The Adventure Travel Trade Association is aiming to make its 2016 Adventure Travel World Summit in Anchorage, Alaska, carbon neutral through a partnership made possible by Costa Rica’s tourism leaders. The project will calculate carbon usage from the four day conference and make plans to completely mitigate that usage.
As opposed to carbon offsets or carbon credits, which are financial mechanisms that compensate for carbon usage through financing renewable energy projects, carbon mitigation requires projects like tree planting, which directly sequester carbon.
“We were publicly challenged at last year’s Summit to make strides toward a carbon neutral event,” said ATTA President Shannon Stowell. “We took that challenge seriously and literally, knowing that being responsible and doing the right thing is the best way to make a difference. As an industry, we’re ready to set an example.”
The ATTA and its hosts in Anchorage are currently working with partners in Costa Rica and EARTH University to estimate the carbon generation from the four day conference, including flights for nearly 800 delegates from countries all over the world and transportation to and from the conference venue and during “Day of Adventure” outings around Anchorage on September 19.
The trees will be planted by volunteers on August 19, 2016, in a protected forest reserve in Costa Rica within the Pacuare River watershed. The native hardwood saplings will be cared for by local community members until they are three years old and hardy enough to mature without human interference.
“When we personally act to protect, conserve and reciprocate for the health of people, place and planet we are more invested in the outcome,” said Rafael Gallo, Costa Rica’s representative in the sustainability partnership who manages the private forest reserve.
This is an excerpt from an article first published by Adventure Travel News. Read the original article here: Adventure Travel Trade Association Takes On Carbon Neutral Challenge for World Summit | Adventure Travel News
