Wendy Brewer Lama has extensive experience working on community-based tourism programs in Asia.

As the Cultural and Ecotourism Planning Advisor to the UNESCO “Cultural and  Ecotourism in the Mountain Regions of Central and South Asia Program,” for example, Wendy guided the development, implementation and evaluation of five-year projects including the coordination of national and state governments, NGOs, private sector and  communities in Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Ladakh/Sikkim (India) and Bhutan.   In Sichuan, China, she supported the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in developing a ten-year ecotourism development and management plan for the Wanglang Nature Reserve and neighboring Baima communities, to conserve the Giant Panda and its natural habitat, using a participatory and enterprise approach. During her 15 years of residency in Nepal, Wendy helped start the first ecotourism guide training course in the region, set up an environmental education and visitor information center, and launch a sustainable tourism forum for tourism professionals.  

Wendy is also the co-owner and ecotourism specialist of KarmaQuest Ecotourism and Adventure Travel, an award-winning US-based private company.  In this capacity Wendy has organized and conducted educational and conservation- oriented ecotourism and adventure travel to Asia to support local conservation initiatives and community development. She has also actively driven Karmaquest’s product design, marketing and management.

Wendy earned her Masters of Environmental Studies (MES) from Yale University School
of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Emphasis on Protected Area Management and Community-Based Ecotourism, 1995. She has her BA in Geography and Anthropology from the University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, where she graduated with honors.