Taiping is among the top 3 most sustainable cities in the world, according to the 2019 Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards, right behind Ljubljana, Slovenia and Vancouver, Canada in the “Best of Cities” category!
ITB Berlin hosted the most prestigious Awards Ceremony for Sustainable Destinations. This event is dedicated to recognizing innovation and good practices in tourism management: islands, towns, regions and whole countries. The award winners have been selected by a Jury representing 12 international organizations.
Taiping rated as one of the top green destinations.
The town’s Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff received the award.
Taiping Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff said, “This is the first time we received a prestigious international award. This achievement is due to the hard work of the community and all relevant governmental agencies.”
“The council always works hard to make Taiping a popular tourist destination,” Abd Rahim added.
The “Best of Cities” category of the awards recognizes cities that show leadership in urban sustainability and in avoiding disruptive over-tourism.
Taiping is the second largest town in Perak after the state capital Ipoh. The town also is known as the wettest town in Peninsular Malaysia. Its unusual rainfall has also blessed its Lake Gardens with a fertile and splendid collection of flora and century-old rain trees. Itis characterized by aging buildings and clear blue skies with high chances of rain.
Green Destinations, a non-profit organization that focuses on the efforts of creating sustainable tourism, leading global cooperation between experts, listed Taiping on its 100 Sustainable Cities list in December 2018.
Taiping used to be a thriving tin-mining town that lost its luster with the rise of Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur as cities.
Taiping has previously been recognized as the Best Destination Manager 2016 by the Tourism Promotion Board for the Asia Pacific; besides having received the Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2017 in Best Heritage and Eco Travel Destination Category and Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2018 for the Best Tourism Promotion Campaign.
For those who have not visited Taiping, it is time to consider visiting this beautiful city!
Volcanoes National Park sits on the north-western province of Rwanda in a small town known as Musanze. This park is the oldest national park in the African continent and it covers 160 km² of rainforest and home to the Rwandan section of the Virungas Mountains, five volcanoes, and shelter endangered Mountain Gorillas.
The Virungas, which tower over Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC presents a variety of climbing and trekking options. Volcanoes national park runs a very smooth gorilla trekking operation. The treks are well organized and structured.
What is Mountain gorilla trekking?
Mountain gorilla trekking is a field exercise that involves traveling into the gorilla habitat, exploring the forest, walking in the footprints and following all leads of fresh Mountain gorilla presence until you reach their exact location. Mountain gorillas live in a group of several individuals with a dominant adult.
Rwanda Gorilla trekking
Tracking endangered mountain gorillas through the mysterious intimacy of the rain forest, home for over 200 species of a variety of colorful birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects among other creatures and chattering of the rare golden monkey is one unforgettable truly unique experiences and make a complete Rwanda safari package. You’ll find thick moors with endemic giant lobelia and groundsel.
The massif Virungas Mountains is home to around half of the world’s precious mountain gorillas. It is one of the three other only habitats for Mountain gorillas on the planet and the only possible destinations for Mountain gorilla trekking expeditions in Rwanda.
Below you’ll find some guidelines for how to behave around gorillas are meant to ensure both your safety and that of the gorillas.
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Guidelines
Gorillas are susceptible to human infections since their DNA is a 98% match with human DNA and their immunity is not as strong as ours so even a common cold, can be dangerous to the gorilla. Some of these are
Gorilla trekking guidelines in Rwanda include:
Do not go gorilla trekking, if you have a cold, flu, or any other contagious infection.
Only one group of tourists can visit the mountain gorillas each day and you can only spend an hour with them.
Keep a distance of 7m from the gorillas, and if the gorillas try to get close, try to move further away.
Keep your voices low and try not to make sudden movements while around the gorillas.
Do not eat or drink when you are with the gorillas
Hiking, canoeing, mountain biking, and village experiences offer something for everyone to enjoy. The park is the top tourist destination in Rwanda – a small country located in East Africa and surrounded by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda’s capital city is Kigali, which is accessible via the Kigali International Airport.
Tourism in Volcanoes National Park is well established. The gorilla tracking experiences and hotels operate smoothly and the people are friendly, appreciating the value of tourism to their economy and their area. There are a number of accommodation near Volcanoes National Park in both Uganda and Rwanda where you can stay for the duration of your gorilla safari.
Those in Ruhengeri and Kinigi generally fall into the lower budget categories while the more expensive can be found closer to the park.
The rainforests are at a higher altitude and temperatures are generally lowest in the African region. The tropical sun cause evaporation of vapor and rain forming. In Volcanoes National Park, it rains at any time regardless of the season.
The park has extensive bamboo forests and some of the last remaining Afro-montane forest habitat on the planet. a spectacular array of rare and endangered animals and plants.
Want to learn more about other sustainable destinations? Check our other Sustainable.
Curitiba is the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. It is known as a cultural center, Curitiba is home to a number of performance venues. Curitiba is one of the largest cities in the prosperous Southern region, and its population is largely descended from German, Ukrainian, Russian, Italian and Polish immigrants. The city’s population is close to 2 million.
Curitiba’s eco-city initiatives began long before the current mandate to clean up cities was born. In 1971, architect Jaime Lerner was elected mayor for his first out of three terms and came up with innovative and creative solutions.
The city has 17 new parks, 90 miles of bike paths, trees everywhere, and traffic and garbage systems that officials from other cities come to study.
The average salary resident of Curitiba about 3.5 times greater than the minimum in the country, thus taxes in Curitiba are not higher than in the whole country.
Curitiba, Brazil pioneered the use of bus rapid transit and is viewed as a model bus rapid transit (BRT) system for other countries in Latin America and around the world. Curitiba was the first city in Brazil to organize private bus operation in catchment areas and the first city in the world to implement a full BRT system.
They are widely recognized for their many innovative features. The overall system is the result of many incremental decisions aimed at improving service quickly, pragmatically, and affordably.
The bus system includes about 37 miles of median busways and carries about 2 million people per day. About 70% of Curitiba’s commuters use the bus system even though Curitiba’s automobile ownership and per capita incomes are significantly higher than the national average for Brazil.
Buses also travel on urban roadways, so infrastructure investments can be substantially lower than the capital costs required for rail systems.
The buses run frequently—some as often as every 90 seconds and the stations are convenient, well-designed, comfortable, and attractive.
Curitiba has one of the most heavily used, yet low-cost, transit systems in the world.
They initiated a system that focused on meeting the transportation needs of all people—rather than those using private automobiles. They avoided large-scale and expensive projects in favor of hundreds of modest initiatives.
Passengers pay a single fare for travel throughout the system, with unlimited transfers between buses at terminals where different services intersect.
Very limited public parking is available in the downtown area, and most employers offer transportation subsidies, especially to low-skilled and low-paid employees.
Additionally, to avoid congestion in central areas, various streets in the city center were pedestrianized.
The result was a highly reliable mass transport system that dramatically reduces automobile usage, fuel consumption and emission levels in the city. A versatile, cost- and time-effective model that can be implemented by making improvements to existing transport infrastructure and vehicles.
A low-cost transit system used by over 75% of travelers in Curitiba, a city of three million-plus. Eliminates about 27 million automobile trips annually, saving 10 million gallons of fuel and lowering the city’s CO2 emissions by 25%. A model for developing cities worldwide.
The city administration had to find a solution for the frequent flooding that was taking place due to the geographical position of the city.
Curitiba’s park system was designed to preserve the river’s meandering course. During heavy rains the river backs up and spreads out into the low-lying area of the parks, forming temporary lakes and mimicking a natural floodplain.
Curitiba has 400 square kilometers of public parks or forest space or more than 50 square meters per inhabitant. It emits 25 percent less carbon per capita than most Brazilian cities.
The local botanical garden is divided on the site of the former city landfill, it serves as a recreation and research center. In addition, there are 17 parks – and each is dedicated to a particular topic. In addition, these parks are easily accessible using the public transport system.
Curitiba developers get a tax break if their projects include green areas.
Curitiba’s Recycling Initiatives
Curitiba’s citizens separate their trash into just two categories, organic and inorganic, for pick-up by two kinds of trucks. Curitiba has also spearheaded programs that encourage residents to keep their streets clean and recycle, in exchange trash and recyclables by offering them bus tokens, food, and cash.
The trash goes to a plant that employs people to separate bottles from cans from plastic.
Recovered materials are sold to local industries. The recycling program costs no more than the old landfill, but the city is cleaner, there are more jobs, farmers are supported and the poor get food and transportation. Curitiba recycles two-thirds of its garbage – one of the highest rates of any city, north or south.
Curitiba now has the most developed in the Brazilian system of social support and one of the most viable educational and outreach programs. Students are educated to become engaged citizens through learning progressive social and environmental concepts at an early age. A great example of this is the recycling program.
The Brazilian city of Curitiba has developed a model of successful operation and development, learning to deal with a wide range of issues from transport and economic – to the social and environmental.
The success of the city can be largely attributed to mayor Jaime Lerner, whose goals are largely rooted in developing a city that works efficiently for all its residents, and produces a society of satisfied individuals. Curitiba is an excellent example of a society working together as a collective.
It is hard to believe that so many cities in the world today are unable to find solutions for better mobility, sustainability and general quality of life.
