Kayaking holiday in Indonesia, Komodo Dragon tour

Planet

We lead and encourage our clients to take responsibility for the environmental impact of the expeditions and we try to minimise the impact of our challenges on the environment within which we operate. We are therefore committed to continual improvement in our environmental performance, preventing pollution and minimising our effects through a complete programme of annual reviews of our expeditions and try to make our activities environmentally and socially positive.

To greatly reduce our impact on the environment there is a maximum of 8-12 team members, which helps to minimise the damage associated with large scale tourism. On our trips we do not leave anything behind where we camp, trek, raft, kayak or sail. We leave places like we found them, in fact we sometimes leave them in better condition. Most of our expeditions do involve some sort of environmentally friendly power such as trekking by foot, paddling a raft or sailing a boat.

As part of this expedition, you will be helping to preserve the local eco-system by cleaning the park of all plastics as we go. Through the work that we and other like minded organisations do, we hope that the Komodo National Park will remain an attraction for our children's children.

Accommodation on the Island of Flores is at an Eco Lodge which is a beach side Lodge located near Labuan Bajo on the Island of Flores. The view out to the Komodo islands from the upstairs restaurant and bar is especially beautiful at sunset. Part of the grounds is set aside as a Coucal (pheasant-like bird) breeding area. The Eco Lodge has adopted Green Globe principles into their management systems.

Green Globe is the global Benchmarking, Certification and improvement system, assisting the international travel and tourism industry to attain sustainability. Green Globe provides a certification system that responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including climate change, over-use of freshwater resources, destruction of biodiversity, production of solid and biological waste and social issues.

EcoLodges Indonesia also supports the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC Partnership) - a coalition of 32 organizations working together to foster increased understanding of sustainable tourism practices and the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles. The Partnership, which was initiated by Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), launched the Sustainable Tourism Criteria at the World Conservation Congress in October 2008. These criteria provide the minimum standard that any tourism business should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for poverty alleviation.

We aim to:

- Achieve zero litter, and when appropriate remove local litter
- Avoid pollution from our camp and accommodation activities
- Achieve zero damage and impact to local flora and fauna
- Encourage understanding of the local environment and its fragilities
- Encourage the eating of local foods therefore preserving traditional farming practice
- Encourage the use of biodegradable products especially washing products.
- Ensure good practice on all toilet activities, i.e. avoiding pollution to water courses
- Ensure waste is minimized and recycled whenever possible
- Minimise the use of water

Our commitment to our environmental policy extends to our working environment and all staff recycle and make business decisions with an ethical dimension such as using public transport and maximising the use of email. We are committed to running a business that has as little environmental impact as possible.

People

All our expeditions are organised and led with a commitment to maximising the benefits of our trips to the local community and minimising the negative impact associated with tourism. We employ local agents and staff, not just to benefit the local economy, but also to give you a real sense of the local culture.

To support the local communities, we sleep and eat in locally-run establishments where possible, and interact sensibly with locals as we believe in positive cultural exchanges so as not to change their lives – this means trade not aid.

Our local guides always include details of the impact of tourism in the area and the positive and negative aspects. Where possible they will encourage participants to follow local customs and adopt practices that work in harmony with the habitat and environment. They will brief on the rights of the porters and muleteers and lead by example in their interaction and conduct.

We will ensure that:

- We pay a fair income for all locally employed staff
- Use local equipment and vehicles when we can
- We purchase food from locally sourced providers
- Use locally owned and run accommodation where possible
- Discourage local begging and giving of cash gifts
- Employ local agents therefore ensuring income is kept in country whenever possible
- Encourage maximum communications between locals and participants to encourage mutual understanding and respect between cultures