Environmental awareness initiatives in Phuket (All photos: Banyan Tree Group)
Eight organisations with projects that benefit local communities and natural environments in countries where Banyan Tree Group’s hotels and resorts operate will receive Greater Good Grants launched last year by the Banyan Tree Global Foundation (BTGF).
The projects involve Borneo’s rainforests, Gunung Leuser National Park and Mahakam Delta in Indonesia, Bach Ma National Park and Thua Thien Hue province in Vietnam and Anlung Pring Wetlands in Cambodia. Another two are a water sanitation project in Bumi Indah village, Indonesia, and women empowerment workshops in Phuket, Thailand.
The NGOs were selected because their projects fall under one of six focal areas that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the group’s core ethos of Embracing the Environment, Empowering People.
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Covid-19 resulted in more countries tapping their natural resources to ease economic damage, while funding has been pulled from various conservation initiatives and cultural heritage projects. Thus, the aid is timely, the group says.
Claire Chiang, co-founder and senior vice-president of Banyan Tree Holdings and chairperson of BTGF, says 2020 highlighted “the need to repair our planet and develop a more substantial, science-based road map towards a sustainable future. We may be in the business of hospitality, but we are intrinsically dependent on the intangibles of nature, culture and heritage”.
The grants are open to all individuals over 18 who have an organisational affiliation, for up to US$10,000. The next round of submissions will officially open in June. For details, visit Greater Good Grants.
This article first appeared on May 10, 2021 in The Edge Malaysia.
