Is Ecotourism Inherently Bad?

Tourists diving with whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines

Map of Marine Protected Areas

Ecotourism, the act of environmentally responsible travel and visitation to different areas of nature has long been criticized for being counterintuitive due to its nature of being environmentally insensitive as a result of international tourism. Oftentimes, ecotourism is conducted in natural areas such as nature reserves, parks, wilderness areas, and marine protected areas. Recent studies evaluating the effects of ecotourism in Marine Protected Areas suggest that ecotourism has a positive effect on marine governance in addition to improving local attitudes to marine conservation. Ultimately, this begs the question of whether or not the benefits of ecotourism can outweigh its negative consequences attributed to travel. 

A study conducted by the University of Victoria in Canada evaluated three locations in the Philippines (Oslob, Donsol, and Pintuyan) offering tourists the opportunity to swim with sharks. Interviews with locals revealed that inappropriate behaviours in the form of violence against the whale sharks were considered the norm within the area. However, after having the opportunity to interact with the sharks in a hands-on tourist experience, the same locals reported they felt more inclined to protect the sharks, citing that incidences of hitting the sharks with stones, paddles, and dynamites had decreased. Additionally, locals expressed a stronger sense of community with the marine life overall as they were able to foster emotional connections with the whale sharks. From a government perspective, the topic of ecotourism becomes highly relevant when the significance of tourism is analysed in smaller island states as tourism plays a large role in determining economic growth, employment, and social development. Given the importance of tourism in the social and government infrastructures in countries that rely on tourism–and ecotourism as a result, government bodies are more inclined to take environmental precautions as a large fraction of the travel and tourism industry is driven by nature tourism. In the EU Blue Economy Report published in 2021, coastal tourism alone was the biggest sector in terms of both gross profit and employment. 

Although there is the belief that ecotourism is synonymous with environmentally conscious and ethical tourism, this is only true when it is conducted based on research and incorporates insight from local communities. This indicates that without the necessary precautions, the positive intent behind ecotourism can be overtaken by the desire for profit. For example, travel companies may utilize marketing schemes that advertise environmentally conscious practices in an attempt to appeal to tourists. Alternatively, a protected area can potentially increase in popularity as a result of ecotourism activities, thereby having irreversible impacts on wildlife. An example of this can be observed when whale watching becomes more prioritized as a tourism activity rather than an opportunity for locals to learn more about the mammals. Disruptive behaviours such as loud noises can potentially cause distress to whales as they are sensitive to loud noises. 

Despite ecotourism having the potential to foster a closer relationship with marine life and nature in addition to forcing government systems to prioritize nature and marine life conservation, it appears as though the prospect of ecotourism can be easily shifted into a marketing ploy at the expense of Marine Protected Areas. Conversely, if ecotourism placed a stronger emphasis on local travel, followed ethical regulations, and maintained facilities that actively minimized carbon emissions, while promoting genuine connections between people and nature, it may be a useful tool as we collectively work towards being more conscious of our actions on the earth.

Minimizing the Impacts of Holiday Shopping on Our Oceans

Last week, Black Friday marked the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Following Black Friday, many online retailers present consumers with sales that only snowball into the winter holidays. Holiday shopping leverages the concept of scarcity to foster a sense of urgency–compelling consumers to shop without being environmentally conscious. A study conducted by the University of Leeds found that up to 80% of Black Friday purchases end up in landfills, indicating that many purchases made during the holiday season are of low importance. With the gradual shift towards digitalization across various shopping platforms, the culture of online shopping has become widely accepted due to convenience–but this is not without implications for our environment and oceans.

A MIT study revealed that traditional shopping methods had two times the carbon footprint relative to online shopping as one vehicle delivering a large quantity of products is less environmentally-taxing than a large number of individuals driving to a store. Despite the MIT study suggesting that online shopping has fewer environmental consequences when taking rushed orders into consideration, the negatives of online shopping ultimately outweigh the positives. This is because companies must send out trucks at half-capacity to fulfill orders placed within a one or two-day window. In conjunction with the clothing industry which relies heavily on poor-quality materials such as polyester, acrylic, and nylon, the use of these synthetic materials increases the quantity of non-biodegradable waste that ends up in landfills in addition to being a large contributor to plastic pollution in oceans. When clothing garments made of synthetic materials are washed, small fibres–microplastics–are released, travelling through various bodies of water until they infiltrate our oceans. It’s been estimated that over 75% of ocean creatures have ingested microplastics, potentially acting as carriers of environmental toxins that can end up in our food in addition to affecting marine life.

Although the future revolving around reversing the damage we have inflicted upon the environment seems bleak, there are many small precautions that can be taken to minimize our carbon footprint and better protect the earth’s oceans! Here are some small steps and things to consider the next time you shop online as recommended by David Suzuki:

1. Prioritize replacing over supplementing - online shopping can be used to replace shopping in person; this allows for vehicle trips to be saved, thereby minimizing carbon footprint.

2. Plan out your shopping in advance - Companies like Amazon and Walmart that provide the option for instant delivery do not have the luxury of allocating one vehicle to fulfill multiple orders. Consequently, a higher environmental price is associated with rushed orders as ensuring fast deliveries may involve the use of airplanes, which can increase carbon emissions. Prioritizing local businesses and products in addition to making multiple purchases at once allows for fewer emissions.

3. Minimize packaging - Packaging acts as a large source of single-use plastic as it often ends up in landfills once it has served its purpose. Selecting the option for your purchases to be packaged in a single box or opting for recyclable packaging is a simple solution to this issue.

4. Reduce returns and exchanges where possible - Online shopping corresponds to an increase in returns and exchanges of products. An increase in unnecessary product returns and exchanges requires companies to re-ship the products to the original distribution centre or store, therefore generating more carbon emissions and packaging. A solution to this issue is reading product descriptions and reviews thoroughly, as this allows you to gain a greater understanding of whether or not the product is right for you.

5. Reduce overconsumption - The convenience associated with online shopping is perhaps the greatest contributor to overconsumption. Following social media trends in addition to the anticipation of a package delivery can result in individuals making online purchases merely for the sake of instant gratification. Thinking more critically before you make a purchase and organizing your shopping into lists are great ways to ensure you’re only buying what you need.

6. Consider the disposability of products - Online shopping perpetuates a cycle of buying, replacing, and waste. Dismantling the normality of single-use products and the casual disposal of products can play a role in reducing the depletion of resources. Simply purchasing products with the longevity of the product in mind or finding alternatives to single-use products (floss, face masks, plastic straws, etc.) can help decrease waste overall.

With the prevalence of online shopping in today’s society, there are many small changes that we can make to decrease our impact on the environment this holiday season. By making small changes to our online shopping habits, we can minimize the many negative consequences associated with online shopping habits this holiday season and do our part in protecting our oceans!

Is Canada Falling Behind in the Climate Fight? – Views from Abroad

I’m writing this month’s blog post from the University of Oslo library, where I’m studying abroad this semester. Moving across the globe, I’ve certainly encountered some eye-opening differences in culture, including public transit etiquette, prices of groceries, and acceptable levels of chit-chat. As I experience daily life in one of Europe’s leading countries in sustainability, I thought this would be a good opportunity to compare Canada to other countries that are seen as “sustainable” and discuss the ways our country is both excelling and slacking in ocean conservation and environmentalism as a whole. We’ll examine what it means for a country to be sustainable, where Canada stands, and the role of the government versus the role of the individual.

According to the 2022 Sustainable Development Report from the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, the most sustainable country in the world is Finland. The country had an SDG Index Score of 86.5, well above Canada’s 77.7 which put us below the top 20 countries in the world. Finland has achieved their goals of sustainability through an annual sustainability assessment that has been in effect since 2018. This allows the country to analyze planning, budgeting, and reporting in order to improve its sustainability. They have energy-efficient homes, a UNESCO-certified groundwater system, and a thorough recycling program.

After Finland, the other Scandinavian countries all fall next in line in terms of sustainability. With an SDG Index Score of 85.6, Denmark achieves its sustainability through enacting greener government policies, such as their 2019 Climate Act which promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country by 70% by 2030. The country gets nearly half its energy from wind farms, exhibiting the effectiveness of green energy. Sweden, where more than half of the energy is produced by renewable sources, has a score of 85.2. The country utilizes electric buses, urban farming, food banks, and smart roads to help its population live as sustainably as possible, and it also has goals to reduce emissions from 85 to 100 percent by 2045. Finally, Norway has an SDG Index Score of 82.3. The country has been employing its natural resources since the 1800s, harvesting energy created by rivers in the fjords to fuel the growing population. In recent years, sustainable energy resources such as floating solar panels and silicon solar modules have been created to add to pre-existing solutions like their almost entirely electric public transport system.

While these countries are certainly paving the way in terms of general sustainability efforts, ocean conservation is not their priority. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are zones of the ocean set aside for conservation, somewhat like marine national parks. They are vital tools for conservationists and protect marine ecosystems from overfishing and resource extraction. MPAs have been shown to significantly increase both ecosystem health and organism numbers within previously exploited areas. Palau, a small island of only 20,000 individuals decided that in addition to managing their fisheries by closing important spawning grounds to fish periodically, they would close 80% of all fishing grounds to any extraction permanently. In total, this resulted in the island creating an MPA of 500,000 km2. The United Kingdom created an MPA of 834,000 km2, the largest continuous marine reserve in the world. This encompasses the Pitcairn Islands, an overseas British territory in the South Pacific with only 56 inhabitants. MPAs are vital for ocean conservation and are an important step for all countries along coasts if they want their oceans to have futures.

So… where is Canada at? Our score of 77.7 signifies that we’re doing some good in the fight against climate change, but that we could definitely be doing more. Some of the ways we’re being proactive include generating economy-wide climate plans for the country, putting a price on carbon, and phasing out coal-fired electricity while simultaneously supporting a transition for coal power workers and communities. In the past, there hasn’t been a very consistent approach to not only setting climate targets, but following up on those targets with comprehensive plans that include timelines, policies, and investments. The Healthy Environment Healthy Economy Plan (HEHE) of 2020 is a step in the right direction. Additionally, we’ve seen the tabling of BillC12 (the Net-Zero Accountability Act), a piece of climate legislation that has potential to make Canada’s long-term goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 law. With the release of HEHE in December 2020 came confirmation that carbon prices across Canada will continue to increase yearly, with a benchmark cost of $170/ton by 2030. This sends the economy-wide signal that it is no longer alright to externalize the cost of pollution. These are small victories, however. Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are not declining, and our current climate plans focus on coal, continuing to neglect that the county’s largest and fastest sources of emissions are oil and gas production. We’re a long way from being in the top 20 most sustainable countries. Additionally, there are currently 14 MPAs across Canada comprising over 350,000 km2 of the ocean but only 6% of Canada’s marine and coastal areas. Canada has largely put the economic prosperity of the oceans above the health of marine life, communicating that ocean sustainability is not the government’s priority.

Where do we go from here? Aside from taking individual actions such as transforming your transport, reducing power usage, and tweaking your diet, ramping up the political pressure is one of the most important ways to ensure Canada takes responsibility for its impact on the world at large. Lobbying local politicians and corporations to cut emissions and reduce carbon pollution is essential for tackling the climate emergency. This can be scary, but just start small. Pick an environmental issue you care about, decide on a specific request for change, and try to arrange a meeting with your local representative. This is an incredible way to start the conversation and enact real change in your community.