| How can you be sure your presence will make a difference? Check before you leave that the region is rich in beggars, and take plenty of small change. |
Summer's upon us, and if you're anything like me, you're already dreaming of some ethical sun and sand. Which destinations are the top sustainable choices this year, and what's the most ethical way of getting there? My postbag bulges with enquiries from readers who don't want their annual getaway ruined by feelings of guilt.
Well, people, my first tip is: relax. Just the fact that you're thinking about the environmental impact of your actions means you're already more ethical than a person on a package flight to Dubai. I'm guessing that your new holiday wardrobe is 100% organic, your sun-cream's Fairtrade, and even your buckets and spades are vintage: well done.
Next question: Is it ethical to fly? Well, yes and no. There's no denying the 10 tonnes of CO2 your average family getaway will contribute to global warming. But, increasingly, responsible travellers are turning the question around and asking: is it ethical not to fly? Fact is, examined from a holistic perspective, there's no comparison between the amount of real good you can do in two weeks outside Falmouth, and the incredible impact that just a couple of days of your presence might have in a place like Burkina Faso.
In my view it's all too easy to holiday in this country - drive to Norfolk, show everyone how green you are - but much, much harder to fly some place where the economy would literally collapse without you. Last year, Rowan and I took the tough decision to take the kids to a remote atoll in the Indian Ocean, travelling for an arduous three days each way - but believe me, the knowledge that without us our cook and three maids would have been peeling yams for a living more than made up for the disapproving looks when our friends found out where we'd been. And here's another tip: if, like us, you've got talkative kids, why not just tell them the atoll's called Bournemouth?
How can you be sure your presence will make a difference? Check before you leave that the region is rich in beggars, and take plenty of small change. If orphans are plentiful, think of combining your sunshine or safari holiday with a fast-track adoption. Once you've completed the paperwork, you'll have the child as a permanent reminder of your break. Try Guatemala, or head for Madonna's favourite, sunny Mali.
Alternatively, you could leave a few hours of your trip free for some unpaid work as a goodwill ambassador. The high cost of insuring celebrities means that, increasingly, amateurs are volunteering to visit places that might never, otherwise, see a concerned westerner, let alone a Powerpoint presentation on climate change. Find an area where you can swim in the morning and visit people with malaria in the afternoon, and you may even, like us, pick up some sponsorship from your local school.
Even the most unethical-sounding holiday can be turned round with a bit of thought. Heading for China? Pack your suitcase with ready-sorted recyclables which would otherwise have travelled there by sea, then fill up with Fairtrade shopping for the return journey. Fancy New York? Manhattan's just the place to repatriate a North American crayfish.
Finally, if you want something closer to home, try Monte Carlo. With all amenities squeezed into a country not much bigger than Bath, trust me: you'll end up guzzling less petrol on an ethical gambling break than on shuttling between Southwold and Aldeburgh. Bon ethical voyage! |