By Alex Narracott

UK charity The Converging World (TCW) and ethical travel resource Much Better Adventures have partnered to deliver an alternative way to reduce the carbon footprint of travel, without resorting to carbon offsetting. The effectiveness of carbon offsetting is widely debated, but donating to TCW brings carbon savings and social benefits above and beyond the traditional offsetting schemes available.

By Alex Narracott

15 months ago Tim, Will and Lynn of the Atlantic Rising team set off on a voyage of discovery, to explore the Atlantic coastline and discover what will be lost if seas levels rise by one meter. Travelling, living and working in a Land Rover, they covered 32,000 miles and 21 countries, hopping on container ships for the Atlantic ocean crossings, and biking, sailing or walking in between. Travelling overland through West Africa, Latin America and the US, they had no end of adventures.

By Cynthia Ord

Climate and travel are inherently linked. Climate affects our decisions about where to travel, and lately we’ve learned that the emissions of our travel (and our human activity in general) are affecting the climate. Climate change will change travel, and new winners and losers will emerge. For the past five years, headlines have claimed that climate change is actually popularizing certain at-risk destinations.

What does it mean for a tour operator to be “carbon-neutral”? Can a company really be carbon-neutral, or even carbon-positive? Climate change is undoubtedly among the most important challenges facing our world today, and the tourism industry is a major contributor of carbon emissions. What can be done to address this challenge in a practical way? Here are just a few examples of TIES members who incorporate carbon management policies, carbon offset options, and climate-friendly practices into their tour operations, as well as their outreach and education efforts.

Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CMAT), in partnership with Destination Management Organization (DMO) of Chitral, celebrated the International Day of Climate Change Action (October 10, 2010 – 10/10/10), which was initiated by 350.org, was celebrated in Booni, Chitral (Northern Pakistan), through the facilitation of and 350.org. The theme of the day was “Breaking of Booni Glacier, Its Relation to Climate Change.”

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT)

Booni is a village 80 kilometers to the north of Chitral town. Just like the rest of the villages in the Hindu Kush region, Booni is a fan-shaped landmass formed by glacial deposit at the mouth of what is called ‘Booni Gol’ or the stream of Booni, which cultivates the tracts of crops, vegetables, fruit bearing apple, pear and grape trees, and so on. On the afternoon of July 26th, 2010, a huge flash flood that originated from Booni Zom glacier smashed road networks, telephone and water supply lines

In 2009, Intrepid Travel became the first adventure tour operator to announce that we would carbon offset all of the trips that we operate across the globe. This accounts for 80% of our entire trip portfolio (we sell some trips operated by partner tour companies)! As a result, all of our trips operating in 2010 have the cost of carbon offsetting included in the trip cost. This move not only cemented Intrepid’s position as a leader in tackling climate change, but it marked a significant milestone in our journey to become a carbon neutral company.

In 2009 Wayne Sentman initiated a novel CO2 offset program for the San Francisco based non-profit marine conservation organization, Oceanic Society. Wayne worked to form a partnership between Oceanic Society, a Boston Public School (Warren Prescott School), and a Harvard University, graduate student founded education non-profit, Quen.ch.

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) – A vigil rally was organized in Booni, northern Chitral, Pakistan, as part of the global “Vigil For Survival” movement calling for a strong climate treaty in Copenhagen. Standing in solemn solidarity with the citizens of the nations whose very survival is threatened by the climate crisis, thousands of rallies and candlelight vigils were held around the world on December 12th and 13th, 2009. (Source: 350.org)

The Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT) celebrated the International Day of Climate Action on Oct 24th, 2009 in the Kalash Valley region (Rumbor, Chitral District, Pakistan) promoting actions with the motto “think globally, act locally.” The theme of the day was “The Impacts of Global Warming on the Kalash Communities,” and the CAMAT’s October 24th events gathered together local environmental groups, students, community leaders and women’s groups.