All tourism potentially has an environmental,
social and economic impact on the destination involved.
We accept, therefore, that we as tour operators should
aim to be responsible in all our dealings on each
of these three levels. To help reduce this impact
we have proposed a set of guidelines intended to help
companies, clients and local suppliers recognize their
common responsibilities to:
Protect the environment
- its flora, fauna and landscapes
Respect local cultures
- traditions, religions, and built heritage
Benefit local communities
- both economically and socially
Conserve natural resources
- from office to destination
Minimize pollution - through
noise, waste disposal and congestion
There are many ways we, as a company,
can accomplish these goals; some by the nature of
the way we travel and some with effort on both the
part of our tour leaders and our passengers.
Our Style of Travel
Travelling as a small
group goes a long
way to reducing the negative environmental and social
impact of travel. Individuals in smaller groups
tend to act more responsibly, and so have considerably
less impact than larger groups. Also, a group of
thirteen or less campers requires less space for
activities that a group of forty or fifty, and helps
to minimize each group's impact on the environment,
other groups of people and helps minimize disruptive
impacts on the animals living in and around the
camp setting.
Staying in locally owned accommodation
is also beneficial. Avoiding internationally owned
hotels allows the money generated by our stay to
benefit the local community directly. Camping, on
the whole, is less harmful to the environment than
staying in hotels. Staying in national, state, or
provincial park campgrounds, which are generally
designed according to the "Leave No Trace"
guidelines discussed below, is yet another step
in minimizing the negative impact on the environment.
Contact with local people
is one of the best ways of creating understanding
and tolerance between cultures, and tour leaders
should advise clients about the many "dos and
don'ts". Employing local people wherever we
can not only gives passengers a further chance to
interact with inhabitants of the host country, but
again puts money directly into local hands. Sure,
you can drive the Monument Valley loop yourself,
but hiring a Navajo guide both gives passengers
an opportunity to interact with the Navajo on a
personal level and puts money back into the local
community.
You, as tour leaders, should inform
passengers on ways to protect the environment
and to reduce waste. Issues such as energy and water
conservation, environmental degradation, reduced
use of plastic bottles, carrying out litter, recycling,
etc. Special measures should also be taken to protect
the natural environment when hiking or visiting
sensitive or fragile ecosystems.
Because we spend so much
time in national parks the "Leave No Trace"
code of ethics endorsed by the National Park System
is an excellent guideline.
"Leave No Trace"
"Leave No Trace" is
a national and international program designed to
assist outdoor enthusiasts with their decisions
about how to reduce their impacts when they hike,
camp, picnic, snowshoe, run, bike, hunt, paddle,
ride horses, fish, ski or climb. The program strives
to educate all those who enjoy the outdoors about
the nature of their recreational impacts as well
as techniques to prevent and minimize such impacts.
Leave No Trace is best understood as an educational
and ethical program, not as a set of rules and regulations.
1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
Know the regulations and special
concerns for the area you'll visit.
Prepare for extreme weather,
hazards, and emergencies.
Schedule your trip to avoid times
of high use.
Visit in small groups.
Repackage food to minimize waste.
2. Travel and Camp on Durable
Surfaces
Durable surfaces include established
trails and campsites, rock, gravel, dry grasses
or snow.
Protect riparian areas by camping
at least 200 feet from lakes and streams.
Good campsites are found, not
made. Altering a site is not necessary.
In popular areas:
- Concentrate use on existing trails and campsites.
- Walk single file in the middle of the trail, even
when wet or muddy.
- Keep campsites small. Focus activity in areas
where vegetation is absent.
In pristine areas:
- Disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites
and trails.
- Avoid places where impacts are just beginning.
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
Inspect your campsite and rest
areas for trash or spilled foods.
To wash yourself or your dishes,
carry water 200 feet away from streams or lakes
and, where possible, use small amounts of biodegradable
soap. Scatter strained dishwater.
4. Leave What You Find
Preserve the past: examine, but
do not touch, cultural or historic structures and
artifacts.
Leave rocks, plants and other
natural objects as you find them.
Avoid introducing or transporting
non-native species.
Do not build structures, furniture,
or dig trenches.
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
Campfires can cause lasting impacts
to the backcountry. Use a stove for cooking and
lantern for light.
Where fires are permitted, use
established fire rings, fire pans, or mound fires.
Keep fires small.
Burn all wood and coals to ash,
put out campfires completely.
6. Respect Wildlife
Observe wildlife from a distance.
Do not follow or approach them.
Never feed animals. Feeding wildlife
damages their health, alters natural behaviors,
and exposes them to predators and other dangers.
Protect wildlife and your food
by storing rations and trash securely.
Avoid wildlife during sensitive
times: mating, nesting, raising young, or winter.
7. Be Considerate of Other
Visitors
Respect other visitors and protect
the quality of their experience.
Be courteous. Yield to other
users on the trail.
Step to the downhill side of
the trail when encountering pack stock.
Take breaks and camp away from
trails and other visitors.
Let nature's sounds prevail.
Avoid loud voices and noises
