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!
This colored sandstone mountain and surrounding are about 350 million years old and. The Rainbow Valley is composed from a rock called Hermannsburg Sandstone.
This type of sandstone is very soft and it can be easily eroded by water or wind.
These red and ochre colors in Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve comes from the surface oxidation of the iron-rich sandstone, they are staining the underlying white sandstone.
The Parks & Wildlife recommends people to avoid climbing on the formations, due to the very soft sandstones.
Kata Tjuṯa also is known as the Olgas, is a group of large, domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 360 km (220 mi) southwest of Alice Springs,
Uluru (sometimes called Ayers Rock) – is one of the largest monoliths in the world. Made of arkosic sandstone. Uluru is known to change color depending on the time of day but is most impressive at sunrise and sunset when it glows stunning red.
Finke Gorge is a national park in the Northern Territory of Australia, covering an area of 458 km², and includes the impressive desert oasis Palm Valley. This is an important wilderness reserve that protects The Finke River, ancient landscapes and Aboriginal cultural sites.
Be careful where you walk and stay on the marked tracks. Young palms can be destroyed by visitors not realizing what they are walking on.
Kings Canyon is the biggest attraction inside Watarrka National Park. Three walks exist at Kings Canyon. The two-km (return) and approximately one-hour Kings Creek Walk traces the bottom of the gorge. At the end of the walk is a platform, with views of the canyon walls above. Access to the walk may be restricted during hot weather.
Watarrka National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia. You can download this official fact sheet for Watarrka National park map of the whole area (inlcuding Uluru and Alice Springs).
Stay at Ayers Rock Resort
Ayers Rock Resort is just 20km from Uluru and provides a variety of accommodation options. They offer a free shuttle bus that circulates the Resort daily, and a suite of complimentary Indigenous activities. All their hotel rooms are equipped with free Wi-Fi.
You can join some of the over 100 tours they offer and experiences Uluru and around Ayers Rock Resort.
West MacDonnell national park is a vast and spectacular section of the MacDonnell Ranges and an outstanding example of an ancient landscape sculptured over time by climatic elements.
There are numerous marked walking tracks in the area. It is also a refuge for rare and threatened plants as well as wildlife.
The West MacDonnell (Tyurretye) National Park stretches some 161 km due west of Alice Springs.
West MacDonnell National Park is accessible nearly all year round. You can camp in one of the camping sites. Camping fees apply and are payable at each camping area.
All tank water in West MacDonnell national park should be treated before drinking.
You can check some of the local territory tour specialists here with over 100 day tours and adventure camping tours.
The Alice Springs Desert Park is an environmental education facility and wildlife park in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Do not miss Nature Theatre with free-flying birds of prey and other animals demonstrate their natural survival skills at the base of the MacDonnell Ranges.
In the night at Nocturnal House you can see mammals, reptiles, birds and invertebrates including rare Australian marsupials such as the bilby and mala might come out of the darkness.
Discover Alice Springs
The area is culturally important to the local Arrernte people. You can visit the galleries on Todd Mall, to get to know the art and stories of the local Aboriginal Arrernte people.
You can rent a four-wheel-drive or a camel trek tour across the rolling sand dunes of the Simpson Desert.
This is a place where you’ll find many natural wonders of the Northern Territory’s outback, including Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon, the West MacDonnell Ranges and their iconic Larapinta Trail and a place to explore Australia’s Aboriginal culture.
Field of Light Uluru belongs to a British artist, Bruce Munro, who was inspired by Uluru, and spent 4 years in the making and consists of 50,000 slender stems crowned with frosted-glass spheres. The award-winning exhibition, located at Ayers Rock Resort in the spiritual heart of Australia, opened on 1 April 2016 and has extended for a further period and will now remain in place until 31 December 2020.
A spectacular flight over the landscape of Australia’s Red Center. Watch the vibrant colours and changing landscapes of the outback come to life on a flight over Alice Springs with a helicopter flight. Encompasses all the best sites of the Red Centre, viewing Uluru, Kata Tjuta, Lake Amadeus and Kings Canyon.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the planet’s most spectacular and extraordinary natural wonders, where you can see the largest coral reef system and the living organism that can be found only here, home to 25 percent of the planet’s marine life..
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s seven natural wonders and a World Heritage Area. It is the largest coral reef system and covers 344,400 square kilometers and it contains more than 3000 individual reef systems, 760 fringe reefs, 134 species of sharks and rays, to 400 different hard and soft corals, a huge variety of marine life, plants and animals.
Human factors resulted in a 50% decline in coral cover* between 1985 – 2012.
Some of the Major threats to the Great Barrier Reef
Climate change caused due to human activities is one of the greatest threats to the long-term future of the Great Barrier Reef. Tropical sea surface temperatures have risen by 0.4–0.5 °C since the late 19th century which leads to a greater risk of heat stress and mass coral bleaching.
Increased greenhouse gases from human activities result in climate change and ocean acidification. The world’s ocean is a massive sink that absorbs carbon dioxide (CO2). The higher the levels of atmospheric CO2, the greater the impact on water quality.
Contributing factors to climate change are increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere include burning fossil fuels for heat and energy, producing some industrial products, raising livestock, fertilizing crops, and deforestation.
Coastal development
This is affecting coastal habitats that support the Reef and producing damaging urban run-off, litter, and marine debris. Some of those activities are used for agriculture, urban and industrial development, mining, port activities, and island development. The coastal developments can have a negative impact on the Reef’s health.
Poor marine water quality from land-based run-off is one of the most significant threats to the long-term health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.
Coral reefs, and the ecosystems they sustain depend on the quality of the water within and around them.
Various regulations, conventions and Reef policies cover the potential effects of ship-sourced pollutants, including discharge and disposal of waste, exchanges of ballast water, oil spills and anti-foulant paint.
Fishing
The unsustainable overfishing of keystone species, such as the Giant Triton and sharks, can cause disruption to food chains vital to life on the reef. Illegal fishing and poaching elsewhere are impacting global fish stocks. This will increase the incentive for such activity on the Great Barrier Reef.
Impacts can include increased coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, increased macroalgae abundance, and algal blooms. Crown-of-thorns starfish are native to the Great Barrier Reef but when found in large numbers, and when coral is under stress, they can quite simply destroy corals by eating their living tissue or ‘skin’.
Want to see the Great Barrier Reef without damaging it? Here are ways you can help save the reef.
Reef HQ, located in Townsville, is the national research and education station and home to the largest living coral reef aquarium in the world. The researchers can educate you on what threats to the reef to look out for, like coral bleaching or thorns starfish which eats and destroys coral reefs. You can also report anything you see and take a picture and send it to the facility which tracks the incidents and their locations. They can also give you great advice on the best eco-tours of the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
It’s perfect for underwater reef adventures with its underwater tunnel of the Predator Exhibit or a place to go when the weather doesn’t allow you to enjoy outside.
Here is located also the Australian Government’s national education center and the site of a special Turtle Hospital.
Just off the coast of Cairns is Fitzroy Island.
Fitzroy Island is an unspoiled tropical paradise of rainforest and beaches within the calm sheltered waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Fitzroy Island is a National Park, discover spectacular walking trails, abundant marine life, and local wildlife.
You can tour one of the largest turtle rehabilitation centers in Queensland, as well as being able to get up close with these incredible creatures and learn how the center, its scientists and volunteers provide much-needed medical care and rehabilitation to hundreds of injured turtles found in the region.
Study Mantas on Lady Elliot
Situated within a highly protected ’Green Zone’ the island is a sanctuary for over 1,200 species of marine life and is known for its abundance of manta rays, turtles, the amazing array of spectacular marine life.
The island’s eco-resort caters to all budgets and filters all its own seawater onsite for drinking and composts its food waste with its own hybrid solar power station to basic low-impact accommodation. It’s known for its eco-initiatives and its eco-tourism tours.
You can also choose a guided reef walks, snorkel or dive in one of the best locations on the reef.
This co-friendly and remote island is located on the Southern Great Barrier Reef and it is a dream destination for any offers first-class snorkeling or check out one of the 20 dive sites surrounding.
And the best thing is – it is with television-free rooms and no mobile phone reception, so you can fully enjoy your vacation.
There is also a research facility, producing leading research to help protect the Great Barrier Reef and collecting data to help to understand the reef and protect its future. You can take a tour of the station and meet the scientists who work on the island and learn more about their important work.
You might even see Green Sea Turtles as they return annually to lay their eggs, or spot whales from the shores in June.
The Heron Island Research Station is an Advanced Ecotourism Certified resort and the largest island-based research station in the Southern Hemisphere.
Eco-luxury on Lizard Island
The Lizard Island is located just an hour flight from Cairns and you can enjoy resort escape with an eco-hotel experience literally on the reef. There are 24 private beaches and with only 40 suites and villas.
There’s also a research facility on the island which offers tours twice a week. Also, within a short boat ride, you’ll find one of the most famous dive sites on the Great Barrier Reef.
How you can help
Shrink your carbon footprint to reduce greenhouse gases.
Drive less.
Reduce, reuse, or recycle.
Purchase energy-efficient appliances and lightbulbs.
Print less. Download more. Use less water.
Do your part to help improve overall coral reef condition.
Learn about good reef etiquette and practice it when in the water.
Volunteer for beach and waterway clean ups.
Is it Eco-Friendly?
How do you know if your tour operator is ‘eco-friendly?’ Eco Tourism Australia’s website offers a comprehensive guide. You can check the eco-credentials of your tour operator. This is a great resource to help you enjoy your holiday, while also protecting the world’s largest living organism: the Great Barrier Reef!
