Thailand
ecotourism - Thailand adventure tours:
Phuket eco tourism
Eco
tourism is nothing new. It has been popular among a small
number of people who love nature. Worldwide concern for the environment
has created a new demand for friendly eco tourism activities. In Thailand,
the boom in eco tourism has prompted the TAT (Tourism Authority of
Thailand) to join forces with the Royal Forest Department to promote
better management of certain natural Thailand tour destinations.
However,
the ecotourism boom can have both a positive and a negative
impact on the environment. On the positive side, more tourists than
ever are interested in nature. They also want to learn more about
ecology. All responsible adventure travel companies should offer teaching
as a standard part of their ecotours. On the downside, the increase
in tourist numbers brings more damage and disruption to a habitat.
If, for example, you were to take a longtail (noisy Thai motorboat)
to watch monkeys feeding in the late afternoon, your particular adventure
travel company might actually be scaring them off from their primary
food spot. A Thailand tour by longtail is certainly not consistent
with observing nature without interfering with it. There are only
so many trees in fruit at one time. You wouldn't want to be responsible
for making an animal go to bed without eating on your exotic Thailand
tour... would you?
The
Thai government and the Tourism Authority of Thailand are
promoting friendly eco tourism, but they cannot control every adventure
travel company's activities. Ultimately, it is your responsibility
to research tour operators to find out if they actually care for the
environment or if they are merely riding the eco tourism wave to get
you on their Thailand tour.
Does
the adventure travel company use the buzzwords about being
eco-friendly, etc, or does the operator's site in general show concern
for their impact on the environment? What seems to be the attitude
behind the use of popular words and slogans? Does the adventure travel
company stay in locally operated lodging, benefit local people, have
a policy about altering or removing anything from the environment,
or carrying out trash? Some operators think that using popular words
(eco-friendly, environment, ecotours, etc) to describe their company
is all that is necessary. It is your responsibility to research the
adventure travel company to see what is the reality behind the use
of buzz words in evaluating their true commitment to responsible eco
tourism.
The
Do's and Don'ts of Environmentally Friendly Tourism
Souvenirs
from the jungle
Just
because you can find it in a shopping area, doesn't mean
that it's ethical or even legal to purchase and take home. Realistically,
the average tourist doesn't know what the laws are. Here is a handy
guideline: if the souvenirs look like they have been removed directly
from their native habitat, their sale is probably illegal. A wild
animal skin or animal parts cannot be legally sold in Thailand. An
orchid plant cannot be legally sold. An orchid in a sealed bottle
(a sterile environment), sold with a certificate declaring it can
be exported, is a hybrid and safe to buy. Wild birds cannot be legally
sold. Wild birds and orchids can be legally enjoyed; that is one purpose
of PaddleAsia trips.
Countries
in Southeast Asia have many great laws prohibiting the
sales or purchase of endangered plants, insects, and animals. If they
don't catch you over here with your new souvenirs, your home country
might upon your arrival. It's something to consider before purchasing.
In
addition to the legal ramifications, there are basic economic
effects. It comes down to supply and demand. If you buy something,
the vendor thinks that others would want the same item. Even buying
something as seemingly innocent as small dried seahorses can have
far-reaching effects on the ecosystem. All ecosystems are designed
to interact; removing one element can cause a domino affect throughout
other species. Please, Think before buying!
Seashells
 Seashells
don't get replaced right away. It takes time to grow a
big shell. The sheer numbers are enough to deplete an area's shell-life
for a long time. It is thusly illegal to sell seashells from the waters
of Thailand, yet they are available in shops. Where do they come from?
They mostly come from Indonesia. Many of the shells in Thailand's
waters have long disappeared due to the tourists of the past.
There is nothing wrong with taking
the occasional empty shell from a beach as long as the live animal
isn't still living in the shell. It's the mass-market type of shell
collecting, whereby the live animal is yanked out of its housing,
and left to die in the sun in most cases, that's the problem.
Animal
abuse - it's more wide-ranging than you might think
There
are literally dozens upon dozens of tour operators in Phuket
who offer elephant
trekking. Many of them have baby elephants for
the tourists to grope. Do you think that a mother elephant just hands
over her baby to humans?
Do
you realize how much food and water it takes to keep an
elephant healthy? It's a lot of work gathering the enormous amount
of food that one elephant requires. Many don't get all that they need
and many operators have to truck in food from other provinces. Some
operators give their elephants adequate access to water for bathing
and some do not. All of the elephants in Phuket have been brought
by truck long distances from other provinces. There are no living
elephants, which are native to Phuket. We only know of one operator
who in the late afternoons takes his elephants to a lake where they
can bathe under close to natural conditions. That means the others
(with apologies to any other operators properly caring for their animals)
give the elephants less than they would receive in a proper zoo. Not
all elephant trekking operators abuse their pachyderms. You might
want to check out a company before signing on. 
The Tiger
Temple in Kanchanaburi is definitely a place that
should be researched before considering a visit.
Have
you ever considered the consequences of getting your picture
taken by sidewalk vendors? You can see locals with sea eagles, big
pythons, gibbons and other animals who are trying to get tourists
to get their picture taken with these "jungle" creatures.
For
one thing, these animals aren't used to and probably aren't
capable of getting used to constant loud noise. They are often sedated
with drugs night after night to keep them from going crazy and panicking
when faced with loud music and people screaming.
You
are only supporting their suffering when you hand the vendor
any amount of money.
The
Thai authorities arrest these vendor from time to times.
This usually occurs when tourists complain. So, complain politely...
it works. If you are caught giving money to vendors when the police
are making a bust, you could be in trouble too.
Seafood
- things to consider
Who
would have ever dreamed
that humans would actually be able to over-fish the ocean? Well, it
looks like that is what's happening. It's no different in Thailand.
Over-fishing is the result of demand. When you stop and think about
it, most of the conservation, wildlife, and other ecological problems
are the result of 'supply and demand.' What are you willing to 'do
without' in order to help the overall protection of the world?
 The
prawn farm industry and the government officials that allowed
it are guilty of decimating much of the remaining mangrove forests
in Thailand. Prawn farms are illegal in most countries. In other words,
countries like the USA have banned prawn farming on their lands, but
they don't seem to mind importing Tiger Prawn from Thailand.
Furthermore,
the fishing industry is responsible for much of the trash
on the beaches around the world. Take a ten-meter section of beach
with trash on it. Within that ten meters, examine the composition
of the trash. You will notice pieces of fishing net, floats, plastic
oil bottles, big light bulbs, flip-flops (sandals), bits of Styrofoam,
and plastic water bottles. Most of the trash is consistent with what
is thrown overboard by fishing boats. A letter to an English language
newspaper or the Tourism Authority of Thailand pointing this out would
be an appropriate response.
We're
not suggesting
that you stop eating seafood. We don't preach; we are simply suggesting
that you consider what it means. As a responsible adventure travel
company, we also suggest considering the difference between dynamite
fishing and open ocean fishing in enjoying your dinner on your Thailand
tour.
Complain
politely - it works
Nothing
improves if those in control don't know that people are
upset about the status quo. Tourism, for example, is the number one
industry in Thailand. There is a bad trash problem in many otherwise
pristine areas. Unless people complain about the trash, officials
won't do anything. Why should they, they don't hear anyone complaining
about it. A friendly, non-confrontive letter of encouragement does
a lot more than a tongue-lashing. Being polite gets much better results.
How
would you like it if
someone from another country came over to your country and 'ordered'
you to change this and clean up that? Would you do it? Most likely
you'd be offended. Screaming and stomping your feet won't get you
any respect in SE Asia and it certainly won't get anything accomplished.
There
are certain instances and certain circumstances when "eco-warriorism"
might not be considered too extreme. Greenpeace has certainly done
some very important work on protecting marine animals and pristine
areas. But, does it change the hearts of the wrongdoers? Education
is necessary to make permanent changes.
 When
complaining, put yourself in your audience's shoes. Helpful
suggestions work. Instead of saying something like, "hey, there's
too much trash on this beach. Don't you have any pride?" Change
it to something like, "there's a lot of trash on this beach.
A lot of tourists don't like to see this sort of thing. They might
not come back unless this is cleaned up a bit. I'll help you clean
it up if you like."
There are a lot of TV ads and
info-commercials about taking care of the environment here in Thailand.
However, this is still sort of new news. It takes time to get everyone
involved. It takes time to change views. The government is working
on it. Help them by being supportive instead of being offensive. That
will work!
You will learn about the natural world and
how to preserve it on PaddleAsia trips!
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