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Eco travel focusing on destinations that have actively preserved the local Ecology, provides funds for conservation, directly benefits the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for different cultures and for human rights, as well as life in its various forms.. Eco-tourism appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals. and must expand to all of us. We need to focus on volunteering, teaching personal growth and learning new ways to live on our planet in harmony and respecting the environment , the people, animals , Fauna and Flora all living things, in every thing that we build, consume and use. We need to become aware of cleaning up after ourselves and consume energy in a responsible way and to leave the smallest Carbon Foot print possible, the ecological journey starts at home, for all of us.
Eco-tourism is not unlike the way we used to travel, it now includes the thought on how to reduce mans destructive abandon and experience the rewarding feeling that the traveler impacted the destination in a very positive manner, visiting the rest of the world by looking at preservation and green use principals , always impacting with a smaller carbon footprint, all the while creating harmony with natives be they human, or not. This new focus on our environment gives us insight into our impact as human beings and also a greater appreciation of our own natural habitats.
Responsible Eco-tourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of Eco-tourism is the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation and creation of economic opportunities for the local communities.
In my 35 years of traveling the world on official and private Business as well as Pleasure, SIA records show that I accumulated 3.245Million miles( plus various Air Carriers). I have visited many nations on every continent, all of the Asian countries, NZ, AUS, Africa, Europe and most of all the many Pacific islands, I also practiced my hobby Scuba Diving. During my travel I found decimated nature in almost every dive site, unmanaged natural assets, overfishing and Chemical fishing killing all living organism, including the reefs, dire effects of raw sewerage in all third world and newly industrialized countries that I visited, South east Asia, India, Middle East, Former East Block countries, Turkey , Greece, North Africa and South America. What most countries have in common is a lack of understanding the effects of pollution on not only the health of their citizens and long ranging medical costs, many of the Governments do not show the necessary Leadership to invest in the future of their nation and people by preserving their endowment. The normal excuse by the ruling class is that they have not had a chance to industrialize yet.t
On one of the many dive trips , a 2 day boat journey from the northern edge of Malay Borneo, we dove of some unbelievable islands, pristine waters and still a lot of sea life, however we cleaned the reefs of Coke cans, bottles and most of all the ever present plastic bags, advertising showed us that currents distributed these from as far as Jakarta and Singapore. On one diving trip of Bali, I found the same flotsam, the currents that flow between Bali and Java are very strong , like a fast river, over the years I found proof of a total lack of sanitation in all countries around the islands of Java , Sumatra, Malay peninsula and Borneo.The control of waste is a novelty in these countries, the Colonial Dutch build canals to control flood levels in Jakarta and other cities, today these canals are a solid mix of garbage, not a drop flows, one can see children playing at the rim, this picture is repeated all over India, China, Africa and all of the rest of the third world. Tropical nations experience overpowering rain storms, many populated areas are just above the water line and are quickly flooded, Singapore has this problem, Tropical rains dump several feet of water in no time. Singapore installed one way flood gates , however street debris still reaches the open sea. India a large continent, just like China have a monumenteous effort ahead of them to control pollution and waste, till these continents make this effort to become Eco friendly there is little chance for mankind to see improvements.
The mighty rivers of South east Asia have also become open sewers, one only has to visit Bangkok and see the River of Kings , all of the cities garbage, sewers, rain water and flotsam are visible in the River, yet citizens along the river use the brackish water to clean themselves, all waste goes into the river, wash and cook as well as swim in the dirty waters. One can only wonder why Global Religious Leaders are not at the fore front of Population control and Eco awareness!
Unchecked growth in Global population and centuries of irresponsible Global Resource Management is already impacting our Globe and all of Human as well as other Life form, the question is, are we to late, can we reverse the effects of Industrialization, do our Global Leaders have the fortitude to act?
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