Peninsula Hotels to stop selling shark fin soup

The instantly recognisable great white shark

Shark fin soup is a delicacy in many parts of Asia but it has also become highly controversial as it’s thought to be the major cause in the dramatic decline in global shark populations. Indeed, estimates for the number of sharks culled annually for the trade, range from a staggering 35-70 million, despite the fact that 30% of shark species are threatened with extinction.

Now, however, the Peninsula Hotels Group (we use their hotels in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bejing and Bangkok) will become the first major chain to stop serving it as of January 2012.

It’s a major breakthrough for campaigners who see the practice as cruel, unnecessary and unsustainable.

Saving bears and wolves in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest

Spirit bear in British Columbia, Canada

The Raincoast Conservation Foundation is a charity that we as a company support and a recent update from them shows why their work really is so important to the wildlife of Canada.

In 2005 the charity purchased an area of hunting territory three times the size of Yellowstone National Park in Canada’s British Columbia region, along with a 24,700 square kilometres hunting licence. This meant they had exclusive commercial hunting rights over the area and the purchase ended commercial trophy hunting over this huge region. In 2011, the charity purchased another 3,500 square kilometres of hunting territory and this time the area encompassed a vast amount of spirit bear habitat.

In securing these large areas of land, the Raincoast Conservation Foundation has played a major part in the conservation of wildlife in the area, including black bears, wolves and spirit bears. And while the depleting numbers of salmon available in the area is still a worry, the progress made to protect bear habitat and reduce trophy hunting has dramatically increased the chance of future generations being able to enjoy BC’s wildlife for themselves.

If you would like to find out more about the charities we support, please visit our Responsible Travel holiday guide.

To discover more about the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and the work that they do, please visit the Raincoast Conservation Website.

Small village becomes the first place in Burma to ban plastic bags

A young 'leg rower' on Inle Lake, Burma

For me, one of the downsides of travel is to see places spoilt by man-made litter - and there’s nothing worse than the scourge of the ubiquitous plastic bag.

What’s worse, while you or I might pick up our shopping in biodegradable bags these days, most of those in use in under-developed countries do not yet fall into this category and so have the potential to be around for literally hundreds of years.

Having seen at first hand the blight these cause in many countries I’ve visited in Africa, it’s heartening to see their use curtailed now and again. This is exactly what’s happening in a small village next to Inle Lake, in Burma.

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Irrawaddy dolphin faces extinction

The now critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin of the Mekong River, Cambodia

Although there are about 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins dotted about in small populations around Southeast Asia, those that live in the Mekong River in Cambodia are facing imminent extinction according to new research by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF).

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Our Kiwi team support the Kiwi

Members of Friends of Flora and a Great Spotted Kiwi

Our dedicated New Zealand team continues to support Friends of Flora as their chosen charity, a community conservation group who, amongst other projects, are committed to re-establishing the Great Spotted Kiwi in the Kahurangi National Park, at the north-western end of the South Island.

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Critically endangered Gibbons discovered in Vietnam

Northern white-cheeked crested gibbons

Unfortunately, all of the species of gibbons in Southeast Asia are now endangered (some critically) due to the destruction of their habitats for logging, agriculture and continued expansion of human populations. 

So, a bit of good news I saw recently was the discovery of hundreds of critically endangered northern white-cheeked crested gibbons living in the Pu Mat National Park, northern Vietnam, not far from the border with Laos.

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Ranthambhore Park Guide says ‘thank you’ to Audley

Newly trained park guide Anil Rawat

Audley Travel has been a member of TOFT (Travel Operators for Tigers) since 2007. For those of you who don’t know, TOFT supports a sustainable approach to tourism in the wildlife reserves of India in conjunction with Global Tiger Control.

This means that for every client who books a tour through us, we ensure that their trip will benefit the local villagers and wildlife within the park and the tour will be carried out responsibly. Continue reading »

Whale season starts at Nuarro Lodge in Mozambique

The owners of one of our properties in Mozambique, Nuarro lodge, have just emailed to tell us that the first of the season’s whales have started appearing in the area.

This lodge is ideally located on the north east coast of Mozambique, so much so that you can see them from the breakfast table. In fact if you watch the above video you can see this at 1:10 seconds and then on several subsequent occasions.

As well as whale spotting there are a variety of activities to enjoy at Nuarro. Experienced PADI diving instructors are on hand to take you on dives whilst non-divers can enjoy snorkelling, dhow sailing trips, sea kayaking and fly-fishing.  On land you can enjoy eco-trails by bike or on foot, bird watching, cultural village visits and trips to Ilha de Mocambique.

Other places to see whales & dolphins with Audley

Dont forget to also take a look at our whale and dolphin watching guide as this includes an interactive map showing the best places around the world to see whales and dolphins. It also includes the best times to visit, lists some of the most common species you might encounter plus information on whale behaviour.

The ‘friendliest rhino in Africa’ killed by poachers

Rhino in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

Back in October 2009 we blogged about a new BBC travel series, Last Chance to See, in which Stephen Fry and fellow presenter, Mark Carwardine, globe trotted the world in search of creatures which were on the verge of extinction.

One of the programmes visited the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, to see a white rhino named Max. The highlight came when Fry was tricked into believing by Carwardin that Max was incredibly dangerous, but of course he wasn’t as he had in fact been hand-reared. Sadly, however, I saw in an article this week that Max has been killed by poachers; no doubt their work made much easier by his trust in humans.

Unfortunately, poaching in many parts of Africa is still a huge problem with rhino horn being particularly sought after in China for medicines, although of course it has no medicinal value whatsoever.

If you would like to help fight rhino poaching you can visit the following:

• Save the Rhino (www.savetherhino.org/)
• David Shepherd Foundation (www.davidshepherd.org)
• Ol Pejeta Conservancy (www.olpejetaconservancy.org)

Make Holidays Greener Week

Make Holidays Greener Week 2011

This week the sustainable tourism charity, the Travel Foundation, has launched their ’Make Holidays Greener Week’ campaign, and here at Audley we are keen to get involved.

Make Holidays Greener Week is all about making small changes whilst you are on holiday that will benefit local people and help protect the environment in your favourite holiday destinations. Whether you know this type of holiday as responsible travel, an eco holiday, or sustainable tourism, it all refers to the same thing: a holiday that helps protect the environment, protects wildlife and habitats, lets families that live in holiday destinations earn a fair living, preserves local cultures and traditions and recognises that water and energy should be used carefully.

If you already have your holiday planned for this year why not get involved? Here are three simple things you can do to make your holiday greener:

1. Buy locally: By buying locally made souvenirs, or eating and drinking in locally owned bars and restaurants you are contributing to the local economy.
2. Remove all packaging before you travel: By removing the packaging from items you take on holiday you are helping to reduce pressures on local sanitation services and landfill. Many countries are currently unable to cope with high levels of waste and do not have recycling services as we do in the UK.
3. Turn off lights and air conditioning: decreasing energy consumption wherever possible will reduce the pressures placed on local supply and help ensure you have power when you need it.

Responsible Travel is an integral part of any trip organised by Audley and we endeavour to make a positive impact on the destinations we cover, whether this is by using quality local guides, characterful and locally owned accommodation or simply by offering our clients the opportunity to carbon offset their air travel. Visit our Responsible Travel section to find out more about responsible travel through Audley or take a look at some of our responsible travel itineraries here.

Alternatively, if you would like to learn more about Make Holidays Greener Week, visit the Make Holidays Greener website, where you can enter a competition to win a trip to Thailand.