Sustainable Travel International

MISSION : What they do

" Sustainable Travel International (STI) is a global leader in sustainable tourism development. The 501(c)(3) non-profit organization’s mission is to promote sustainable development and responsible travel by providing programs that enable consumers, businesses and travel-related organizations to contribute to the environmental, socio-cultural and economic values of the places they visit, and the planet at large.

STI is dedicated to providing education and outreach services that will lessen the toll that travel and tourism takes on the environment and local cultures. By providing tangible, solutions-oriented programs, STI is taking a holistic approach to addressing sustainable development within the travel and tourism industry."

WWF Mangroves

The WWF has a great page about Mangrove Importance. I'm especially interested in the part about tourism. "Great potential exists elsewhere for revenue generation [through tours], which values the mangroves intact and as they stand." They want people to recognize the importance of mangroves, and if they do, they'll start visiting them, which could be an important money making venture, but it will also be more dangerous as more people are visiting and potentially impacting the area.

Bonaire National Marine Park

Last week George was talking to my group about his work in the Bonaire National Marine Park. Here's their site: http://www.bmp.org/.

I'm finding their Rules and Regulations really useful for our project. While these aren't laws in all places, they can be formed as suggestions to people to voluntarily change their behavior.

Eyebeam Sustainability Reblog

Eyebeam's reblog is being run right now by their Sustainability Research Group. They're reblogging a bunch of posts on design and sustainability. Lots of it has to do with climate change. They also have some visual examples such as an alphabet poster of endangered species and an interesting "Use Electricity Wisely" ad.

Oceana

http://www.oceana.org/international-home-nao/

Environmental Organization focused on the ocean/marine environment.

2006 Dolphin Slaughter — Warning Content is Graphic

http://takeaction.oceana.org/dia/organizationsORG/oceana/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5322&utm_source=20060929_DolphinVideo&utm_medium=email


From October to April, Japanese fishermen will kill more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises as part of their annual hunt. Officials claim the slaughter is a form of “pest control” to offset the amount of fish the dolphins eat. But, the reality is, the butchered dolphins are sold off to supermarkets and grocery stores. - Oceana

Save The Dolphins — Oceana

"From October to April, Japanese fishermen will kill more than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises as part of their annual hunt. Officials claim the slaughter is a form of "pest control" to offset the amount of fish the dolphins eat. But, the reality is, the butchered dolphins are sold off to supermarkets and grocery stores.

Japanese fishermen have admitted that they are worried the government will soon shut them down in light of international outrage over the hunt. Contact the Japanese Embassy today and tell Japan to stop the slaughter." — Oceana


Watch the video and send a letter to Japanese Embassy

http://takeaction.oceana.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=17309

(Note this video contains disturbing images of dolphins being killed)