Air Highways/ BC Scene combination

International Year of Ecotourism
ATA 5th Eco
Symposium
Communities Ecotourism
Eco Edition
Eco Manifesto
Eco Success
Entan 21
Globe 2002
Green Globe
Metropolis
Peace Bridges
Peace Tourism
World Eco
Summit- Quebec

T.I.E.S.
World Monuments

Magazines
Air Highways
BC Scene
Discover NA
Footloose
Wingspan

A-Z index
Adventures
Advertising
Air Route Map
Artists
Associations
Attractions
Aviation
Business
Causes
Cruises
Cultural
Destinations
Ecotourism
E-mail
Events
Food
Highways
History
Hotels
Hot news
Museums
National Parks
Newsmakers
Outdoors
Peace
Plane Talk
Railways
Seaplanes
Seniors
Stories
Subscribe
Supermap
Technology


BC Business
BC Tourism
Show 2001


..
Eco-Adventure World News
International Year of Ecotourism 2002

When we launched Air Highways Magazine and Africa Travel Magazine in 1995, we introduced Eco-Adventure World, sensing a major shift in people's travel preferences towards exploring the land, the culture and wildlife. We are currently producing our biggest Ecotourism feature yet, to celebrate the 5th ATA EcoTourism Symposium in Yaounde, Cameroon, West Africa. A similar publication will be available for the World Ecotourism Conference in Quebec City, May 19-22, 2002.

 

Preparations: WTO is holding a series of regional seminars and conferences to prepare for the International Year of Ecotourism 2002. The first was held in Maputo, Mozambique, in March for Africa and further conferences are scheduled at the following locations:

· Cuiabá, Brazil, August 22-24, for the Americas;

· St Johann, Austria, September 12-15, for Europe, focusing on mountain areas;

· Almaty, Kazakhstan, October 17-18, for CIS countries, China and Mongolia;

· Thessaloniki, Greece, November 2-4, for European and Mediterranean countries;

· Algeria, November 19-21, for desert areas;

· Victoria, Seychelles, December 8-10, for Small Island Developing States and other islands;

· Malé, Maldives, February 8-10, 2002, for the Asia-Pacific region; and

Fiji, April 14-15, 2002, for the South Pacific Islands.

Findings from these conferences and seminars will be presented at the World Ecotourism Summit, to be held in Quebec, Canada between May 19 and 22, 2002.

At the Maputo seminar, Mr. Eugenio Yunis, WTO Chief of the Sustainable Development of Tourism Section, indicated that lack of suitable controls could threaten the very future of the sector.

"Unsustainable ecotourism is putting at risk the survival of the natural environment that is the very bedrock of the ecotourism business and, more serious still, detracts from and even discredits this activity," he said.

Various elements, needed to guarantee the long-term sustainability of any ecotourism project, were highlighted by Mr. Yunis. They included:

* Ensuring that it contributes to the conservation of natural areas and the sustainable development of adjoining lands and communities.

* Creating specific strategies to avoid anarchic and disorderly development.

* Providing efficient coordination between public and private sectors,

* including the active involvement of local communities in the planning,

developing, managing and regulating of ecotourism projects.

* Minimizing the impact of tourism accommodation, transport facilities and any activities organized for tourists.

* Ensuring that a reasonable proportion of income from tourism is channelled into local communities and into conserving natural heritage.

* Managing the movement of tourists to avoid overcrowding, and carrying out continuous monitoring of the visitors' impact on the environment.

Other activities being organized by WTO for the International Year of Ecotourism include the publication of a 'Compilation of Good Practices in the Sustainable Development and Management of Ecotourism', as well as a market research programme in the main ecotourism generating markets, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Canada and the United States.

Detailed information on the above events and activities is available - and regularly updated - on WTO's IYE 2002 web page:

http://www.world-tourism.org/sustainable/IYE-Main-Menu.htm


Solar Car Crosses Canada for $ 9.22
Using only as much electricity as it would take to illuminate a 100-watt light bulb for four days, a group of Queen's University students set a new world record for the longest distance travelled in a solar-powered car. "Our entire trip only utilized the equivalent of $ 9. 22 worth of electricity," said Melodie Berg, tour manager.

Globe 2000 - Our Editor's report on EcoTourism Solutions
Kyoto Effects Conference
Global Summit on Peace Through Tourism
Green Airports - Communities in Bloom - Forest Renewal
Park Vacationlands profiles from two continent.
Peace Through Tourism Global Summit in Amman Jordan
Pledges from Member Countries, Travel Industry and Visitor Groups
Water Adventures: From white water rafting to fresh and saltwater fishing.
World's Mighty Rivers and Oceans Blue

Adventure Islands and Inside Passage
I call them "The Adventure Islands," because the North Pacific has long been a magnet for adventurers and soldiers of fortune, including my father, who left the family's Seattle home for a post with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at Dawson City in the far Klondike. As for the Inside Passage, the Yukon's poet laureate, Robert Service, captured its majesty in his 'Songs of a Sourdough', Jack London immortalized it in his sagas, and Pierre Berton chronicled it in his book Klondike.

Alaska Highway: The second world war, brought adventure of a more frightening sort, when for a time, enemy troops were dug in on the Aleutian Islands, submarines lurked offshore, and balloons carrying fire bombs threatened our forests. To combat these triple threats, the mighty Alaska Highway system was built in 1942 - a threefold effort involving links by land, sea and rail. I had the privilege of documenting that part of our history, when I was commissioned by the Canadian Government to produce a commemorative video for the Alaska Highway's 50th Anniversary.


Eco Success Stories from AfricaTravel
Many of the following stories will appear in both Africa Travel and Eco- Adventure World in 2001. They're also on our other web site: www.africa-ata.org

Namibia's Kalahari Desert Bushmen
by Karen Hoffman

Ecotourism: Intu Afrika. A rare opportunity to learn from the Bushmen themselves about their hunter-gatherer traditions and the ecosystem of the Kalahari desert awaits travelers to INTU AFRIKA'S Kalahari Game Reserve in Namibia. For thousands of years, Bushmen were an integral part of the ecosystem of the Kalahari. As the area was colonized, the Bushmen were driven out and forced to live outside their traditional hunting areas. No longer able to hunt, the Bushmen were reduced to living on government handouts. INTU AFRIKA, under the direction of two South African anthropologists, Michael and Bets Daibar, invited 40 !Kung Bushmen to reestablish a self-sustainable community on the company's Kalahari Game Reserve. Continued.

Guarding Africa's Wildlife Empire
by Jerry W. Bird
Africa's Animal Empire filled the scene, then fanned out in all directions on the far horizon; to the Tanzania - Kenya border, or to Lake Victoria and beyond. And what performers these four legged actors were; prancing about like tv wrestlers, snorting and butting heads, as if they knew they were the star performers of our show. On a rocky knoll nearby, a pride of lions lolled lazily, like cruise passengers on deck chairs, surveying the situation, as they stood by for the evening dinner gong. Staring at us curiously, this shaggy crew was perfectly cast for the scene to follow, as were the two cheetahs lying couched in the tall grass near the Serengeti airport.
Continued.

Amex Monument Watch in Africa
The World Monuments Watch was created in 1995. The program solicits nominations from the Ministries of Culture around the world, from all US embassies, from international, national and local preservation groups, and from American Express offices worldwide. The nomination process is also open to individual citizens as a means of encouraging private activism. An independent panel of international experts in architecture, travel, archaeology, conservation, and related fields selects sites for inclusion in the biennial World Monuments Watch Lists of 100 Most Endangered Sites. Continued. Peace Through Tourism
We believe that tourism can have a profound impact on creating a climate for peace by generating economic growth and stable employment. Tourism also educates travelers about other cultures, thereby fostering understanding. While world leaders often meet to discuss opportunities for peace, it's rare that they would view a single industry as playing such a powerful role in sustaining Global Summit of Peace through Tourism.
Continued.

Tourism- Introduction to Ecology
by Harold Gordon
Tourism is now a major source of foreign currency for Kenya and Tanzania; it provides jobs throughout East Africa and has served as an introduction to ecology. Continued. A safari traveler's impression of animals changes drastically ; no more will her or she accept a world without the elephant, rhino, cheetah or other endangered species; the seals of the Galapagos, the mountain gorilla of Rwanda, the birds of New Guinea, or the whales of the Cape. There's a new and vital interest in their surroundings.

Central African Republic's Pristine Parklands
by Muguette Goufrani
Everything you may have read about this equatorial area for years in National Geographic , or in countless story books about Africa, is right here. Without a doubt, the Central African Republic (CAR) has some of the most pristine National Parks in all of Africa. Pygmies guide you through virgin forests that are the domain of forest elephants and rare lowland gorillas. The dense rain forests literally 'explode' as the sky fills with colorful, exotic butterflies &emdash; and out on the sweeping plains you can encounter elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and a host of other species you may not see anywhere else. We visited the Dzanga-Sangha Reserve which has some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas and elephant of anywhere in Africa.
Continued.

Seychelles: A World Leader in Conservation
by Muguette Goufrani
Seychelles Islands group is in the forefront in terms of conservation of land, culture and wildlife. While I have praised this beautiful part of the word to friends from near and far as a 'dream destination,' most travelers have yet to experience its pleasures. The Seychelles Archipelago, located in the Indian Ocean east of Kenya, has an fascinating history and culture. French is widely spoken, and the Seychelles is part of La Francophonie. The area includes 42 granite islands and 73 coral atolls, with tourism centered on the more easily accessible granite islands-especially Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. The latter are covered in lush tropical vegetation and are ringed by pristine white sand beaches. Continued.

Gabon Preserves Coastal Wetlands and Marshes
by Muguette Goufrani
Thanks to mineral wealth and a relatively low population growth, Gabon is better off financially than most of Africa. This fact is reflected in their care and attention to basic ecological concerns. For example, the vast coastal wetlands and marshes, are still largely intact. Gabon, hosted the Africa Travel Association (ATA) International Congress in 1980. Continued.

News about Environment Tanzania (Entan 21)
by Charles Kileo
..Environment Tanzania 21 is a non-profit environment Non Governmental Organization (NGO) established in Tanzania in 1996. It is a community service oriented trustee for the promotion of environmental awareness and environmental protection, though grassroots-based programs of involving and educating the community. Entan 21 is based in Dodoma, Tanzania and will expand its activities to other areas of the country as its environmental message spreads. Continued.

Building Bridges to Peace Through Tourism
by Hon. Mike Afedi Gizo
In the Kakum National Forest near Ghana's famous Gold Coast, are 6 rope bridges that are popular with tourists, and for most, a challenge to cross. While these bridges swing and sway in the breeze, far above the forest floor, all fears a visitor encounters are strictly mental. Each interlocking bridge is safe and secure, and each relates to a goal we want to achieve with this week's 21st Century Agenda for Peace Through Tourism.
Continued.