Ecotravel

Travel and tourism is the number one industry on earth, with 700 million people spending $2-3 trillion on their trips annually, says Costas Christ, senior director for ecotourism at Conservation International (C.I.). At their destinations, this results in overconsumption of energy and water, disruption of local cultures and pollution of land and marine ecosystems, as Worldwatch Institute reports in State of the World 2002 (Cruise ships alone dump 90,000 tons of sewage and garbage into our oceans daily.) Surely there must be a lighter way to vacation.

There is. Ecotravel, or ecotourism, now represents about 2 percent of the industry. At present, there is no single international regulatory or certifying agency, although The International Ecosystem Society (TIES), United Nations Environment Program UNEP, the Rainforest Alliance and others are exploring models. Criteria published by TIES in 1992 include: sustainable site development and building materials; renewable energy sources; largely organic and local food; recycling; not harming local flora and fauna; hiring local labor and management. Also important, says Megan Epler Wood, a founder and past president of TIES, is that the businesses have a nonprofit arm that pumps money and resources back into the local community, so that "local people can be the stewards of their own land."

Destination: Costa Rica

While not yet certified, Delfin Amor Eco Lodge, founded by Sierra Goodman, a former facilitator for wild dolphin swims in the Bahamas, in the province of Puntarenas on Costa Rica's lush Pacific Coast, fulfills many TIES criteria. To build the guest cabinas, Goodman and an almost exclusively local staff gathered lumber that had fallen on its own and installed solar panels, which provide half of the lodge's energy—which isn't much. In the communal dining area, the sun is the sole light source, and candles work the night shift. In the cozy, screened-in cabinas, there is solar-powered electricity, but it's available only through a timed switch. Water isn't heated—which takes a little getting used to—but it's all part of an authentic jungle experience. (As is waking up to the cacophony of howler monkeys, observing toucans at close range, and snorkeling with indigenous technicolor fish.)

Set at the top of a gentle hill with the Pacific as its backyard, Delfin Amor accommodates about fifteen guests—mostly Americans and Europeans seeking a simple holiday or close encounter with dolphins. The three daily meals are excellent— mostly organic, vegetarian food grown by neighboring farmers. Days can be spent on one's own—hiking, swimming, snorkeling, reading—but most guests choose to participate in the day's special activity (for an added fee). In a typical week, you will take a couple rain forest hikes, which are led by a local guide along established trails, where even the well-traveled tourist will be wowed by three kinds of monkeys, wild aviary and land mammals (like the agouti) and ancient, elegant trees. There are day trips, by boat, to nearby Caño Island, where you hike, swim, snorkel, sunbathe, eat and rest.

The highlight of the week, however, is the boat trips, accompanied by a staff marine biologist, to swim with dolphins and whales in the wild. Respect is the order of the day. Anytime a cetacean is spotted, the boat slowly approaches, and guests slip into the water and wait and see if the animals will approach them. Whether guests will join them in the water and how long they stay is determined by the dolphins. Sierra has been involved with dolphins since 1997. Today, in her volunteer role as president of the nonprofit Fundación Delfín de Costa Rica, she is working on raising money—and awareness—to create a marine sanctuary and have deadly practices, like ocean-trawling and long-line fishing, outlawed.

A Panamanian Idyll

Another well-run eco lodge—also not certified but similar in its mission and style—Canopy Tower in the middle of Central Panama's Parque Nacional Soberania, is for the birds—literally. It offers stunning rooms with treetop views and daily birding excursions with the chance of seeing such other wildlife as monkeys, bats, sloths and ocelots.

"All organic kitchen waste is converted to compost, and graywater from showers and sinks goes into the garden," says founder and eco-tourism pioneer Raúl Arias de Para. The lodge sells aluminum cans to a recycler,and proceeds are distributed among the employees, de Para adds.

The lifelong bird lover also helped establish the non-profit Fundación Avifauna Eugene Eisenmann, named for a Panamanian ornithologist and dedicated to conserving bird-watching sites. There is no pay, "but I sure get a lot of satisfaction," de Para says.

Keeping the "Eco-" in Ecotourism

If you are looking for a true ecotourist experience, Costas Christ warns against confusing it with nature or adventure travel, the fastest-growing segment of the industry. Jungle rafting might be exhilarating for you, but, says Christ, "unless it brings economic and social benefit to local people, it isn't ecotourism." Sometimes, the line is blurred: Sierra Club adventures, for example, "work (whenever possible) with in-country guides, local outfitters and local non-profits. For example, on our trip to Costa Rica's threatened Osa Peninsula, we spend time working with the staff of the Neotropica Foundation, a local non-profit trying to establish sustainable natural resource management practices" says Molly McCahan of Sierra Club Outings.

No matter what a lodge or tour is called, it's worth asking for eco-specifics before you book. Travel and communication have made us a global community, and becoming an ecotourist should mean giving back.

Resources:

Conservation International, 800/406-2306

International Ecotourism Society (TIES), 202/347-9203

Rainforest Alliance SmartVoyager, 888/MY-EARTH certifies eco-conscious Galapagos cruises.

Worldwatch Institute, 888/544-2303

Délfin Amor Eco Lodge, 831/345-8484, toll-free fax: 866/527-5558

Canopy Tower Ecolodge and Nature Observatory, 800/854-2597

Sierra Club Outings, 415/977-5522

National Certification Programs:

Australia: Nature and Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) , 61-7-3229-5550.

Costa Rica: Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) 506/223-1733 ext.247

Photo Credit: Sierra Goodman, Delfin Amor, © 2004.