Costa Rica, the birthplace of ecotourism, has been very successful in sustaining it. The authorities have managed to increase the number of national parks, produce environmentally friendly electricity thus almost reaching the country’s goal of being the first carbon neutral nation. When Costa Rica’s current President took office in 2007, he promised to the people [...]

I don’t know about you, but every once in a while, I find myself imagining what I might do or be if I could reinvent myself — or if my friends could, or my neighbor, or my sister. What interesting, totally different opportunities exist out there that might capture the imagination? Well, I think I’ve [...]

Rather than build up Routes 8 and 12 as a trade route competing with Route 9, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam should jointly develop Routes 8 and 12 as an eco-tourism routes linking the three countries, suggests the Thai ambassador to Laos. Vitavas Srivihok, the Thai ambassador to Laos, says Thailand will urge Laos and Vietnam [...]

Funds from a global environment grants scheme implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will enable an indigenous community in one of Cambodia’s poorest provinces to build an ecotourism project at a lake recently returned to them from private ownership. The mostly indigenous ethnic Kuoy residents of Romchek village in northeast Preah Vihear province [...]

Eco-tourism. Is this now-fashionable concept basically a contradiction in terms – on a par, as cynics might say, with “business ethics” or “compassionate conservatism”? “Adventure travel” is, of course, a concept as old as the hills, even if some of our greatest adventurers, such as Captain Scott, took great pains to proclaim their serious scientific [...]

When Georg Schluender, a 1987 graduate of Harbor Springs High School, launched a career in ecotourism, he did what most others wish they could do – turn decades of adventure into a full-time job. It all began in high school with an exciting and new sport (at the time) – mountain biking – and his [...]

Few people are fortunate enough to go on a trip to a place that can bring drastic change in their life. I don’t know the names of such people but surely I know the name of a place where one can get close encounters with the abundant nature. The lush green Amazon is the world’s [...]

Langalbandh, a holy place in Narayanganj for the country’s Hindu community, will be developed as a tourist spot. The decision came from an inter-ministerial meeting with Religious Affairs Adviser Maj Gen (Retd.) Dr ASM Matiur Rahman in the chair. The Deputy Commissioner of the district has been asked to submit a project plan on land [...]

Hakaluki Haor located in greater Sylhet, the haor offers a very different type of ecosystem as well as a new set of management issues. The haor basin is an extensive alluvial plain supporting a variety of wetland habitats. It contains about 47 major haors and more than 6,000 beels, or freshwater lakes, nearly half of [...]

Sharks that dwell in the Maldives can breathe a sigh of relief: the island nation has declared 90,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean a safe-haven for sharks, banning shark fishing as well as any trade in shark fins. “The Maldives were one of the first countries to recognize that sharks were a key reason [...]