Presenters

Anne Becher and Beatrice Blake are co-authors of the ecotourism-oriented travel guidebook The New Key to Costa Rica, published continuously since 1976, and currently in its 16th edition. They lead tours to community-based ecotourism projects through their company, CONSERVacations and helped develop criteria for rating "eco" lodges. They've visited scores of them in Costa Rica during the past 10 years to interview and inspect for their contributions to local environmental conservation, economic wellbeing, and preservation of local culture. Those that meet their criteria are given an extra recognition in their book. They're contributing to the formulation of a global governing body for tourism certification that acknowledges the important relationship between rural communities and conservation.