Travel itself

Not interested (or not yet) in going that far beyond being a tourist. Just being a tourist, a traveller, can actually be helpful. Many areas and people are dependent now on tourism, Bahamas, Bali, Cornwall...... With that 10% of the worlds economy dependent on tourism you have influence by being selective in travel.

Some of the more extreme of the green activists seem to consider that an environmental concern and any travel would be at opposite ends of the spectrum. As divers, it would be difficult for most of us to get into the water, let alone do much of the diving that we want to do, without travel. This might be to local coasts or to far flung reaches of the world, so how does our diving fit with concerns about the environment or should you even be concerned? First, YES, you should be concerned, the worlds environment affects all of us.

Going to dive with sharks, for instance, can convey to the local community and its government that the sharks are a valuable tourist income source. When something is seen as having no value it often gets discarded. Sharks on a "come and watch, swim with" menu need to be seen as more valuable than on a "come and eat its fins" menu. Living coral needs to be seen as a more valuable commodity than coral as a building material or tourist trinket, just as a live lion needs to be worth more than its skin by the hearth or its head on a wall. This is why I earlier said TALK about your activity. Take your tourist dollars, pounds, shekels, on the adventure and let others know it's dependent on seeing healthy living life in a natural environment.

We mentioned being supportive of the local economy. If you can get outside of "The Resort", which may well not put a lot of its earnings back into the immediate local economy, you're likely to see more, help more and even save money! Look and see if the souvenir is "made in China" or by a local craftsperson. The locals' cafe can have more authentic food than the tourist restaurant and with a bit of asking around good ones can generally be found. You get the picture, I'm sure, and it can fit in with diving.

When travelling - be a thoughtful traveller. Not difficult really!

• Try and use dive companies, tour operators who endeavour to be "eco" friendly.
• Be careful with habitats on land and when driving.
• Stick to roads and trails on land. "Off roading" can be great fun in a 4 wheel drive or quad bike or even mountain bike but can be very destructive.
• Control your buoyancy and finning when diving to not destroy habitats. Poor finning and buoyancy are the main cause of diver damage to habitats.
• Don't touch sensitive animals, such as corals, maybe don't even go prodding any of the animals.
• Be careful with your litter. Remember some of the more remote sites we visit may not have any way to safely handle all the excesses travellers bring with them.
• Batteries can be a particular problem
• Plastics can be another. For instance, THINK of all those empty water bottles, maybe use boiled tap water to refill. Yes you may need to drink lots (water that is) but you can save both money and pollution while still staying safe.
• Sun blocks, skin creams, after sun oils another (some coastal areas of Mexico have identified suntan oil as their major pollutant killing local marine life and have asked visitors not to use them if going into the water. This may be advice to be applied elsewhere).
• Be supportive of the local economy and businesses. OK, spend your money - with locals. Local boat skippers and crew, local dive shops, local shops outside the resorts, smaller family-run hotels all circulate more of your money locally than the major international tour operators. But -
• Don't support environmentally unsound businesses such as shops selling endangered species, sea shells, coral.