Visiting a rainforest is a unique nature experience. During the day, these unique biomes burst with a busy buzz and bright flashes of colour, while at night, the air comes alive with the shrieks and calls of the forest’s many nocturnal creatures. Amidst all this natural beauty, it’s important to tread lightly. Rainforests are home to an estimated 40 to 75 percent of all the world’s plants and animals, including many still just being discovered.

The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System is impressive, covering 560 miles from Cancun to Honduras. In Belize, where the reef stretches for a remarkable 186 miles, a company called Blue Ventures has taken a creative and effective approach to conservation. Beginning in January of 2010, Blue Ventures began a project to understand the impact the local coastal communities have on the nearby reef.

The picture was taken at Coral Cay (or Crawl Cay as it is locally known), about 20 minutes away by boat ride from Isla Colón/Bocas Island. The Cay is appropriately named after the abundant coral reefs that surround it. It is one the best places to snorkel and a great place to have lunch if you wish to do so in a spectacular environment.

No fewer than 1.6 billion people — nearly a quarter of the world’s population — depend on forests for their livelihoods. Forests are also critical to maintaining biodiversity, mitigating climate change and enabling key ecosystem functions that regulate the biosphere. And yet about 45 per cent of the world’s forests have already been cleared. Here are some hard numbers to ponder that tell us how and why we should stop.

Fellow travellers, I have a weakness: I like to shop. Worse, when I travel, my addiction takes over. My Achilles heel is for local souvenirs, the more creative and original, the better. Among my finer purchases is a gorgeous green silk scarf bought in Vietnam, an unusual hand-carved mask from Belize that now hangs on my wall and a pair of small but colourful paintings I picked up in Peru.