Selo and Borobudur was aimed at improving the economy of the local people. Local residents in turn, have expressed strong rejection of the park for fear that they would not be allowed to exploit resources from the area. At least two people were arrested following a rally in Boyolali against the park development. Mnong "ethnic minority" villagers in Daklak province, central Vietnam attacked and injured five forest rangers who were attempting to confiscate their illegally cut timber (10 cubic metres), according to officials. Fourteen specialised anti-poaching brigades have been established in Russia's Primorsky region to improve the conservation, regeneration and use of forests. A consortium of 17 enterprises funded by the
European Union
have developed a new mobile tourist guide based on cellular technology (GSM/GPRS
mobile phone networks). A MORI poll found that UK travel agents were booking fewer package holidays than ever in 2002, but customers still preferred to book packages through agents rather than the internet. The four main tour operators in the UK are to give financial support to the government's Sustainable Tourism Initiative (STI). Details: http://www.travelmole.com/item/94686 Scotland's whisky-producing island of Islay will have the first bus powered only by wave-generated electricity by the end of November, Greenpeace announced. The European Commission is taking Austria to court for allowing hunters to shoot too many protected wild birds. An investigation found Austria grants too many exceptions to a ban on shooting Buzzards, Marsh Harriers, and Goshawks. The European Union is set to ban most new cosmetics tested on animals from 2009 and stop their import. TVX Hellas, a gold mining company (subsidiary of TVX Gold of Canada) has been ordered to cease operations in Halkidiki, Northern Greece, by Greece's High Court, for failing to meet environmental regulations and after persistent mass protests by local inhabitants. WWF Greece protests the illegal hunting of the
officially protected Pindus Wild Goat in the Vikos - Aoos National Forest.
A WWF team managed to videotape from afar two illegal hunters doing their worse
on late October 2002. They were caught in the act but not caught by the police
as the Vikos-Aoos National Forest (Ethnikos Drymos) lacks a single full-time
guard. Part-time employees, WWF alleges, take off weekends and holidays, exactly
the days that the hunters arrive...(so everyone's happy). The market value of
(illegal) wildgoat meat can reach EUR 50 per kg. Meanwhile
Arktouros, an NGO specialised in bear protection, announced that another bear
weighing 200 Kg has been found skinned just outside the Valia Calda National
Forest. Arktouros believe that an illegal racket of fur trading is responsible.
Since 1994 there have been 70 recorded killings of bears, in theory a strictly
protected species in Greece. |
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