The importance of environmentalism.
Concepts of environmentalism have been around since the first half of the twentieth century. Aldo Leopold’s chapter Land Ethic set the base for a moral defense of the environment. His insights spoke to including the land and those that dwelled on it as members of our community (Leopold, 1949). By taking care of this broader community we in turn take care of ourselves. Drawing parallels to Garrett Hardin’s famous essay The Tragedy of the Commons we find that if left unregulated, individuals and business are more likely to destroy the land that provides for them than look at the broader picture, limit their own consumption and create success for the larger community (Hardin, 1968). While these philosophical approaches to land use are now at least fifty years old, the dilemmas are still ever present. We watch humanity demand growth yearly on an increasingly finite planet. With population and demand continuing to grow we cannot expect it to come without cost. River tourism in British Columbia relies heavily upon the environment with 94.9% of respondents in a 2007 rafting survey saying that scenery was either somewhat or very important to them while on a river trip (Tourism British Columbia, 2009). With scenery being such an important factor in the river tourism experience operators have an investment in preserving nature as an asset. In contrast to environmental protection for the sake of scenery, the effects of climate change will also negatively effect river companies’ ability to operate. Climate wetting, a factor identified by Ashmore & Church has a huge impact of the propensity of floods. These floods destroy vegetation and infrastructure and may cause the river to exceed runnable levels (Ashmore & Church, 2001). The debris that is carried by high water levels poses hazards to river users and changes the rapids from year to year.
Tourism’s impact on the environment.
Leopold is contributed with saying “it would not be logging, mining, or roads that would threaten the wilderness, but the people who came to visit these area” (Taylor, 1997). The province of British Columbia has directed it’s focus toward tourism from a historically resource extraction-based economy. Relying on the natural world for sales, nature-based tourism in 2004 added a $782.9 million to the provincial GDP (WTA, 2004). Because this industry is so large it has the capability of causing great environmental impact. Bob McKercher, of Charles Stuff University, argues that tourism is not a commercial enterprise with similar impacts to the service sector but an resource-based industry with large consumptive needs (McKercher, 1993). He makes the point that tourism’s adverse environmental effects are often not catastrophic but cumulative. Tourism’s cumulative nature allows it less exposure to public eye and legislation preventing over consumption. Backing up McKercher’s sentiment of tourism being destructive, a survey of 44 American National Park superintendents found 54.5% believed they had “water quality problems related to tourism” (Wang & Miko, 1997). Since this study tourism continues to grow increasing it’s potential for harm. The literature indicates that both tourism activities and tourism development have negative environmental impact (Buckley, 2001; Buckley, 2001). Buckley speaks to the variety of impacts created by tourism. Tour operators often develop wilderness areas to create bases of operations and accommodation for guests (Buckley, 2011). Many of these areas are essential for the protection of animals. Furthermore, the travel to and from the operations creates emissions through use of air, land and water transportation. Lastly the activities themselves have negative environmental impacts (Buckley, 2001; Buckley 2011; Wang & Miko, 1997).
The impact of exposure to nature on environmental sentiment.
In an American study, Thapa and Graefe find quantitative correlation between appreciative outdoor activities and pro-environmental beliefs. Thaese researchers categorised appreciative activities as activities that did not consume parts of the natural world, like hunting or fishing, and are not motorised (Thapa & Graefe, 2003). Rafting and kayaking fall into this description and while not specifically studied, I find no reason to suggest findings will be different. Understandably, this concern was linked to pro-environmental political action, recycling and other environmentally supportive activities. This nature inspires environmental concern message is mirrored in a study focused on eco-tourism. Kim and Brijesh found that eco-tours that created flow state and satisfaction for their participants correlated to an increase in environmentally responsible behavior (Kim & Brijesh,2017). After taking satisfactory tours participants were more likely modify their behavior to protect areas like those they had visited. These studies lead to the sentiment that if exposed to nature in a positive way, individuals will have an increase in eco-friendly view. Commercial river operators offer an unique insight into our natural environment as the river allows people to travel efficiently through different ecosystems and access locations too remote for road travel. A study on sense of place and positive human-environment relationship would suggest that by using commercial river operations to create a connection to these remote places, one could increase protection sentiment amongst guests and guides (Davenport & Anderson, 2006).
Current environmental guiding standards in British Columbia.
Simmonds research on sea kayaking guides and their practices helps gain insight as to possible factors influencing guides impacts upon the environment. He finds that misinformation and a lack of education leads to a failure to maintain best practices and furthers environmental damage (Simmonds, 2012). While his research also targets water-based tourism operators Simmonds recognises that “environmental practices often need to be tailored to the specific geographical region in which they are to be implemented” (Simmonds, 2012). This points to a gap in the literature where my study will fit. The British Columbian Rafting Outfitters Association (BCROA) which most operators in the province are a part of, regulates the training standards for guides. Most operators will have higher level staff certified to instruct courses through the BCROA in order to ease the process of training staff. Each spring before season guides must be signed off on each section of river they will be guiding with the focus completely on safety and skills. While guides in the river environment also rely on the environment for their profession, the BCROA has no environmental protection education in their certification process (Registrar of Commercial River Rafting Province of British Columbia, 2002). The training guides receive from their operators has been identified as an important factor in the maintenance of sustainable practices (Lackey, 2016). The lack of formal education suggests that there may be a huge variance in practices upheld at river operators across the province.
Current best practices.
While there is no provincial standard set for river guides in respect to environmental behavior. Institutions have attempted to come up with more general best practices for all involved in the wild. The most widely accepted program is that of Leave No Trace (LNT). LNT is a non-profit organisation based around the promotion of the “Leave No Trace Seven Principles”.
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
- Dispose of Waste Properly
- Leave What You Find
- Minimize Campfire Impacts
- Respect Wildlife
- Be Considerate of Other Visitors
© 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org.
These principles were created in the 1960’s by the US Forest Service and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) (Our History, 2012). NOLS continues to use these principles in all of there teachings today. The academic world also accepts these standards using them in studies such as Blye’s (2016) investigation into what Canadians are doing in two of our provincial parks and Vagias and Powell’s (2010) look into backcountry visitor’s attitudes towards environmental best practices. Both studies found that even though there was an awareness for the principles further information of specific practices was need to further positive behavior (Blye, 2016; Vagias & Powell, 2010). The Grand Canyon National Park has attempted to make these specific practices known to all their visitors with strict rules on waste management, fire use and camping locations (Grand Canyon, 2016). Both commercial operators and non-commercial river trips must apply for permits and follow these rules or face penalties. While rafting companies in British Columbia do not have the same outlined best practices, a combination of the “Leave No Trace Seven Principles” and the Grand Canyon’s trip regulations creates a testable set of parameters for my own primary research.