Environmental Issues and Ecotourism Benefits

The following information was contributed by Alan Wilkinson of Wilderness Ecowalks. Ecowalks enables visitors to learn the local history in the unspoilt bush that surrounds Auckland City.

What are the environmental issues that make this spot an appropriate ecotourist destination?

In New Zealand, we do have many of the same issues that plague all developed countries, such as waste disposal, which in some cities is still just buried in large landfill areas, which as you know comes back to haunt us all with leachates and slumping of the ground. In some of the cities we have large recycling centres and the main area in which I do my tours is regarded as an Ecofriendly city with recycling efforts being developed at all times. In some instances I am aware that tours by the council are provided for interested overseas officials. Waste disposal seems to be a major curse of all developed countries as we tend become a through away society, but efforts are being made in most cities to recycle with the local governments providing specialised bins for each household for plastics, metals, and paper/cardboard. We are also encouraged to put all organic waste into either recycle centres for compost making or to make your own compost.

We are also very aware of the environmental issues that occur with tourism and in the parks many of the sensitive areas are 'fenced off', and are only able to be entered by permits obtained from the powers to be. Other areas have board walks provided to prevent damage to the environment.

What are the specific benefits ecotourism brings to this area and the down sides to it?

Ecotourism is promoted by myself, as I love the outdoors, and believe that if I can make people aware of how fragile the land is and we can easily destroy what we have, then I have succeded in starting to help protect the environment. All the areas that I walk in are designated for tours and I also have the responsibility as a sanctioned operator to report any damage that I encounter whilst in the bush. Like all things that we do we inevitably do damage the environment, but if we can leesen the damge by doing it correctly then it will recover in time, which is one of the reasons my tours/walks are limited to a max. of 6 people at one time.

What are the dangers visitors might face and are there any specific vaccinations and / or medicines required?

We in New Zealand have no wild animals that attack people. We do have introduced animals such as deer, pigs, goats etc. There are no snakes in NZ, and we have only two poisonous spiders one of which was introduced from Australia. To get bitten one has to have been provoking these spiders. No vaccinations are required for people visiting NZ as we do not have many diseases, thankfully. If one is allergic to bees or wasps then one should bring medication as in the Spring/Summer these insects are active gathering pollen etc and will sting if disturbed or interrupted from carrying out their normal tasks.

As NZ is a relatively new country we still have many unspoiled, unsettled, and even some unmapped areas of wild country. We have many natural features that are closely looked after not only for our heritage but also for the world to enjoy