Limosa - Birdwatching and Wildlife Hoildays Worldwide

As a company with its beliefs founded upon the welfare of birds and the well-being of the environment, it goes without saying that we care passionately about the world, its wild places and its wildlife. We do our best to operate all of our tours in an environmentally responsible manner - not just by our behaviour and actions in the field, but by utilising conservation-minded local agents as well as local services such as guides, eco-lodges and produce in the places we visit. In recognition of our efforts, Limosa has achieved AITO's 2-star Responsible Tourism accreditation. Our Responsible Tourism Manager is Mike Crewe.

It's an inescapable fact that air travel is a major cause of global warming. We take the issues of climate care very seriously, and encourage all our travellers to negate their share of the damaging CO2 emissions created by their flights by making a donation in proportion to the length of their journey. Unlike some companies, however, this is not mandatory as we prefer to give you the freedom to make a personal decision how much to give, and whom to give it to. We will be more than happy to suggest appropriate organisations.

Our tours often take place in countries where the whole idea of conservation is in its infancy and we must take care to be seen to act responsibly, especially by local people. We do our utmost to minimise disturbance to the birds and wildlife that we take groups to see.

We believe not enough emphasis is placed upon the positive aspects of eco-tourism, which can far outweigh the negative as long as care is taken to minimise our impact. Tourism has a vital role to play in supporting local peoples, as well as fostering an enlightened attitude towards wildlife and the environment. Indeed, tourism can be a major factor in saving an area from harm or destruction caused by damaging industrial or agricultural practices and forest clearance.

In the same way, we believe that our tours to countries such as Iceland and Cyprus - where we are vehemently opposed to whaling and the slaughter of wild birds respectively - serve to promote the cause of conservation such that these practices may eventually be stopped.

We absolutely forbid the collecting of specimens on any of our tours, including the picking of wildflowers.

Our Commitment to Conservation

• We actively support conservation through sponsorship and donation, as well as through our actions, our advertising in wildlife magazines and our support for important fund-raising events such as the British Birdwatching Fair - right down to recycling our household and office waste.
  
  
• Our restyled brochure is also much ‘greener' - our development of Tour Info Packs represents a saving of well in excess of 500,000 pages per year, as well as saving energy, using less trees and significantly reducing waste, too. Limosa Holidays is a participant in the idesign4 Tree Planting Scheme to offset any CO2 on the design, print, production and distribution of our holiday brochure. Our design agency responsible for the production of our brochure, idesign4 ltd, together with our printer DNA, has launched a Tree Planting Scheme to help companies, like Limosa, offset any CO2 in the production of their marketing collateral. This is a Carbon Neutral product. Located on 18 acres of land at the heart of the Suffolk countryside, idesign4 is planting UK native trees, placing Rootgrow mycorrhizal friendly fungi under the roots to ensure the trees not only stay healthy but also help to absorb an additional 30% CO2. Printed on Regency FSC accredited paper, providing assurance that this paper is manufactured from material sourced from forests certified according to strict environmental, social and economical standards. This accreditation helps to ensure it saves forests, protects wildlife habitats, keeps water cleaner and protects the rights of local communities worldwide. Printed using ‘Ink Redible' vegetable oil-based inks from renewable sources. Cover section has also been laminated using Eco-print laminate which is sustainable, compostable and recyclable. Limosa Holidays is serious about reducing its carbon footprint.
  
  
• Many of our leaders have a background of working for conservation bodies such as RSPB, BirdLife International and English Nature, as well as various county wildlife trusts. By employing local guides and utilising eco-friendly lodges on many of our tours - in Hungary, Bulgaria, India, Sri Lanka, The Falklands, Gambia and Brazil to name but a few - we help both to support local economies and to demonstrate the importance and value of the natural world, as well as to encourage conservation in countries where it matters most.
  
  
• The British Birdwatching Fair - the world's largest annual gathering of birdwatching enthusiasts - is a major fund-raiser for conservation, having contributed in excess of one million pounds to selected areas of worldwide ornithological importance identified by BirdLife International. Over the years, our financial support for this event has included help for projects in Morocco, Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brazil, Sumatra, Cuba, Peru, Thailand, globally threatened seabirds and the world's critically endangered birds.
  
  
• Additional donations and support we have given over the years include RSPB, BirdLife International's Threatened Birds Programme and Eastern Cuba project, the BTO, Oriental Bird Club (Green-billed Coucal project in Sri Lanka, and Sociable Lapwing survey in India), RSPB, SOVS (Spolocnost pre ochranu vtactva na Slovensku) in Slovakia, Sociedad Española de Ornitologia (Spanish Steppes project), and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (£7500 to the Red-breasted Goose monitoring project in the Balkans). We are Corporate Sponsors of the Neotropical Bird Club, the Oriental Bird Club and the African Bird Club.