Megan Epler Wood, international sustainable development and ecotourism expert from Burlington, Vermont, USA is giving 2 major addresses on ecotourism at PRITHVI 2005 on February 24 and 25th 2005 in Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala the legendary Malabar, India. PRITHVI 2005 is a global eco-meet to bring together diverse players from across the world to establish an international network for sharing of knowledge on ecofriendly products, technologies and initiatives. This meet aims at evolving new partnerships for a sustainable life.

Epler Wood will keynote the ecotourism program with a speech on Ecotourism, Principles, Practices and Policies on February 24th. On February 25th, she will officially launch the new 2005 publication Ecolodges: Exploring Opportunities for Sustainable Business in India which resulted in part from original research by her firm EplerWood International for the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank.

EplerWood will discuss important policies for governments to consider when developing an eco-destination in her first speech and review how the field of ecotourism was launched. Epler Wood was the founder of The International Ecotourism Society in 1990 and was its executive director and subsequently its president between 1991-2002.

In her second address, she will present successful business and finance models for ecolodges worldwide, barriers to success, and models for management and marketing that have proven most successful.

For more information on the results of the event and EplerWood's impressions of the state of Kerala read in Hindu Business Line:

Success Formula for Ecotourism
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/02/27/stories/2005022700151600.htm

System to Monitor Tourism Vital
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/03/07/stories/2005030701371500.htm