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How
Friends of World Heritage Works Whether
your quest is to understand ancient civilizations,
you're passionate about unique coral formations in
tropical waters, or you're an avid traveler
determined to satisfy your wanderlust, Friends of
World Heritage provides a way to learn and explore
more about the world around you. The
mission of Friends of World Heritage is to foster a
constituency of World Heritage supporters and
travelers to ensure the protection of World
Heritage sites for today's travelers and future
generations. Expedia, Inc., UNESCO's World Heritage
Centre, and the UN Foundation are working together
to support this mission. Friends
of World Heritage is dedicated to raising awareness
about the importance of protecting World Heritage,
promoting sustainable development, and offering
ways to explore these sites through sustainable
travel. There are many ways you can become
involved. We
encourage people to: become
active and talk about the importance of World
Heritage; volunteer
in conservation activities at World Heritage
sites travel
to the sites to support local economic
development sign
up to become a Friend; and, contribute
to the Friends of World Heritage
Fund. 100%
of the resources raised through the Friends of
World Heritage Fund will go to World Heritage
projects and priorities where resources are scarce.
Furthermore, contributions from individuals may be
matched twice over by Expedia, Inc. and the UN
Foundation (up to a total of $50,000 each), turning
every $1 into $3. Friends of World Heritage also
welcomes and accepts corporate, foundation and
other donations. Friends
of World Heritage's founding partners &endash;
Expedia, Inc, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, and
the UN Foundation &endash; jointly allocate the
Fund, identifying projects that support local
tourism enterprises that can help alleviate poverty
and conserve World Heritage sites. Projects that
benefit from Friends of World Heritage support will
be profiled on the web site so you can learn more
about the impact Friends of World Heritage.
More-> The
execution-style shootings are considered a setback
for gorilla preservation and for conservation of
the World Heritage site, which was placed on the
List of World Heritage in Danger in
1994. Two
suspects have been identified as being involved in
the killings. One has been arrested and is
assisting the authorities, but the other is still
at large. Both were seen early on July 23 at the
scene where the gorillas were shot, according to
the International Gorilla Conservation Program,
IGCP. Working
with local authorities and partners in the field,
the members of the UNESCO-IUCN mission will
investigate the reasons for the targeting of these
rare animals whose population in the park is
estimated at 380 out of a total of 700 mountain
gorillas worldwide. Seven mountain gorillas have
been killed in separate incidents this year alone.
More-> World Heritage Alliance
United Nations
Foundation and Expedia announced the launch of
the World Heritage Alliance, an innovative
joint initiative to promote sustainable
tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites and
communities around the world. This
partnership believes conscientious travelers can
contribute directly to nature conservation,
historic preservation, and poverty reduction
through sustainable tourism. "As one of the
world's leading travel service providers, Expedia
has the unique privilege of helping educate our
customers, suppliers, and employees about the
importance of sustainable tourism," said Dara
Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia, Inc. "By
working with the UN Foundation to found the World
Heritage Alliance, we hope to expand our customers'
travel horizons and help preserve our world's
treasures for current and future generations to
enjoy." More->t |
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International
Mission to Investigate Gorilla Killings