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World Responsible Tourist Day
November 14th is World Responsible Tourist Day, sponsored by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The goal of the day is to promote environmentally and socially responsible behavior in the tourism industry.
Explorer Ventures is making a concerted effort to reduce its negative impacts on the environment. Here are suggestions of ways that you might consider as a way to minimize your environmental impact while traveling with us. Although it might not seem like one person’s actions can make a difference, it is the sum of individual actions that has the potential to make the biggest difference.
Help reduce pollution and waste:
- Choose rechargeable or multiple use products over disposable products when possible and avoid buying and bringing items with excess packaging. At most of our destinations, with the exception of Australia, local landfill facilities are less equipped to deal with trash than many others.
- If you are traveling to the Caribbean or Galapagos, take anything that can be recycled in your hometown (such as plastics or batteries) back with you - recycling facilities are scarce.
- Consider making your trip carbon neutral by offsetting the emissions from your flight with NativeEnergy (www.nativeenergy.com) or another carbon offset provider.
Help preserve the marine environment:
- Make sure that you know and respect the local rules and regulations especially if you are diving within a marine park
- Make sure to practice good diving techniques – maintain neutral buoyancy, secure your gear and don’t touch the reefs or chase marine animals. Report any destructive diving or marine practices to crew members so that appropriate actions can be taken.
- Avoid buying products made from threatened or endangered species.
Ensure the positive impacts of your visit are lasting:
- Promote local conservation by making an effort to learn about ongoing efforts.
- Contribute time or money to local conservation initiatives.
- Teach others about the environment and encourage them to conserve & recycle.
Please share with us any ideas you have on how Explorer Ventures can better help the environment.
Environmental Coordinator aboard Turks & Caicos Explorer II
Explorer Ventures has had the company's environmental coordinator, Ariana Arcenas, aboard the Turks & Caicos Explorer II since June. Ariana's role has been diverse while aboard; she has been able to complete her Dive Master course, and has spent time evaluating ways in which Explorer Ventures can continue its ongoing effort of environmental stewardship.
Explorer Ventures is dedicated to being environmentally conscience and making every realistic effort to increase our positive impact on the environment which we enjoy daily. On the small islands Explorer Ventures visits, there are big challenges in finding environmentally friendly options and most do not have recycling options. Many of the things we are looking into may seem relatively small to many in metropolitan areas where concrete environmental efforts are being made - but we feel that every effort no matter how small will have a positive impact on our environment in the long run.
Biodegradable products, cleaning and personal care, which we would like to use aboard our vessels, must be shipped from the U.S. as there are few if any local options for such products. Options for recycling cans, bottles and plastics products are not currently available in Provo, Turks & Caicos. Aboard all Explorer Ventures vessels, guests are provided a beverage container to use during their vacation with us. All beverages available in bulk are purchased in bulk and as few as possible individual containers are purchased to reduce our waste. We are also looking into the possibility of cloth napkins to save on paper napkins finding their way into the garbage. Guests will also find a collection point for partially used batteries and are encouraged to use them rather than dumping them in the trash. We end up asking guests when ever possible to take used batteries home, as there are not recycling collection points at most of our ports.
Of course, fuel economy aboard our vessels is important from many different view points. Everything aboard our vessel consumes fuel, from filling tanks to generating water. We are making every effort to reduce our consumption through monitoring and replacement of more efficient equipment. Explorer Ventures has also been purchasing carbon-neutral credits since March of 2007. We realize that, due to the services which we provide, we can never with current technology ever be a carbon-neutral company. We are looking into ways we can reduce our carbon production, as well as support other entities who can achieve carbon neutrality through our contribution. NativeEnergy, the company we have partnered with in our carbon reduction efforts, is a very responsible and highly regarded within the environmental community.
Ariana will be spending her last week in Provo with an organization call "Reef Ball." Reef Ball is a non-profit organization with a mission of restoring the world's ocean ecosystems and to protect our natural reef systems.
One of the many environmental efforts Explorer Ventures is working on is a welcome packet which will be aboard and available to our guests. This packet will list some things each guests can do while aboard to help contribute as little impact as possible of the environment. We will also be working on providing each guest, prior to departure, a list of things they can do before they arrive to help be environmentally friendly while on vacation with us.
As Clay McCardell, the company's President said at the beginning of this company wide initiative, "We will include all of our staff, our clients, and anyone else interested in the effort. There will be some things that will be easy to do, some doable but more difficult, and some that won't be possible given the services that we provide. Figuring out what is and is not possible will be a significant part of the initial and ongoing effort; the rest will involve doing it. This is not a one year project; this will be an ongoing effort over the life of the company."
Any and all feedback is appreciated; please provide comments and suggestions on the company's environmental initiatives by emailing Ariana Arcenas, Environmental Initiatives Coordinator, at ariana@explorerventures.com.
