Podcasts
>> Luis Bourillón
We had the opportunity to interview Luis Bourillón, who participates as an expert in the MAR Leadership program. The interview is in anticipation of Luis’s participation in the MAR Leadership workshop that will be held the first week of September in Tela, Honduras.
We talked about how Luis began working in conservation, moving experiences he’s had working with fishers, challenges in his career, and his leadership style. Listen to the podcast here >>
>> Costas Christ talks about sustainable tourism
Presenter Bio
Costas Christ is an internationally recognized sustainable tourism expert whose work and travels have taken him to more than 100 countries across six continents. He serves as Chairman of the World Travel and Tourism Council Sustainability Program which recognizes global leadership in tourism best practices and is a special advisor to World Travel Market Responsible Tourism Day. Costas is also the Editor At Large for National Geographic Traveler. He is a founding member and former Chairman of The International Ecotourism Society and as former Senior Director at Conservation International, he supervised sustainable tourism projects in eighteen countries working with the travel industry and local communities to support the protection of biodiversity and cultural and natural heritage. He is an adviser to different travel foundations, including serving as an executive board member of The Bodhi Tree Foundation, Ambassador-at-Large for the Spirit of Big Five Foundation, and senior advisor to The Travel Corporation Conservation Foundation. In 2008, Costas was recognized as a ‘Tourism Visionary’ by the International Restaurant and Hotel Awards.
Costas’ MAR Vision
Costas talks about how sustainable tourism is transforming the travel industry; in essence, how and why good stewardship is now good business and what this can mean for conservation efforts. In the first part of the interview, Costas responds to questions from the 2010 MAR Leaders. Later, Costas provides his insights on the current global state of sustainable tourism and its implications on conservation.
>> Lori Maddox: Legal tools for conservation
Presenter Bio
Lori leads ELAW‘s work in Mexico and Central America. Since 2004, she has worked closely with the Mesoamerican Legal Strategy Group to protect the Mesoamerican Reef and coastal watersheds, and build public interest environmental law in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. Lori helped launch the ELAW network in 1991 and has traveled to Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America to reach out to new advocates and help build their organizations. She designed and ran the ELAW Fellows Program for more than 10 years and directed the ELAW Technology Program until 2000. Lori oversees ELAW’s administrative and financial matters. She serves on the Board of the Western Environmental Law Center, a regional public interest law firm in the Western U.S. Lori enjoys working with lawyers to advance community rights and defend the earth’s resources, and demystifying law and legal processes for non-lawyers who are working for environmental justice.
Lori’s MAR Vision
Lori talks about the importance of enforcing environmental laws and regulations, and about fundamental problems in enforcement, including inadequate funding for enforcement agencies, and short-sighted development policies. She also talks about the importance of meaningful environmental impact assessments BEFORE project approval, and monitoring and compliance oversight once projects are operating. She comments on some specific legal “tools” that have been used in the region, and highlights efforts to erode environmental regulation.