The Guardian - Responsible Travel Sites
January 15 2005, The Guardian, Ros Taylor
Responsible travel sites
The responsibletravel.com directory is the first place to look for environmentally responsible package holidays. You might also consider booking flights through North South Travel (northsouthtravel.co.uk), where the profits are spent on development projects. The carbon calculator at FutureForests.com enables you to calculate the emissions generated by your flight and buy either trees or energy-saving lightbulbs to offset them. If you'd rather not fly at all, Seat61.com is the place to plan a long-distance rail journey.
Working holidays
The closer to home you are, the cheaper and less damaging your holiday will be: the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (btcv.org/conshols/), the National Trust (nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteering/workinghols.asp) and the John Muir Trust (jmt.org/programmes/) all run conservation projects for volunteers. Abroad, there's Earthwatch (earthwatch.org). Alternatively, Oxfam's Global Challenges (oxfam.org.uk) ask you to raise money for the charity through sponsored trips to Ethiopia, Cambodia, Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail or the Masai Mara.
Green travel directories
Planeta (planeta.com/worldtravel.html), EcoClub.com, Ecotourdirectory.com, Greenhotels.com, Greenstop.net and Green-business.co.uk all have their own criteria for inclusion. Ecoturismo latino (ecoturismolatino.com/eng) and the Andean Travel Web (andeantravelweb.com) concentrate on Latin America.
Watching wildlife
WWF organises trips to its conservation projects in Bhutan, India, Mexico, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda (wwf.org.uk/). The wildlife tour specialist Discovery Initiatives (discoveryinitiatives.co.uk) works with conservation organisations. If you want to watch mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (mountaingorillas.org/) offers advice. The Eco Tourism Society of Kenya (esok.org) publishes a safari code for tourists.
Skiing
Environmentalists have warned of the effect higher temperatures will have on ski slopes. In America, however, there's further debate about the impact skiing has on the mountains and nearby communities (ems.org/earthtalk/) - largely thanks to a group called Ski Area Citizens (skiareacitizens.com). The Citizens produce a report card on the environmental credentials of many US resorts and an annual top and bottom 10 of western ski areas (Aspen comes out best). The Ski Club of Great Britain has issued a list of 7 Steps To Preserve the Mountains (skiclub.co.uk).
Diving
The Coral Reef Alliance (coralreefalliance.org/) has compiled guidelines for responsible divers.
Golf
The Scottish golfing industry is trying to boost its environmental credentials by highlighting case studies of good management (scottishgolf.com/environment/). These are intended to inspire the rest, but you might find them useful in choosing a course. GoodMoney.com (goodmoney.com/golf.htm) has a short list of US courses that try to control their use of pesticides and herbicides. Earthshare (earthshare.org) has some basic tips such as 'Walk the course instead of using a golf cart.'
Responsible travel sites
The responsibletravel.com directory is the first place to look for environmentally responsible package holidays. You might also consider booking flights through North South Travel (northsouthtravel.co.uk), where the profits are spent on development projects. The carbon calculator at FutureForests.com enables you to calculate the emissions generated by your flight and buy either trees or energy-saving lightbulbs to offset them. If you'd rather not fly at all, Seat61.com is the place to plan a long-distance rail journey.
Working holidays
The closer to home you are, the cheaper and less damaging your holiday will be: the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (btcv.org/conshols/), the National Trust (nationaltrust.org.uk/volunteering/workinghols.asp) and the John Muir Trust (jmt.org/programmes/) all run conservation projects for volunteers. Abroad, there's Earthwatch (earthwatch.org). Alternatively, Oxfam's Global Challenges (oxfam.org.uk) ask you to raise money for the charity through sponsored trips to Ethiopia, Cambodia, Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail or the Masai Mara.
Green travel directories
Planeta (planeta.com/worldtravel.html), EcoClub.com, Ecotourdirectory.com, Greenhotels.com, Greenstop.net and Green-business.co.uk all have their own criteria for inclusion. Ecoturismo latino (ecoturismolatino.com/eng) and the Andean Travel Web (andeantravelweb.com) concentrate on Latin America.
Watching wildlife
WWF organises trips to its conservation projects in Bhutan, India, Mexico, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda (wwf.org.uk/). The wildlife tour specialist Discovery Initiatives (discoveryinitiatives.co.uk) works with conservation organisations. If you want to watch mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, the International Gorilla Conservation Programme (mountaingorillas.org/) offers advice. The Eco Tourism Society of Kenya (esok.org) publishes a safari code for tourists.
Skiing
Environmentalists have warned of the effect higher temperatures will have on ski slopes. In America, however, there's further debate about the impact skiing has on the mountains and nearby communities (ems.org/earthtalk/) - largely thanks to a group called Ski Area Citizens (skiareacitizens.com). The Citizens produce a report card on the environmental credentials of many US resorts and an annual top and bottom 10 of western ski areas (Aspen comes out best). The Ski Club of Great Britain has issued a list of 7 Steps To Preserve the Mountains (skiclub.co.uk).
Diving
The Coral Reef Alliance (coralreefalliance.org/) has compiled guidelines for responsible divers.
Golf
The Scottish golfing industry is trying to boost its environmental credentials by highlighting case studies of good management (scottishgolf.com/environment/). These are intended to inspire the rest, but you might find them useful in choosing a course. GoodMoney.com (goodmoney.com/golf.htm) has a short list of US courses that try to control their use of pesticides and herbicides. Earthshare (earthshare.org) has some basic tips such as 'Walk the course instead of using a golf cart.'