Whole Travel Blog

Many travelers equate eco-tourism and green travel with preserving local cultures, customs, and the environment. However, there’s another aspect to eco-tourism to think about, which is not as obvious a part of the environment: preservation of wildlife.

This is especially true in such war-torn countries as Senegal, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo where wildlife can be sacrificed in the middle of conflicts but where eco-tourism can work to counteract this destruction.

For example, ivory has for centuries been a treasured commodity, used for both ornamental as well as practical and medical purposes; this has been especially popular in Asian markets.

A recent article in Ethical Traveler (2008) highlighted the rise of elephant poaching due to  “China’s insatiable appetite for ivory” and cited shocking statistics including the demise of the Senegalese elephant population from 20,000 tusked pachyderms in the late 90s to only two today. Reuters also investigated the obliteration of elephants by poaching, citing that the 2-million acre Virunga National Park of Rwanda, once the home of 5,000 Savannah elephants in the 1970s, now only has 300 - seven elephants having been killed as recently as August 2008.

It has been suggested that eco-tourism, however, can help turn these numbers around. Travel to elephant sanctuaries and game reserves brings not only much needed money for elephant protection and conservation, but also attracts attention and heightens awareness of the continued illegal poaching.

Whole Travel offers a number of different African safari adventures including Leopard Walk Lodge, Tsaro Elephant Lodge, and many more which contribute to helping this preservation effort.

Condé Nast just released its September issue with a special spotlight on the power of travel. It features Matt Damon on the cover and the story of how his 2006 trip to Zambia inspired him to create the H2O Africa Foundation which partners with a variety of other foundations to focus on clean water. With hundreds of children dying each day due to dirty water, Damon emphasized the importance of clean water, saying that it  “put people on the first rung of the development ladder.”

With its slogan “Travel Right, Do Good,” the issue highlights social responsibility through travel with such articles as “How to Be An Ethical Traveler,” “How to Do the Right Thing,” “The Green Traveler’s Handbook” as well as several profiles and forums.

Find the complete coverage here.