TOSCO - Tourism supporting conservation
ORIGINS
During a film shoot in Namibia on the Skeleton Coast, Perrine Crosmary, our president (HISA), Félix Vallat, founder of the TOSCO NGO and her colleague Charlotte Hienard met tourists off-road, driving by car and approaching sea lion colonies too closely, at sites where they are extremely vulnerable.
Cape fur seals establish their colonies on beaches and rocky spurs of the coast. Males, females and juveniles are extremely vulnerable and face many environmental threats every day.
Tourists that choose to observe wild animals too closely actually create a significant impact on the behaviour of fur seals, generating additional stress. Indeed, as soon as the sea lions detect a man in “standing position”, they panic and flee towards the sea. In the rush, females unfortunately often leave their young behind them, many of which are then lost for good. For those that are already fragile or injured, this extra effort to flee is very expensive and exhausting, sometimes leading them to death.
Other species also interact negatively with walkers along these wild coasts. Breeding birds, brown hyenas, jackals and other predators on the coast are also disturbed by car motors and stray hikers that do not respect a reasonable distance between them and the animals.
About our PARTNER :
TOSCO, which means Tourism Supporting Conservation, is a non-profit organization that connects the tourism industry to local people and organizations fighting for the conservation of native wildlife. By supporting conservation projects and local people, TOSCO Trust contributes to safeguarding Namibia’s natural resources. TOSCO is also committed to promoting eco-friendly tourism in the country.
Because in Namibia, people and wildlife coexist peacefully in many places. Wild animals freely roam the scenic landscapes of Namibia, which creates a real tourist attraction for the country. But this proximity also generates other conflicts for people whose livelihoods are already adversely affected by wildlife. After a series of conflicts between humans and wild animals, passionate tourism operators joined forces to help avoid and mitigate these conflicts in the interest of local communities, wildlife, flora, fauna, and tourism.
Thus, TOSCO Trust was founded in 2012. The objective of TOSCO is to generate funds to help rural people in their efforts to safeguard the natural resources exploited by tourism, especially wildlife, on the communal lands of Namibia.
TOSCO also strives to provide a communication platform for stakeholders, in particular the tourism industry, organizations for animal protection, nature and local populations, in order to raise their awareness of animal conservation and responsible tourism in Namibia.