Credit: Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThe U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has reportedly rushed to wipe the metadata from some of its memos after the embedded information indicated that they were written by people associated with Project 2025. While many members of President Donald Trump's administration have links to The Heritage Foundation's controversial movement, questions have been raised regarding whether some of these authors are even part of the OPM.Spotted by Reddit user r/AdeptGreen, several memos issued by the OPM since Trump's inauguration have had metadata showing them to be written by people linked to Project 2025. Metadata is information about another set of information, such as its author, the date it was created, and the file's size. It is frequently embedded within the file.For example, the OPM states that Jan. 22 memo Guidance on Presidential Memorandum: Return to In-Person Work is from its Acting Director Charles Ezell. However, the document's metadata indicates that it was actually created by Noah Peters, an attorney linked to Project 2025. Mashable downloaded the memo on Tuesday prior to its alteration, and was able to view the original metadata.While Peters' name was in the metadata of some OPM memos, others were apparently penned by James Sherk, who Trump has announced will serve on the White House Domestic Policy Council. He has also been linked to Project 2025, previously working for The Heritage Foundation for over a decade. According to the metadata, Sherk authored two joint memos with the OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).While the OPM has reportedly removed the metadata and reuploaded its memos, Mashable was unable to access them at all at time of writing on Wednesday, the links to each one now failing to load. Tech researcher Molly White has archived the original documents. It's common practice for managers to have employees draft documents which they subsequently sign off on. However, it's much less common for people to write memos for departments that they aren't a part of. Though Peters' LinkedIn page now lists him as a full-time Senior Advisor at OPM, Mashable was unable to find any information suggesting Sherk has any role with either this department or the OMB.Peters' and Sherk's apparent work on the OPM's memos appear to be the product of Trump's increasing politicisation of the federal workforce. Last week Trump issued an executive order reinstating Schedule F, a policy from his first term which reclassified thousands of federal workers as political appointees. This reclassification granted Trump's administration the authority to hire, dismiss, or otherwise manage people in these roles including installing workers who adhere to the president's politics. Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news.Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!Such consolidation of power was also a goal for Project 2025, which stated in its policy agenda that a conservative U.S president must have the "boldness to bend or break the bureaucracy to the presidential will."Regardless of its appropriateness, it wouldn't be shocking to see more federal documents with surprising authors in the future especially considering Trump's plans to shrink the U.S. government. Almost all federal employees were offered buyouts on Tuesday, with promises of around eight months of wages on the condition that they voluntarily leave their jobs by Feb. 6. Over two million workers reportedly received the offer.Though the Trump administration likely doesn't expect everyone to accept its offer, doing so looks like a smart move right now. Trump has made no secret of his intent to eliminate millions of government jobs via the newly-created, Elon Musk-led U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The organisation had been planned to be co-led by Vivek Ramaswamy, who previously expressed an intention to reduce the federal workforce by 75 percent, including firing one million people in 2025.While Ramaswamy is no longer involved with the project, DOGE's goal to execute drastic cuts amongst federal personnel appears to remain in place.What is Project 2025?Organised by conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is a political movement which aims to swiftly and decisively steer the U.S. toward the right.Related StoriesIn its policy agenda "Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise," Project 2025 lays out a lengthy set of proposals and plans for a right-wing U.S. administration, spanning over 900 pages. These plans include significantly downsizing the Department of Education, criminalising pornography, eliminating gender-affirming healthcare, and abolishing federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.Initially published in 2023, Project 2025's policy agenda has garnered the condemnation of Democratic politicians while becoming a guiding force for Republicans.Trump previously distanced himself from Project 2025 in 2024, stating that he had "no idea who is behind it.""I disagree with some of the things theyre saying and some of the things theyre saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social last July. "Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them."Even so, Trump's slew of executive actions since his inauguration have closely mirrored Project 2025's wishlist. The president has also appointed individuals involved with the document to key roles in his administration. Such appointees include Russell Vought, one of the authors of Project 2025's policy agenda and Trump's pick to head the OBM after having taken on the role during the president's first term. Vought was the previously quoted Project 2025 author who called for federal agencies to "bend or break" to Trump's demands.TopicsDonald TrumpAmanda YeoAssistant EditorAmanda Yeo is an Assistant Editor at Mashable, covering entertainment, culture, tech, science, and social good. Based in Australia, she writes about everything from video games and K-pop to movies and gadgets.

Ted Carstensen, the deputy administrator of the United States Digital Service (USDS) organization that has been renamed to Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is resigning instead of taking the Fork in the Road deferred resignation offer for federal employees.I write to let you know that I have decided to resign from USDS and today will be my last day, Carstensen said in an internal memo to colleagues that was obtained by The Verge. I am not taking the fork, but after discussions with my family and other trusted advisors I decided that it is time for me to pursue a different path.Moments after Carstensen announced his departure, a federal judge ordered to delay the Musk-coded resignation deadline from Thursday to after a hearing on the matter thats scheduled for February 10th.USDS has been thrown into chaos since the organization was renamed to DOGE a couple of weeks ago, according to multiple employees who requested anonymity to speak without the governments permission. Even though Trumps executive order put Musk in charge of USDS, the groups roughly 200 engineers, product managers, and designers have continued operating independently from the small DOGE team of young coders brought in by the Tesla CEO.During a USDS all-hands meeting on Tuesday, Carstensen said he wasnt communicating with Musk and his DOGE team. He told USDS employees that they should expect to receive new work laptops and email addresses. In the meantime, workers have been told to stop using Slack for internal communication while the organization is moved out of the Office of Management and Budget and into the Executive Office of the President. You can read Carstensens full internal memo below:Hello USDS,I write to let you know that I have decided to resign from USDS and today will be my last day. I am not taking the fork, but after discussions with my family and other trusted advisors I decided that it is time for me to pursue a different path.This was not an easy decision for me to make as my time at the U.S. Digital Service has been one of the best periods in my career. I believe wholeheartedly in the mission and have been inspired every day by the commitment, kindness, and intelligence of the team. I will be forever grateful for the chance to work alongside you and for the opportunity to serve as your Deputy Administrator.It was important to me to get the team to a place where everyone could choose their own path forward, which is where we find ourselves today. I hope each of you lands on the path thats best for you, and I look forward to staying in touch and seeing where it takes you. The people and the mission at the U.S. Digital Service are the reason why I came, and Ill be cheering for you after Im gone.All the best, TedSee More:

Squeaker.A new patent filed by Nintendo seems to confirm that the Nintendo Switch 2's Joy-Con will include mouse functionality. The patent was filed on 1st April 2023 and made public today, 6th February 2025 (thanks to reader Davis for sending this to us!).Sure, we've been pretty confident about mouse functionality given the number of leaks over the past few months, and that little teaser in the Switch 2 reveal trailer, but Nintendo has yet to officially confirm that this is even a feature.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

One of Metas earliest employees is suing the company for sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation, according to a lawsuit filed this week in the state of Washington.Kelly Stonelake, who spent 15 years at the company and rose to the rank of director, alleges in the lawsuit she faced a cycle of gender-based discrimination and harassment that persisted from shortly after her hiring in 2009 to when she was laid off in January 2024.She alleges in the suit that Meta failed to take action after she reported sexual harassment and assault; retaliated against her after she flagged a video game product as racist and potentially harmful to minors; and was routinely passed over for promotions in favor of men on her team.By the time she was laid off, Stonelake states in the suit she was on extended medical leave for post-traumatic stress disorder. Her mental state was so severely damaged from working under alleged discriminatory conditions at Meta that she is still receiving medical treatment, according to the lawsuit filed in the King County Superior Court in Washington.Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton declined to comment citing pending litigation.The lawsuit comes as Meta and founder Mark Zuckerberg undergo an evolution that appears to be shifting to the political right. Zuckerberg sat behind President Trump at his inauguration, put UFC boss Dana White a friend, donor, and supporter of Trump on Metas board, and has started hiring public policy staff from politically right-leaning news outlets.Meta also eliminated third-party fact-checking and halted its biggest diversity, equity, and inclusion programs actions that are in line with Trumps policies. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg went on Joe Rogans podcast to lament that companies needed masculine energy because too much feminine energy had neutered the workplace. As of 2023, around 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs were men.Speaking alongside her lawyer, Stonelake told TechCrunch that the events described in her lawsuit illustrate a larger pattern of abuse at Meta.I decided to file the lawsuit when it became clear that was the best, if not the only, way to drive accountability at Meta, she told TechCrunch. Meta has the opportunity to do harm on a scale that only tech companies can.It was supposed to be the place where we let off steamStonelake started working at Facebook in 2009, at a time when the like button and tagging friends in status updates were still brand-new innovations. The company wasnt public yet, nor had it been dramatized on the big screen in The Social Network.She worked at the Palo Alto office, alongside men who were decades her senior, on building opportunities for businesses to use Facebook, she told TechCrunch, and according to her legal complaint.In her lawsuit, she alleges that the sexual harassment started almost immediately.During her first few weeks of employment, Stonelake alleges in the suit that a colleague grabbed her crotch while at a company social gathering called League.League was a popular event for employees to commune with others amid their long, demanding working hours. Top-ranking employees like Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg attended, Stonelake said.I played beer pong with Sheryl [Sandberg] regularly, Stonelake told TechCrunch. It was supposed to be the space where we let off steam because everyone was working so hard.Through a representative, Sandberg declined to comment.Stonelake recalled jumping back in shock when her colleague grabbed her without her consent, but she was apprehensive about reporting the incident to Metas human resources department.I think thats a pretty common experience for women and especially young women, Stonelake said. Thats based in large part on experiences of reporting these incidents and not going anywhere.Stonelake stayed at the company. She told TechCrunch she was enamored with Zuckerbergs vision for a more connected world. But Stonelake alleges she soon experienced sexual harassment from her manager.During a business trip in 2011, Stonelake alleges in the lawsuit, her manager took her out to dinner, then escorted her to her hotel room, where he attempted to force himself on her, putting his hands down her pants. In the lawsuit, Stonelake says this same manager later told her she would not receive a promotion unless she slept with him. When she declined, she was not promoted.Harassment from her manager continued, she alleges, and Stonelake transferred to Seattle from the Palo Alto office in 2012. Before she transferred, she reported her manager for harassment, yet no actions were taken and he stayed at the company for years without consequence, the lawsuit alleges.Once Stonelake relocated to Seattle, she steadily rose through management until she reached the director level in 2017. In this new role, Stonelake alleges her manager harassed and discriminated against her, perpetuating the cycle she thought she escaped years earlier.Stonelake details in the suit that during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in 2020, she confronted her manager because he changed his Facebook profile picture to a Blue Lives Matter symbol, which is commonly seen as a rebuttal to BLM. According to the suit, she told him about how the picture could be received by their diverse team, as Meta considers employees personal Facebook pages to be reflective of the company.Were explicitly told that our personal Facebook pages are important to consider as senior leaders of the company, Stonelake told TechCrunch.Stonelakes manager responded to her by saying, Black boys start out innocent, and between then and when they got [sic] shot by police, theyre getting into gangs and getting into crime, and the real issues are with social services and education, the suit alleges.Stonelake went to Metas human resources, but alleges she received no support. The suit claims Stonelake was twice passed over for promotions, while her male colleagues were promoted.We didnt have a plan for how we would keep people safeStonelake transferred to Metas Reality Labs in 2022 to lead product marketing for the virtual reality social network, Horizon Worlds. She told TechCrunch that she was excited to work on such a central product in Zuckerbergs imagined metaverse.Stonelake says she led go-to-market strategies to bring Horizon Worlds to broader audiences, opening access to teenagers, international markets, and mobile device users.But as a leader in this product rollout, Stonelake raised concerns that Horizon Worlds did not have adequate safety systems to keep underage users off the platform; she also alleges in the suit that she flagged patterns of racist behavior on the app, which proliferated due to a lack of robust content moderation tools.The leadership team was aware that in one test, it took an average of 34 seconds of entering the platform before users with Black avatars were called racial slurs including the N-word and monkey, the suit alleges.We were rapidly expanding, and we didnt have a plan for how we would keep people safe, Stonelake told TechCrunch.Stonelake says she was excluded from weekly leadership meetings after she raised these concerns. Then, according to the suit, Stonelake was denied another promotion in January 2023.Afterward, she went on emergency medical leave to receive treatments for suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the suit. Stonelake was informed that she would be let go in January 2024 as part of mass layoffs at Meta.Looking back at her time at Meta, Stonelake still remembers the joy of watching Zuckerberg march alongside LGBTQ+ employees and allies during San Franciscos Pride festivities in 2013. She said she felt invigorated by Zuckerbergs commencement address at Harvard in 2017 when he declared: Every generation expands the circle of people we consider one of us. For us, it now encompasses the entire world.Now, Stonelake says, she realizes those actions may have been performative.I thought that as I got more and more senior I would only be able to protect more people to change the culture, said Stonelake. My experience was that the more senior I got, so did my peers, and I noticed that the more senior men were, the less tolerance they had to be challenged.

In response to pressure from rivals including Chinese AI company DeepSeek, OpenAI is changing the way its newest AI model, o3-mini, communicates its step-by-step thought process.On Thursday, OpenAI announced that free and paid users of ChatGPT, the companys AI-powered chatbot platform, will see an updated chain of thought that shows more of the models reasoning steps and how it arrived at answers to questions. Subscribers to premium ChatGPT plans who use o3-mini in the high reasoning configuration will also see this updated readout, according to OpenAI. Were introducing an updated [chain of thought] for o3-mini designed to make it easier for people to understand how the model thinks, an OpenAI spokesperson told TechCruch via email. With this update, you will be able to follow the models reasoning, giving you more clarity and confidence in its responses.Image Credits:OpenAIReasoning models like o3-mini thoroughly fact-check themselves before giving out results, whichhelps them toavoid some of thepitfallsthat normally trip up models. The trade-off is that reasoning models take a little longer to arrive at solutions typically seconds to minutes longer.DeepSeeks R1 model, a reasoning model along the lines of o3-mini, reveals its full thought process, which many AI researchers argue is the preferred approach. In addition to making the model easier to study, the reasoning steps deliver a better user experience in certain situations, helping indicate when the model might be on the right or wrong track. OpenAI had opted not to show the full reasoning steps for o3-mini and its predecessors, o1 and o1-mini, in part due to competitive reasons. Instead, users only saw summaries of the reasoning steps summaries that were at times erroneous.OpenAI still isnt showing o3-minis full reasoning steps, but the company said it found a balance: o3-mini can think freely and then organize its thoughts into more detailed summaries. To improve clarity and safety, weve added an additional post-processing step where the model reviews the raw chain of thought, removing any unsafe content, and then simplifies any complex ideas, the OpenAI spokesperson continued. Additionally, this post-processing step enables non-English users to receive the chain of thought in their native language, creating a more accessible and friendly experience.In a Reddit AMA last week, Kevin Weil, OpenAIs chief product officer, hinted that the change was coming.Were working on showing a bunch more than we show today [showing the model thought process] will be very, very soon, he said. TBD on all showing all chain of thought leads to competitive distillation, but we also know people (at least power users) want it, so well find the right way to balance it.

Monograph, the leading project management software for architecture and engineering (A&E) firms, announced today it has raised a $20 million Series B funding round led by Base10 Partners. This funding positions Monograph to kick off 2025well-capitalized, growing fast, and ready to transform A&E collaboration. $435 billionis spent annually on A&E design services in the U.S. to shape$24 trillionin construction spending. Yet project delays and budget overruns are widespread, worsened by inefficient management tools that drive misalignment across internal and external stakeholders.Built for A&E projects, Monograph streamlines phase-based budgeting, staffing, billing, and profitability trackinghelping its customers increase revenue by 21 percent on average, resulting in over 20-times ROI in their first year. Since their last funding round in 2021, Monograph now services 6-times more customersthats over 12,000 architects and engineers in firms such as Brooks + Scarpa Architects and Nina Magon Studio, collectively managing $14.5 billion in project fees through the platform.Monograph has proven its ability to help architects and engineers build more profitable firms, said Robert Yuen, CEO and co-founder of Monograph. But firm-to-firm collaboration remains a major industry challenge, which drives up costs and delays to already complex projects. With this funding, were transforming how A&E collaboration works in our platform to keep project teams aligned on timelines and budgetsmaking great design more efficient and more accessible. Seventy-four percent of A&E firms in Monograph work with external consultants on their projects, such as structural or MEP engineers. This allows them to deliver more complex projects without adding staff, but communication often breaks down when using email and disconnected tools.Monograph is the best tool we have found that supports the creative and dynamic workflow of a design studio, said Matt Thackray of Prospect Studio in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It has transformed how we manage projects internally, and some of our consultants are already using it. The ability to streamline project collaboration across firms within Monograph could drive greater efficiency through its clear and intuitive interface.A&E projects are complicated enough without juggling emails and fragmented tools, said Joe Polasik, principal at BLACKSHEEP Engineering, a Monograph customer. A centralized platform like Monograph, which aligns internal operations with client needs, makes our work significantly more efficient. Inefficiency in the A&E industry impacts homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure, with U.S. construction costs rising25 percent fasterthan general inflation over the past decade.Monograph is solving real problems for the real economythe spaces we all rely on start with architects and engineers, said TJ Nahigian, managing partner at Base10 Partners, emphasizing how Monograph aligns with Base10s mission to invest in automation for the real economycompanies solving problems for the 99 percent. Were proud to back Monograph as the business-in-a-box solution helping architects and engineers focus on what they do best. By improving project management and streamlining operations, Monograph will help improve the delivery of the built environment and make great design more accessible.About MonographMonograph is the easiest project management platform for architecture and engineering firms to save time and grow profitability. Over 12,000 architects and engineers use Monograph to gain clarity into their projects, staff, time, and money so their entire team can work smarter, faster.About Base10 PartnersFounded by Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian, Base10 is a San Francisco-based venture capital fund investing in founders who believe purpose is key to profits and in companies that are automating sectors of the Real Economy. Through its program, the Advancement Initiative, Base10 donates a portion of firm profits to underfunded colleges and universities to support financial aid and other key initiatives. Portfolio companies include Notion, Figma, Stripe,Popmenu, Chili Piper, and Secureframe.

In this 50-year retrospective, we're not just looking at technology year by year, we're looking at technologies that had an impact on us, paved the way for the future, and changed us, in ways good and bad.

While it doesn't flip, fold, or have a built-in S Pen stylus, the Galaxy S24 FE offers all the essentials at an accessible price.

Commercial beekeepers saw well over 50% losses this winter. As California prepares for almond season, and for fruits like blueberries and cherries after that, not enough bees could mean higher prices at the grocery store.Trying to make sense of the bee die-off: A researcher collects pollen and wax from dead colonies.Zachary LamasBees died off by the millions this winter in an unprecedented event thats resulted in recent losses of more than 50% and financial losses of more than $139 million, according to a survey by bee industry groups released this afternoon. The new survey results, representing 234 beekeepers, come just as the California almond growing season is set to begin, a massive event that requires pretty much all of the countrys 3 million honey bees colonies to be trucked out so they can pollinate the trees.Theres a full panic right now to figure out whats wrong and how bad its going to be, said Danielle Downey, executive director of Project Apis m. (named for the Latin name of the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera), one of the industry groups involved in the survey. When the beekeepers opened their operations back up after winter, they discovered that half or more of their bees were dead or gone, and by late-January theyd reached out to researchers who might be able to figure out what was going on.Almonds are the current, urgent problem. After that, bees are needed to pollinate other fruits, including blueberries, cherries, cranberries and apples. For consumers, the bee die-off for which there is no known cause yet may become apparent in shortages on the grocery shelves or higher prices of these beloved foods.The winter losses combined with earlier losses this year decimated many beekeepers hives by 70% to 100%, according to the researchers, who represent the American Beekeeping Federation, the American Honey Producers Association and Adee Honey Farms, as well as Project Apis m. Thats left some beekeepers wondering how theyll survive, and growers scrambling to get bees to pollinate their crops.Blake Shook, a commercial beekeeper in Leonard, Texas, said hes been getting phone calls from beekeepers around the country, some worrying that they may have to shutter operations.The industry is reeling trying to figure out whats going on, Shook said. Its pretty scary.Theres not enough bees to pollinate all the almonds. Its the first pollination of the season, so its not a great precedent.The symptoms of loss are reminiscent of Colony Collapse Disorder conditions, which occurred in 2007-2008, when bees suddenly disappeared from their colonies, the researchers wrote. During recent inspections by field scientists, deceased colonies often died with ample honey stores, leaving only small patches of the eggs, larvae and pupae, with most or all of the adult bees missing, they wrote.The dead and the living: Researchers collect thousands of boxes of dead bee colonies (background) and a dwindling number of surviving ones (foreground).Zachary LamasBeekeeper Shook said that the current losses are more concerning than the earlier Colony Collapse Disorder. What makes it worse is that before Colony Collapse hit, our average loss rate was 15% and all of a sudden it went to 45%, he said. Now we are starting at a 45% loss rate and its gone up.Research by the USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, and interviews by the beekeeping organizations determined that the losses were both nationwide and severe, but their cause has not yet been determined. The usual causes of bee death, such as a nasty parasite known as the varroa mite, do not seem to be the cause. The researchers plan further analysis of samples for viruses, parasites and pesticide residue to try and determine whats going on.Bees can suffer from numerous diseases, including a devastating bacterial disease known as American Foulbrood (for which startup Dalan Animal Health has developed a vaccine), pesticide poisoning, inadequate nutrition and the stress of traveling around the country to pollinate crops, as well as the varroa mite.There is nothing obvious that explains why so many colonies were lost, Downey said, adding, Every year we creep closer and closer to the edge of the cliff and we know that it cant be sustainable. Honey bees are the cornerstone of pollinating our foods. We need to be better at protecting them.Theres a full panic right now to figure out whats wrong and how bad its going to be.Whether there are ultimately shortages or higher prices of almonds and fruits ultimately depends on weather and other factors, but the reduced number of bees is a major risk. Theres not enough bees to pollinate all the almonds, beekeeper Shook said, adding, Its the first pollination of the season, so its not a great precedent.Tim Hollmann, a beekeeper in South Dakota whos been in the business for more than 40 years, said that he spent a quarter-million dollars replacing bees last year after there was 70% die-off and hes seen similar levels of die-off this year. He runs the business with his wife and two sons, and worries about the future. Weve seen tough times in the bee business before, but this one seems to be a different flavor than weve had before and Im not sure all the family farms like me can survive this, he said.Adding to the difficulties, Hollmann said, were pressures from cheap foreign honey, which accounts for around three-quarters of all honey consumed in the U.S. Even if we do find a way to keep the bees alive and make a honey crop, we are being beat up on a lot of different fronts, he said.As growers put out calls for bees that dont exist, Project Apis m.s Downey said that some growers are resorting to desperate measures: Stealing others bees. They go into the orchard and load up with somebody elses bees and go rent them, she said.

Guests at andBeyond Ngala Safari Lodge are watching elephants drinking. andBeyond Ngala Safari LodgeTourism often gets a bad reputation for leaving a heavy footprint, overcrowding destinations and depleting natural resources. Yet, across the globe, there are inspiring examples helping to rewrite that narrative and offer an alternative the tourism industry could strive for.A recent climate action study that surveyed 130,000 people across 125 countries revealed that 89% of respondents support political action to address climate change. But what about regions where government efforts fall short or lack clear intent? Should the local community wait or take action?Where there's a will, there's a way. There are many positive examples where tourism businesses are not only safeguarding but actively restoring the environments they, and all of us, rely on.Preserving Patagonia Is How Explora Plans To Set A New Standard For Conservation-Focused TourismWhen the Chilean government lacked the necessary funding to operate the 750,000-acre Patagonia National Park, Explora, an award-winning, B Corp-certified expedition company, bid and won the contract to manage the Park's ecotourism and infrastructure.Exploras 50-room emblematic lodge at Lake Peho in Torres del Paine National ParkExplora Torres del PaineMORE FOR YOUThe winning bid meant that Explora would allocate in total 5% of its gross sales (rather than profit) across three key areas: support for the National Forestry Corporation of Chile (CONAF), reinvestment in the Park's infrastructure and funding the Echo Society Program.Juan Marambio, Explora's sustainability and conservation manager, explained during a Zoom interview that the amounts allocated to the Echo Society Program fund multiple projects implemented in cooperation with Rewilding Chile, Terevaka Foundation, Naturaleza Pblica and Ruta Del Huemul.Explora started its operation in Chilean Patagonia in 1993. Now, it operates seven lodges in four countries, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Chile, and organizes guided expeditions in remote territories like the Sacred Valley in Peru or the Easter Islands.Explora's commitment to sustainability has been evident from the beginning. It has taken an active role in conservation and invested directly in restoration through numerous projects.Marambio explained that Explora is continuously looking for new ways to help. Torres del Paine Conservation Reserve is another example of its commitment to protecting the Chilean wilderness. The Reserve aims to safeguard and restore nearly 15,000 acres of former livestock land. Since its inception, they have been tracking their regenerative efforts with trail cameras. They could already witness the return of native wildlife like pumas and condors in masse.Guanacos in Torres del Paine Conservation ReserveExplora Torres del Paine Conservation ReserveExplora's latest initiative focuses on the Torres del Paine UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In collaboration with The Nature Conservancy, it has developed a conservation plan. Now, it invites investors to become shareholders and contribute to a $17 million endowment fund to help protect in total 1.6 million acres of the Reserve.How Misool Resort Is Leading the Fight to Safeguard Indonesia's Remote Marine EcosystemsThe collaboration between Misool Resort and the Government of Raja Ampat, Indonesia, is another example of how tourism can effectively fuel conservation efforts.In the early 2000s, the founders of Misool Resort witnessed the dire state of Misool's waters, where sharks were absent and coral reefs lay severely damaged. Its owners not only wanted to stop this downward spiral but reverse it.South Beach Villas in Misool Resort illuminated at dawn. Misool Resort"The seed of the project was an urgent need to halt shark-finning and destructive fishing," says Jo Marlow, head of marketing and communication at Misool Resort in her email.To achieve this, it established the 300,000-acre Misool Marine Reserve, registered the Misool Foundation and built a sustainable resort to let tourism fund their conservation efforts. In 2023, the resort donated $118,693 to the foundation and provided a further $92,770 to fund community projects.The Misool Marine Reserve includes two No-Take Zones where all fishing and extractive practices are banned. Misool Ranger Patrol, in cooperation with the governmental units and the management of the Raja Ampat Marine Protected Area, patrols the area.Misool Ranger Patrol is working to protect the Misool Marine Reserve.Misool Resort / Shawn HeinrichsMarlow happily said, "Today, shark numbers inside the Misool Marine Reserve have increased by 190% since 2012, and we've planted almost 5000m of new reef since 2018."Unfortunately, the thriving marine life began to draw the attention of poachers and uninvited fishermen. Amid the government's stay-at-home mandate during the pandemic, it faced a harsh reality. A well-equipped large poaching operation with multiple vessels quickly moved into the area after Misools rangers withdrew regular patrols.Marlow recalled their deep fear, realizing that the nature they had worked tirelessly to protect over two decades could vanish instantly without active conservation efforts.Resilient Communities And Wild Places Is andBeyond's Approach to Impactful TourismAndBeyond, a luxury travel company primarily in Africa, brings over three decades of experience in combining conservation and hospitality. It all started in 1991 with the foundation of Phinda Private Game Reserve in Africa and continued in 2006 with an expansion to Asia and in 2015 to South America.Now, andBeyond owns and manages 29 sustainable eco-lodges, working on improving the lives of 75 communities and aspiring to increase their primary conservation area (owned or leased) from 555,000 acres to 1 million acres and their secondary conservation area (supported through collaborations) from 33 million to 40 million acres.Traditional boma dinner is ready for the guests of andBeyond Grumeti Serengeti River LodgeandBeyond Grumeti Serengeti River LodgeJoss Kent, CEO of andBeyond, explains in his email that the key is building a resilient nature along a resilient rural community. Through its Theory of Change framework it is working to improve the symbiotic relationship between local communities and wild places.What does this mean? It means that andBeyond not only focuses on the restoration and conservation of wild landscapes and seascapes, but also on improving healthcare and education through building clinics and schools, nurturing young leaders through bursaries and fostering sustainable livelihoods.Kent also aspire to "double their impact" going forward. Currently, every time someone stays one night at an andBeyond property, it counts $125 as being invested in protecting nature and helping local communities. The company plans to increase this number to $250 by 2030.He continues by saying "In terms of our full impact spend, since July 2024 (when our financial year begins) we have spent $14.6 million across our operation on all aspects relating to the impact work we conduct. Through our guests we have mobilised a further $8 million in donations which goes directly fund Wild Impact projects since &Beyond underwrites their core operational costs."Andrew Venter, CEO of Wild Impact emphasized that in Africa other economic activities such as agriculture, extractive mining, or urban development tend to dominate as alternative land uses. But he hopes that the ultimate outcome of their collaboration with andBeyond will be a future that has healthy and resilient wild spaces and custodian communities actively advocating for their conservation and protection for generations to come.