If you were to speak about responsible travel or sustainable tourism many years ago, people would probably look at you weird. In this day and age however, the topic is beginning to spark interest and more travellers are opting for sustainable travel. Somehow, travelling to destinations that are off-the-beaten-path and sustainable is starting to become a trend among wanderlusters. It brings about a more unique personal experience that’s exciting and truly authentic for those who love adventure and immersing themselves in culture, whilst benefiting the local community they visit or stay with.
UNWTO has announced 2017 to be the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and players in the tourism industry are also taking part in the initiative. But you must be wondering, “What is sustainability?”, “What does it have to do with tourism” and “Why is it a big deal?”
We’ve chipped down the word into something less scary and more reasonable to us mere human beings, and it is explained through the 6 efforts Borneo Eco Tours (BET) is carrying out presently. So here it goes!
1. Sustainability means empowering people
For us, it’s creating a better living environment for communities who live in the rural areas especially those who live in poverty. Kiulu Farmstay is a perfect example of that initiative. It is a community-based tourism development in Kiulu Valley, envisioned by our Managing Director, Mr. Albert Teo.
The principal objective behind Kiulu Farmstay is to alleviate poverty among the local communities by creating new income and job opportunities which are more stable. This is a social entrepreneurship approach that acts as a catalyst for community development and capacity building. Some of the job opportunities we’ve created for the locals in Kiulu include guiding, catering, house-keeping and gardening.
Today, Kiulu Farmstay is established as an integrated tourism destination that includes an ecolodge known as The Fig Tree, homestays and outdoor adventure activities such as quad biking, river tubing, hiking and many more- All run by the locals there. This in turn, allow travellers to experience travel that is more special and authentic.
We can also say that 80% of our team members at Sukau Rainforest Lodge are locals of the Sukau community. Our lodge also provides locals the opportunity to not only earn a living and better their quality of life, but also to enhance their skill sets to a much higher standard.
2. Sustainability means applying environmentally-safe practices
Our non-profit arm, BEST Society is currently working on a project called the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Kiulu, an environmental sustainability practice. The method eliminates the use of harmful chemical pesticides and herbicides that are environmentally damaging. This project also aims to increase production and yield that will be sufficient for the villagers as source of food as well as income. This is one of the many efforts we do that does not only empower communities, but also educate them about sustainable practices.
Besides that, our Sukau Rainforest Lodge also holds true to its eco-lodge ethos and implements Green Policies in its operations. For instance, all SRL river boats are equipped with silent Electric motor and outboard engines that meet emission standards of the EU and US EPA.
3. Sustainability means giving back
BET also makes it a point to project our profit into something more meaningful and impactful. That is why we implement a Giving Back practice whereby travellers can become part of something much greater. When they travel with us, they will also fund all our community and social projects throughout Sabah. For every guest who purchases a Kinabatangan tour package, we will contribute RM 12 to BEST Society, our in-house Non-Profit Organization that’s responsible for all our community, social and environmental work. On top of that, each international traveller to our Sukau Rainforest Lodge also contributes RM 20 directly to this effort. As of December 2016, BET and SRL has contributed a total of RM 1,303,157.08 to implement community and environmental projects under our non-profit arm BEST Society.
BEST Society allows us to work closely with communities living in the rural areas and to empower them towards a more sustainable living. Its Organic Farming Phase 2 project, for instance focused on the empowerment of local Rungus communities living in the rural area through capacity building. The project is aimed to develop skills needed to advance rural community development in project planning, monitoring, evaluation and community participation. This project was a continuation of the first phase and it is crucial for us to be able to engage with the communities involved on a long term basis. This is to ensure the success and sustainability of this project.
4. Sustainability means conserving our resources, nature and wildlife
The latest initiative of Borneo Eco Tours (BET) and Borneo Ecotourism Solutions & Technologies (BEST) Society is the Borneo Land Conservancy (BLC) project that aims to conserve land for wildlife habitat in Sukau, along the floodplains of Kinabatangan. Kinabatangan is renowned for its diverse wildlife and avifauna, however, their habitat is threatened by deforestation and the palm oil plantation endemic.
To prevent more lands from being taken over by the growing palm oil industry in the state, which also threatens the ecotourism industry, it was only a matter of time that BET and BEST Society took matters into our own hands. Together with our supporting networks, the Borneo Land Conservancy will be the first of many more similar land conservation efforts around Borneo.
The 7.7 acre land was leased by Datuk Thomas Lau from a local villager some 9 years ago with the objective to build a lodge, but the plan never took off. The land owner finally decided to sell the land, and lessee Datuk Lau was given the Power of Attorney and had to recoup his loan to the owner as he only wanted to sell the land to those who will not clear it for plantation. The land has a full grown forest with various fruit trees, and is frequented by wildlife such as monkeys, orangutans and elephants.
Managing Director Albert Teo flew to Sandakan on March 2017 and together with branch manager of Borneo Eco Tours, Fernando D. Rulloda, they met up with Datuk Lau to conclude the final negotiation and sign the sale and purchase of the land. The final price of RM220,000.00 is agreed upon by all parties to be paid by several instalments. It was also agreed that Datuk Lau will contribute another RM20,000.00 to the purchase of the 7.7 acre land while BEST Society will contribute through annual rental of RM18,000.00.
Read more about BEST Society’s work here.
5. Sustainability means doing things responsibly
We have also involved ourselves with the new sustainable development agenda and adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as our guiding principles. This is especially useful when developing and implementing community and environmental projects throughout Borneo through our NGO arm, BEST Society. Of course, it’s a massive challenge to take on all 17 goals, that’s why we’re striving to incorporate and adopt the most appropriate and practical SDG into our existing as well as potential projects, policies, processes and systems over the next 15 years or more. Utilizing the SDG as our guiding principle allows us to act responsibly and keep us on track as a specialist in responsible and nature-based tours.
6. Sustainability simply means “doing more good, not just less harm.”
This is a quote by Jochen Zeits which also happens to be our 2017 motto. We do what we can to make sure that our homeland and its people are well taken care of, bearing in mind the well-being of our future generations to come. For us, this will be the driving force towards a more responsible operation.
Why are we doing it? Being a leading Borneo-based tour operator, we are very much concerned about the well-being of our beautiful, gigantic island. As a tour operator, it’s also the very reason why we are still able to do what we do today. We want to create an environment where we all thrive, not fight to survive. That’s why we make it a point to channel our profits into doing social and environmental projects
These are just some of our efforts and if you think about it, “Sustainable Tourism” brings about benefits on a wider scale compared to conventional tourism. So when you’re planning your next holiday, consider these few things:
Is the accommodation locally-run and owned?
Are locals employed for the job? What about the guide?
Does the tour contribute to the local community?
Do they have eco-friendly practices?
Is the location/attraction/accommodation ‘sustainable’?
The choices you make about the way you travel is just the first step towards making the world a better place.
