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In June 2010, the technology giant Apple finally opened its first store in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The grand opening was the culmination of a saga stretching back two and one half years to when Apple bought a building that formerly housed a women's clothing store.

It took Apple eight months to build its new store, but it took them more than twice as long to get design approval (19 months) for the new building which replaced the former clothing store. The protracted design review process began when Apple proposed their standard (off-the shelf), modern façade (they are, after all, a high-tech company) that they use in suburban stores all over the country. The Georgetown Design Review Board balked at this and reaped a heap of criticism for letting historic preservation stand in the way of retail progress.

The new building, which is now complete, looks pretty much like dozens of other historic commercial structures...

Read the full article here: Planetizen

Source: Yourtravelchoice.org

What guides the following thoughts on sustainable tourism originate from some of the broader questions we contemplate at TIES, and the work supported by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). I suppose it’s also based on what I think about, rather optimistically, as an academic, tour operator, and member of non-profit organizations, and the belief and hope that the work we do can make a positive difference in our world.

One question I often contemplate is, “How does the tourism industry play a role in harmonizing economic gain and conservation?” This question is often coupled with “What should guide the sustainability agenda for the tourism industry?”

Read the full article here: Yourtravelchoice.org

As negotiations at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP16) are held in Mexico, the role of tourism in combating global warming should once again be highlighted. A COP16 side-event, organized jointly by the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico and UNWTO, "Tourism’s response to climate change: What’s next?" has outlined the progress made by the sector to mitigate its impact and adapt to one of today’s biggest challenges (Cancun, Mexico, December 6). Opening the event, Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderón, stated that “tourism is perfectly compatible with the environment,” and that focus must be placed on tourism’s "environmental calling.”

Read the full article here: eTurboNews

Source: Yourtravelchoice.org

The wave of initiatives to incorporate local communities into the management of tourism operations hit a high point in the late 1990s, but subsequent reports of failing enterprises began to flow in, swamping any sense of progress. More and more community‐based tourism projects, designed to operate autonomously with initial donor investments, were virtually without guests and no longer operational by 2008‐2009. If one reads the excellent text,Responsible Tourism, edited by Dr. Anna Spenceley, there are numerous chapters dedicated to poor investment in community‐based ecotourism in southern Africa. These examples largely stem from misplaced international donor investments, where ecotourism isstillseen only as a community development exercise which can help preserve biological diversity without the necessary analysis of business prospects, markets and access to markets.

Read the full article here: Yourtravelchoice.org

Source: Yourtravelchoice.org

In the early 1990s, hundreds of small scale ecotourism companies were working in remote areas of the planet engaging communities and seeking practical and legitimate solutions to delivering community benefits. Many mistakes were made. But action was heavy. By 1996, private firms like the Conservation Corporation, based in South Africa, were scaling up with a $60 million operation and a goal of creating 60-100 luxury lodges in East and Southern Africa, all to employ ecotourism principles. In Ecuador, theKapawi Lodgewas founded with a $2 million investment, formulated from inception to be a full partnership project with the Indigenous Organization of Ecuadorean Achuar nationalities (OINAEI).

Read the full article here: Yourtravelchoice.org

Source: eTurboNews

Defining the critical role of the tourism sector in protecting biodiversity and setting out clear recommendations on how to maximize this contribution is the aim of two new United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) reports. These recommendations come ahead of World Tourism Day 2010 (WTD), celebrated on September 27 under the theme "Tourism and Biodiversity.

Read the full article here: eTurboNews

Source: eTurboNews

Tourism is estimated to be responsible for about 5 percent of global carbon emissions. Air passenger transport is the major, and a growing, contributor to global greenhouse gases (GHGs) generated by visitors, with an estimated 2 percent of tourism’s global emissions. As part of UNWTO’s ongoing work regarding climate change and tourism, UNWTO stresses the importance of a global approach on tourism, aviation, and climate change.

Read the full article here: eTurboNews

Prairiemango has developed an ever growing list of tourism resources that delve into the realms of sustainable, Eco and responsible tourism.  For more information or, information on how you can contribute, please contact us >>here<<

For more information: Prairiemango Resources

Source: WTM World Responsible Tourism Day

As responsible tourism goes mainstream, the issues of environmental and social responsibility have been placed firmly on the agendas of global company boards.

But the myth remains that it is only small specialist companies that have adopted a responsible tourism strategy.

‘Not so’ says Stephen Farrant, Director of the International Tourism Partnership, which is driving the international responsible tourism business agenda. He tells how major global travel and tourism companies have set themselves ambitious targets.

Read the full release here: WTM World Responsible Tourism Day

Source: Worldchanging

n 2006, whenDavid Clemmonsadded a 150-word blurb on voluntourism toWorldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, it was a concept that had yet to take off, even in sustainability circles. We couldn’t have guessed that a few years later, voluntourism — planning a vacation to include short-term charitable work — would be featured inluxury travelmagazines, or have a buzz worthy ofits own backlash. Now lawyers on furlough head out into the world with a stack of Lonely Planet guides and a vague mandateto do pro bono work to keep up their resumes. The biggest question is no longer,"Will anyone do this type of trip?"Rather, it's, "Is all this voluntourism actually doing any good?"

Read the full article here: Worldchanging

Source: eTurboNews

WASHINGTON - Could jungle tours, whitewater rafting or birdwatching help a country's economy? Researchers at George Washington University's International Institute of Tourism Studies think so. GW School of Business researchers found that the adventure tourism is a rapidly growing tourism market and a viable economic opportunity for countries seeking to develop tourism.

"Instead of being seen as a small, niche market, the study shows that adventure tourism is a sizable market with the potential for significant economic growth opportunities," said Dr. Kristin Lamoureux, director of George Washington's International Institute of Tourism Studies. "Additionally, adventure tourism often relies heavily on the natural and cultural resources a destination already has to offer. For many developing destinations without the resources to build infrastructure, adventure tourism is a realistic alternative and provides a strong argument for preserving a destination's resources."

Read the full article here: eTurboNews

Source: Travelmole

There are at least 70 green tourism certification agencies in the world. They all think what they do is a good idea and, moreover, are helping the human race. They think that there is an unarguable business case for certification and an imperative to save energy and carbon emissions.

The fact is that the cost of inspection, auditing and certification is so minimal that the business owners will certainly recoup it in savings within a very short period of time.

So why don’t they have crowds of desperate tourism businesses knocking their doors down and creating a stampede for their wares?

Read the full article here: Travelmole

Almost 200 years ago, Thomas Newcomen built the world’s first commercially successful steam engine in order to pump water out of deep coal mines. In the process, he handed humanity the keys to the Earth’s fossil-fuel resources, an event which, in turn, helped fuel the Industrial Revolution. Ever since that moment, the natural world has been in retreat, equally undervalued by economists, accountants, engineers and politicians. Now, however, a new revolution is under way. Once again, it is ignited by resource constraints, but this time a small group of innovative economists and accountants is leading the charge, alongside activists, engineers, scientists, business leaders and politicians.

Read the full article here: Worldchanging

While Brazil's soccer team is making all of the headlines, there is more serious news affecting the country than the plight of Kaka. The Amazon rainforest is under immediate threat due to proposed changes to environment legislation called the Brazilian Forest Code. If the changes are accepted, deforestation could be set to double.

If the proposed new code comes in, estimates say that:...

Read the full article here: Treehugger

Source: eTurboNews

MADRID, Spain - With only five years left until the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United Nations has launched the MDG Report 2010 calling for accelerated progress to reach the 2015 deadline. As the UN Specialized Agency for Tourism, UNWTO is firmly committed to fostering the tourism sector’s contribution to development.

Tourism accounts for 45 percent of the exports of services of least-developed countries and is a major job generator for many of the world’s most vulnerable populations...

Read the full article here: eTurboNews

Agritourism and farm stays are common in Europe, particularly Italy, where they play an important role in preserving rural food traditions and protecting small farm livelihoods. In the United States, however, farm stays aren’t as well known. Two organizations, The Farm Stay Project and Farm Stay U.S., aim to change that – we’re working to spread the word about farm stays in the United States.

The Farm Stay Project consists of a blog of news and reviews and an in-progress guidebook of Eastern U.S. farm stays from Florida to Maine. Farm Stay U.S. is a newly launched web directory of nationwide farm stays funded in part by a USDA SARE grant. The goal is to connect farmers and non-farmers in order to help protect family farms and bridge the urban-rural divide.

Read the full article here: YourTravelChoice.org

Souce: CBC News

The federal government has introduced a bill to regulate drinking water on First Nations reserves.
This proposed legislation, tabled in the Senate by Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl, follows from the recommendations made by the auditor general's office, the expert panel on safe drinking water for First Nations and the standing Senate committee on aboriginal peoples.

The proposed safe drinking water for First Nations act would allow for the development of federal regulations for drinking water and wastewater to apply in First Nation communities.

Read more: CBC News

Source: eTurboNews

BEIJING, China (eTN) - At the ongoing World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) annual global summit, which is being held in China's capital city of Beijing, the organization that is comprised of about 100 chief executives from various facets of the industry has called on governments to work with the private sector and create policies that help travel and tourism thrive. The organization cited the industry’s resilience as evidence of its potential to lead the world out of recession, by creating jobs and increasing prosperity.

For full article: eTurboNews

A deal between Ottawa and northern aboriginal people has put 3.3 million hectares of canyons, waterfalls, forest and tundra in the Northwest Territories firmly on the road to becoming Canada's next national park.

"The integrity of the ecosystem is what we're interested in protecting," said Steve Nitah, chief of the Lutsel K'e Dene, who signed the agreement Wednesday with Environment Minister Jim Prentice. "Our culture, our language and our spirituality is connected to the land and the integrity of the land is directly connected to our people's future."

Read the full article here: CBC News

Today we'd like to offer an extra arrow for you to add to your quiver of talking points about why Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is the premier system for promoting responsible forestry: FSC certification can be part of a strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from forest degradation. Forest degradation is a major cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions -- amounting to 20 percent or more of total emissions from tropical forests.

In many cases, the best practices implemented by forest managers in order to earn FSC certification lead to reduced carbon emissions compared with non-certified, commercial forestry operations (TNC, et al., 2009). These climate-beneficial best practices include:...

Read the full article here: Rainforest Alliance

Canadian, Manitoban and U.S. organizations have joined together in an action alert to urge the Manitoba Government to stand firm on its commitment to not construct the BiPole III hydro transmission line on the east side of Lake Winnipeg and to protect millions of hectares of unique boreal forest as an UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS).

The Boreal Forest Network (BFN), Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), the Wilderness Committee (WC) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are calling on the public, in Canada and the United States, to tell the province to continue to say no to an industrial transmission line on the east side and to move forward with the creation of a World Heritage Site.

Read the full article here: CPAWS

Dr. Craig Willis, a wildlife biologist from the University of Winnipeg, shared his enthusiasm for the flying mammals to 25-30 youth at a special “Bat Talk” today sponsored by the Fisher River Cree Nation and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).

“Bats are intriguing animals,” Dr. Willis said. “After all, what other mammal can fly?”

Willis explained why Manitoba is such a great place to study bats. He also plans to dispel some of the common myths. A bat would never get stuck in your hair – its sense of echolocation is too good for that. What is true is that Little Brown Bats love to eat insects – up to 500–1000 an hour!

Read the full article here: CPAWS