Nepal is regarded as one of the adventure capitals of the world, and Social Tours are local trekking and adventure specialists who are leading by example. They are fast gaining a reputation as an expert group absolutely dedicated to their principles of respect, honesty, social inclusion and environmental protection. Social Tours also played an instrumental role in developing the green circuit responsible tourism initiative, coordinate volunteer programs in the area, and dedicate 10% of profits every year to charities

Help Tourism have been at the vanguard of sustainable tourism initiatives in North East India for well over a decade. They have developed a wide variety of adventure and activity programs, including trekking in the Himalayas, tiger, rhino and bird spotting in the National Parks and Reserves networks, elephant safaris, jungle lodges, heritage and cultural tours in this fascinating and diverse region of India. Uniquely, all these programs are designed with specific sustainable development and conservation goals in mind.

By Alex Narracott, Managing Director, Much Better Adventures – Spiti Ecosphere is an endeavour to promote community-based ecotourism in the Spiti valley, a stunning high altitude desert region tucked away in the Trans-Himalayan belt of Himachal Pradesh. A passion for conservation, mountain travel and adventure brought together a collaboration of local community members and professionals from diverse backgrounds to offer a range of trekking, mountaineering, biking, rafting, cultural and spiritual adventures in this beautiful and remote corner of the Himalayas.

Born in a nearby village, Alee moved to Ton Kloy as a young man, and, for many years, supported his family by hunting wild animals. The forests surrounding Ton Kloy are renowned for rare plants, a great diversity of butterflies, and abundant wildlife. Over time, Alee began to understand that it was important “to protect the forest and keep wildlife in this area for people to see in the future.” While keeping a clear eye on the future, Alee is also addressing the pressing conservation problems of today.

“Welcome! Everything you see here is home-made!” Sarvar says with great pride. He speaks of the grand morning feast he has prepared for us which was entirely made up of his home-grown products: the delicious Tajik naan bread, fresh from the oven; the small cups and plates of various nuts and dried raisins; and Chakka – a tasty Tajik specialty made with sour milk. Accompanying all this is the fresh mulberry juice and the exquisite honey, extracted from pollen of the unique mountain flowers of Tajikistan.

By Ng Sebastian – When I was a tour guide, I used to joke with my clients that there are two things that make Indonesians different: sarung and kampung (or sarong and kampong). A sarung is a brightly coloured woven fabric worn by both men and women in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The word kampung is similar to ‘village’ in English. Most Indonesians have a kampung asal, or village of origin. Wherever they live and whatever they do, they can usually trace back to their village of origin.

Danielle Weiss, Planeterra Foundation – My first volunteer experience was a two-month solo trip to the Middle East when I was 19 where I divided my time between volunteering on a kibbutz and travelling throughout Israel and Egypt. This first experience enabled me to make lasting friendships with local people, gain an in-depth knowledge of their daily life, and build the confidence to know that I could travel alone as a single woman.

Historically residents of Mangalajodi village posed a threat to bird life. Many families turned the lucrative poaching trade and it wasn’t long before bird numbers hit an all-time low. A local conservation organization Wild Orissa meet with the villagers a decade ago and has been instrumental in guiding their transformation ever since. Poachers developed an intricate knowledge of bird habitats, breeding cycles and migration patterns. The challenge was to utilise this knowledge and their existing skill-set for conservation.

The Manu National Park is one of the most pristine natural areas in the world with extraordinary biodiversity. The park’s over 1,700,000 hectors, between 492 and 13,779 ft in altitude, of amazing natural environments range from Andean grasslands to cloud forests to foothill and lowland forests. The park is home to an unrivalled variety of animal and plant species, with over 1,000 species of birds and 200 species of mammals, including endangered species such as the harpy eagle, jaguar, and giant river otters.

Community-based ecotourism has been facilitated in Giao Xuan by NGOs, such as Volunteers for Peace in Vietnam (VPV) and the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), which aim to reduce the strain on the local natural resources. They do this by promoting hospitality as an alternative income to destructive fishing and aquaculture techniques which have damaged the nearby national park. The money paid to the host family stays in the community and does not go to any sort of global corporation.