Blue Sky Cafe

The warning comes in a book, Photoclima, launched this week by Greenpeace in which images of some of Spain’s most emblematic places have been altered to show what they could look like in the future. Using statistics from the UN panel on climate change and a touch of digital makeup Greenpeace hopes to scare Spain into taking action. Full article here

According to a recent article, Between 1/4 and 1/3 of the global population does not have access to electricity. It is predicted that the rate will be less in the years to come but also that the nominal amount will remain roughly the same, i.e. 1.5-2 billion people. The majority of them living in Africa and on the Indian peninsula.

Irresponsible Tourism is a forum designed to give YOU an opportunity to blow the whistle on practices in the travel and tourism industry which you think are irresponsible, and to discuss them with others.

The forum and its threads are accessible to anyone, but only registered users can post responses, comments and create new threads. For full forum information please click here

…are proud to present, for the eco traveller, four delightful eco friendly hotels for accommodation in Bali, Borneo (Kalimantan), Flores (Komodo) and Jakarta (Java). Join us for an adventure and see nature at its best…walk with komodo dragons … observe orangutans, gibbons, tarsiers and monkeys in their natural habitat… study magnificent, rarely seen butterflies and birds… dive on pristine coral reefs… trek through tropical rainforests… enjoy a game of cricket or just relax in eco friendly surroundings. Our aims are to provide, at a reasonable price, comfortable clean accommodation for our guests with airport transfers, helpful staff and excellent fresh tropical cuisine. Our emphasis is on environmental protection through education of guests and staff, recycling of water and waste as well as efficient use of electricity, solar heating and rainwater. We even have a worm farm for composting! Eco hotels and eco tours and travel are our speciality! Now GreenGlobe Certified!
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Frontier TV is an ethical business & living Internet TV channel and website featuring videos, commentary and resources for ethical consumers, as well as enterprises with an ethical focus. Its aim is to increase awareness for society and environment to affect positive social change.

The purpose of Frontier TV is to provide innovative, uplifting and highly relevant programs, news and documentaries focused on the cutting edge of today’s top social, spiritual, economic, scientific and environmental issues. The channel aims to create open and honest forums of discussion that bring together the business, environmental and ‘quality of life’ communities with a commitment to mutual respect and creative win-win solutions. www.frontier.tv

Libya has unveiled an ambitious ecotourism project know as ‘Green Mountain’. The project utilising a raft of renewable energy technologies, recycling, biofuels and environmentally friendly building development will also serve to protect the world renowned Greek and Roman architecture and a coastal eco-system described as fragile. The International Herald Tribune reports on the story in some more detail.

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Over the last couple of years we have been referenced by a number of international publications, national press and websites, achieved both print and television coverage and ranked in the top 20 ethical living websites in the world in Amazon.com. We receive 35 - 40,000 unique visits per month, primarily from UK based customers of middle to high income with an ethical and environmentally responsible outlook.The majority of our visitors are based in Europe with the majority based in the UK, however we have a worldwide reach with Australia and Canada offering a significant amount of our readership.

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Well here it is, a pig’s battle for sustainability… the meatrix

Who are the Shiwiar people? In their own words, “We are the Shiwiar people, enclosed by the Amazon jungle, living on the Pastaza river. We belong to the same cultural and linguistic tradition as the Achuar and Shuar. Our territory is one of the most pristine and isolated places in the Amazon basin, located near the Peruvian border and accessible only by air. Our primary forest is blessed with remarkable levels of biodiversity. Our population of seven hundred is scattered around nine different villages within the area. There have been few intrusions into our territory and we have only recently made contact with the western world (because of the Peruvian war in 1941). ”

Why ecotourism? “Oil was found on our territory during an exploration campaign made in the 1970’s.Thankfully it is still untapped, however we fear that it is only a matter of time before our territory is sold, exploited and destroyed. It is therefore imperative that our land is legalised. Our political representatives, the ONSHIPAE (Organizacion de la Nacionalidad Shiwiar de Pastaza Amazonía Ecuatoriana), together with the Pachamama Alliance, are struggling to obtain legal recognition of our territory, but it is a difficult and expensive fight. We hope that ecotourism will generate the funds, support and international awareness needed for us to succeed. We believe it will also emphasise the importance of our environment and cultural traditions to our people, and will generate hope and self respect within our community.”

What is the vision? “Our primary objective is to defend our territory from oil exploitation, preserve its biodiversity and our culture through self managed development. These are our objectives, initiated by our people, they have not been imposed by outsiders. The Ikiam Expedition is our project, initiated by Pascual Kunchicuy (a Shiwiar), the founder of “FUNSSIF” (Fundation Shiwiar Sin Fronteras). The initial impetus originated from the tribe itself, but the project only really took off in 2004 with the aid of Pascal Languillon (the founder of the French “Pascal Languillon”), who provided the detailed knowledge of the outside world and gave the project a distinct vision.

The project vision is to propose a new form of ecotourism, where the tourist is not just a tourist, but a real actor of its own adventure. We want to offer a different kind of tourism, not based on a capitalistic model but rather on responsible tourism principles. This expedition is for people who don’t usually like tours. Here you will not be seen as clients, but rather as friends who has come to help us out.

What we care the most about is to maintain the reality of our place. We do not want to perform cultural acts like shamanism rituals just to please tourists. We do not want folklore. We just want to show you our place and our current way of life.

To make this vision come true, we have decided to make you live this experience as if you were a Shiwiar. We will not provide a fancy restaurant nor expensive cabañas. We are not going to create a pocket of your world in the jungle. We believe the experience we are offering is far more real and far more valuable, because we are offering the genuine opportunity to experience our culture and our way of life. You will be invited to participate in daily activities as part of our family, from making ceramics and arrows, walking in the forest and swimming in the river. We have not designed a program for people who want a comfortable tour, we have opened our community to people brave enough to participate in it. To achieve this the number of visitors will be restricted to five per week, but as the project is still in its infancy you will probably be on your own.

The project has received some financial funding from the Ecuadorian CODENPE and the U.S Agency of International Development. We are however still looking for more financial and technical support. If you or your organisation is interested in helping please contact us, we will be grateful for anything you can offer.”

Bulgaria has grown concrned that the property earmarked for Bristish and Irish investors is not being taken up and is instead left for central and eastern european investors. What impact does this have? The concern in that the holiday apartments built with mass British and Irish tourism in mind may simply become just empty or cheap accommodation, without eco-tourism considerations. Full article from the Sofia Echo