Eco Lodges

Eco lodge in Ecuador

8.6 The impact of Eco Lodges

 

Let’s have a closer look at the Eco Lodges. From all tourist facilities, these lodges should have the least impact on the environment. Eco Lodges belong to some of the best-known products in Ecotourism. Their intention is good, but there are no official international rules that set the standard and regulate Eco Lodges. There is no regulation about how you need to manage your lodge to be able to call it an Eco Lodge. So far it is only possible to gain different certificates with different international organizations. Some of them include the World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Alliance, the Center for Responsible Travel and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). All of them can provide good guidelines which responsible businesses can decide to follow. Some countries have their own regulations and laws which hotels and lodges need to obey. But how the restrictions are locally enforced depends mainly on the local authorities and the absence or presence of corruption. More information about sustainable hotels in chapter 14.2.

Eco lodge with swimming poolAn important fact that most people forget, or prefer not to talk about when it comes to Eco Lodges, is simply that many of them are built right on a pristine beach, or into the (Amazon) Rainforest… So to build these Eco-Lodges, you first need to damage the environment. First trees and plants need to be cut to create infrastructure, for the construction and to transport the tourists, supplies and provisions. Some ‘Eco Lodges’ use poison to protect their gardens and tourists from insects. While others have monkeys as ‘pets’ and/or swimming pools full bleach to keep the water clear. Still, they are legally allowed to be called Eco Lodges.

Keeping the above in mind, what would be a real Ecological Friendly Lodge, if such a thing exists? Let’s try to give a few general ideas. For starters, such a lodge will have to be built at the edge of a natural area, not right within. Part of the infrastructure is already present, so only a limited amount of trees will have to be cut. The lodge would have to be built with mostly natural construction materials that don’t have to come from far. They can’t have an artificial swimming pool that uses bleach and in their garden only grow local plants. Of course, they don’t use poison to protect those plants or their clients, which means there will be more mosquitos. The lodge has no wild animals as pets and they don’t feed wild animals to animate their clients either. Not even the (humming) birds! The use of electricity is reduced to a minimum, so no air-conditioning, television, and internet. The use of water is limited to the minimum, so sheets and towels will only be washed after the clients leave. Preferable the lodge provides biodegradable soap and shampoo and their meals are prepared with food that grows in the area and doesn’t have to be transported for hundreds of kilometers. Guides who work with Eco Lodges will have to treat all Flora and Fauna with respect. This means that they cut as little flora as possible and surely don’t pick up tarantulas, snakes, sloths, or any other animals that their clients like to take pictures with. Do you think that this type of lodge would still be popular with tourists? Likely most tourists prefer to stay in a less ecological friendly lodge. A friend of mine who runs a rural/ eco-lodge at the coast of Colombia agrees with this. Her clients frequently complain about the basic facilities of her lodge. Those basic facilities include: no flushing toilets, only short cold water showers, limited variety of available food, guests have to bring their own towels and sheets are only changed when the guests leave. A good example of a guest friendly sustainable Eco Lodge is Izhcayluma in Ecuador.

Of course, the concept of an Eco Lodges is still good. And in many places, it might still be better to have semi Eco-Lodges, instead of no lodges at all. This is because the biggest advantage of these lodges is often that they prevent mass farming, hunting, logging, or even mining in the area. However, overall it is good to keep in mind that staying in an Eco Lodge doesn’t mean that you don’t cause an environmental impact. It just means that your stay has less of a negative impact on the environment. Besides, it is always good to try to adjust your behavior while traveling and staying at a lodge or hotel. See chapter 15.

Sustainability Blog Rhinos as peacekeepers How the rhino conservation program in India helps with stabilizing communities in a conflict zone and can be a sustainable business for locals and tourism.I wrote earlier about gorillas as peacekeepers in Congo and Rwanda, but they are not the only peacekeeping animals in the Read more
Sustainability Blog Sustainable Sherpa Stairs How the humble stone stairs in Norway are an example for the worldThis story about ‘sustainable Sherpa stairs’ is a great example of sustainable tourism development with benefits for everyone involved. And as in a real fairytale, it all started with a dream in the Read more
Sustainability Blog Lady Elliot Island Is it alright to take a plane to a faraway location in order to protect nature?Earlier I wrote already how the unique Galapagos Islands would be destroyed if tourists would stop flying to these islands. The Lady ElliotSustainable Island Eco Resort is a small scale Read more
Sustainability Blog Hiking in Lebanon How hiking and tourism create mutual understanding and reduce conflict Earlier I wrote about a hostel in a Palestine neighborhood in Israel that helps creating more understanding and respect among different ethnic groups. This story is explains how hiking in Lebanon helps connecting people.LebanonIf you think Read more
Sustainability Blog The Value of Nature Can we put a price on nature and what would be the benefits?Fresh water, clean air, lush vegetation, or endless empty beaches, nature is not only essential for us to survive; spending time in nature is also good for our (mental) health. Unfortunately almost Read more
Sustainability Blog Artificial Reefs Old oil and gas platforms as skeletons for abundant coral reefsThere are more than 12,000 offshore oil and gas platforms worldwide. The big question is what to do with these enormous structures when the fossil fuels stop flowing. With curbing climate change rising up the international Read more
Sustainability Blog Rising Sea Levels How sand, oysters and sea otters can help against rising sea levels and climate change When we talk about the dangers of climate change, one of our biggest concerns is often the rising of sea levels. Although my previous article showed that in the near future Read more
Sustainability Blog Water Conflict Freshwater shortage will cause conflict We often talk about water shortage, or the waste of water, but technically speaking this isn’t correct. The amount of water we have on earth actually doesn’t change anymore. A more urgent term to worry about is actually; water conflict.Earths water sourcesEarth Read more
Sustainability Blog Forest producing rain How reforestation can help to produce more rain The two biggest worries concerning our changing climate are about raising sea levels and drought. But what if planting trees doesn’t only help with absorbing CO2 from the air, but can also provoke more rain? In the Amazon Read more

Copyright © 2020 Tourism vs Climate Change Powered by Fairtravel4u