La Ruta Moskitia, Honduras – Winner of best in park or protected area award of, Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2007

La Ruta Moskitia Ecotourism Alliance (LARUMO Alliance).Honduras, which won Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards 2007, is 100% community-owned and operated. All financial benefits go directly to local communities.Six indigenous communities have developed ecotourism products and services within the Rio Plátano Biosphere Reserve. This earns them good money and has lessend dependence on hunting, fishing, slash & burn agriculture and cattle grazing which were taking heavy toll of biodiversity of the area. La Ruta Moskitia has received support from the United Nations Development Program’s Small Grants Program in Honduras and Rare (http://www.rareconservation.org/), an international conservation organization whose mission is to protect wild lands of globally significant biodiversity by enabling local people to benefit from their protection. Rio Plátano Biosphere Reserve encompasses over 525,000 hectares and was the first World Heritage Site to be designated as such in Central America. The Reserve encompasses coastal wetlands, pine savannas, tropical forests, and is home to rare species, like Jaguars, and Manatees as well as over 300 bird species, including Parrots, Toucans, and the elusive Harpy Eagle. An estimated 2,000 vascular plants can be found in the reserve.200 amphibian and reptiles species have been recirded. The beaches of the Reserve are critical nesting grounds for four species of endangered sea turtles.

For more details log on to http://larutamoskitia.com/about.html