Background to the Awards

The South Luangwa Eco Awards are an initiative of the South Luangwa Conservation Society. The scheme is entirely non-profit making and falls under the auspices of SLCS. It is hoped that the awards will encourage lodges and camps to operate in a more eco-friendly way. In doing so this should also raise the standard and degree of environmental conservation in the area and encourage increased community involvement and support.

Launch Date 1st January 2008

The South Luangwa Eco Awards are to be launched on 1st January 2009. Tour Operators in the South Luangwa area are invited to complete a comprehensive questionnaire and submit their application at any time thereafter. An Evaluation Team will mark the questionnaire and an Inspection Team will make a site inspection to verify what has been written. If applicants are successful they will awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold certificate which can then be used in their marketing strategies.

The Benefit of Accreditation

Tourists are becoming ever increasingly aware of environmental and local community issues within the travel industry. By choosing to stay an establishment that has been accredited with a South Luangwa Eco Award, tourists are assured that the business is operated in an environmentally responsible manner and that their travel benefits local communities and economies.

Criteria

The Eco Awards teams judge criteria that cover environmental and community issues. Emphasis has been given to sustainable use of resources, protection of the environment and support to local economies using social responsibility.

Best Practice

Unlike most other general eco award schemes the South Luangwa Eco Awards were devised to be relevant and specific to the unique conditions of the area. This means that evaluation and inspection procedures will be stringent and standards will be maintained at a high level. The focus of the scheme is on tourism businesses interested in and committed to embracing best practice in their operations.

Best practice refers to highest quality, excellence or superior practices in a particular field by a tourism operator. It is used to designate a leader in the field. Therefore best practice includes, among other things, initiatives aimed at:

" Protecting, conserving and investing in the environment

" Minimising and reducing wastes

" Preventing pollution

" Encouraging linkages with local communities and supporting community projects

" Responsible use of natural resources such as land, water, energy, timber, firewood, etc.

" Providing direct financial benefits for conservation projects

" Education to tourists, staff and the local community

Application Fee

The South Luangwa Eco Awards scheme, unlike most other schemes which are commercial, is entirely non-profit. However, to cover expenses a fee of $100 is requested on application. Any surplus left over at the end of calendar the year will be transferred to the general SLCS account for use in anti-poaching patrols in the South Luangwa Area.

Please contact Anna Tolan on anna@chipembele.org to request for an application form and for further information or clarification on anything concerning the Eco Awards.