Tourism is the world’s largest industry, and it grows larger every year. In 2012, for the first time in history, international tourist arrivals surpassed one billion. In 2011, international tourism receipts exceeded $1 trillion. Hand in hand with this extraordinary development of global tourism is an unprecedented level of interest in responsible travel. In a […]
French mining company Rexma has received permission to mine for gold in an ecologically sensitive area along the Limonade River in French Guiana, three kilometers downstream from the geographically isolated town of Sa¸l. French Guiana is a French territory in the northwestern part of the South American continent, and Sa¸l is in the heart of […]
More than a dozen rhinos are cruelly slaughtered in South Africa each week in order to fuel an increasing demand from Asia for their highly coveted horn. The South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, recently confirmed that 668 rhinos were killed in South Africa last year as a result of poaching. […]
The South Korean government has abandoned plans to begin scientific whaling following domestic and international resistance. Scientific whaling involves the killing of whales for the purpose of research – a practice environmentalists dismiss as a thinly veiled cover for illegal commercial whaling operations. More than 100,000 concerned citizens from 124 countries signed an online petition […]
Across Tibet, monks, nuns, students, and others are protesting China’s continuing control of the region—many in a gruesome and tragic way. Ninety-five Tibetans have set themselves ablaze since March 16, 2011 – 33 of them in the last two months of 2012 alone. Nearly all have called for Tibetan freedom, the relaxation of religious and […]
As an ambassador for peace, internationally known Malian artist Oumou Sangaré will lead a stalwart line-up of African musicians in one of two caravans that make up the 2013 Festival au Désert in Exile. An international music event that draws thousands of people annually to Mali, the Festival au Désert (Festival in the Desert) was […]
The world’s last remaining turtle farm has recently come under heavy criticism from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Sea Turtle Conservatory (STC). As part of a global campaign targeting sea turtle farming practices, the WSPA has proposed that the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF) transition its business from a facility […]
The ethics of using animals for the amusement of tourists was again called into question recently following an attack on an animal keeper in Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia. Lucy Melo was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after being crushed against a post by a baby elephant during a morning training session […]
Despite a growing global effort to end discrimination towards individuals with HIV, 45 countries currently enforce travel restrictions against people living with the disease. The United Nations and GCBHealth (formerly the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) are working with government officials and decision makers in the private sector to reverse this intolerant […]
