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The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that was adopted in Kyoto in 1997. This Kyoto Protocol establishes legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets for developing countries. The Protocol has not yet been ratified by all member countries; Australia and the U.S are notable exceptions. What we at Nature Vacations and Nature Air are offering is a chance for travelers to deal with and offset their greenhouse gas emissions without having to wait or rely on a government to act. We are able to offer a carbon neutral vacation package by doing the following:
-Our Carbon Neutral Package first starts with including the most responsible and sustainable providers in the region. Then Nature Vacations automatically offsets any unavoidable carbon emissions that could not be accounted for. The carbon neutrality is already built into the package price. Nature Vacations has followed Nature Air’s lead by using Costa Rica’s own FONAFIFO* as their certification agent and venue to contribute to with carbon offsetting dollar amounts. Through FONAFIFO Nature Air and Nature Vacations are able to protect hundreds of hectares of tropical forest because of funds paid to local landowners to preserve the land rather than cut it down for timber or cattle.
More on FONAFIFO
The National Fund for Forest Financing (FONAFIFO) is an office assigned by Department of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) in Costa Rica. Based on the research already done by NatureAir, the FONAFIFO organization also made the most sense for Nature Vacations to use, based on their local presence, credibility, philanthropic and humanitarian benefits, and their transparency.
FONAFIFO focuses on providing the financing to the environmental productive sector, especially the forest and the execution of the Payment Program for Environmental Services (PSA).
Other Notable Sustainable Efforts:
Ground Transportation
Our Mercedes Benz, Nature Vans in the San Jose area operate with modern diesel engines which run exclusively on locally grown and recycled bio-diesel which significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and negates the need to use imported petroleum. To offset the remaining carbon footprints; Nature Vacations pays towards renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects certified by Fonafifo. To calculate how much to offset yearly carbon emissions, Nature Vacations uses a calculator on www.carbondfund.org* and enters the number of miles driven per van for the previous calendar year. The carbon calculator determines the amount of carbon emissions and this in turn is compensated for once a year per each van to FONAFIFO based on what FONAFIFO charges per ton of carbon output.
International Flights
To offset all carbon emissions from our client’s international airfare, we enter an international route into a carbon calculator to determine the required offset. We also include offset for the more stringent Radiative Forcing** requirements as well. We wanted to ensure every client’s flight carbon output was offset no matter from which airport they are flying from. This money is paid to FONAFIFO, a division of the Costa Rican government’s environmental protection agency, MINAE to sequester these carbon offsets in the Costa Rican Rainforests.
Domestic lights
Nature Air is the world’s first carbon neutral airline. 100% of NatureAir¹s carbon emissions are compensated through the protection and reforestation of tropical forests in southern Costa Rica¹s rich biodiversity zones of the Osa Peninsula. Since 2004, NatureAir has compensated for roughly 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide through the protection of more than 200 hectares of tropical forest. NatureAir is able to protect these lands because of funds the airline commits to local landowners to preserve the land rather than cut it down for timber or cattle. In addition the airline keeps its carbon output down by improvements made in their operations, scheduling and flight plans.
In the period of 1995-2004 they were able to incorporate more than 420.000 hectares of forests and forest plantations that directly benefited more than 7000 families in Costa Rica.
Nature Air has also been able to reduce emissions by replacing light bulbs, limiting copy paper, recycling, and improving it¹s flight plans in order to conserve more fuel, an improvement of roughly 4% in fuel efficiency per hour of flight. NatureAir wants to help prevent further global warming, and keep the beauty of Costa Rica in its natural state. NatureAir also hopes to prove on a smaller scale that an airline can be sustainable and hopefully excite other airlines to follow. For more information on how our airline is actually certified carbon neutral please see our zero emission presentation at http://www.natureair.com/presentation/index.html.
Accommodations
The hotels we use are already rated the highest that they can be under the Costa Rican Sustainability Certification System (CST) and take part in practices such as heating water from solar panels, using biodegradable building materials, creating bio-gas produced by pigs in the area, and employing only locals to reduce the need to commute.
Aside from their natural sustainable habits, we at Nature Vacations have taken this a step further by offsetting the small amounts of carbon that are still emitted through generated electricity and bio-diesel fuels used to carry out necessary operations. These offsetting efforts go to FONAFIFO and are built into the vacation package price.
To calculate how we figured the amount needed to offset carbon output from hotels we obtained a carbon emissions inventory report from a world-renowned eco lodge in Costa Rica named Lapa Rios. Lapa Rios provided us a study based on their 2006 total carbon emissions. By using the total carbon emissions output figures for the eco lodge we were able to calculate exact carbon output per room per night and 100% of these emissions are compensated for. The same method is used for the other eco lodge, Finca Rosa Blanca, used in the vacation package.
*The organization we use to offset carbon emissions on our client’s international flights is a non-profit organization. To date, it has received donations to offset over 2 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That’s the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road for one year.
The true quality of a carbon-offsetting company is measured by third-party standards, verification, and auditing and this organization has been at the forefront of supporting the growing verification industry around the world for carbon offsets and green power as a means to increase the acceptance, transparency and quality of carbon offsets. The certification standards used to measure the projects receiving donations include the following: Green-e and Green-e climate, Environmental Resources Trust (ERT), Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS), Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), The Gold Standard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This organization also utilizes the Environmental Resources Trust to audit their project portfolio, ensure their donations match their offset purchases, and provide further guidance on the ever-developing carbon standards.
** Radiative Forcing:
At high altitudes, the effect of greenhouse gases is considerably different than on the ground level. Aircraft also emits water vapor during flight which can cause the formation of ice clouds, called contrails. Where contrails persist, cirrus clouds begin to form which have an additional impact on global warming. Clouds can have a double effect on radiation; they warm the earth by reducing the amount of radiation from the earth that escapes into space but also cool the earth by reflecting the sun’s rays back into space. However, contrails lead to a net warming factor, which is estimated to be 2.7 times the normal effect (IPCC, 1999). Description is taken from www.carbonfund.org.
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