Let us focus on green tourism. Have you ever wondered what our reserves and game parks would look like a couple of years down the line? Or more realistically in say in about 10 years? Well the visual could either be positive or
negative depending on how we utilize the resources at our disposal. It is our responsibility partakers in the tourism industry to leave the environment we are in better than we found it, henceforth, focus on green tourism.
To realize this, we have to conform to certain Eco-tourism practices. Eco-tourism also known as green tourism, is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine and relatively undisturbed natural areas. It is a combination of 4 important factors which are conservation, community, culture and commerce.
As recent trends would suggest, most individuals who are keen on travel, seek to consume socially and environmentally responsible products. Particularly in Eco-sensitive destinations such as Africa. Kenya has sought to engage in various Eco-tourism practices that not only conserve the environment at the time that we are utilizing it but also makes it usable by future generations to come. Below are practices we focus on green tourism.
Some of these practices include the following:
*Investing in alternative energy sources such as solar power which is generally the preferred alternative used for both electricity as well as water heating.
*In the field of both solid and liquid waste management, certain initiatives have been undertaken to ensure proper waste disposal, they include, responsible purchasing, waste separation, recycling, composting of green waste, construction of wetlands for recycling waste water in order to return to the environment.
*Water therefore does not come as a surprise that it is a scarce commodity especially in the semi-arid areas in Kenya. Simple initiatives have been employed to ensure that this goal is achieved for example by encouraging guests to minimize their water usage, restricting water pumping to certain times of the day such as when the guests are back from their game drives., installation of low pressure showers and promoting use of recycled water and rain water.
*Human wildlife conflict is also an area that requires constant attention. It has been a matter of concern since these wild animals trespass on private property and more often than not tend to interfere with both the livestock and farms belonging to the locals.
Henceforth various steps have been taken to curb this for instance, fencing off protected areas, providing compensation to the pastoralists whose livestock are killed and the farms whose crops are damaged by wild animals.
The funding for these initiatives comes from an array of growing local events held to raise money. They include the famous Rhino Charge Four-Wheel Drive challenge and Lewa Safari Marathon.
We here at Kichaka Tours seek to support all the different Eco-tourism practices and initiatives put forth by the lodges and camps located within the different game parks and reserves. We strive to ensure that sustainability is maintained in all the activities we engage in. Be it in our office operations or our interactions with our suppliers and guests.
We are both proud and active members of Eco-tourism Kenya and we take our responsibility to protect and enhance the natural and cultural environment in the areas where we operate very seriously. We urge our clients to be mindful of the environment once within the the parks for example by keeping all plastic wrappers within the van or land-cruiser till they can be disposed of in the appropriate areas, using the water within the lodges and camps responsibly, if possible employ the use of re-usable bottles for water as opposed to the plastic water bottles. Practicing all these will go a long way in enforcing green tourism and encouraging sustainability.
Together, let us all make Kenya’s tourism responsible.
Comments