New Zealand has ranked near the underside of an ‘Ecotourism Index’ designed to assist travellers select sustainable locations with ample wildlife and guarded areas.

To compile the checklist, Forbes Advisor, the non-public finance department of the worldwide Forbes media enterprise, regarded on the share of landmass in every nation that’s protected, the variety of Unesco Pure Heritage websites, and the variety of chook, plant and guarded species. The carbon dioxide emissions in tonnes per capita, environmental elements akin to air high quality and the safety of land and wildlife, and variety of species per 10km² have been additionally taken into consideration.

Every of the 50 nations researched, all of which travelsafe-abroad.com considers secure to go to, was given a complete rating, with these with the best numbers being deemed one of the best for ecotourists.

Brazil topped the checklist with a rating of 94.9 out of 100 due to its biodiversity – greater than 43,000 animal and plant species – and guarded landmass of 30%. The South American nation additionally boasts eight Pure World Heritage Websites, considered one of which – the Central Amazon Conservation complicated – protects threatened species such because the Amazonian manatee and black caiman.

Mexico, the place 115 of the 29,000 animal and plant species are protected, got here in at quantity two with a rating of 86, additionally helped by eight Pure World Heritage Websites. These embody the islands and islets of the Gulf of California, the place 39% of the world’s marine mammals reside.

Australia was the one nation outdoors the Americas to make the highest 5, coming in at quantity three with a rating of 84. Its rating was helped by an environmental efficiency rating of 60 out of 100 and 16 Pure World Heritage Websites – the best variety of all nations checked out. Certainly one of these – the Nice Barrier Reef – is the world’s largest assortment of coral reefs, residence to endangered species akin to the ocean cow and inexperienced turtle.

New Zealand got here in at quantity 40 with a rating of 66.7. Aotearoa’s variety of animal and plant species per 10km² was the identical as Brazil’s at 0.1 – though properly under Singapore’s 59.3 – and it has extra protected land at 33.4%.

Nevertheless, New Zealand’s complete variety of species – 3861 – can’t compete with Brazil’s 43,205, and our seven protected species sit properly under Brazil’s 91. New Zealand can also be residence to simply three Pure World Heritage Websites – Tongariro Nationwide Park, Te Wahipounamu and the Subantarctic Islands – and the nation was discovered to supply about 3 times as a lot carbon dioxide as Brazil at 6.69 tonnes per capita.

New Zealand’s environmental efficiency rating of 56.7 was respectable, beating Brazil’s 43.6 and Mexico’s 45.5 however falling in need of Australia’s 60.1 and the UK’s 77.7.

Ecuador, the place uncommon species akin to land iguanas have attracted vacationers to the Galápagos Islands since Charles Darwin’s day, positioned fourth with a complete rating of 82.1, and Costa Rica, the place nearly 14,000 totally different animal and plant species may be discovered, got here fifth with a rating of 81.2.

Essentially the most nature-rich nations have been discovered to be Singapore, with 59 animal and plant species per 10km²; Tonga, with 15.9 species per 10km²; and Saint Lucia within the Caribbean with 11.4 species per 10km².

The highest 5 nations for protected land have been Bhutan with 49.7%, Brunei with 46.9%, Zambia with 41.3%, Bulgaria with 41% and Slovenia with 40.4%.

In Europe, the highest 5 nations for ecotourists have been judged to be Greece, Bulgaria, Slovenia, France and Spain.

After Australia, one of the best nations in Asia Pacific for ecotourism have been stated to be Bhutan with a rating of 81, Indonesia with a rating of 80.1, Cambodia with a rating of 72.6, Singapore with a rating of 72, and Tonga with a rating of 71.9