By Chris Barclay

I first came to Yangshuo, China in 1996 on a rock climbing trip with some expat friends from Guangzhou, where I was living at the time. Back then Yangshuo was a sleepy western backpacker’s hangout, with only a few local guesthouses, and cafes serving strong coffee and banana pancakes. What drew my friends and I to Yangshuo were the dramatic limestone karst towers, perfect for climbing, and the unspoiled countryside, with its fresh air and river water so clean you could swim in it.

By Aasta Schneider

Portugal’s slow-paced lifestyle, friendly people, impressive sustainable energy policy (currently 45% of energy used comes from renewable resources), long growing season, excellent climate, and an opportunity to join the Cooperative Ecologica in Colares, beckoned my husband James and I to leave our New Hampshire farm and move to Portugal. Given our life-long experience in sustainable living and organic farming, the move was a natural one.

By Vinzenz Schmack

In 1974, I moved to Costa Rica as a bank manager in San José. At the time, the tourism industry hardly existed and nobody imagined that it would play, as today, such a dominant role in the local economy as a major generator of foreign exchange and employment. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would become the owner of a jungle lodge in one of the most remote and most underdeveloped parts of the country and would contribute to the development of this poor region.

Despite covering 0.01 percent of the world’s landmass, Costa Rica’s rainforests and coral reefs are home to close to 5 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. The country boasts 500,000 (and counting) different plant and animal species. Roughly a third of the size of New York state, this small country has coasts on two oceans and six active volcanoes, creating many different microclimates, variable weather (sun and showers seem to swap places every few minutes), and a wide range of ecosystems.

Launched in September 2010, the one-of-a-kind “chai-table book” Authentic Ecolodges is the result of many years of dedicated research by the world-renowned ecolodge guru and sustainable architecture and design expert, Hitesh Mehta. Having traveled through 46 countries in six continents, he hopes that Authentic Ecolodges will create environmental and social awareness around the world, and inspire everyone to enjoy the world and save it for our children at the same time!

Ever wondered what it’s like to take the plunge and set up your own eco-lodge? We talked to Earl, one of the co-owners of El Coco Lodge in northern Nicaragua to discover the reality behind that dream. El Coco Loco was a pipeline dream for three Canadians – Ben, Earl and Jamie – for 3 years, and finally opened its doors in January 2010. The lodge has been fast growing a reputation as one of the new breed adventure choices.

Pack for a Purpose™ is a newly founded non-profit organization dedicated to providing needed educational materials and medical supplies to children around the world. The organization was founded on the principal that every little bit helps, and all it takes to get involved is to use a small amount space in your luggage for supplies when packing for a trip abroad. The concept is simple, and getting involved is easy.

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 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.

As disparate as the subjects of tourism and biophilia would seem, it is apparent that in my life and countless others, they are indeed closely connected. Biophilia is a term created by my environmental hero, Edward O. Wilson, to describe the innate affinity, fascination, and awe that we humans have for other species. Judging from the rates that we visit our zoos and wildlife parks, it must be a common affliction. Yet today, many of us spend our vacations traveling to natural environments not knowing the effect tourism has on the habitats of the very species we set out to see.