mission

Enough has been said of the problems in the world; it is time for the solution. We believe in a globally interconnected world, where the biological, psychological, socio-economic, and environmental phenomena need to be addressed holistically. We at ECOoutpost see a paradigm shift to empowering the individual to help the whole. The survival of our whole civilization may depend on whether we can bring about such a change.

The Problem

"Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course."

–Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS): World Scientists Warning to Humanity, November 18, 1992

From developing nations to world powers, the destruction of our natural world is a deeply ingrained and seemingly insurmountable problem to solve.

Developing nations are often very poor, with little education and few modern resources. Clear-cutting forests for lumber and farms can seem like their only choice.

But even this isnt a permanent solution. The soil is frequently so unstable and its nutrients leached from rain that it is barely fertile enough for one crop rotation. In addition, entire populations of forest animalseven endangered speciesare lost as their habitat is destroyed, or they are hunted for food or the pet trade.

Still, if local villages are impoverished, starving and growing, its a challenge to persuade people not to take what they can from the forest immediately.

Likewise, its difficult to convince developed nations to lessen their negative impact on the planet. These countries control fortunes, they employ millions, they wield enormous power and control staggering budgets. When they make decisions and set policies, they change the world.

They use trucks and planes and shipsthats carbon dioxide. They use paper and packagingthats millions of trees. They use electricitythats vast amount of water and fuel. Whenever they choose to move this way or that, there are consequences for the planet.

Its time for a great change in our stewardship of the Earth if vast human misery is to be avoided, and our global home on this planet is to be saved from irretrievable mutilation.

The Solution

"If local people benefit from enterprises that depend on the sustainable use of forest resources, they can reasonably be expected to support the conservation of these ecosystems."

–A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

One strategy for developing nations is to use an integrated conservation and development project (ICDP). This could, for example, create a core protected land area, with increasingly intensive uses of the land as one move away into buffer zones. Such a biosphere reserve model also allows the ecosystem to respond flexibly to global climate change. Such an integrated approach would at the same time create a management system that ensures the land will be a source of income and sustenance forever.

If developed nations reduce their CO2 emission by just 10 percent this would be the equivalent of taking 35 million cars off the road. We could have a profound effect on the battle against global warming.

Its not enough for a central agency to set up preservation zones or change policies. The local population has to support the change, or it wont work. In the case of developing nations, theyll support it if it will reward their talent and hard work with a better life.

Many people are working on projects like these, helping villages around the world create products and services that allow them to make a living while leaving their natural resources for future generations. Developing nations must realize that environmental damage is one of the gravest threats they face, and that attempts to curb it will be overwhelmed if their populations go unchecked. The greatest peril is to become trapped in spirals of environmental decline, poverty and unrest, leading to social, economic and environmental collapse.

There are individuals and organizations in developed nations that work collectively to combat global warming. Developed nations are the largest polluters in the world today. They must greatly reduce their over-consumption if they are to reduce pressures on resources and the global environment. Developed nations have an obligation to provide aid and support to developing nations, because only the developed nations have the financial resources and technical skills to carry out these tasks.

Scientists have issued warnings in the hope that their message will reach and affect people everywhere. They need the help of many. They require the help of the world community of scientistsnatural, social, economic, political. They require the help of the worlds business and industrial leaders. They require the help of the worlds religious leaders. Finally, they require the help of the worlds peoples. Scientists are calling on all of us to join them in this task. Collectively we will make great strides toward solving our climate challenge.

Our Part

How does a villager in Bolivia sell furniture from a sustainable forest management program to someone in Chicago? How does an Eco-Tour Operator in Mongolia find eco-conscious travelers in Seattle, and how can travelers know the workers are fairly paid? Someone has to link the artisan groups that create the crafts or operate environmentally friendly tours to the thousands of faraway retailers, vacationers and consumers.

ECOoutpost fills this niche, bringing the fruits of these projects to market directly, and sending money back to the people whove earned it and need it most.

One of our fundamental goals is to link the purchase of goods and services from developing nations with the task of creating a better life for locals, while simultaneously conserving the ecology of the regions in which they live.

We at ECOoutpost see the economy, the environment and human cultures as inseparable parts of an integrated whole, where each piece of the puzzle depends on the others to give the whole its shape.

It is importantand necessaryto think on the larger scale in terms of global warming or ecological deterioration, but ECOoutpost also believes that we can manage our carbon footprints, on a grassroots day-to-day level, by making it just thatvery personal. Perhaps we cant change the great processes at work in the environment, but we can make simple, lasting and very meaningful changes in our diet, our home, our office environment and our travel, which not only help the environment, but make our personal life healthier and happier.

We believe that if consumers and retailers know that there is a way to shop and travel responsibly and still find beautiful, high-quality products, and exotic and captivating experiences, theyll do it. And you will, too.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

–Margaret Mead