Most recognised conservationists come from a strictly scientific and westernised background. Not so Dr. Sam ʻOhu Gon III. He was born and raised in Nuʻuanu, on the island of Oʻahu, in Hawai’i and even gained his first scientific qualifications using the Hawai‘i language.
Elissa Keenan—Ecotourism Australia CEO
Elissa Keenan has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Ecotourism Australia.
Abishek Pradhan: Zero Waste Ideas into Action
Robert Pennicott: Regenerating Journeys
Gede and Ayu: Kitchen Missionaries
Jennifer Toole: Bikeway Missionary
Julius Paner: The Bird Man of Davao
Gabrielle Morley: Sustainable Beekeeper
A would-be market gardener planted a paddock with palms to sell to locals. Then she found out that men in some Arab countries thought the pollen would help them stay virile. So she started keeping bees to turn the pollen into honey, and became a successful exporter. But all along, she just wanted to keep the plants and bees happy. A story on sustainable beekeeping.
Lao's Buffalo Gals
Yishan Wong: Tree Solutions
Ex-Silicon Valley CEO Yishan Wong says that using technology to combat climate change is not a realistic solution. He is convinced that trees are the simplest, most obvious and logically proven answer to CO2 pollution. One that needs a worldwide approach to be viable – and he has the answer to that too.
Purnima Devi Barman: Stork Deliverer
Sonam Wangchuk: Excellence before Accomplishment
In India, only a handful of students get to attend their dream universities, and unsuccessful applicants are often branded as failures. Worse, many so-called failures can often find no place at all in the conventional education system. But high up in the Himalayas there is an educational institute where failure is the sole criteria for admission. Sonam Wangchuk is its creator
Claire Ellis on Strengthening Ecotourism in Australia
After three decades, Ecotourism Australia keeps reinventing itself to be relevant to the changing needs of the ecotourism industry. Chairperson Claire Ellis spoke to Mallika Naguran on why Australia’s new sustainable destination certification is very much needed and on working with WWF to advance the interests of Australian ecotourism operators while rebuilding disaster affected areas.
Leah Penniman: Ending Food Apartheid
Forest Man Jadav Payeng: The Power of One
Jadav Payeng of India created a forest singlehandedly on a sandbar in Majuli to restore ecology and biodiversity in barren land. The reforestation efforts starting with bamboo plants brought back tigers, elephants, reptiles and birds. The conservation effort in Molai Forest sadly creates human-wildlife conflict.
Masaru Takayama: Ecotourism After Coronavirus
With COVID-19 putting a pause or stop to tourism and travel globally, can ecotourism survive if not spring back stronger than before? Masaru Takayama, Chair and Founder of the Asian Ecotourism Network, shares with Mallika Naguran his thoughts on the positive and negative impacts of the coronavirus on tourism, and how ecotourism players should adapt to “the new normal”.