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It has become standard practice for hotels to undertake sustainable measures that benefit the local environment and community at large but some take a step further. Here are our top five picks of such hotels.

MALDIVES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Recognising that it occupies a privileged position in the heart of the Baa Atoll, a Unesco Biosphere Reserve that is also the site of the largest manta ray aggregation in the world, the Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas takes its role of protecting the fragile environment it operates in very seriously.

For the past two years, the resort has dedicated resources to working with leading marine biologists on a book. Wonders of Kihavah, published in September, is a groundbreaking book that more than highlights the spectacular array of Kihavah's marine life. It also flags the urgent need to protect delicate coral reefs, especially in this age of global warming.

DISCOVERING ARTISTS IN SRI LANKA

The private resort of ANI Sri Lanka on the country's southern coast is well-hidden on a five-acre estate with a panoramic view of the Indian Ocean and a luxuriant jungle at its back.

Perched above rice fields and sprawling tea plantations on the same estate is a six-building campus that houses ANI Art Academies Sri Lanka. The founders of ANI have established an art programme that, like those at other ANI resorts around the world, teaches students drawing. Many have gone on to become professional illustrators.

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