Javan Rhino tracking expedition in Indonesia

Environment

In Indonesia we (as with everywhere we go) we carefully choose accommodation, suppliers and transportation that either minimises their effect on the environment or that help to contribute to its sustainable development. By choosing small, privately owned accommodation where possible we also look to only stay in truly eco-lodges that abide by basic and also pioneering methods of ecological sustainability.

On this trip we camp for the majority of the trip, during camping we bring back everything with us (so as not to disturb the forest after leaving). We do not bring bottled water in, instead we boil water from the forest and therefore minimise our plastic usage on this trip.

Where possible, we make sure that the accommodation that we use support local projects for the protection of the wildlife and local communities which rely on tourism as the principal source of income. Including booking accommodation which is run by the national park itself. We try and make sure that all the accommodation that we use is are ecologically responsible and use solar power electricity and water recycling pumps etc. We also make sure that all the food consumed is produced locally.

We also contribute and participate in as many studies that the local researchers and scientists are conducting as possible, on this trip any and all information we can collect about the Java Rhino is valuable for their ongoing research and conservation. At the end of each we offset our carbon footprint (based on the number of tours we have completed and the number of passengers we have taken with us).

Wildlife Promise:

By bringing people here with a professional zoologist/naturalist as well as professional local guides we aim to showcase the environment in full but also to allow you to learn about the problems facing the ecosystems here and highlight the ways that continued development and human exploitation are affect the species and how cutting edge research is countering the problems as well as showing you examples of success stories.

We also keep a record of all the great sightings we see on each tour and record the environmental factors, this data is used by ourselves but also given to the researchers who are working on many of these species. All the information collected in invaluable as the knowledge of some of the animals that live here are little understood. We also donate our pictures to the researchers to aid in their photo identification studies.

The Javan rhino is one of the most critically endangered species in the world and we are at the forefront of establishing eco tourism here, by implementing sustainable camping and helping to educate the local guides to the best practises we are confident of developing long term ecotourism which benefits the rhinos as much as anything else.

Community

As with any of our tours throughout Asia or elsewhere in the world we always employ local guides and drivers. This trip employs a good number of porters to carry our camping equipment and food to and from the forest as well as hiring local naturalists and rangers from the national park. They have a much better local knowledge and also helps to bring in revenue sources to the local community.

All of the hotels and lodges that we stay in make sure that all our resources such as food, drink and equipment is locally sourced we will purchase all of our food for camping locally and using the local markets as much as possible. We also try and make sure that all the local guides that we hire and who work for the lodges, camps and guesthouses that we visit are from the local area.

We think that by employing local guides we have encouraging a future generation to follow this career. Many of the accommodations that we use are involved in community based projects and schools in particular.

Many of the projects that are funded by people staying here are geared towards helping children in townships get better education and enhance their career opportunities in the future. We also encourage the purchasing of local handicrafts which are all created in a sustainable way and provide great unique souvenirs.