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.

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!