Mahoora Tented Safari Camps achieve prestigious conservation milestone with carbon-neutral status

Eco Team’s Mahoora Tented Safari Camps and Explorer by Mahoora Camps, built with the utmost respect for the environment and aspiring to leave behind nothing but footprints, proudly announce a unique conservation milestone, as the country’s first ever tented safari camps to be renewing its certification as carbon-neutral.

Guests at Mahoora Tented Safari camps in Yala, Wilpattu and Udawalawe, together with Explorer by Mahoora located in less frequented parks such as Gal Oya, Kumana, Bundala, Maduru Oya, Dambana, Wasgamuwa, Knuckles, and Minneriya, are now able to enjoy the pristine wilderness with full knowledge that their travel carbon footprint has been fully offset.

Establishing a new bar of environmental stewardship and sustainability, Mahoora, in addition to efforts to greatly reduce gas emissions from its operations, have also offset emissions through purchasing credits. The agreement to voluntarily fund carbon neutrality from internal revenues was concluded recently.  

Based on the agreement, Eco TeamLtd. purchased 25 tonnes of Carbon Credits on behalf of Mahoora, from Carbon Credit Capital (CCC) LLC, a global specialised carbon offset management entity linking international and local partners to high-quality carbon emission reduction projects. The newly purchased credits are generated by the ‘Wind Power’ Project at Jai Bhim by Serum Institute of India Limited, India.

Commenting on this initiative, Eco Team CEO Anuruddha Bandara said: “All our camps showcase and celebrate Sri Lanka’s unique beauty and biodiversity. Not only are we passionate environmentalists, we are also committed to responsible tourism, mitigating our emissions footprint, and supporting environment conservation as a way of reducing human-caused emissions. Achieving the first-ever carbon-neutral status for all our camps shows that we take our emission reduction seriously and are able to set a positive example offering guests a truly eco-friendly experience.”

The purchased credits will be used from November 2018 onwards. Guests who stay at Mahoora Camps will be presented with a souvenir crafted from recycled paper with a certificate mentioning their holiday has been totally environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral.

Offsetting carbon dioxide emissions is the reduction greenhouse gases in order to compensate for an emission made elsewhere. In simple terms, offsetting one tonne of carbon means will be one tonne less in the atmosphere than would otherwise have been released. It is accepted as the fastest way to achieve emission reductions and the only way to achieve carbon neutrality.

As a pioneering eco-tourism company in Sri Lanka, which firmly believes in ‘walking the talk’, Mahoora camps since 2010 have taken continuous incremental steps to reduce the emissions from its activities. These include becoming Sri Lanka’s first Carbon Neutral Luxury Camp in 2010.In addition, championing ‘Go Green & Sustainable’ through its operations Mahoora Camps use Effective Microorganism Technology (EMT) to manage waste at campsites, have made all sites a plastic-free zone, use solar power to generate electricity, reduced the use of artificial lights to minimise light pollution and work closely with local communities in providing indirect benefits through its operations. 

As pioneers in achieving carbon neutrality, Mahoora Camps understand the importance of sustainable tourism. Having embraced this important ethos, the camps encourages every traveller in become a responsible tourist, who in turn are inspired by these efforts knowing their stay results in zero impact to the environment in terms of emissions.