Tourism and nature
When I was asked to tell the most current issues in Responsible Tourism at the moment by a Finnish TV journalist I talked about overtourism, climate change and flying, compensating, carrying capacity, new nature based luxury, the conservation of nature – and the footprints we are leaving while travelling, not only in nature but also in local communities.
I am lucky not to be alone with my thoughts as I cooperate in some of the Mood of Finland concepts with a Spanish geography, Javier Pedrosa (Iworu and Geoface). Javier has finished Master degree in Territorial Planning and Environmental Management in University of Barcelona and his Master Thesis about ”the proposal of an Ecotourism model based on the landscape units of the protected area” has been accepted in July 2019.
Responsible Tourism is a complex combination of ecological, economical, social and cultural development and action – where the local operators and people should always be involved. It also makes us remember ethical issues as equality and accessibility in all its senses. When talking about Responsible Tourism, it´s not only about nature but as we all know nature needs our special care and attention.
The Local Agenda 21 advocates a decentralized but concerted sustainable development, in which a proactive response is required from the local government, since it is the towns and cities that know best what their own environmental, social and economic interests are
Interpretation of landscape
Javier is geography, entrepreneur and has been working for many years in Tourism Industry. He has been working also as a Tourleader in many countries, including Finland and other Nordic countries. He has stayed longer periods in several places having always special interest in Scientific Tourism. Last Summer (2019) he stayed in Iceland.
I hereby share some sentences of the conclusions of Javier´s Master Thesis – the ones I found very interesting, also from the Finnish Tourism perspective.
The interpretation of the landscape as an ecotourism activity allows to increase awareness and understanding whenever the correct didactic practice is applied.
When the superimposed spheres (lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, troposphere) and the historical chronological thread (from the origin of space to our days) are combined, the speaker and the receiver will have better understanding of the area and be able to discourse respectively.
This might be my favorite:
The interpretation of the landscape is one way of educating and sensitizing the citizens (both local and visitors).
Landscapes can and should take a greater role in the management of protected areas and claim themselves as an image of territory, image of locals living there, and part of locals´ identity.
What is your favorite landscape
In Finland we have beautiful national landscapes to take care of. I have been asked to describe the landscape which most touches my feelings. They are several ones and one of them is a sea view in Spain, not only because of the view but also because of the sound, smell, feeling and the memories.
We always go back to those places where we once loved the life
I also love the beauty of Finnish nature, its tranquility and the landscape with the combination of natural waters and forests.
Hossa National Park 2019
Please, don´t leave footprints in nature
Picture by Javier Pedrosa/ Iworu taken in Picos de Europa mountain area in Spain.
I also red an article of digital newspaper The New Yorker about stone stacking. If you also want to read the article, please open this link: How Stone Stacking…
Surprisingly the article reminded me about mercy and made me think about the responsibility of individual travelers when talking about tourism.
It’s easy to see a frustrated stone stacker’s point of view: it’s a meditative and creative activity; the impacts of a single stone stack are probably negligible compared with, say, driving; and it’s a means of spending time outdoors that seems to run counter to the spirit of social media in its emphasis on concentration, slow movements, and communing with the natural world.
The main question is whether you would stack the stones even if you knew you were causing harm?
The movement of so many stones can cause erosion, damage animal ecosystems, disrupt river flow, and confuse hikers, who depend on sanctioned cairns for navigation in places without clear trails.
This picture is from Iceland, taken by Javier Pedrosa / Iworu. Symbols and texts were made by removing ash and other volcanic pyroclastic and are about 10 meters high
There are plenty of other examples of leaving footprints in nature, but I leave it here and encourage you to be more conscious and use the hastags #dontleavefootprints #nodejeshuella #äläjätäjälkiä when finding good or bad examples about nature conservation.
What is the responsibility of individual traveler
In Responsible Tourism debate the responsible roles in between the governmental actors, public enterprises and consumers has always existed. I suppose we agree that we all must be responsible – every actor in a appropriate way.
I would point out the importance of the education and communication as I trust that when we have enough information we tend to act in the best possible way.
That´s what I mean when talking about mercy in responsible tourism context. We can´t blame individual travelers if enough information hasn´t been shared, or is it really so that the indifference is still accepted?
I also like Anna Pollock´s way of pointing out the term of Good Tourism; we should concentrate more in all the good benefits Tourism produces instead of sticking to the idea that tourism produces disadvantages. I highly recommend to follow Anna Pollock in social media and learn more about Conscious travel and Good Tourism.
Thank you for reading my blog, appreciate any comments.
With kind regards,
Anu
