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Flying to the other side of the world to be sustainable? It doesn't sound like the best idea ever, and carbon-wise, a week in an eco lodge in the Lake District is likely to be better than a week in the Caribbean. But if you, like me, sometimes hunger for faraway places and you do decide to spend your precious carbon allowance on a long-haul holiday, you can do good, too, by picking your destination carefully.
Responsible travel is gathering momentum and the summer holiday season has arrived -- so I chatted to Chris James and Rosemarie Thomas from The Travel Foundation in Tobago to find out what is being done to make the 'Capital of Paradise' a sustainable island. As it turns out, it's not as simple as stopping your holidays to exotic developing countries because of the long-haul flight.
The Travel Foundation is an independent UK charity that works to help the travel industry manage tourism responsibly in destinations that are popular with British tourists.
In Tobago, The Travel Foundation manages projects that must be carried out in conjunction with local stakeholders and must support communities and help them develop sustainably. It's funded by tour operators, Tobagonian tourist enterprises, The British Commonwealth Office and The British High Commission.
The foundation's current projects include the "Adopt a Farmer Programme" and the "Schools Herbal Garden Project". In these projects, local farmers and schoolchildren get support to grow produce organically and sell it to the hotels and restaurants around the island. Additionally, the foundation is installing reef demarcation buoys to protect the Buccoo Reef and has started a "Sustainable Seafood Campaign", which aims to protect the fish-stocks around Tobago. The idea is to create awareness among tourists and locals alike about which species are over-fished and which fish are okay to eat.
The projects in Tobago are in their infancy, but it's not only the visible results that matter just now. It's the fact that everybody involved -- from local people to businesses -- learn how important it is to develop in an environmentally friendly way, and more importantly, how to do it. As for tourists, it gives us the chance to show our support for sustainable development in our holiday destination.
Read on for my interview with Chris James and Rosemarie Thomas.
10 July 2008 04:57pm
We need loads more of organizations like these, especially in Hawai'i. There, they are developing the 'H-4', an inter-island fairy boat... what they don't realize are the ecological effects this is going to have on the island chain!! One stow away mongoose from the Big Island of Hawaii on a car that will drive onto the boat and get off on Kaui- and an entire island of endangered birds will be eaten by the mongoose. The reason the birds live on Kaui and not on the other islands? Because the mongoose lives on the other islands and eats them. Why are mongoose there in the first place? They were introduced to kill the (also introduces) rats. Didnt think it through though- rats are nocturnal. So, mongoose eat the bird eggs instead (since there are no snakes).
Organizations like these need to educate the general public about things like that!!! What are some other sustainable tourism organizations out there???
11 July 2008 02:27pm
Has the smart team all gone on holiday to Tobago we have only had two news feeds this week???
17 July 2008 05:10pm
Hi 2Lov (and the rest of the SmartPlanet community).
My apologies for the belated reply and things going quiet.
Normal service will be resumed very soon.... watch this space.
Adam
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