By Ronit Epstein

The sprawling Amazon rainforest is alive with sights, sounds and movement that cannot be seen anywhere else on our beautiful planet. Bolivian Amazon covers 59.6 million hectares, and more than 11 percent of Bolivia is officially protected. Anyone visiting this beautiful region will experience some of the world’s most stunning, strange and wonderful wildlife, leaving memories that are difficult to beat.

International Ecolodges & Jem Winston

The home stay program was just another step on the eco-path of the lodge since its inception in 2002. One of the most fundamental aims is to live in harmony with, and have as little harmful impact on our surroundings as possible, whilst recognizing that the ecolodge has an important role to play in protecting and enhancing the environment for guests and residents of the local community.

By Michael Soncina

Sustainable tourism design in Jordan and other Middle Eastern locations, especially in the realm of architecture, is creating sustainable tourism potential in the Middle East. Interestingly, hotels are built with sustainable materials, such as LED lights and solar panels and are made to co-exist with the dangerous sand dunes affecting the region so negatively.

By James Lantz

Located in the high jungle of Peru, Tingana was started by seven families with the objective of preserving the natural resources of a municipal conservation area called Asociacion Hidrica Aguajal Renacal del Alto Mayo. With the support and leadership of the community, Tingana was developed to promote conservation and ecotourism. Tingana’s 8,596 acres not only offer an important piece of conservation for the local wildlife, but helps protect the local water supplies for nearby cities.

By Andre Franchini

If you’re new to eco-travel, ecolodges are a great place to start. Frame your trip around an ecolodge that stands out. Look for places that have gained international recognition and awards for the conservation and community work they are doing. Look for places that meet third-party green certification standards. Find your fantasy ecolodge, then make it the centrepiece of your trip.

By Ali Dempsey

Slowing down your travels allows you to spend more time in one place and truly experience what life is like for the locals there. Embrace this opportunity to explore a new culture, enjoy the food, learn about the customs and mingle with the local people. This is particularly easy in Thailand where the food is delicious and the locals are so friendly.

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.