Positive actions, meaningful travels
We are the type of organisation that likes to make as positive impact when we can, and whenever we can.
Whilst as an international long-haul tour operator, we of course recognise that we have a negative impact through flight carbon (and we are working at that), there are numerous other areas of our operations and your travels that can, and do, have far reaching, benefits.
These include making a positive impact for wildlife, biodiversity and local communities. To help us do this, we have created our own Planet, Community & Conservation Fund, in partnership with the World Land Trust, a registered UK charity (1001291) involved in funding conservation projects across the world.
Contributions to the fund not only benefit the environment through rewilding and the planting of trees, they also create employment opportunities in a remote rural community and help support a local population of circa 500 elephants. The project will also facilitate the movement and wellbeing of other key species such as tigers, leopards, wild buffalo and Western Hoolock Gibbon. Furthermore, natural grasslands within the project area are known to be important breeding localities for the Bengal Florican – a bird listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its small (<1000 birds) and declining global population.
All bookings made with Selective Asia include a per person contribution to the World Land Trust’s Securing the D’ering-Dibru Saikhowa Elephant Corridor project
Securing the D’ering-Dibru Saikhowa Elephant Corridor in focus
Our project and your contributions are overseen by the World Land Trust.
The northeast Indian states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh represent one of the most important elephant landscapes of India, home to 25% of the estimated 27,000 elephants currently present in the country. However, widespread degradation and deforestation through human settlements, farming and livestock grazing has fragmented former elephant habitats, restricting the elephants’ range and reducing connectivity within the landscape, which has led to escalating levels of human-elephant conflict.
The project’s overall goal is to support local communities and authorities to establish and restore a natural corridor to provide long term connectivity for elephant populations moving between D’Ering Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh) and Dibru Saikowa National Park (Assam), whilst enhancing the capacity and livelihood opportunities of local communities, offering employment for villagers through tree planting activities. The project will bring ~500 hectares (1235 acres) of habitat under the protection of the corridor.
WLT is working with our long-standing partner Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), who are engaging local communities and State Forest Departments, to set aside part of the D’Ering Dibru Corridor as a Community Conserved Area (CCA). Of the 18 corridors in the region WTI has identified that need protection to provide contiguous habitat for elephants, this corridor is also of key importance for wildlife as it is located in the Eastern Himalayas Biodiversity Hotspot.
Our Project Brief provides further details. I thought you might also be interested to read our 2022 Impact Report highlighting the incredible achievements of WLT supporters last year!