I felt like a secret shopper. After years of reading up about the Philippines' prime eco-tourism destination - swimming with the whalesharks or as the locals call them 'butanding' - I was finally there and swimming alongside the world's largest fish in all it's glory.
Except, it wasn't in its glory. It was very likely quite stressed, which was a feeling one of my fellow travellers lamented on the last 'exposure'. My German companion came back on the boat exclaiming, "You should have seen it, you could see the whaleshark get angry. All of a sudden it thrashed about and dove down to the depths of the sea".
I wasn't surprised. For years I had used the Donsol whalesharks as a key example of tourism doing the right thing. Community collaboration, rules and regulations, protecting the fish as a number one priority. However, I knew that reading case-studies and actually seeing the process for myself were two different things.
We got there early, registered and were assigned boats. After hiring our equipment, we were ushered onto the boat, but woops - they forgot about the briefing. So, it was little surprise when after the first exposure my Chinese companion gushed to us all "I touched it, I touched it". I mumbled under my breath that she wasn't supposed to touch it (for her sake just as much as the fish's). When it was my turn to swim, the guide grabbed my arm and pulled me close to the whaleshark. With a determined pulling motion, we had broken the code of conduct rule to keep at least 3 metres distance.
After that experience, I stayed on the boat until nearly the end of the morning. Whilst on-board, I pulled out the brochure and read up about the whaleshark and our expected behaviour:
1. Do not touch or ride the whale shark - woops, my Chinese companion already did that.
2. Do not restrict the movement of the shark or impede its natural path - people were jumping off the boat directly into the path of the shark.
3. The recommended distance from the whale shark is 3 meters from the head and body and 4 meters from the tail - violated.
4. Do not undertake flash photography - check
5. Do not use scuba, scooters, jet-ski or any motorized underwater propulsion - check
6. A maximum of six (6) swimmers per shark is allowed - at one count there were 23 swimmers on one whaleshark.
7. There must be only one boat per whale shark - I counted at least 4 boats to one whaleshark.
Whilst I was one of the privileged members of the world's population to marvel at the sight of a whaleshark, I was deeply saddened by the lack of implementation of the process. However, later on during the week, I was reminded about how far the locals have come. From once whaleshark hunters, the locals are now earning from taking tourists to celebrate the whalesharks and their graceful movements.
There is no argument that the current situation is a vast improvement on decades of whaleshark fishing, however now is not time for complacency in the execution of a well-planned tourism strategy. Let's all play our part in ensuring the whalesharks come to no further harm, and that Donsol remains a best practice tourism site.
What can you do?
1. Effective tourism management requires all stakeholders to play their part. As a tourist - you are a key stakeholder to the process. Get acquainted with expected behaviour through the Code of Conduct - and try your best to follow those ones in which you have direct control (ie keeping 3-4 metres distance, not touching the shark etc).
2. Learn more about the whalesharks.
3. Find out how far the locals have come - learn their story from hunters to protectors.
Interesting reading
1. Read this extract of an academic study looking into the Tourist Compliance to Donsol Whaleshark Code of Conduct.
2. Read a comparative study of the Whaleshark Eco-Tourism programs in Donsol and Belize evaluating conservation and community benefits.
Taking the road less travelled
Friday, 28 November 2008
Travel. This is a word that conjures up notions of excitement and adventure. When I close my eyes and envision travel, it gives me butterflies in my stomach and I can almost taste excitement as all my past memories rush in a hustling race to the front of my mind. Travel is something that when started, grips its unwitting participants in an iron-clad hold, creating an ongoing need for wanderlust.
However, travel can have dire impacts upon communities and their environments. It can cause environmental disaster, social desecration, and cultural degradation. Hence why there is a need for travellers to start looking at their motivations behind travel, and once that’s understood, to change behaviours to ensure positive impacts when travelling.
Last night I gave a presentation on my experiences of getting to the point of being a responsible tourist (I was hedonistic once) to a group of 50 eager and willing travel enthusiasts at YTrip’s General Assembly held at R.O.X last night. This was followed by a discussion on the Travel Code and Profile of Responsible Traveller that can be found on the right-panel of this blog.
By the end of the talk and based on the feedback I received, I realised that I had failed to mention one vital piece of information – becoming a responsible traveller takes time. It isn’t something that you should expect to become overnight, so please don’t worry if the list is overwhelming and perhaps a tad on the prescriptive side.
The code and the profile is the ideal – it is the goal to work towards. If there is one thing I’ve learnt in my quest to lower my ecological footprint – the journey I’ve been on since early 2006 - it is that we should go forward slowly. We should be gentle on ourselves if we slip up from time to time – as after all – we are just human, we make mistakes, there’s no need to beat ourselves up over it.
Perhaps the most important thing is to really think about the background reasons of “why” we are going down this path. Let those reasons sink in – then the effort will be real and will have tangible meaning behind it. The actions will then flow naturally, with ease.
Goodluck on your journey to becoming a responsible traveller, and know we are all in it together – we can support each other, we can grow together.
Travel. This is a word that conjures up notions of excitement and adventure. When I close my eyes and envision travel, it gives me butterflies in my stomach and I can almost taste excitement as all my past memories rush in a hustling race to the front of my mind. Travel is something that when started, grips its unwitting participants in an iron-clad hold, creating an ongoing need for wanderlust.
However, travel can have dire impacts upon communities and their environments. It can cause environmental disaster, social desecration, and cultural degradation. Hence why there is a need for travellers to start looking at their motivations behind travel, and once that’s understood, to change behaviours to ensure positive impacts when travelling.
Last night I gave a presentation on my experiences of getting to the point of being a responsible tourist (I was hedonistic once) to a group of 50 eager and willing travel enthusiasts at YTrip’s General Assembly held at R.O.X last night. This was followed by a discussion on the Travel Code and Profile of Responsible Traveller that can be found on the right-panel of this blog.
By the end of the talk and based on the feedback I received, I realised that I had failed to mention one vital piece of information – becoming a responsible traveller takes time. It isn’t something that you should expect to become overnight, so please don’t worry if the list is overwhelming and perhaps a tad on the prescriptive side.
The code and the profile is the ideal – it is the goal to work towards. If there is one thing I’ve learnt in my quest to lower my ecological footprint – the journey I’ve been on since early 2006 - it is that we should go forward slowly. We should be gentle on ourselves if we slip up from time to time – as after all – we are just human, we make mistakes, there’s no need to beat ourselves up over it.
Perhaps the most important thing is to really think about the background reasons of “why” we are going down this path. Let those reasons sink in – then the effort will be real and will have tangible meaning behind it. The actions will then flow naturally, with ease.
Goodluck on your journey to becoming a responsible traveller, and know we are all in it together – we can support each other, we can grow together.
YTrip - Philippine Youth promoting responsible tourism
Speaking engagement as part of Bluewater Consultancy for YTrip - a group of Philippine Youth advocating for Responsible Tourism through the outdoor group R.O.X. Philippines.
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