Ecotourism News

I have spent the better part of the past 45 years promoting conservation of primates and their tropical forest habitats, and have had the opportunity to visit and experience firsthand…

The conservation of the world's largest lizard is a victory in a country where such examples are practically non-existent. So what makes the Komodo dragon different?

It’s shift change time on the monitoring raft on Lake Tarapoto, deep in the Colombian Amazon. Lisette Johanna Escobar, an undergraduate student researcher at the Universidad Nacional in Leticia, climbs…

Invasive species are great hitchhikers. They float in the ballast of ships, lurk in luggage, stick to unwashed sports gear, and cling to the soles of hiking boots. Scientists focus…

Deep in the mountains of eastern Bali sits a traditional Aga village, whose inhabtants – legendarily the island’s first – still reside and abide by ancient ways. Long before Indonesian…

What bugged Marwi back in 1995 wasn’t so much that villagers were barred from harvesting forest products in Gunung Rinjani National Park, a 41,000-hectare conservation zone anchored by the soaring…

We'd been hiking through deep snow all day with the mercury well below zero, not an uncommon occurrence during winter in eastern Poland. Still I was sweating, covered in several…

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Tanzanian government have launched an ambitious new initiative to protect East Africa's largest population of elephants (Loxodonta Africana). With funds from USAID, the…

Cobalt-winged parakeets at a clay lick in Yasuni National Park, which the Ecuadorian government is increasingly opening up to oil drilling. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. The world loves its protected…

Locals are key to Namibia's rhino success even in the midst of a poaching crisis A desert adapted black rhino in north-west Namibia. Photo by: Dave Hamman Photograph. Africa's rhinos…

On bison, wolves, and woodpeckers: the wonder of Europe's only lowland virgin forest. Bialowieza Forest at dawn. Old-growth forest is characterized by ancient trees, tall canopies, little undergrowth, and a…

Five years after landmark agreement in Sabah, government shows signs of moving forward on wildlife corridors The Kinabatangan River winds through rainforest and palm oil plantations in the Malaysian state…

Camera traps catch endangered species in remote park in Cambodia A rare Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) dashes past a camera trap in Virachey National Park. This species is listed…

Economists find that protected areas reduce poverty in Costa Rica A new study has quantified a point long advocated by advocates of setting aside protected areas: ecotourism pays. The research,…

A version of this article appeared in National Geographic Bulgaria. Surprising clatter cuts through the silence in the snowy forest shortly before sunrise. The powerful clicking sounds like a dropping…

An ecotourism project in a remote part of Laos has won the World Responsible Tourism Award for Best for Responsible Wildlife Experience. The Nam Nern Night Safari, an ecotour in…

Oil palm plantations have been rapidly expanding across the tropics for the better part of the past twenty years due to high returns from palm oil production. But palm oil…

There are more than 5,000 different mammal species across the globe, but with this number being dwarfed by the 10,000 bird species, it is little wonder that bird-watching has become…

The crystal-clear waters of Cayo Arena in the Dominican Republic. Photo by: Tiffany Roufs. Finding true ecotourism companies isn't easy. While the tourism industry worldwide has latched onto the term…

If you fly over the Great African Rift Valley from its northernmost point in Ethiopia, over the great national parks of Kenya and Tanzania, and follow it south to the…

A hundred years ago, nature-oriented travel to places like tropical Africa and Asia was often associated with big game hunting. Today cameras have mostly replaced guns as nature-lovers travel to…

The sunlight poured through the canopy, casting dappled shade over Makara, a large silverback mountain gorilla, as he cast his eyes around the forest clearing, checking on the members of…

"Rural dwellers are not passive respondents to external conservation agents but are active proponents and executers of their own conservation initiatives."—Noga Shanee, Projects Director for Neotropical Primate Conservation (NPC), in…

One kilometer off the Philippine island of Palawan lies the Rasa Island Wildlife Sanctuary; here forest grows unimpeded from a coral island surrounded by mangroves and coral reefs. Although tiny,…

Rainforest-covered karst mountains with pristine mangroves beneath characterizes one of the most stunning protected areas in the Caribbean: Los Haitises National Park. Photo by: Jeremy Hance. For its stunning variety…

The 3rd Annual New York Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WFCC.org) runs from January 30 – February 2, 2013. Ahead of the event, Mongabay.com is running a series of Q&As with…

Limonade River in French Guiana. The French government has approved a new gold mine near the river, which locals depend on. Photo by: Sébastien Brosse. Tensions have risen in the…

Stream and forest in the Tongass National Forest, the world largest temperate rainforest located in Southeast Alaska. Photo by: Matthew Dolkas. Although unlikely to pass anytime in the near term,…

Leaf-tailed gecko in Madagascar. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Madagascar officially designated its largest protected area in a region renowned for its tropical rainforests and rich diversity of wildlife, including…

This has become Watt's most popular and widely viewed photo to date. It was taken on a foggy February day in a haunting clearcut near the Avatar Grove. It has…