Hi all, Just in case anyone is wondering, part of the cost of our trip to Colombia is to pay for carbon offsets. It's built-in to the trip because we recognize that traveling to go birding and to meet with conservationists and to see the outcomes of their efforts has environmental consequences.
We contributed substantially to the local residents and overall economy on our trip, which provides tangible reason for local residents to maintain or improve habitat in the cloud forests of the Andes. Many of the local guides who work for protected areas (some private, some municipal, some state/federal) earn about $18-20 per day. Our group tipped each of these local guides, often providing them with more than they make in a couple days. We supported local lodges, restaurants and even dairy farms which not protect montane forest that is critical to some birds teetering on the edge of extinction. Yes, we used some fossil fuel in our ground transportation (all flights were filled with people visiting families and would have gone whether we birders were on the flights or not). But, the economic impact of our visit was hugely positive, especially after almost two years of no ecotourism activity. We certainly enjoy the birds we encounter on these trips, but the connections we make with the people and the natural world in these locations both deepens our understanding of the situation and our connection to the natural world, and it stimulates us to take additional conservation actions. Just thought folks would want to hear about all that. Happy birding. Jody W. Enck, PhD Conservation Social Scientist, and Founder of the Sister Bird Club Network 607-379-5940 -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
