Google adds new tool to help prevent deforestation

Google unveils new tool to aid reforestation

Google Inc. today seized the occasion of the International Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to demonstrate technology it’s developing to track changes in the earth’s forests.

As nature’s perfect carbon dioxide sponge, trees have featured prominently in the debate over the appropriate response to global warming underway in Denmark.

Deforestation is an enormous contributor to climate change, pumping some 1.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air each year. On the other hand, tree planting efforts are seen as a highly promising and cost-effective carbon offset strategy.

The United Nations‘ proposed REDD program — Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries — would provide financial incentives to nations that take steps to protect their forests. But the complicated formulas require accurate monitoring of forest growth over time.

Here’s where Google comes in. Its free Google Earth service already provides forest imagery over a given time period. What it lacked was the ability to accurately measure the changes.

Meanwhile, scientists Greg Asner of Carnegie Institution for Science and Carlos Souza of Imazon had created software that generates forest cover maps from satellite imagery. But they were wanting for that imagery and computational processing power.

The two have teamed up in one of those “you got your chocolate in my peanut butter” moments of aligned interests.

Google.org, the company’s non-profit arm, said in its blog today:

What if we could offer scientists and tropical nations access to a high-performance satellite imagery-processing engine running online, in the “Google cloud”? And what if we could gather together all of the earth’s raw satellite imagery data — petabytes of historical, present and future data — and make it easily available on this platform? We decided to find out, by working with Greg and Carlos to re-implement their software online, on top of a prototype platform we’ve built that gives them easy access to terabytes of satellite imagery and thousands of computers in our data centers.

This image shows deforestation during the last 30 days (marked in red) in Mato Grosso, Brazil, as tracked by the prototype tools.

Google.org

The red marks deforestation “hotspots.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?&entry_id=53288#ixzz0ZKVZLGPM

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Ecotourism Awards Granted in Norway

Image via Wikipedia

The 8th Annual Skål International Ecotourism Awards were presented by the President of Skål International, Hulya Aslantas and Director External Communication & Media Karine Coulanges, during the Opening Ceremony of the 70th Skål World Congress held in Budapest, Hungary, on 2nd November 2009 at the Palace of Arts.
Skål, an international association since in 1934 is the largest organisation of travel and tourism professionals in the world. It is the only association which embraces all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, in five Continents, 90 Countries and at over 500 locations, with 20,000 members from hoteliers to travel agents; airline, maritime, waterways, railway and coach transportation companies, tourism media, tourism academies and official tourism promotion bodies, etc.

Skål International is aiming at quality in tourism and values sustainable development in Tourism as the key to the industry’s future success and considers Ecotourism but one area of the various components of sustainable development and responsible tourism.

To encourage the conservation of the environment and help to promote the development of responsible and sustainable tourism, Skål International initiated an awards program in 2002, during “The Year of Ecotourism and the Mountains” as declared by United Nations.

While the purpose of these awards was to highlight best practices in ecotourism around the world, they were also created with the aim of acquainting the world with this new concept that puts emphasis on the importance of the interaction of the physical, cultural and social environment, the traveler’s responsibility and the need for active community participation for Ecotourism.

In their eight year the awards have received continued support worldwide and this year 49 entries were received originating from 25 Countries; seven from Asia, 11 from the Americas, 15 from Europe, 10 from Africa and six from Oceania.

The Awards show the true implication of Skål International towards the protection of the environment in conjunction with sustainable tourism. Ecotourism, together with other alternative forms of tourism strengthens the local economies and contributes to sustainable development.

The applications were evaluated by three independent judges and the scores given by each separately, are added up to find the winners. The primary criteria for the evaluation is based on such points like, contribution to the conservation of nature and cultural heritage, community involvement, educational features, business viability and innovation.

Skål International is grateful for the meticulous work conducted by the three judges,

* Eugenio Yunis, from UNWTO
* Jack Sofier, Swedish Education and Consulting, Portugal
* José Koechlin, Inkaterra, Peru
Johnson Diversey whose global mission assumes a green position that supports sustainability in terms of Ecology, Efficiency, reduction in energy consumption, Food and Employee safety, is our main sponsor. The products they create and the methods they use are all aimed at making our world a safer and cleaner place.
This year, Iznik Foundation was a cosponsor of the quartz trophies they have specially designed for Skål International. Combining ecology with the unique art of Iznik (Ancient Nicea); the awards are a sign of preservation of natural sources and traditions and with their special characteristics they are specially chosen to emphasize the value of our global riches.

SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM, AUSTRALIA SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM, AUSTRALIA
BASECAMP MASAI MARA – KENYA, NORWAY BASECAMP MASAI MARA – KENYA, NORWAY
The 8th Annual Skål International Ecotourism Awards The 8th Annual Skål International Ecotourism Awards
FRONTIERS NORTH ADVENTURES, CANADA FRONTIERS NORTH ADVENTURES, CANADA
GOEDGEDACHT TRUST, SOUTH AFRICA GOEDGEDACHT TRUST, SOUTH AFRICA
MIDLANDS MEANDER EDUCATION PROJECT, SOUTH AFRICAMIDLANDS MEANDER EDUCATION PROJECT, SOUTH AFRICA
WE CARE – OPERATION PENGUIN, NORWAY WE CARE – OPERATION PENGUIN, NORWAY

The winners are announced as follows:
1. In the category of Tour Operators and Travel Agents:

FRONTIERS NORTH ADVENTURES, CANADA

2. In the category of Urban Accommodation:

WE CARE – OPERATION PENGUIN, NORWAY

3. In the category of Rural Accommodation:

BASECAMP MASAI MARA – KENYA, NORWAY

4. In the category of General Countryside:

SUSTAINABLE ECOTOURISM, AUSTRALIA

5. In the category of City and Villages:

GOEDGEDACHT TRUST, SOUTH AFRICA

6. In the category of Educational Programmes – Media:
MIDLANDS MEANDER EDUCATION PROJECT, SOUTH AFRICA

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It’s here – the Brazil Contest

A few months ago, as some of the more loyal readers know, I was contacted on behalf of EMBRATUR, the Brazilian Tourism Board, about a potential contest or giveaway on the Eco Tourism Blog, based on my prior posts about destinations and sustainable activities, so I thought this may be of interest.

To spread the word about Brazil’s natural beauty, I partnered with the public relations firm representing EMBRATUR, to give away signed and framed photographs of the Brazilian Amazon by award-winning photojournalist Peter Guttman to my readers. A magazine reviewer recently proclaimed, “View the world through Peter Guttman’s eyes once and chances are you’ll want to wear those glasses for the rest of your life.”  The photos available were displayed as part of the annual meetings at the United Nations last year.

Here’s photos I took of the beautifully (and solidly) framed, heavy, high gloss photo:

Here are the contest rules:

The contest starts November 15th, 2009.  I am asking readers to write in with their best adventure or outdoor vacation memory, experiences with South American travel or the one place they’ve always wanted to travel to in the world.

I only accept submissions on the blog itself, which means you’ll need to register.  (Registration is free, and I take your privacy seriously.  Your email will never be used for any other purpose than to contact you, and will never, ever, be sold to anyone).

The contest ends at midnight PST on December 15, 2009, and I’ll promptly ship the photographs out immediately.

For your reference, the value of each photo is about $800, and they are professionally framed, 16- by 24-inch photos.

Facts about the Amazon

-          Sixty percent of the Amazon rainforest is contained within Brazil.

-          The Amazon welcomed nearly 500,000 tourists in 2008

-          The Amazon represents more than half of the planet’s remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

-          The Amazon boasts 324 mammals, 2,500 species of fish and 1,800 different species of birds.

-          The Amazon is in the running to be one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature and can be voted for online at http://www.new7wonders.com/.

Good luck to you!

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