So many safari operations, lodges, camps, and private reserves bill themselves as ‘eco-friendly’ establishments; champions of wildlife and habitat conservation. But how can you judge if your safari money is really going to benefit the wildlife you have come to see?
One way is to apply the three-way test for any conservation project:
To be successful, everyone connected to or involved with a tourism project or product in Africa should benefit in three ways: Financially, Socially and Environmentally.
The tourism industry has traditionally placed an emphasis on growing its market, without necessarily focusing on maintaining and preserving the product or experience. The growing trend towards super-luxury safari destinations is a case in point. Today one can find a five-star luxury hotel quite literally built on the banks of an environmentally sensitive river in a wilderness area, in order that guests may view the elephants while consuming their champagne breakfasts. Supply and demand rules the industry, but a totally demand-led approach could lead to its demise.
First one, then another and now many upmarket lodges have included a beauty spa or wellness centre. But such facilities with their high consumption of water and power and intensive use of artificial products from anti-bacterial chemicals to laundry detergents and complex cosmetic preparations, must by definition sit uneasily in a pristine wilderness environment.
Equally, the 5-star ‘fine dining’ which offers imported delicacies and produce is also clocking up those transport miles and thus increasing the carbon footprint of the establishment as a whole. The construction of a dam to provide water for lush green lawns could destroy an entire ecosystem downstream. An open rubbish dump can spread disease among baboon populations, and so on. Clearly, balance has to be found, and a visitor should be able to make informed judgements.
Eco-tourism essentially favours the maintenance of balance on all levels by implementing supply-oriented management principles. Every establishment wants its guests to be comfortable, safe and pampered – but the eco-tourist also expects and wants the facilities on offer to be appropriate to the environment. Just as ice hotels should be built only in arctic latitudes, for example, night clubs and race tracks should remain the preserve of urban environments.
Sustainable tourism protects the fragile ecology of a destination that needs to remain essentially ‘untouched’ after the last tourist has flown home. Eco-tourism in a broader perspective can be defined as: “Responsible travel to natural environments where there is a combination of sustainable land utilisation, conservation of indigenous fauna and flora, plus education and community upliftment through local community involvement.”
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, the term ‘eco-tourism’ is bandied about indiscriminately by tour operators who use it for marketing purposes, often without justification. The ‘Law of Scarcity’ needs to be respected, meaning that setting limits becomes an imperative. Botswana’s national tourism policy for example, has been developed under this law. Botswana has opted to limit the influx of tourism by limiting the number of lodges and operators, while making the national tourism product expensive. Whichever strategies are used, a responsible tourism policy should be the first priority of any African country.
People who support eco-tourism should be asking questions about what businesses need to do to be good stewards of their environment, what “green” standards are being followed when they build their lodges, and what practices they implement to reduce their environmental and carbon footprint.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has developed a certification system or Green Building Rating System called LEED — Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. These LEED guidelines can be followed and certification can be obtained anywhere in the world. Intending eco-tourists could be encouraged to ask of their destination, whether it has implemented any of the LEED standards for environmentally sustainable construction. A safari lodge’s major eco contribution could well be in ‘green’ building design and site sustainability.
For example, buildings could source a variety of natural materials on site, such as clay, stone, thatching grass and timber. The stone and masonry buildings could have high pitched thatch roofs to draw heat upwards, and windows designed to facilitate cross ventilation. Situating a building under large trees increases overall energy efficiency, while specialised flooring helps retain heat absorption from the low winter sun. Dead trees can be converted into rustic character furniture. It is satisfying to see where there has been minimal impact on the land and environment.
Some of the more remote lodges and camps are forced to use paraffin or kerosene lamps and old-fashioned wood-fired boilers instead of electricity, but with the advances in solar energy, these carbon-producing methods are becoming less necessary. Africa, after all , has an abundance of sunshine, even during wet seasons.
Other green-friendly activities include maintaining an organic vegetable garden, composting organic waste, reducing conspicuous consumption, using local products and seasonal produce, recycling and following principles of energy efficiency; cumulatively these things produce a lower environmental impact.
In many areas, the establishment of private wildlife reserves (often adjacent to national parks) has had hugely positive results for the environment. These private reserves are often converted farmland, where the first task was to restore the natural vegetation after over-grazing, monoculture, invasive plant species or soil erosion. Restoration of natural habitat is the leading imperative in any conservation project, and only once vegetation has recovered can re-stocking with key indigenous wildlife species be done. Thereafter many species return unassisted, especially the insects, birdlife and small mammals. Private reserves put less pressure on the vegetation too, whereas mass tourism using heavy 4×4 vehicles inflicts serious damage on grasslands, the prime example being in some of the east African national parks.
The involvement of local communities is the final ingredient to a successful and sustainable tourism enterprise, and this goes far beyond simply providing employment. The phenomenal growth in ‘cultural tourism’ over the last 10 years has been driven by safari customers themselves. Often, the reserves involved have experienced a marked drop in poaching and other depradations by neighbouring communities where a sense of ownership and involvement has been developed.
An internationally accepted model for tourism sustainability should aim at balancing environmental, economic and social interests within an ethical framework of values, principles and rigorous standards, in order to create a choice of “green” destinations for an increasingly discerning tourist.