Hi Dave and all, Bruce D. McCutcheon of Whole Earth Outfitters wrote: <<I became involved with the citizens advisory board. My spot was on the ethics committee. When I realized that promotion was the focus and not protection of resources I withdrew my participation. The gurus wanted me to reveal my paddling spots in order to create a slick glossy brochure that would attract millions.>> To which Dave Kruger replied: <<He earns some income taking people to nice paddling places -- private and fragile enough that he does not want them broadcast about for the multitudes. What are the ethics of this? Bruce does not "own" these places. In fact, I bet he feels the critters have more right to them than he does. I face much the same dilemma where I live, in that I am often beleagured by friends who want to go to some of the special, fragile spots I know about in my area. If I took them all, and my paddling buddies did the same, those spots would not be special any more: they'd be destroyed! OTOH, if Bruce (and non-outfitters such as me) do not at least help members of the general public to appreciate the nature of fragile, wild places, support for their maintenance will soon wither. And, part of that appreciation must involve visiting those places. So, there is a role for what Bruce does. What is Bruce's role? Never show people those places? Blindfold them so they can not bring others? Charge a lot so only the well-to-do can afford to visit? Think about it a lot and avoid groups such as the citizens advisory group he describes?>> This is the biggest Dilemma in many responsible tour operator's hearts. On the one hand, you want people to see the wonders of nature in the hope that they'll "get active" in trying to preserve it. On the other hand, that very act could destroy the area. Here in southern Thailand, the once pristine sea caves are now nothing short of a circus. There are no government regulations. The Thai canoeing companies formed an organization to limit the number of boats entering the caves to 300 per day! Well, as you can probably guess, 300 boats does change it into a circus. Who is to blame for this horrible deed? The first company to exploit the sea caves and "hongs" (hidden inner rooms) for financial gain is to blame. An insightful operator would have foreseen the inevitable outcome. With MINIMAL research, the founders of this company would have found out that the Thai government does not "interfere" with businesses, be they consumer goods manufacturers or nature tour operators. The government does not limit anything. Furthermore, one of the most common traits of the Thai populous in general is that they copy things that work. I'm not saying that that is necessarily wrong. I'm not about to judge another culture. It is, however, a fact that this company should have noticed the above items before starting a business based around the pristine fragile sea caves and hongs. Now, the quality of the experience in zilch. It's highly unlikely that a tourist would be so moved as to join a conservation organization to try and protect places such as this. In my opinion, taking large numbers of people to see magical nature sites is extremely harmful. Some things for a responsible tour operator to consider: 1.) How easy will it be for less scrupulous operators to copy your trip? 2.) Will my tour impact the wildlife? 3.) Can I advertise my tours without giving the actual location away or is it too easy for the competition to follow me? 4.) Is the site so amazing that your guests will likely get involved in an effort to try and protect it? 5.) Will the government implement a permit system? This might be the ultimate deciding factor in whether to go there or not. Thanks Bruce for not giving into the potential monetary gain. Mother Earth could benefit greatly if there were a lot more people with your caring convictions! Cheers, Dave Dave Williams dave_at_paddleasia.com http://paddleasia.com Phuket, Thailand *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Sep 21 1999 - 20:57:23 PDT
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