Birder call

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:52:08 -0700

Here’s a new angle on the Costa Rican vacation: competitive bird watching. Yes, birders, Rainforest Biodiversity Group invites you and your binoc-toting teammates to kick off the opening of the Costa Rican Bird Route by speed-logging bird species this winter.

The Costa Rican Bird Route Challenge, Dec. 16 to Dec. 21, will raise funds for the six new biological reserves within the 4.6-square-mile birding trail. The winning team gets to help the RBG allocate the earnings. Teams must raise $500 to enter. More info: Raquel(at)costaricanbirdroute.com.

Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 14:27:45 -0700

EndangeredPlaces.com is proud to be a media partner at the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference in Vancouver, Oct. 27-29. This will be the third such conference put on by the International Ecotourism Society, and we expect to be amazed yet again by the green ideas and innovations coming from hundreds of experts and industry leaders from around the world.

At last year’s conference in Madison, Wisconsin, we learned about a Costa Rican ecolodge that runs its kitchen on pig methane; a Fijian resort that invites guests to paint endangered sea turtles (in nontoxic ink, of course) so their shells are worthless to poachers; and an inn in Wisconsin that offsets its guests carbon output from traveling by car or by plane ... to name a few.

As more and more travelers gravitate toward ecotourism, it’s increasingly important for travel professionals and the travel media to have the kind of in-depth, reflective dialogue that happens here. This conference is a tremendous resource for new ideas, fresh perspectives and inspiration. Hope to see you there!

Travel fund$ for dodos

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:48:16 -0700

If your favorite kind of trip is the one you don’t have to pay for, you may be in luck.

Travelogue website dodo.com is offering a grant of up to $7,500 for the traveler who submits “the most extraordinary journey, with the most exciting itinerary, far away from mass tourism” by Aug. 28.

Some ideas from the EP wish list: Spread mud on ancient structures of Timbuktu to protect them from the dry, sand-laden Saharan winds … dance into the wee hours with the people of Tyanboche, Nepal, at the Mani-Rimdu festival … trek deep into the Northern Ice Field glacier in remote Chilean Patagonia …

Paradise reclaimed?

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:09:51 -0700

A few years ago I made the mistake of going kayaking in Acapulco. As I ventured out into the murky bay, my paddle snagged a plastic bag, then another … and then a pair of slightly decomposed boxer shorts. The water stank, its surface thick with foam and slime. Ten minutes later, I pulled my boat ashore and hustled to the nearest shower.

How did a beach destination that was once THE beach destination become such a mess? Inadequate sewage treatment is partly to blame (only 15 percent of the nefarious outflow gets diverted, according to Mexico’s National Water Commission). And few of the six million sun-seekers who vacation here each year are the tread-gently sort.

It appears, however, that there may be some hope for the ailing bay. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has made a 440-million-peso promise to clean things up over the next four years. “In short, we're going to rescue Acapulco Bay,” he told reporters at a press conference last month.

I bet no one was happier to hear the news than Acapulco’s mayor, who once took a public swim in the bay to show skeptics that the water quality isn’t so bad. We’ll know things have improved when President Calderon offers to join him.

One sweet deal

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:54:27 -0700

This exciting item was all over the news yesterday: negotiations are under way for the state of Florida to buy about 300 square miles of the Everglades from the company U.S. Sugar.

The New York Times reported that the plantation, whose operations have disrupted the natural flow of water from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay for the past 80 years, would get $1.75 billion in exchange for abandoning 187,000 acres within the next six years. David Guest, Earthjustice attorney for Florida told the Los Angeles Times, "This is a really big deal, and people just need to keep their nerve and not let it slip away."

Assuming the historic deal goes through, it would most likely mean an end to farm pollutants that have inundated the wetlands for decades from U.S. Sugar. And allowing the water to flow as it did before agriculture took over central Florida would give the Everglades a chance to recover some of its former glory.

It's a rare opportunity that requires that the South Florida Water Management District continue to be watched closely in its management of the area. It's an important time to make sure that the state, in fact, protects the area from future development and that the multi-billion dollar so-called "restoration plan" is revamped intelligently and with the right priorities.

- H.H.

What a dive

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:11:04 -0700

It's Day 4 of an eight-day underwater mission for scientists off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. The team of "aquanauts" is living in and commuting from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's lab (dubbed Aquarius) which lies 60 feet below the surface. They're studying why certain species of corals survive transplantation, after suffering trauma, while others die. After "planting" different kinds of coral at various depths, they'll be checking in on them every month to see how they're doing.

Since coral reefs worldwide are being weakened and destroyed by the climate change, pollution and marine traffic the scientists hope that figuring out whether or not some corals are genetically stronger than others (and thus more resilient to change) will be key to the restoration of those ecosystems. To see the scientists while they're underwater in Aquarius, check out the live webcam.

- H.H.

When 10 million acres of trees fall in the forest ...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 10:45:08 -0700

We got a good look at how radically Africa's landscape has been altered over the past 35 years when the United Nations released "Africa: Atlas of Our Changing Environment" last week. Over 300 satellite images, taken in every country, present a startling look at how land use, population growth and climate change are ravishing Africa's interior.

The loss of forest is now a serious worry in 35 countries, including many in the Congo Basin (which we discuss in depth in Disappearing Destinations). According to the UN, Africa is losing almost 10 million acres of forest every year, twice the world's average. The loss of biodiversity is also now a major concern, as is desertification and water scarcity. Over 300 million Africans already face water shortages and that is expected to increase in sub-Saharan nations by nearly a third by 2050.

- H.H.