The Ecotourism Kenya Eco-rating Scheme is a voluntary initiative by the Kenyan tourism industry, designed to further the goals of sustainable tourism by recognizing efforts aimed at promoting environmental, economic and social/cultural values. Eco-rating can be defined as a systematic approach for verifying a tourism organisations performance when evaluated against an agreed suite of criteria (environmental/social/cultural). The focus of the scheme is on tourism businesses interested in and committed to embracing "best practice' in their operations.

Under this scheme best practice refers to highest quality, excellence or superior practices in a particular field by a tourism operator. It is used to designate a leader in the field. Therefore best practice includes, among other things, initiatives aimed at:

• Protecting, conserving and investing in the environment
• Minimizing & reducing wastes
• Preventing pollution
• Encouraging linkages with local communities
• Responsible use of resources such as land, water, energy, culture etc
• Education to tourists

The Ecotourism Kenya Eco-rating Scheme is designed to:

• Promote and increase awareness of environmentally and socially sound business practices
• Conserve the natural resource base on which Kenya's tourism depends
• Improve the overall standards of the tourism industry, thus potentially attracting more tourists

The criteria cover environmental and socio-economic issues. Emphasis has been given to sustainable use of resources and protection of the environment; and support to local economies through linkages and building of capacity of local communities and employees.

There are three levels of certification namely: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each of the levels has stated requirements for qualification other than earning the required points/scores from the self-assessment questionnaire. The self-assessment is followed by field audits by qualified/trained auditors to verify information provided in questionnaire. Random spot checks are also carried out to ensure compliance with requirements of the scheme.

Participating facilities undertake a self-assessment by completing the questionnaire and returning it with all supporting documents to the scheme secretariat at Ecotourism Kenya. The secretariat then undertakes preliminary evaluation of the questionnaire to ensure that all requirements for application have been met. It then convenes a meeting of the eco-rating committee (an independent evaluation team), who review the applications to verify compliance with criteria and make recommendations for certification as necessary. This committee has representations from a broad cross-section of institutions, both private and public as well as leading personalities in conservation and tourism. This committee is re-constituted every two years.

All successful applicants receive a certificate of recognition and are allowed to display/use the scheme logo on their stationery and on promotional material.

Ratings are valid for two years after which the facility is required to re-apply and be re-evaluated if they have to continue use of the scheme logo.

The types of accommodation qualify for rating under this scheme include:

• Hotels
• Lodges
• Camps
• Bush homes
• Bandas

The credibility of the scheme is maintained in the following ways:

• Independent third party audit
• Random audits
• Requirement that another audit be completed with 24 months of the first audit
• Requirement that applicants give name of one referee preferably a park/reserve manager or reputable tour operator, or a community member or local NGO working in conservation/tourism industry.

The day-to-day management of the scheme is done by the Ecotourism Kenya secretariat with support from the management committee.

You can see a list of the facilities eco-rated so far in the eco-rating section of the website.