NPO Wins Grand Prize of 6th Ecotourism Awards

Japan's Ministry of the Environment (MOE) announced on September 21, 2010, the seven winners (selected from 68 applicants) of the 6th Ecotourism Awards. A Japanese non-profit organization (NPO), Kuroshio Realization Center (in Otsuki-cho, Hata-gun, Kochi Prefecture) won the grand prize. The NPO promotes Kashiwa-jima, an island located at southwest end of Kochi Prefecture, as "a whole island museum," working on the creation of Sato-umi, which are sustainable coastal areas where community and nature can coexist. Their continuing activities involving local residents, such as eco tours to experience the abundant sea and event projects for enjoying nature resources, were rated very highly.

Second prize was won by two applicants: Eco Tourism Network, Reborn Inc. (Shinjuku, Tokyo), which offers sightseeing tours on a bus that exclusively operates on fuel processed from used cooking oil; and Miyazu Eco Tourism Promotion Council (Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture), which organizes tours to experience the connections between the local seas, villages and mountains. Special prizes went to four other organizations.

This award system aims to reward and publicize ecotourism efforts by businesses, organizations and municipalities. MOE started this award in 2005 in order to improve ecotourism activities in Japan, and to foster a sense of solidarity between related parties through information exchange.

Japan's First Ecotourism Award Winners Announced (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026084.html

Posted: 2011/01/24 06:00:15 AM