Naturetrek... & Responsible Tourism
1. Responsible Tourism - THE WAY FORWARD
2. Responsible Tourism - OUR POLICY
3. Responsible Tourism - OUR CONTRIBUTION
4. Responsible Tourism - OUR GUIDELINES; YOUR CHOICE
5. Responsible Tourism - YOUR IDEAS
6. Responsible Tourism - SOME USEFUL CONTACTS
Our Contribution
Operationally…
Responsible Tourism and the Naturetrek 'raison d'etre' are, in many regards, intertwined. With all Naturetrek tours escorted by at least one expert naturalist with an inevitable concern for conservation of habitats and species, and the holidays appealing almost exclusively to like-minded wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists, the need to actively push a policy of Responsible Tourism, let alone to market on this front, has not previously been a priority. Essentially, Naturetrek's founders, staff and tour leaders are naturalists and conservationists turned tour operators; not the other way around! The biographies of these key staff and tour leaders may be found on the Naturetrek website (www.naturetrek.co.uk); combining between them a fascinating and unrivalled range of commitments and achievements in the fields of wildlife, conservation, environmental science, ecology, biology, etc. One member of our staff, Maryanne Mills, devotes her time to the role of Naturetrek's Responsible Tourism Officer. She ensures that the company keeps abreast of 'RT' developments and standards within the industry, and that Naturetrek remains fully committed to the role that Responsible Tourism must play within the travel industry today, making as full a contribution as possible.
The fact that our business revolves, almost exclusively, around sending wildlife enthusiasts to the world's national parks, wildlife reserves and wilderness areas, supporting locally-owned hotels, lodges and the local guides and other staff in these regions, encourages (we hope!) locals and national governments alike to value and protect these unique habitats and their wildlife. Other aspects of the style of a Naturetrek holiday also allow us, hopefully, to minimise damaging environmental impact. Notably, our operation of small groups (4-16, average 10 clients); our preference for exploration on foot, rather than vehicle, wherever possible; our use of local naturalists (where possible, rather than imported guides), and other local guiding and support staff on most holidays; our preference for small, locally owned, specialist agents/ground operators with a wildlife/conservation bias and sympathy; our ensuring benefit, and employment opportunities, to local communities, so important when developing wildlife tourism in remote areas where Western tourists have been previously unknown (ie. parts of Nepal, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Ethiopia, etc.); our contributing financially to local projects in the areas visited rather than broad scale environmental/community schemes; our working with conservation organisations (notably the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Butterfly Conservation, RSPB and BirdLife International) to develop and expand wildlife tourism into new areas of the world in which the species diversity and habitat value might otherwise go unrecognised locally.
However, in encouraging and sending Naturetrek customers overseas, we cannot escape the most damaging of all the adverse impacts that tourism has upon the world's environment, namely the emission of greenhouse gases produced by the flight to and from the destination. Yet, we can try to off-set these emissions and, to do this, Naturetrek has teamed up with the innovative company, Climate Care, offering each client the opportunity to mitigate his/her contribution to global warming by investing in a range of projects that reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects. Alternatively, you might choose to contribute to a similar scheme operated by the charity Friends of Conservation. They offer an easy, on-line donor scheme to off-set carbon emissions, guaranteeing that 100% of the donation is passed to one of a choice of beneficiaries/projects. Just log on to www.friendsofconservation.org.uk/min
Further, Naturetrek has recently focused on the development and marketing of holidays that do not involve flights, notably through the use of Eurostar services to European destinations and expansion of our programme of wildlife breaks within the British Isles.
A more beneficial by-product of Naturetrek's operation of wildlife tours arises on account of the company's need to advertise in wildlife and conservation magazines worldwide to generate business. Of a spend of approximately £100,000 per annum, a large part is spent with such notable conservation organisations and charities as the RSPB, the RHS, Plantlife, the Wildlife Trusts, and numerous other smaller publications distributed by wildlife charities.
Financially
As a company which is so intimately involved in, and ultimately dependent upon, wildlife tourism, we are acutely aware of the need to ensure the long-term protection of species and habitats. Therefore, over the years, Naturetrek has been keen to contribute financially to worthy conservation causes in the following ways:
Fund-raising tours: Naturetrek & the EIA, etc.
Naturetrek operates a wide range of tours on behalf of conservation organisations, donating 10% of the income from these to conservation causes promoted by the organisation. For example, our annual Tiger and Orang-utan tours on behalf of the EIA (the Environmental Investigation Agency) have raised £18,761 for the EIA's work for the conservation of these two endangered species. Similar projects include fund-raising tours for Butterfly Conservation, and the BirdLife International and the RSPB Bird Fair causes.
Research-funding tours: Naturetrek and the BDRP
In 2002 Naturetrek joined forces with the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme (BDRP), putting paying customers onto a research vessel in the Bay of Biscay to fund key research into the huge numbers and variety of whales, dolphins and other marine-life now realised to be using the Bay (increasingly regarded as one of the most important regions of the world's oceans). The aim of the research is to provide specific data on the abundance, variety and ecology of the whales, dolphins, seabirds, sharks, turtles, sunfish and other marine-life in the Bay, in order to publicise its presence and international significance, and to ensure that it may be suitably protected from the growing threat of damaging human activities in the Bay.
Sponsorship: Naturetrek & the British Birdwatching Fair
As associate sponsor of the annual British Birdwatching Fair for 5 years, Naturetrek has donated at least £5,000 each year (nearly £30,000) to the worldwide conservation causes supported by the Fair. The Fair, the world's largest gathering of birdwatchers and naturalists each year, is also a major conservation fund-raiser, donating around £100,000 each year to a choosen area of worldwide ornithological importance identified by BirdLife International. Areas chosen over the years have included the Spanish Steppes, Moroccan wetlands, Spain's Coto Donana, the Polish marshlands, Romania's Danube Delta, and, by way of further contribution Naturetrek has offered tours to many of these regions in conjunction with The British Birdwatching Fair and BirdLife International to enable naturalists the chance to see at first hand these highly important and restricted areas and the conservation work carried out in them by BirdLife staff and their local partners. Further, on each of these tours 10% of the tour cost has been donated to the project visited.
Most recently, Naturetrek joined forces with BirdLife to raise the profile of, and raise funds for, the conservation of Madagascar’s fragile Mahavavy Delta Wetlands, an area under continual threat from draining, agriculture, hunting and over-fishing. This is the only site in the country supporting all of western Madagascar ’s endemic wetland bird species, amongst them the critically endangered Sakalava Rail, a bird seen by fewer than 10 living ornithologists! To assist, as well as donating £5,000 in our capacity as associate sponsor of the Fair, which raised funds exclusively to enable BirdLife to launch its 'Madagascar Wetlands Conservation Programme' to protect the Mahavavy Wetlands, we further worked to bring wildlife tourism – and much needed finance – into the region by organising the first, expeditionary tour there in November 2004 (which was successful in seeing the Rail!). This tour brought employment and financial benefit to the local community, plus an additional £2,536 (10% of tour proceeds) which was gifted to the Programme.
Partnership: Naturetrek & Butterfly Conservation
In 2002 Naturetrek joined in partnership with Butterfly Conservation, the highly regarded British butterfly conservation organisation. As part of this partnership Naturetrek agreed to donate £1,000 per annum to Butterfly Conservation, joining its corporate sponsorship scheme at the highest level (the 'Purple Emperor' scheme), and becoming the first company to do so. Naturetrek further agreed to promote Butterfly Conservation membership to those on its mailing list through regular Naturetrek newsletter promotions and distribution of BC membership flyers. It was further agreed that Naturetrek would promote and market annually a selection of butterfly tours, donating 10% of the turnover generated to Butterfly Conservation, and paying for a year's Butterfly Conservation membership for all clients not already members. As at November 2004, this partnership has benefited Butterfly Conservation to the tune of £7,826.
Naturetrek & the Bald Ibis Appeal Fund
Naturetrek established this Appeal Fund seven years ago in order to encourage donations from clients interested in saving the Bald Ibis, the most threatened species of bird in the Western Palaearctic region ( Europe , north Africa and western Asia ). The plight of this magnificent bird, down to just 200 surviving individuals in recent years, has been the focus of this fund-raising initiative, funds from which have most recently been used for the purchase of a freezer (essential for storing dead birds for autopsy and other vital research!). Updates on the Bald Ibis situation (now much improved), and the gathering success of researchers in saving it from extinction, are included in Naturetrek newsletters, together with further appeals for funds needed.
Naturetrek & the Vultures of India
In 2004 Naturetrek began talks with the Zoological Society of London, BirdLife International and Bird Conservation Nepal, with a view to financing a ‘last ditch’ attempt to save the critically endangered Indian White-backed Vulture, and India ’s other vulture species, from extinction through the establishment of captive breeding programmes.
Donations
Naturetrek makes regular donations to conservation causes around the world. These have included US$4,000 in 2000 to CECIA (BirdLife International's Ecuadorian partner) to enable the purchase of 35 hectares of very valuable Ecuadorian rainforest near Mindo, in Guajalito. Guajalito sweeps up to the crest of the Western Cordillera and descends through upper tropical elevations and a variety of forest types. Consequently a particularly broad spectrum of birds is present, comprising some of the most spectacular species to be found on the Andean slopes. Unfortunately, this area is under threat from the Ecuadorian Oil Pipeline. The purchase of this land has helped to prevent the destruction of pristine rainforest and to provide an opportunity for our clients to visit an area of tropical cloudforest classified as being amongst one of the most important ecosytems in the world. This donation following the gift to CECIA of $700 in 1999 for the creation of a 'Hummingbird Trail and Garden' in the biologically significant reserve of Mindo. The reserve's 19,200 hectares have long been regarded as one of the best birdwatching areas in the whole of South America , home to 450 species of birds, which include 49 species of hummingbird, including six that are globally threatened.
Other beneficiaries have included the Spanish conservation organisation, SEO, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organisation, Bird Conservation Nepal, plus the many potential wildlife enthusiasts in developing countries to whom we have donated and distributed field guides, binoculars and telescopes with the aim of promoting a love of wildlife and passion for conservation. Encouragingly, some of these young naturalists now not only work as specialist naturalist guides for Naturetrek and other companies, but are also at the forefront of budding conservation organisations within their countries, and working in schools to promote wildlife and habitat conservation.
Provision of equipment
In the early years, with limited resources, Nepal and Ethiopia were the focus of our assistance. In Ethiopia , Naturetrek focused on the donation and supply of Collins Field Guides to the enthusiastic but ill-equipped local staff of Ethiopian National Parks, whilst in both Ethiopia and Nepal we donated new binoculars and telescopes to budding naturalists, and helped distribute second-hand equipment provided by British clients and bird clubs.
Corporate sponsorship
Naturetrek is a pioneering Corporate Sponsor of a wide range of conservation organisations. We became the first tour operator to become one of BirdLife International's World Environment Partners, and became the first sponsor of Butterfly Conservation under the 'Purple Emperor scheme'. Other charities of which we are a corporate sponsor include the highly respected Oriental Bird Club and the African Bird Club, both of which encourage and contribute to invaluable research and conservation work in their respective areas. For example, a Naturetrek contribution of £500 was spent on research work by the Indian ornithologist Dr Choudhary into the endangered grassland birds of a little-known reserve in north-eastern India.
Development of local conservation organisations
In Nepal , Naturetrek inspired and assisted local naturalists in the development of the country's first bird club, originally known as the Nepal Bird Club, and now known as BCN (Bird Conservation Nepal). BCN, now a partner organisation of BirdLife International, is committed to conservation, education, recording, research and community involvement in saving Nepal 's threatened birdlife and habitats. With Hem Sagar Baral, Nepal's foremost conservationist and longstanding Naturetrek tour leader, Naturetrek both planned and funded the first ever BCN newsletter, and we have continued to sponsor this regular and successful newsletter.
Naturetrek & Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
One of the finest and most important wetland wildlife reserves in Asia , Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve was created largely to protect Nepal 's last remaining population of wild Water Buffaloes, but is of even greater importance to migratory birds and endangered grassland birds and mammals. In the early 1990s, it was neglected by the tourism it deserved and not regarded nationally as a tourism destination of any note. This situation has since changed dramatically owing to Naturetrek's inspiration for, and funding of, Koshi Tappu's first luxury tented camp. Naturetrek's single-handed marketing of this camp, and the attractions of the Reserve, have - ten years later - put it firmly on the map of the must-go-to destinations of naturalists and birdwatchers worldwide. So much so, that there are now several tourist camps/lodges hosting tourists in a reserve that could so easily have had no tourist appeal and benefits at all. The encouragement and training of local staff and expert naturalist guides, has been extended to include school and village visits, emphasising the benefits of birds, wildlife, conservation and tourism for all.
In Summary
Naturetrek's financial contribution to conservation causes has increased over the years with the growth of our business, and stands at a total of around £110,000 contributed over the years.
