How to Be a Nature-Positive Traveler
How nature-positive tourism can be used to tackle the global biodiversity crisis.
All photos by Colin + Meg.
Trekking mountains, chasing waterfalls, spotting wildlife—as travelers we are no strangers to the beauty of the natural world.
According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, over fifty percent of tourism demand comes from the desire to explore nature. With the variety of astounding natural wonders on our planet, it’s no wonder that we want to witness them all.
While most of us have good intentions, the ever-increasing demand from tourists has made travel a key contributor towards climate change and biodiversity loss; through land destruction and overconsumption of natural resources for resorts; carbon emissions through transport; damaged coral reefs by divers and swimmers; and the disturbance of wildlife habitats to name a few.
Though problematic, the relationship between travel and nature means that tourism could also be a key player for reversing nature loss. That’s the aim of nature-positive tourism, a way of traveling that aims to tackle the global biodiversity crisis by actively protecting wildlife, ecosystems, and landscapes. It operates along the same principle as regenerative tourism, which goes above and beyond sustainable practices by focusing on making a place better, as opposed to simply causing less damage.
With the need to raise awareness among travelers about the importance of biodiversity, we’ve compiled an overview on biodiversity loss and how you can use travel to be nature-positive.
What is biodiversity and why is it so important?
Biodiversity encompasses the variety of life (i.e plants, species, microorganisms) that work together to form an ecosystem. The more diversity of life within an ecosystem, the healthier and more resilient it is. Healthy ecosystems are crucial because our survival is dependent on them. Biodiversity supports everything that we need to survive—purifying our air, cleaning our water, providing food and nutrients, regulating our climate and even providing resources for medicines.
As we upset the balance of biodiversity through land destruction, pollution, overuse of natural resources, fishing, and climate change, we risk catastrophic consequences. Even just removing one living element can lead to the collapse of an entire ecosystem. For instance, coral reefs dying due to warmer seas leads to the loss of fish and other microorganisms in that system, having a knock-on effect on the fishing industry and the tourism industry in that location. It also causes the loss of protection for the coastlines, leading to erosion and impacting the communities that live along them.
This is just one example of how interconnected we all are and why we urgently need to tackle biodiversity loss which is happening at an alarming rate. It’s estimated that the current global extinction rate is 100 to 1000 times higher than the average over the past 10 million years, with 1 in 4 species worldwide facing the threat of extinction. So what can tourism do to prevent this crisis?
How can tourism help to preserve biodiversity
Although tourism contributes towards biodiversity loss, its relationship with nature means that- if managed properly - it’s in a unique position to contribute towards its reversal. By adopting a nature-positive approach, travel businesses have the power to protect, restore, and manage ecosystems—and it’s in their best interest as their business is dependent upon these wild places. They’re also able to reconnect people with nature, a key priority identified by international organizations for tackling this global issue. With the majority of us predicted to reside in urban areas by 2050, it’s vital that we spend more time in nature to truly value it and understand its importance so that we can collectively work towards protecting it.
How to be a nature-positive traveler
Seek out indigenous tourism initiatives.
Indigenous peoples have a very close relationship with the environment. Despite making up just five percent of the global population, they protect and manage areas that hold 80 percent of the planet's biodiversity. Plus, they hold a breadth of knowledge about the environment that we can all learn from. Seek out tourism businesses that support indigenous people to protect our planet.
Participate in regenerative projects.
There are a number of ways to get involved in initiatives that leave a destination better than you found it. That could look like participating in coral reef restoration projects, beach cleanups, or collecting data for citizen science projects.
Support conservation efforts.
While some wildlife tourism can do more harm than good, there are a number of tourism projects around the world that use their revenue to protect endangered animals and wild spaces. In Europe, there’s a growing number of rewilding tours and projects that you can support, while wildlife hotspots such as Australia and Africa have a number of success stories when it comes to using tourism to help endangered species.
Fly less.
With climate change being one of the key causes of biodiversity loss, it’s still important that we cut down on carbon-intensive activities where we can. If possible, try to travel overland by train or car, and if you do have to fly, make it worthwhile by supporting local communities and including nature-positive businesses in your itinerary.
