Travelers' Philanthropy Handbook - Center for Responsible Travel

ForewordBy Wangari Maathai, Ph.D.Founder, Green Belt Movement & 2004 Nobel Peace LaureateWhen the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to give the Peace Prize to me for our work withthe environment, it opened up a new era. Throughout the history of the prize the committee hadrecognized that there are many ways topromote peace -- by preempting the causesof conflict, by working for human rights, bypromoting justice and equity, and byadvocating for greater democratic space.And in 2004, the committee recognized thatsustainable management of theenvironment is also vital for peace. If theresources we have on the planet are notmanaged in a responsible way, if they arenot shared in an equitable way, theyprecipitate conflicts and wars. And indeedwhen you look at many of the wars we arefighting around the globe, they are over theaccess, the control, and the distribution ofresources. So the message that the Norwegian Nobel Committee was striving to deliver to theworld was that we need to change our mindset about the resources that we have: how wemanage them, how we distribute them, how we share them. And to be able to do that, we needto manage ourselves in a more democratic way. And so the Nobel Committee linked thesustainable management of resources, good governance, and peace.In a similar way, travelers’ philanthropy is expanding the concept of ecotourism and its variouspermutations: responsible tourism, sustainable tourism, pro-poor tourism, geotourism. All theseforms of tourism are grounded in sound environmental and social principles and, as such, theyare challenging travelers and the travelindustry as we have known it. Travelers’philanthropy, a concept and practice thathas been emerging as a global trend overthe last decade or two, deepens themeaning of socially and environmentallyresponsible travel. It posits that the travelindustry and travelers should contribute inconcrete ways to support the social andenvironmental welfare of the destinationsvisited and the people who live in theseplaces.Wangari Maathai at 2008 Travelers’ Philanthropy Conference,Tanzania. Credit: CRESTWangari Maathai helping kids plant trees.Credit: Green Belt MovementThe contributions of “time, talent, ortreasure” produced by travelers’philanthropy are intended to be in addition tothe cost of travel or the vacation package purchased by the visitor. As my good friend DavidWestern explains, tourism is fees for service. Ecotourism is fees plus good practice, andtravelers’ philanthropy is this plus additional donations to the destination. It is, in essence, aform of development assistance flowing from the travel industry and travelers into local1