Latin Americans saw it as a tool to protect their rainforests from logging and oil drilling. Africans believed that their wildlife would have the best chance of survival if area residents had a financial stake in national parks and in tourism. Stopping the destruction of the environment is foremost, but also critical is creating a sustainable-use pattern for those wildlands they are able to preserve, explains Hauskins. They offer trips on every continent of the globe, working with local groups to present treks, kayak trips, and more. Ninety percent of the funds they receive go to their providers or to environmental causes.
Honey gives several examples of places where the concept is working.
One is the four-star Moka Ecolodge in Cuba. The inn is situated near a tropical mountain forest and near a small community, Las Terrazas. The lodge was built to help provide money to the town and maintain the community's ecological and social goals. Forty percent of its profits go to a community development fund, and another 10 percent to a health clinic. About 20 percent of Las Terrazas' citizens work at Moka, which has a recycling program.