Save Eco Destinations

Manu Island, Fiji

The government of Fiji created the Fiji Ecotourism Association in 1995. One of its alleged aims is to “improv[e] the welfare of the local people.”

There are, supposedly, several eco-resorts and National Parks and Reserves to visit. You can learn about local culture by attending a talanoa (storytelling) session about traditional local medicines, legends, and history; you can attend their mekes, a cultural feast featuring traditional song and dance.

Now, the definition of ecoutourism relies partly on the concept of being respectful and furthering the welfare of local communities; and learning about their culture from a reverential perspective sounds great.

But can ecotourists really help locals with their business in a land ruled by a violent and oppressive military regime?

It’s a question worth asking, and I think the answer is a bold no.

By supporting ostensible ecotourism in Fiji (or any kind of Fijan business) we are supporting a regime guilty of human rights violations, widespread censorship, and a refusal to hold elections. Boycotting is a significant way in which we can pressure Fiji’s government to change its tactics, as the country is heavily dependent on tourism for GDP growth.

Let’s look at a couple of examples why the idea of ecotourism in Fiji may be an oxymoron.

Air pollution caused by cruise ships

Ecotourism in Fiji: Cruises

Tourism companies apparently get very excited about hosting “cruising enthusiasts” and even host cruise companies and operators. Ironically,

Cruise ships generate an astonishing amount of pollution: up to 25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets and 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys and showers each day. … Cruise ships dump untreated sewage from toilets once the ships is three miles from shore.

And you don’t think this crap (literally) is going to affect Fiji’s marine ecosystems? Exactly.

Here’s more:

Each cruise ship carries an average of 3,000 people and produces as much sewage and waste as a mid-sized city. Tons of raw sewage, garbage and even hazardous waste are produced and disposed of each day by a single ship. This constant discharge of waste into our oceans is multiplied by dozens of ships operating every day in our precious oceans.

Cruise ships do not have to comply with environmental and water quality protection laws that are required for municipalities. They are allowed to dump sewage and garbage directly into our oceans—and they do!

Incredibly, the most common practice of cruise ships is to dump waste at sea, usually at night. While they are not supposed to release raw sewage or other solid waste into state waters (3 nautical miles from shore), ocean currents can return discharged sewage, polluted waters and garbage to our shores. Fish do not know boundaries.

Cruise liners also impact air quality. Diesel engines spew out diesel exhaust equivalent to 10,000 cars each day per ship and are kept idling, even when in port.

Well.

Ecotourism in Fiji: Sports

Sports options on the island of Denarau include golf and tennis. But get this: runoff from fertilized lawns and golf courses causes nutrient pollution (nitrogen, phosphates, etc.), which in turn can cause algal bloom, sometimes known as red tide.

The effects of algal bloom, also caused by nutrient runoff from sugar cane farming in Fiji, include the production of neurotoxins that cause high rates of mortalities in fish, seabirds, marine mammals, and the litany of species that inhabit coral reefs, as the reefs die. This, as a result, impacts the Fijan communities that obtain their food and/or livelihood from the ocean.

More and more, it seems to me like “ecotourism in Fiji” is indeed an oxymoron.