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.

Wilderness Safaris Toka Leya camp – on the banks of the Zambezi River in the western part of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park – offers wildlife treks to view the endangered White Rhino.

The Rhinos have 24 hour armed security following them in the bush to protect them from poaching.

Photos courtesy of Lights of Africa, an 8-month media expedition throughout Southern and Eastern Africa.

One of the most important protected areas in the Mexican Caribbean, the Biosphere Reserve of Sian Ka’an (Mayan for “Gift from the Sky”) is a place with an incomparable natural beauty and immense richness in flora and fauna. For these unique characteristics in biodiversity and its cultural treasures Sian Ka’an was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and has gained significant importance as a destination for ecotourism and sustainable livelihood development projects for local communities.

Chumbe Island, a half-mile-long coral rag island just eight miles south of Zanzibar’s infamous Stone Town, has become a celebrated ecotourism success story in the Zanzibar archipelago. Its history is a narrative best told directly by Sibylle Riedmiller, a German conservationist who came to Chumbe looking for a coral reef to protect in the late 80s. After years of complex negotiations among several actors, Sibylle’s determination persevered and in 1994 Chumbe Island Coral Park became Tanzania’s first marine protected area

Parks and protected areas around the world face a growing crisis to cover the costs of their operation and management. It is estimated that at least $ 12-13 billion will be needed in the next decade to mange protected areas in developing countries according to IUCN World Congress documents in 2005. Parks have long been one of the main attractions for the tourism industry, and this trend continues to increase. But most decision makers remain woefully unaware of the economic importance of parks.

In 1989, hundreds of thousands of acres were being added to park systems to conserve ecosystems around the world. International conservation was going into high gear, driven by the rude fact that development was accelerating in the most vulnerable and biodiverse regions of the planet. Conservationists were talking more about preserving the Amazonian rain forest, and less about “saving the panda.”

By Rafael Gallo, Co-Founder, Rios Tropicales – In 1985 Jimmy, Fernando and I started Rios Tropicales because we loved running rivers, we knew our small country of Costa Rica had some of the world’s best paddling in the world, and we wanted to share these rivers with others. It was natural to us to protect the rivers we were running, help the communities we were visiting and train fellow Costa Ricans to do what we were doing. From our years of international paddling experience we knew guide school best practices and started our own guide school right away.

The Jalore Wildlife Sanctuary, established in 2005 in a remote jungle area of granite hills, savanna and forest, is the first and only privately owned and operated wildlife sanctuary in India. The sanctuary’s mission is to balance the needs of locals and wildlife by combining conservation and ecotourism. The idea to create a new wildlife refuge in Jalore was first born out of discussions among a group of friends and family – Gajendra Singh Chouhan, a patron of the arts from Jodhpur, and his friends

Inkaterra develops and implements, through the NGO Inkaterra Association, various projects to help preserve the local environment and manage economic development in a sustainable manner. These projects take place at the bank of Madre de Dios River in the rainforest – where Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica lodge is located – and at the Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, in the Machu Picchu cloud forest.

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.