First taste of chocolate

It is a short documentary from a while ago, but I just re-watched it. It is a kind of incredible:

“The first taste of chocolate” in the Ivory Coast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEN4hcZutO0

 

The Ivory Coast is one of the key producers of cocoa beans worldwide, but chocolate is hardly available (the beans are exported and processed abroad. Imported chocolate is not affordable for the local people).

Cocoa beans

Cocoa beans

Sweet

Sweet

Summer schools

Mid-August I had the pleasure again of being a guest speaker at the Summer School Country Risk Management at the University of Maastricht in the South of the Netherlands. It brought me in the right mood; I like the academic environment. So now, I can’t wait to get to Jersey!

On this British Channel island between the UK and France is the Durrell Institute.

 

Closer than you'd think“Durrell strives to save the most threatened species in the most threatened places around the world. Biodiversity is essential for human survival and our aim is to ensure we can persist alongside the myriad of plants and animals that inhabit our planet.”

 

On the first of September I’ll start as a student at the Durrell Wildlife Academy in the course “Latest Developments in Primate Conservation”:

 

http://www.durrell.org/training/courses/Latest-Developments-in-Primate-Conservation/

Primate Conservation

 

Course content

 

More to follow…

Durrell logo

Financial Times – Great Virunga report

financial_times_logo

Please find a great article on Virunga National Park in the Financial Times, dd. 1AUG2014:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c44892a4-1417-11e4-b46f-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz39Q95XeMq

 

FT article 1AUG2014

FT article 1AUG2014

It is fantastic that the Virunga National Park is open for nature tourism again. It is not just great to share the natural beauty of this magnificent UNESCO world heritage site, but it is also constructive for the region. Nature tourism is one of Virunga’s key business cases.

Another recent article (the Guardian, dd. 28JULY2014) explains how the tourism sector is benefitting neighbouring Rwanda massively:

“How Rwanda’s gorillas are helping to sustain entire communities”

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jul/28/rwanda-gorillas-community-tourism?CMP=twt_gu

In June 2014, the Bangkok Post reported about about nature tourism in Uganda: “Ugandan gorillas under threat but tourist dollars protect”. Bwindi Impenetrable Park is Virunga’s other next door neighbour and is another home to the world’s last mountain gorillas:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/417825/ugandan-gorillas-under-threat-but-tourist-dollars-protect

 

Good news is that Virunga is not only open to visitors, but to investors as well. Next to nature tourism, our key focus sectors/ business cases are:

– Hydropower

– Agriculture

– Sustainable fisheries

More information will follow.