Scott Dunn: Our New Partnership for Nature

Travel and conservation are a natural pairing: connected as we are by a shared love of the natural world. Our new partnership with award-winning luxury travel operator Scott Dunn aligns with our goal to support grassroots initiatives that protect the wild destinations that we and our guests cherish most. By working together, we can help support the dedicated local communities protecting their home while building awareness for vital biodiversity restoration work.

The initial focus of our partnership is through Lanka Environment Fund, raising funds to support the protection of local aquatic habitats from the threat of invasive species. Sri Lanka’s wetlands and aquatic habitats are vital ecosystems: from the rich biodiversity they host to the carbon they store. Scott Dunn is delighted to offer guests the opportunity to donate to Conservation Collective for every private trip booked.

About The Project ~ Invasive Water Hyacinths: A Study & Circular Economy Accelerator

Beautiful but harmful to surrounding ecosystems, the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is recognised as one of the most invasive aquatic plants in the world. The free-floating flowering plant grows rapidly and causes havoc for rural communities and local wetlands: clogging waterways, lowering water oxygen levels, blocking the vital sunlight that other plants need to survive and depleting water quality and biodiversity when left unchecked. Invasive alien species are an extensive threat to the survival of animal and plant life, listed as a major factor in 60% and the only driver in 16% of recorded animal and plant extinctions globally.

However, its ability to spread so rapidly also means that the water hyacinth has become a useful natural resource that can be managed for the development of products, such as woven furniture, brake pads, fertiliser, bioenergy, animal feed and bioplastics. Through this partnership, we are supporting the research of local accelerator team Good Life X to scope out and vet existing businesses and local vendors primed to work with water hyacinth and develop an accelerator program to best support and scale the work they do. Crucially, this project is creating an end-to-end solution for eradicating this invasive species, while boosting local communities with alternative livelihoods and restoring the biodiversity upon which the island depends.

We are proud to support key local initiatives that mean our work and your journey can give back to the land, the ecosystems and the people that support it.

Impacts on Local Wildlife

The removal of water hyacinth has several positive impacts on wildlife. By clearing dense mats of this invasive plant, native plant species can be restored in water bodies, which improves feeding and nesting grounds for native and migrant birds. For other larger mammals like the Asian elephant, the removal of water hyacinth improves access to water sources, which is especially critical during the dry periods of the year.

Additionally, clearing the invasive plant helps enhance water quality and oxygen levels, supporting fish and amphibian populations that many bird species rely on for food. Using an invasive plant that currently clogs essential water bodies for both wildlife and humans as a resource for circularity can promote accelerated interventions in water restoration. All in all, contributing towards healthier, more accessible and more biodiverse ecosystems.

Ben Goldsmith
Founder and Chair of Conservation Collective

‘Travel opens hearts, changes perspectives and is a powerful conduit to inspire environmental philanthropy. Through our proud collaboration with Scott Dunn, guests can experience the world’s most extraordinary places while becoming an integral part of their protection. This partnership helps support dedicated local communities restoring the place they call home and shines a light on key grassroots biodiversity restoration work —showing that luxury and conservation can go hand in hand in shaping a more sustainable future.’

Vinod Malwatte
Executive Director of Lanka Environment Fund

‘We are extremely grateful for the support extended to us by Scott Dunn to work on developing circular solutions to the issue of water hyacinth, one of the world’s most invasive aquatic plants, that is wreaking havoc across Sri Lanka’s waterways. Introduced by the British Governor’s wife in 1906 as an ornamental plant, water hyacinth has clogged our island’s aquatic habitats for more than a century! Through funding mobilised by this partnership, our aim is to develop and scale a series of robust local industries that would be using water hyacinth as a material, thereby eliminating them from ecosystems, while stimulating economies, creating jobs, and restoring waterways. We hope this project signals a shift in how invasive species are utilised. Stay tuned for exciting updates from this landmark project!’