Clouded Leopards and rare mammals in Borneo tour

Environment

In Borneo 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. Where possible, we make sure that the guest houses, lodges and hotels 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.

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. 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).

On this specific trip we visit Deramakot Forest Reserve which is a very successfully sustainably logged forest, the forest has been sustainably logged since the 70’s and has been managed in such a way that densities and numbers of different species (from orangutans to elephants and clouded leopards and sun bears) has increased and are among the highest in the whole of Borneo. We like to promote such work and see this reserve, its style of management for logging and tourism as a valid alternative to palm oil plantations.


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.

On this specific trip we are looking for some of the rarest and seldom seen species, so any sightings and any behaviour we get is of great scientific and conservation importance.

Community

As with any of our tours throughout Asia or elsewhere in the world we always employ local guides and drivers. They have a much better local knowledge and also helps to bring in revenue sources to the local community.

All of the guest houses, hotels and lodges that we stay in make sure that all our resources such as food, drink and equipment is locally sourced. 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. When in Sabah our main guide is a local naturalist who knows all of the relevant researchers in the area to share information with.

We think that by employing local guides we are 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.