Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism

Mexico's ecological diversity is among the broadest of any country in the world, with an abundance of ecosystems that ranges from the northern deserts to the central conifer forests, and the southern tropical rainforests. Mexico also supports a population of 108 million people and welcomes more than 11 million visitors each year. Tourism is one of the country's biggest and most lucrative industries, and while tourism has brought jobs and growth to much of Mexico, it has also created and even accelerated many of Mexico's ecological problems. Cancún may be the most high-profile example: Rapidly developed from a rural outpost to an international resort destination, Cancún imported turf from Florida for its golf courses, inadvertently introducing a disease that wiped out the local coconut palms. The region's mangroves, a key habitat for native species and vital to protecting the land from hurricanes and erosion, have also suffered.

However, tourism has also encouraged the development of ecological conservation. Mexico is home to seven of the world's eight species of sea turtle, and the entire sea turtle population was decimated on both coasts as a result of tourism growth and local overfishing. Recent success stories such as Puerto Escondido, in Oaxaca, where sea turtles are now protected by the locals, or the Riviera Maya, in the Yucatán, where marine biologists are working with hotels to guard nesting turtles and their eggs, have demonstrated the benefits of linking tourism with local knowledge.

Mexico's people are proud of their land and culture, and through your travels, especially in rural areas, you will likely encounter ejidos, and cooperativos, or local cooperatives, that offer small-scale tourism services -- this may be as simple as taking visitors on a boat ride through a lake or as visible as controlling access to archeological ruins. Ejidos will also run tours to popular ecotourism destinations similar to those offered by large travel agencies. When you deal with ejidos, everyone you encounter will be from the community and you know that your money goes directly back to them. States with a strong network of cooperatives include Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán.

To read up on sustainable travel and ecotourism in Mexico, and some of the related issues challenging the country, check out the Rainforest Alliance (www.rainforest-alliance.org) and the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL; www.coral.org).

Animal Rights Issues

Bullfights -- Bullfighting is considered an important part of Latin culture, but before you attend a correo, you should know that, in all likelihood, the bulls (at least 4) will undergo torture, shed lots of blood, and die before a team of horses drags their carcasses unceremoniously out of the ring. That said, a bullfight is a portal into understanding Mexico's Spanish colonial past, and traditional machismo is on full display. Bullfights take place in towns as different as Tijuana and Puerto Vallarta, and they afford a colorful spectacle like no other, with a brass band playing; the costumed matador's macho stare; men shaking their heads at less-than-perfect swipes of the cape; and overly made-up, bloodthirsty women chanting "Ole," waving their white hankies, and throwing roses, jackets, and hats at the matador's feet. There is also the extremely miniscule chance that, if the bull puts up a good enough fight or pierces his horn through the matador's leg, he will be spared for breeding purposes. It does happen, if only rarely. To read more about the implications of attending a bullfight, visit www.peta.org, the website of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Swimming with Dolphins -- Many resort cities advertise opportunities to swim with dolphins, but organizations such as Greenpeace and the Humane Society are questioning the ethics of the activity. Often the dolphins in question are cooped up in unhealthy, overcrowded conditions, and many of the organizations that offer dolphin swims don't adhere to international regulations for the treatment of animals. For more information, see the websites of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (www.wdcs.org) and Tread Lightly (www.treadlightly.org).

General Resources for Green Travel

In addition to the resources for Mexico listed above, the following websites provide valuable wide-ranging information on sustainable travel. For a list of even more sustainable resources, as well as tips and explanations on how to travel greener, visit www.frommers.com/planning.

• Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com) is a great source of sustainable travel ideas; the site is run by a spokesperson for ethical tourism in the travel industry. Sustainable Travel International (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org) promotes ethical tourism practices and manages an extensive directory of sustainable properties and tour operators around the world.
• In the U.K., Tourism Concern (www.tourismconcern.org.uk) works to reduce social and environmental problems connected to tourism. The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO; www.aito.co.uk) is a group of specialist operators leading the field in making holidays sustainable.
• In Canada, www.greenlivingonline.com offers extensive content on how to travel sustainably, including a travel and transport section.
• In Australia, the national body which sets guidelines and standards for ecotourism is Ecotourism Australia (www.ecotourism.org.au). The Green Directory (www.thegreendirectory.com.au), Green Pages (www.thegreenpages.com.au), and Eco Directory (www.ecodirectory.com.au) offer sustainable travel tips and directories of green businesses.
• Carbonfund (www.carbonfund.org), TerraPass (www.terrapass.org), and Carbon Neutral (www.carbonneutral.org) provide info on "carbon offsetting," or offsetting the greenhouse gas emitted during flights.
• Greenhotels (www.greenhotels.com) recommends green-rated member hotels around the world that fulfill the company's stringent environmental requirements. Environmentally Friendly Hotels (www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com) offers more green accommodation ratings.
• Volunteer International (www.volunteerinternational.org) has a list of questions to help you determine the intentions and the nature of a volunteer program. For general info on volunteer travel, visit www.volunteerabroad.org and www.idealist.org.