| As part of the global
celebration of World
Environment Day (June 5), Planeta.com presents the annual
Colibri Ecotourism Award to a leading catalyst working toward
ecotourism and responsible travel in Mexico!
This year's winner is Pedro
Martinez, the owner of a small business in Oaxaca
City that has pioneered responsible travel and ecotourism
the past 20 years.
Previous winners include Steve
Bridger, Gerhard
Buttner, Hector
Ceballos-Lascurain, Jorge
Chàvez de la Peña, Fernando
Garcia Aguinaco, Marlene
Ehrenberg, Juan
Carlos Ibarra, Jennifer
Morfín, Antonio
Suárez and Francisco
Verástegui.
The award is announced before World
Environment Day (June 5).
In 2009 the Colibri Ecotourism Award celebrates its ninth anniversary,
making this one of the longest-running tourism awards. Selection
is made by Planeta.com founder Ron
Mader in consultation with friends and colleagues.
The winner receives a trophy, diploma and a cash award of $1,000
from Emilio Kifuri, president of Canyon
Travel.
Additional financial support comes from Destination
Ventures which allows Planeta.com to develop supporting
projects, including the documentation of winner's work. The
company specializes in travel industry education and currently
works for the Mexico Tourism Board and United Nations Foundation
in promoting sustainable travel to UNESCO
World Heritage Sites.
LANGUAGE LESSON
'Colibri' means 'hummingbird' in Spanish.
CRITERIA
Ecotourism
depends on bold leadership and the Colibri Ecotourism Award
recognizes leaders working in Mexico.
Planeta.com presents the Colibri Ecotourism Award to those
whose work in Mexico
is exemplary and who share what they learn. Good ideas require
good work to come to completion and good work needs to be documented
so that lessons can be shared.
Nominees participate in the Planeta
Forum or contribute editorial suggestions for at least a
year. Bonus points are given to those who participate on other
websites and forums. This is part of Planeta.com's desire to
create incentives for communication,
collaboration
and continuity,
all vital elements in the development of ecotourism and responsible
travel.
HISTORY OF WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
The United
Nations General Assembly established the first World
Environment Day in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm
Conference on the Human Environment.
"Stockholm
was without doubt the landmark event in the growth of international
environmentalism," writes John McCormick in Reclaiming
Paradise. "It was the first occasion on which the political,
social and economic problems of the global environment were
discussed at an intergovernmental forum with a view to actually
taking corrective action."
Another resolution led to the creation of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
More details about World Environment Day online the UNEP
website.
LOOKING AHEAD
Mexico is the host country for the 2009 World Environment Day.
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