Biodiversity describes the entire staggering complexity of life on Earth – every species, landscape, and marine system forming part of an interconnected whole that keeps our planet functional. The word didn’t even exist until 1985, when WG Rosen coined it while planning the US National Forum on Biodiversity, but the science it names is ancient and unambiguous. Mature forests absorb carbon. Carbon absorption slows ocean warming. Slower warming stabilises weather systems. Every link in the chain matters – and right now, with conservation funding declining, too many of those links are under pressure.
This is why tourism revenue has never been more urgently needed. Thankfully, there are now extraordinary nature-positive travel experiences actively reversing the losses, on every continent.
1. Choose those actively clocking up their conservation wins
One of the most meaningful signals that your money is doing real work is hearing precisely which species it’s keeping alive. Responsible Travel – one of the longest-standing champions of holidays that give something back – hosts its own dedicated habitat conservation collection spanning everything from Borneo orangutan projects to Big Five volunteering in South Africa, and they’re increasingly demanding that partners count what they protect.
“Nature-positive travel is not about seeing nature – it’s about leaving it better than we found it,” says Justin Francis OBE, co-founder and executive chair of the holiday company, and a UK government advisor on nature and business. “It is as relevant to a city break as it is to a safari. Every holiday draws on natural resources, and too often those resources are being used faster than the planet can renew them. If travel is to be part of the solution, consumers and businesses alike must support destinations where protecting nature also creates local jobs, livelihoods and long-term value.”
Turn your eyes to Central and South America. Over the past two years, guest-funded conservation work across Böëna Lodges has delivered measurable results across five properties. Camera traps have logged healthy jaguar populations at Pacuare, and all five of Costa Rica‘s wild cat species have been recorded at Lapa Ríos on the Osa Peninsula. With over 800 hectares of primary forest permanently safeguarded and connected to national parks, they’re showing us how corridors matter – not just for the animals moving through them, but because intact tropical forest functions as a carbon sink. It’s a loss for both biodiversity and the climate emergency.
