New Partner! Next Continent

Next continent tour guides out in the field! (Photo credit: Next Continent)

We are delighted to announce that Next Continent has joined forces with The Civet Project as our newest partner. This collaboration brings together conservation, education, and responsible travel- all with the shared goal of protecting civets and raising awareness of the challenges they face.

Next Continent is an ecotourism company based in Da Nang, Vietnam, dedicated to connecting people with authentic and meaningful experiences across Asia. What truly sets Next Continent apart is their unwavering dedication to conservation, ethical wildlife watching, and supporting local communities. Their tours are designed to actively support rewilding and conservation efforts, ensuring that each visit leaves nature better than they found it.

By promoting responsible tourism and building relationships with local communities, Next Continent helps travelers understand the value of wildlife and the importance of protecting it, making them a natural partner for us here at The Civet Project. The team at Next Continent proudly stated:

Our mission is to show that tourism can be a force for good. By combining conservation, education, and responsible travel, we aim to inspire travelers, as well as the local communities here, to care not only for civets but for all species that share these vulnerable ecosystems. True wildlife tourism means leaving animals in the wild where they belong, and ensuring that every tour and experience we offer helps restore and protect ecosystems rather than deplete them.

Wild common palm civet sighting (Photo credit: Laos Conservation Trust for Wildlife)

Our partnership is rooted in a set of shared values that guide both our organisations in our work. We believe that how people interact with wildlife matters deeply. Whether it is designing an ethical tour or campaigning against civet exploitation, responsibility is at the heart of every decision. This means ensuring that wildlife is never treated as a commodity and that conservation always comes before convenience or profit.

Together, we see education as the most powerful tool to change hearts and minds, inspiring people to protect species they may never have heard of before. Education is a cornerstone of both our organisations. Where we at The Civet Project Foundation work to raise awareness of civets through outreach, campaigns, and citizen science, Next Continent integrates education directly into their tours by sharing local knowledge, natural history, and conservation messages. This made Next Continent an exciting organisation for us to work with! Ultimately, conservation is the principle goal uniting us. Where we focuses on research, advocacy, and species protection, Next Continent ensures that tourism directly contributes to rewilding and habitat preservation. This shared vision ensures that every action taken through the partnership contributes to healthier ecosystems and a more secure future for civets.

Together, these values form the foundation of a partnership that not only aims to protect civets but also seeks to change the way people connect with wildlife and the natural world.

Next Continent deliver nocturnal tours, where they often encounter civet species. Now these observations will be contributing towards conservation research for Viverrids. (Photo credit: Next Continent)

What We’ll Be Working on Together

Our first steps together focus on awareness and engagement. Next Continent will be contributing civet sightings to The Civet Project’s Night Roamers iNaturalist database, supporting ongoing monitoring and research; as well as integrating civet-friendly travel advice into their client materials, ensuring travellers know how to avoid exploitative attractions and instead support positive conservation practices.

Looking further ahead, our partnership will focus on deeper community engagement and collaboration. Together, we will design bilingual education resources and develop school and community activities, helping to raise the profile of civets locally and build pride in protecting them. 

Why This Partnership Matters

By combining The Civet Project’s expertise in civet research and advocacy with Next Continent’s presence in the travel sector, this partnership allows us to reach more people, build awareness in new ways, and create opportunities for communities and travelers to engage directly in civet protection. Speaking of this new partnership, The Civet Project CEO, Dr Jes Hooper explained:

“Collaboration is fundamental for conservation, and we are delighted to welcome Next Continent as our newest partner. We have worked hard to educate tourists and work with large tourism providers to decrease the demand for civet coffee, which is causing huge risks to civets, people and the planet. Working with ethical tourism companies is a dream come true, as we aim to not only share the truth behind civet coffee, but to raise the profile of civets by showcasing how incredible these animals are and how worthy they are of our protection. We are excited to work with Next Continent who are key players in eco-tourism and who are instilling pride and an ethic of species protection in every one of their eco-tours.” 

We are excited to welcome Next Continent into The Civet Project family and look forward to everything we will achieve together for civets.

For more information on Next Continent, visit their website: https://nextcontinenttours.com/