7 Tips to be a Nature-Friendly Traveller

Travel. It’s on a lot of people’s mind these days. But if you’re going to do it, you should do it right. Most environmentally harmful traveling is created due to the laws of supply and demand (economics 101) and our own ignorance. Therefore, here are 7 tips to help you become a more nature-friendly traveller (or as I like to call it, a nature-walker).

1. Leave It As You Found It

In 2007, I went for a caving trip in Ipoh, Malaysia. My guide, I forget his name (doh!), had only one poetic rule.

Leave nothing but footprints,

Take nothing but photographs,

Kill nothing but time.

It has stuck with me ever since. Furthermore, it is reminiscent of my scouting spirit back in my secondary school days. Leaving it as you found it preserves the state of nature and allows many more to enjoy and marvel at it.

2. Avoid Patronizing Animal-Exploitation Attractions

Circuses, marine parks, elephant rides. These are but few of the activities tour agencies constantly tout when promoting a destination package. For every unwilling animal there, an unknown number of animal cruelty cases take place behind the scenes.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore has made leaps and bounds in transforming the animal shows and their enclosures at the Singapore Zoological Gardens to reflect the animals’ natural lifestyles and behaviours as well as mimic their natural habitats as close as possible. Huge salute for their efforts. A toast to you guys!

3. Resist Buying or Having Your Picture Taken with Exotic Animals

Linking to Tip #2, in some countries, it’s common to be approached with the invitation to have your picture taken with a python or a baby orang-utan. Some offer you a chance to attend a snake-charming show usually performed with a cobra. Other times, children will parade pathetic ill-looking birds in the hope that you’ll buy them and set them free.

In these cases, our curiosity and sympathy are used against us.

Cobras commonly have their fangs pulled out for the safety of the charmer, ripping them of their ability to defend themselves. Baby orang-utans on the other hand, find their way to the photography industry normally after their mother is brutally shot and killed in order to haul the baby away without the unreasonable protests of the mother. Lastly, when we buy the sad bird in the cage, and set them free, it spurs demand and create jobs. As such, more birds are trapped and made to endure harsh conditions with the intention of preying on the emotionally gullible. Many die in captivity.

Moral of the story: Oh, toughen up, people.

4. Choose Eco-friendly or Conservation-linked Tourism

WWF and National Geographic are leaders in this field. Unfortunately, their tours often come with a heavy price tag. That’s because a huge bulk of that is used to fund their conservation projects and research studies. However, with the green movement getting more popular, more and more resorts, tours and agencies are hopping on board.

If you’re at a fair, or at your local travel agency, request for green tours. By refusing other tours and specifically stating that you only want to experience green travel, you help create the demand for it which will help swerve the tourist industry in that direction.

(But if you’re loaded, remember WWF and NG yeah? Yeah.)

5. Do Not Buy Animal-parts for Souvenirs

This includes ivory, shells, stuffed animals and fur. A simple rule of thumb: Where there’s demand, supply will rush in to fill in the void thereby creating a black market and causing more animals to be killed by poachers.

In China, it’s easy to find tiger parts being sold – claws and penises too – for consumption! What the?! They believe it helps with certain bodily ailments. As far as science is concern, this is all bull. Utter nonsense. Anything useful you can get out of a tiger’s peepee or his sharp digit, you can extract from a dozen other herbal plants. Tiger balls, my....

6. Be Mindful of the Illegal Logging Industry

Illegal logging is rampant in certain countries especially in the developing ones. Avoid buying wood products unless you’re confident that only farmed trees are used. Researching the illegal logging scene of the country online would be most helpful.

During a visit to Bali, Indonesia, in 2006, despite the picturesque scenery of a volcano to enjoy lunch to, I was horrified to see huge sections of forest bare of trees. Though I admit that the Balinese are master craftsmen, the rate of logging is unsustainable. The memory of a thriving habitat means tons more to me than my desire to own one of those beautifully sculptured mementos.

Want wood? Think Ikea.

7. Be Vocal About Your Disapproval

Agencies, tour operators, retailers and anyone who entertains, and even runs, these operations need to hear your disapproval. Being vocal about your non-patronizing attitude and discontent with the exploitation and environment-damaging activities will have an impact on what these people provide to their customers.

If a number of people vocalize their dissatisfaction and desires, you can be sure that things will change for the better over time. Tolerance for such activities, and worst, silence, only serves to allow the industry to grow delaying any improvement and thereby causing more innocent creatures to be victimized.

Do be polite though. It helps ease any defensive attitudes.

(And helps you avoid becoming a victim yourself.)

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Thanks again for reading!

Keep being awesome! And stay green!

Cheers,

~Kerry