Long Run Destination founding member contributes to roundtable on emerging markets and approaches for marine ecosystem services
Coastal and marine ecosystems are threatened and under-valued. They provide protection from storms, generate food and act as carbon sinks, yet whilst oceans cover 70% of the earth’s surface, only 0.8% are protected. To emphasize the importance of marine and coastal systems and explain how her Long Run Destination (LRD) operates, Chumbe LRD founder, Sibylle Riedmiller, will be participating in the first-ever marine-focused Katoomba Meeting, held in Palo Alto, California, on February 9-11, 2010.
During the private sector roundtable, Riedmiller will present how Chumbe values and maintains the ecosystem.in which it is located. The roundtable will focus on ecosystem services as the emerging new frame for marine and coastal resource use and management. Participants will define corporate needs; identify approaches and emerging markets for services provided by marine and coastal ecosystems; and ways of engaging with the private sector. The gathering will strategize around how businesses can play a role in developing markets for such services.
Chumbe Island Coral Park in Tanzania has seven award-winning eco-bungalows which use pioneering state-of-the-art eco-technology and were built from local materials. Chumbe’s Reef Sanctuary is East Africa’s best-preserved shallow reef, home to over 200 species of coral and 400 species of fish. Chumbe is a not-for-profit operation where eco-tourism activities are directly related to the non-consumptive use of natural resources.
For more information: Katoomba meeting website; Chumbe Island Coral Park; Chumbe Long Run Destination.
