Celebrating Earth Day! Safaris Help Sustain Africa’s Wild Places

It’s not a stretch to say that every day is Earth Day at Bushtracks. We know that our past and our future are inextricably linked to the conservation of Africa’s wild places, and that when we share Africa’s remarkable beauty with our guests, that we are inspiring them, too, to take part in protecting these precious parts of our planet. But, although raising the awareness of Africa’s lands in our guests’ minds is an important part of what we do, it’s not the only way we think responsible travel can make a meaningful difference in our world.

DAVID AND CAROLYN BECOME AWF COUNCIL MEMBERS

WORKING AT THE LANDSCAPE LEVEL

For example, to counter population growth and agricultural expansion in a key wildlife corridor extending from Amboseli National Park to Chyulu Hills and Tsavo West National Park, AWF introduced an innovative land-lease program to encourage the free movement of wildlife and habitat for lion, zebra, elephant, giraffe and other species. In Uganda, the AWF helped facilitate opening Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, where a percentage of each guest’s bednight fee goes directly into a community fund benefitting 30,000 people across 23 villages surrounding the southern boundaries of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with the intent to reduce habitat loss and poaching through economic development.

Bushtracks invites you to celebrate Earth Day every day by expanding your awareness of the world around you – particularly in its most wild and wonderful places – and to learn more about the ways that conservation and tourism can play a key role in protecting critical habitats at awf.org.

The first version of this article was posted on 21 Apr 2014 at 3:03 PM.