Global Vision Awards: Honoring Sustainable Travel Initiatives

The iBestTravel Global Vision Awards aim to identify and honor companies, individuals, destinations, and organizations taking strides to develop more sustainable and responsible travel products, practices, and experiences. Not only are they demonstrating thought leadership and creative problem-solving, they are taking actionable, quantifiable steps to protect communities and environments around the world. What’s more, they are inspiring their industry colleagues and travelers to do their part.

Now more than ever, it’s crucial to stay informed. However, it’s also good to remember Fred Rogers’ iconic advice: Look for the helpers. Headlines sometimes focus on struggling ecosystems and climate change, but what they don’t always register is that there are organizations and government bodies taking measurable, impactful steps to protect the natural environment and make economies more sustainable—acting not with fatalism, but with pragmatism and genuine hope for the future. Therefore, the conservation efforts of these Global Vision Awards honorees can be a model for us all. — iBestTravel Editors

African Parks

The story of Zakouma National Park in Chad is one of remarkable resurrection. Between 1998 and 2010, more than a dozen rangers were killed by armed poachers, who also slaughtered 95 percent of the park’s elephants. The nonprofit took over the park’s management in 2010, and, as of 2018, the elephant population had risen to 560—of which 127 were calves. At the same time, the first black rhinos to roam the park in more than four decades were reintroduced.

African Parks, which manages 16 reserves in 10 countries, owes much of its success to a top-down approach of taking on full park oversight, rather than simply handling the conservation work within state-run parks. It deploys a holistic ecosystem-management philosophy that combines high-tech tools, including tracking devices and surveillance drones, with a zero-tolerance anti-corruption policy to help combat poaching. Education, job creation, and cooperation with local communities are also essential elements of the sustainable model. One key initiative includes developing schools and leadership programs that teach skills necessary for advancing conservation efforts. Remarkably, of the organization’s 5,214 employees, roughly 90 percent now come from local communities.

African Parks’ work has procured high-profile support—Prince Harry is now its president—and prompted new requests for help. In November, Zimbabwe’s government enlisted the group to restore Matusadona National Park, where mismanagement and poaching have decimated rhinos, lions, and elephants.

Climate Neutral

It’s easy to get lost in the thicket of carbon-offsetting programs and corporate promises. Consequently, Climate Neutral is working to standardize and streamline the certification of corporate carbon neutrality. This organization outlines a step-by-step process by which companies can measure their emissions and offsets, asking them to identify steps to reduce their environmental footprint—such as reducing the number of company-owned vehicles or using more energy-efficient data centers.

If a company measures and then mitigates—whether by changing manufacturing or purchasing offsets—all the carbon generated in production and shipping processes, it can then obtain a Climate Neutral Certified label, designed to give consumers confidence that the businesses they support have taken concrete action against climate change. Among the founding companies is BioLite, which seeks new ways of shipping its thermoelectric stoves, solar-powered lighting, and camping equipment, and Peak Design, a manufacturer of camera gear and travel bags committed to using more recycled metal and fabric in its products.

Costa Rica

In 1994, this small Central American nation amended its constitution to guarantee its citizens the right to a healthy environment. Over the years, Costa Rica has become an environmental trailblazer. Although it will likely fall short of its most ambitious goal—to become the world’s first carbon-neutral nation by next year—it has made great strides. Approximately 98 percent of the country’s electricity now comes from renewable sources, and more than a quarter of its land is protected from development.

The tourism board’s Certification for Sustainable Tourism, introduced in 1995, has become a model for other nations—inspiring businesses to adopt practices that minimize the negative environmental effects of the travel industry. Currently, half of the 3.1 million annual visitors to Costa Rica engage in some form of ecotourism, thereby boosting the economy and helping protect places like the La Fortuna waterfall for generations to come.

MesoAmerican Reef Tourism Initiative

The Mesoamerican Reef, which traces the coastlines of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, is the world’s second-largest reef after the Great Barrier Reef, supporting thousands of aquatic species, including corals, turtles, manatees, and sharks. Moreover, it’s the backbone of an enormous economic ecosystem, fueling tourism that brings billions of dollars annually to onshore communities.

Over the past 15 years, the Meso-American Reef Tourism Initiative (MARTI) has pursued a multi-pronged approach designed to develop travel while reducing harmful effects on land and sea. Supported by local hotels as well as non-profits including the Coral Reef Alliance and the Rainforest Alliance, MARTI has worked with Yucatán fishermen to create a lucrative culinary market for invasive lionfish and trained diving guides in Cozumel to better care for the marine environment that provides their livelihood. Additionally, it has helped develop Mayaka’an, a collection of Quintana Roo towns and archaeological sites united for low-density eco-tourism, offering visitors opportunities to learn Mayan customs, swim in clear lagoons, or explore ancient pyramids.

Across the region, MARTI has elevated waste-management and energy-efficiency standards, advising hoteliers on reducing their environmental footprints. Presently, more than 130 hotels are participating; on average, they have reduced water consumption by nearly 20% and energy consumption by over 10%. Collectively, MARTI’s approach embodies the very essence of a healthy reef: beautiful interdependence.

Para la Naturaleza

For nearly 50 years, Para la Naturaleza (which translates to “For Nature”) has worked to preserve and rehabilitate land in Puerto Rico. The core of its work aims to protect land from development; as a land trust, it has both bought property and received it through bequests. Among its projects is the restoration of the Pterocarpus Forest, a 56-acre preserve that is one of the last habitats for the increasingly rare pterocarpus tree, often called bloodwood due to its crimson sap. Currently, Para la Naturaleza manages 36,000 acres and strives to secure conservation status for 33 percent of Puerto Rico’s delicate ecosystems by 2033—doubling what is protected today.

Historic properties also fall under Para la Naturaleza’s purview. One remarkable site is the 496-acre Hacienda Buena Vista, a working coffee plantation in Ponce. Visitors can explore the 19th-century buildings restored by Para la Naturaleza and witness the surrounding forest’s rehabilitation. The key to this effort includes forest-friendly, shade-grown methods of coffee cultivation.

Anayra Santory, an executive at the nonprofit, notes, “Nature doesn’t recognize deed restrictions or property lines. We can preserve the land we own, but we must also consider human activities on land that is not part of the trust.” With this in mind, Para la Naturaleza has helped train farmers to adopt earth-friendly techniques and technologies. They invite the public—including both Puerto Ricans and visitors—to assist with bird censuses across the island. Additionally, they have collaborated with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on a breeding program aimed at reintroducing the critically endangered Puerto Rican crested toad. Their efforts also include repairing the ecological damage Puerto Rico suffered from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as the earthquakes in January 2020.

As Santory succinctly states, “You can have beautiful ecosystems and perfectly restored historic properties. However, if the nearby communities are struggling, it doesn’t work.”