Eco-friendly, green, ethical, and sustainable. We see these words frequently in the travel industry and they all seem to have similar definitions, but is there a difference? Sustainable travel focuses on “supporting and preserving the economic, cultural, and environmental aspects of destinations, while maximizing community benefits and minimizing potential negative impacts.” Together, when sustainably bound, green, eco-friendly, ethical, and sustainable practices work collectively to promote an industry with minimal ecological and social footprint. When travelers seek eco-friendly vacations, they are engaging in a type of sustainable tourism while benefiting from recreational and overnight eco-adventures. Wildlife viewing, eco-diving, and forest excursions are just a few of the activities offered by the eco-friendly travel industry. In the following pages, we will highlight eco-friendly ocean adventures and the strategic plans of dive operators to be eco-friendly. Different forms of marine conservation and sustainable practices, which assist marine life, will also be presented.
Definition and Importance
Eco-friendly tourism, also known as sustainable tourism or responsible travel, is a type of tourism that travels lightly on the earth. It is essentially an umbrella term, which encompasses outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and cultural tourism. However, at the same time, it also encourages the use of previously operated businesses such as ones in the realms of organic foods, off-the-grid living, and farmers markets. The purpose of eco-friendly adventures, also known as eco-adventures, such as eco-friendly ocean adventures, is not only to provide an exciting expedition but to educate and preserve the environment at the same time. This provides significant political, economic, and social benefits for the area.
In the context of ocean adventures, moreover, the use of eco-friendly practices has demonstrated a growing interest. An eco-friendly approach is based on four sunlit principles: reducing the impact on the earth’s surface, recycling unused products, restoring the natural environment, and making all activities carbon-neutral. An eco-friendly adventure allows travelers to visit pristine coastal and island destinations while engaging in a minimal negative impact on the environment. There is a growing public concern about the welfare of marine communities and their habitats, and while eco-friendly tourism practices are not mandatory, they are desirable. For the deployment of eco-friendly guidelines, direct interaction and clear communication are essential measures for the success of a program.
Benefits of Eco-Friendly Ocean Adventures
Eco-friendly ocean adventures are beneficial in many ways as they not only help preserve marine environments and promote sustainable use of resources, but also offer a unique and authentic travel experience to tourists. “Eco-friendly” activities bring attention to the need for preservation and conservation, reduce or mitigate negative environmental impacts, and help instill a greater sense of responsibility for the protection of nature.
Many beautiful marine parks, like the Phoenix Islands, have recently experienced less and less disturbance from human presence and proudly boast pristine beaches and healthy marine ecosystems that often flabbergast tourists who thought that they could never be able to see anything like this ever again. Guests engaging in eco-friendly activities contribute directly to conservation by paying for services that include the surveillance of protected areas and resources by Marine Guards: rangers who look after the islands and police against poachers. In addition, a portion of the profits made is often set aside in the necessary funds to improve facilities and to pay for state, non-government, and international organizations involved in marine reserves and park management. This way, the economic benefits from tourism also contribute to the overall well-being of local communities that share their revenues with the state.
Tourism done with an unfathomable respect for nature results in increased social awareness, as visitors who put a lot of effort into financing these trips are often, and easily, turned into passionate supporters and advocates of conservation which the areas justly claim. This novel trend in responsible travel also has significant benefits for the ocean as a whole: a healthy sea that constitutes approximately 2/3 of the earth’s surface and sustains a wide variety of species often unknown to man, offers complete peace and tranquility to its visitors. Jurisdictions and programs that strive to protect and conserve our oceans are also supported. This form of tourism also merges seamlessly with other pursuits, including surfing, diving, sailing, snorkeling, kayaking, or photography, inspiring and converting their participants. Partnerships and cooperation with visitor members can help steer policies and programs, argue about legislation and treaties, benchmark environmental standards to govern protection, and effectively raise funds to support and sustain conservation efforts. The international treaties and agreements that have been formulated to date have similarly provided the opportunity for a more widespread spread of protected areas and managed, healthy marine ecosystems.
Sustainable Practices in Ocean Tourism
Ocean tourism is an ever-growing industry, with new routes, expeditions, and experiences being developed every year. Ocean adventures are mostly powered by fossil fuels, and according to recent studies, it’s been estimated that cruise vessels pollute more than a whole town, and the ocean fleet consumes more than 370 million tons of diesel fuel. The range of sustainable practices, in terms of values and conservation efforts, reaches a broad and in fact omnipresent spectrum of the tourist industry, including carbon emissions and their reduced environmental impact. Usually in biofriendly tourism, the slow “responsible travel” was taken into consideration, thus reducing the damage in terms of CO2 emissions through the choice of destinations, accommodations, guides, food products, etc. that respect the environment.
There is widespread agreement with implementing solar systems or small wind turbines to keep the onboard passenger facilities running, in addition to installing a photovoltaic system for ecological conditions. In an alternative context, and as Eruhimov and Rethmeier state, the problem of garbage runs away from recycling. One of the concepts largely and inclusively used is that of pollution prevention EU 2008/98/CE. Focusing on this, the use of biodegradable materials issued from water-related activities would better insulate the ecological footprint, and this would help in preserving valuable oceanic resources such as the water quality, the birds and fish presence, and the human frequenting of the glaciers by kayak or water taxi. This study explores the analysis of various small-scale approaches that are submitted with evidence on the outcomes they achieve. The aim is to understand more clearly what kinds of sustainable techniques can be used to set up ecofriendly practices.
Use of Renewable Energy Sources
From stationary accommodations to long-range ferry services and reef educational tours on glass-bottom boats, enormous energy is needed in the realm of ocean tourism. Meanwhile, for the enhancement of load capacity and interior facilities, there is inherent resistance in power suppliers’ development and optimization. This leads to an increase in the ship’s power requirements, underscoring a need for renewable energy technologies. Specifically, sun and wind are the most viable sources of energy in the ocean, but emerging biofuels must also be considered.
Renewable energy should also improve vessels’ resistance, safety, administration, and daily operations. In addition, evidence suggests a rise in the amount of tourists who choose accommodations based on environmental considerations. A case in point is sea surface heat pumps. Owing to the relative stability of surface water with changing climate conditions, sea surface heat pumps (SSHPs) are a promising technology that provides renewable energy for use aboard seagoing vessels. The application of SSHP on board every kind of sea-going vessel is the focus of domestic and foreign research. Solar tracking systems, which are significant now, are one option. Solar energy is more profitable when concentrated solar power (CSP) is used in a solar thermal power plant for conversion into heat to generate electricity. Another trend in the ocean environment is the utilization of existing energy generation modes, such as wind and tidal power. Overall, renewable energy sources inside offshore tourist facilities draw ethical considerations and address environmental conservation principles.
Waste Management and Recycling
Waste Management – Besides reducing waste through the use of water dispensers, some dive boats rotate their clients, which lessens the need for fresh water. However, after using less freshwater tanks and low-flush toilets on board, less freshwater is disposed into the ocean, along with the chemicals and potential pathogens that are in the treated sewage. Water-related activities in marine ecosystems inevitably generate waste, and the economic benefits of ocean-related tourism and recreation are significant globally, even surpassing those of commercial or industrial uses. However, while these activities are popular year-round, a dive boat will likely produce less waste, per person, than a day developing a highway through the rainforest. Unfortunately, it is often the activities that bring in less economic benefits, such as ecotourism, that are more strenuously regulated.
Recycling – Some material will have to be disposed of in the ocean, as it has from ships for thousands of years. At the same time, simply because it’s been done in the past does not justify continuing the practice. One of the issues at stake is recycling. Recycling reduces pollution caused by the production of raw materials, saves money, conserves natural resources, and generates new business. Ocean conservancy considers the following items to be of particular concern in the ocean as debris: food utensils, plastic bags, straws, beverage containers, and cigarette butts. All of these items can easily be recycled or composted to some degree, greatly reducing the waste a park or dive concession produces.
Conservation Efforts in Marine Ecosystems
Conservation and preservation are core values in any environment. As more light is shed on the value of these large ecosystems, home to complicated lifeforms that may not be found anywhere else in the world, many things can threaten marine ecosystems. One of the primary things threatening our oceans is industrial, agricultural, and human waste. Greenhouse gas emissions are only adding to the collapse of these delicate ecosystems.
Conservation in the ocean may collectively come in two parts. There is help and conservation for entire ecosystems, through preserving coral reefs and seagrass. Then there are the animals themselves that need help to not go extinct. One victory is the protection of sharks in certain waters, and also laws passed to ban the fishing of them in many places.
Coral reefs are thriving ecosystems all on their own. They only encompass 1% of the world’s oceans but are home to 25% of all marine life. On top of that, many people who would like to work conservation jobs are marine biomedical researchers and earn grants to work in National Marine Sanctuaries. Even if they can’t access a sanctuary itself, coral reefs where they are located provide some of the only data of their kind for researchers.
Conservation within a commercial industry – while many talk bad about the commercial fishing industry, believe it or not, the people within it are some of the largest supporters of ocean conservation and sustainability practices. They know that their way of life depends on the fish not going extinct anytime soon. It is beneficial for all climate or environmental activists to support both commercial and subsistent industries in their movements.
Protection of Coral Reefs
Coral reefs host an exceptional variety of marine species: some estimates suggest that they hold a third of all marine species. Because of their ecological importance, they provide food and ecosystem services that are essential for millions of people. However, they face an increasing number of threats, including overfishing, run-off, pollution caused by wastewaters and fertilizers, tourism, or the growing temperatures of the planet that cause mass bleaching. According to international reports, it has been in the last decades that the degradation of these habitats has led to a cascade of species loss. This decline in the reef systems is therefore attracting more attention in the conservation field.
Coral reefs cover less than 0.1% of the ocean surface but are important as nurseries for marine life, natural breakwaters that reduce damage caused on the coastal environment by dangerous waves stirred up by storms, and as the hunting territory of valuable fish. They are also found to be effective in neutralizing atmospheric pollution. Coral reefs are threatened by a number of human-induced stressors such as land-based activities that result in “sedimentation, coastal development, nutrient and other chemical pollution, and wastewater effluents.” These stressors also increase the outbreak of coral diseases. Concomitantly, greenhouse gases such as CO2, produced by the burning of fossil fuels, are accumulating in the atmosphere. CO2 is also absorbed by the oceans and is causing the chemistry of seawater to change, such as an increase in ocean temperature and its acidification. Rising sea temperatures have also increased mass coral bleaching events, in which algae are expelled from corals, causing them to turn white. If conditions improve, corals can recover their symbiotic algae. However, if stress continues, such as exceeding high temperatures, corals will slowly starve and eventually die. Combine all of this and the coral reefs around the world are projected to disappear by the middle of the 21st century. Given the urgency of the situation, there has been a call for conservation action aiming to reduce the threats to coral reefs and the gear mechanisms must be implemented so that current pressures are reduced.
Preservation of Marine Species
There is an incredible diversity in marine life forms, and conserving this variety is important for their numerous roles. Many marine species are endangered and facing decline, and many have been declared extinct. Illegal fishing practices play a major role, causing an increase in the depletion of the endangered species and a threat for the variety of species present. Conservation efforts are also being made in the form of restoration ecology and captive breeding of endangered species now takes place. Introduction and protection of endangered species and conservation of land suitable for these species also forms a part of these measures.
Fisheries and wildlife managers offer a specific category of people who can be of link in order to maintain the adequate conservation of marine organisms, and the industries it supports. Conservation and management of many marine fishery species in the U.S. waters are the focus of NOAA fisheries. Even the approach to conserving living marine resources of the United States has shifted over the years to trying to maintain the balance of ecological systems of which certain species are part. More attention to specific species conservation has been focused on those marine mammals and fish, endangered species. In the wider realm, legislation, which is considered to be proactive, includes the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Whale Conservation and Protection Study Act. All of these acts take effect mainly for the protection and conservation of the marine species and their habitat placing people in marine eco-tourism in a continuous position of pro-protection rather than anti-protection.
Case Studies of Successful Eco-Friendly Ocean Adventures
Case study 1: On the Azuero Peninsula in Panama, several small fishing communities, including the town of Iguana, have supported the establishment of Coiba Adventures, a company taking smart and safe tours to the nearby Isla Coiba National Park. Situation operators at Coiba Adventures currently offer a wide range of programs and activities, including wildlife and bird-watching trips; sea kayaking; sport, dog tooth, and multi-day (deep sea) fishing; as well as onshore tours that stop at Coiba and at the highly successful protected area called La Cabañas on Isla Leones, which is an MPAs bona fide member. With significant in-kind and volunteer support from local communities and businesses that want to see their local marine and coastal ecosystems thrive, Coiba Adventures is in the final stages of putting together a comprehensive study confirming the socio-economic benefits of the adventure cruise industry that will result from on-site monitoring.
Case study 2: Shark Explorers operates from False Bay, Simon’s Town, near Cape Town, South Africa. False Bay is known for having one of the richest temperate water-fish faunas in the world. Shark Explorers offers adventure sports targeting two of False Bay’s most charismatic species: white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), made famous by on the History Channel by Chris Fallows and extremely acumatic specialists Kim and Chris. Up to Cape Point, and conditions allowing, some trips head further south until Cape Agulhas, where the warm waters from the Indian Ocean meet the cold waters of the Southern Ocean. However, the majority of the pelagic shark-seeking trip businesses begin from a busy harbor where the majority of tourists spend their time in ‘The warm Indian Ocean. An opportunity was identified to offer an eco-friendly option of shark diving with selection supporting research from the moment guests make an inquiry to Shark Explorers.
Tourism Operators Implementing Sustainable Practices
Tourism operators implementing sustainable practices in the Townsville region in the tropics of North Queensland offer a range of ocean-based and Great Barrier Reef-based leisure and adventure activities. These activities range from day sailing and sunset tours around Magnetic Island to full-day cruises for snorkeling around the local reefs. There are also longer cruises available to the central and outer Great Barrier Reef Islands and coral cays. (A coral cay is a small, low, sandy island on the surface of a reef).
Several tourism operators allow you to join them for “ocean encounters” where you can snorkel with turtles, learn how to scuba dive, stay overnight in a semi-submersible pontoon on the reef, sail on an eco-friendly boat to a marine park, or hike and bird watch through a World Heritage-listed forest in Hinchinbrook Island.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that most larger operations are making some effort to reduce their negative environmental impacts and to promote aspects of conservation. Interviewees from these operations report that they have adopted mechanisms to reduce any visitor impacts.
A major issue influencing the motivations and activities of operators is the recent increase in the operational and management costs borne by wildlife tourism operators. The monthly berth (mooring fee) for a commercial tourism operator conducting wildlife encounters and snorkel trips to the Great Barrier Reef Islands is approximately $8,000. One operator (not in this study) indicated the annual cost of a single mooring on a coral reef pontoon is $80,000 in one location. The cost for a single mooring on the Paradise Diving Eco-Resort on Great Barrier Reef Islands is approximately $56,000 per year.
Local regulations now stipulate that operators implement a pre-arranged visitor destination schedule for reef and island trips. These schedules must incorporate various High Beach Visit Zones that rotate fortnightly, which can result in operators having to develop alternative trips for visiting such High Beach Visit Zones. Overall, although some visits are more popular than others, the method now required by operators to conduct such trips to these High Beach Visit Zones appears to have greatly reduced the requirement to limit the carrying capacities of individual tourist walks and cruise passengers in an attempt to protect the environment.
Additionally, the introduction of a per passenger visitation charge has resulted in cost-prohibitive carrying capacities for many operators.
Positive Impacts on Local Communities
The mere act of bringing outsiders into relatively rural or remote areas can have both immediate and lasting impacts on the financial, socio-economic, and geographic security of indigenous or local communities. In our interconnected and mostly stable world, communities want access to and money for both contemporary western medical care and insurance, for basic food and toiletries, for education, job opportunities and wages, and for investment in local infrastructure. This section will address the many ways in which locals can be vulnerable as resources and health become less trustworthy, as well as describe the various ways that indigenous cosmologies or worldviews can be grounded or turned on by positive and sustainable interactions.
Sustainable Tourism: Eco-friendly. It is a term generally used to imply that this form of tourism, the quid pro quo of a nice and often culturally educating time for guests, is also good for the local people hosting them and often beneficial for the very environments and the ecosystems that attracted them in the first place. In this sense, eco-friendly links directly to the concept of something called ‘sustainable tourism’. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Committee on Tourism Ethics (WCTE) both describe sustainable tourism in very similar terms, characterized by its “environmental sustainability, economic viability, and socio-cultural acceptability”. If one breaks each of these three concepts down further, it becomes quite clear that those are essentially the elements or essence of eco-friendliness defined above. The economy of such tourist activities, and even the all-season welfare of residents engaged in that type of job, are less likely to be affected by a negative downturn in any particular economy or by problems in the climate.
Future Trends and Innovations in Eco-Friendly Ocean Adventures
One of the areas where both practices and technology could help in the future of eco-friendly adventures on the ocean is the energy of electric or battery-operated boats. Although there are several firms that operate battery-electric boats and ships, the technology is still in the early stages of commercial development. These electrical or hybrid alternatives could provide a suitable substitute for the diesel-powered boats. Over the last decade, many such boats have already been developed and applied, affirming a bright future for the sector. Additionally, 30,000 TEU Ultra-Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) with conventional or LNG engines also utilize solar panels that cover the surface of the entire remainder of the ship. Additionally, the coverage of the entire ship’s surface with solar panels permits the continuous recharging and usage of pillars with a plug-in or external charge during port stops.
On the other hand, it is expected that whale watching will develop further as we realize that additional research is needed to ensure “best practice” with the sustainable usage of acoustic cleaning. Advertising the usage of electric or hybrid craft might help to showcase your conservation operations. On a hopeful note, the construction and operation of the new vessels may create numerous jobs for shipbuilding crews, operations, and ongoing maintenance. Additionally, the marinas will be actively encouraged to install solar battery charging ports for visitors on eco-friendly ‘clean’ electric hire boats that will be better for the environment and do not create a noisy stream of petrol and diesel fumes. These are all potential applications of innovative eco-friendly adventures on the ocean.