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In these days of environmental awareness and sensitivity, Camel Trophy is justifiably proud of it's record of ecological protection and preservation. The philosophy is straightforward; Camel Trophy has a fundamental regard for the areas through which it travels, as it is with these very locations that the future of the event lies. In a testament to Camel Trophy's respect for the environment, the event has been welcomed back by its host countries on several occasions.
All Camel Trophy Adventures have taken place with the full support, patronage and cooperation of the state and local governments concerned. It goes without saying that without this cooperation, the event would cease to exist. Each year the Camel Trophy management works in close collaboration with these governments, as well as various environmental bodies, to ensure that the presence of the event will in no way disturb the ecology or the environment of their dramatic land.
The event only uses existing tracks and trails and often helps local communities by re-opening routes once closed by natural disasters. This has involved clearing landslides in Indonesia and repairing bridges in the Amazon. It is through these and other generous acts that Camel Trophy has shown its respect for the environment.
As an event co-sponsor, Land Rover has an equally valuable environmental policy based on consideration and respect. In the U.S., Land Rover North America is a founding member of Tread Lightly!, an educational organization dedicated to increasing awareness on how to enjoy public and private lands without causing harmful impact. Land Rover endeavors to enure that natural habitats can be enjoyed today as well as in the future.
Over the years, Camel Trophy and Land Rover have played a significant role in bringing relief and a better existence to many parts of the world. Camel Trophy underscores its environmental stance by giving something directly back to the environment and enabling a further understanding of the region. In previous years participants have built a meteorological monitoring station Sabah, Malaysia, and a research facility in the Andes.
Listed below are examples of Camel Trophy's support of scientific studies and community projects:
- In 1989 a Land Rover 110 was donated to the San Diego Zoo for specific use on its elephant research project in Africa.
- At the conclusion of Camel Trophy Siberia-USSR '90, three Land Rover vehicles were donated to the Baikal National Park for environmental monitoring, and two Defender 110s were given to Raleigh International -- a U.K.-based youth development charity -- for use on environmental and community projects in Guyana and Australia.
- Also in 1990, Camel Trophy assisted the Pan South America expedition -- a fund-raising journey from Caracas to Rio de Janeiro -- to support Brazil's indigenous Yanomami Indians, a race threatened by disease.
- In 1991, a Land Rover Defender 110 was donated to Dr. Jan Van den Homburg and his team at the Roman Catholic Mission for the Diocese of Morogoro in Mikumi, providing them with an invaluable mode of transport for their health care programs.
- In response to a request for help from Britain's Southampton University and its patron, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Camel Trophy became a major sponsor of Elfin Rainforest '91, a biological, economic and physical survey of the Elfin and lower Montane rainforest in the northwest reaches of Costa Rica.
- Of the four 4-ton Bedford trucks used to transport the international media on Camel Trophy Guyana '92, two were donated to an ecological farming project in the Annai region of Guyana, and two delivered into the charge of the Guyana Defense Force for use by Raleigh International.
- For the first time in the history of the event, Camel Trophy participants built a permanent base for the Malaysian authorities and ecological research groups when they constructed a two-story scientific field station in the Maliau Basin in the heart of Sabah's rainforests in 1993.
- The State Government of Sabah also welcomed the donation of a Camel Trophy Land Rover Discovery for use at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve to assist with elephant poaching control.
- Camel Trophy participants worked with the Universidad Nacional de Salta in 1994 to construct an Andean Research Center in Argentina. Designed as a permanent base for students and scientists to monitor the ecosystem of this very significant area, results from this research will be of scientific and medical value to Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru. A Camel Trophy Land Rover Defender 110 was donated to facilitate work at the center.
- During 1994, Camel Trophy became a major sponsor of the Oxford University scuba diving expedition of Sabah. The project -- to study the coral reefs in the Tengku Abdul Rahman National Park -- will enable the status of the reefs to be assessed for long term monitoring and preservation.
- During Camel Trophy Mundo Maya '95, participants carried out an archaeological survey on a previously un-charted ancient Maya site. With help from the twenty teams, the archaeologists achieved more in 48 hours than they would have otherwise completed in months, perhaps even years.
- The Programme for Belize, the Belize Zoo and the Guatemalan Tourist Institute, Inguat, each received Land Rover Discoverys that will greatly help the smooth running of these organizations.
- And for the third year in succession, Camel Trophy donated a field research station. In 1995, the Montecristo National Park that covers part of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador received a facility that will house teams of scientists 2.5 km (1.5 miles) above sea level.
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