Up until a few months before the pandemic, Nina Karnikowski had been travelling the world, writing stories about every hidden corner of the globe — from photography trips in Mongolia to cruises in Antarctica and rail journeys through India. Throughout her career, Nina has accumulated her fair share of passport stamps, travelling to more than 60 countries on every continent. But it was her last assignment to the Canadian Arctic in 2019 that brought years of global crisscrossing to a halt.
In Churchill, dubbed the “polar bear capital of the world”, Nina saw first-hand the impact of human behaviour on polar bears and the planet more broadly. The melting of the Arctic, due to global warming, meant the bear’s seal hunting season was shorter, ultimately leading to a decline in the population.
“I returned home with the understanding that I couldn’t continue to travel as often and frequently as I had been,” she says. It was a confronting turning point for Nina, who had spent years building a career around travel. “It was the way I made money, but also how I made sense of the world and my place in it,” she says. “Ultimately, though, I realised I loved to travel because I loved the world. And if I loved the world, I had to give up certain things to protect it so that I wasn’t contributing as much as I was to its destruction.”
Go lightly
Based on current trends, the trillion-dollar tourism industry is expected to emit 6.5 billion tonnes of carbon emissions by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum. Concerned about the impact of travel on the planet, Nina decided to take some time off work to figure out how to continue exploring without causing more damage. It was in this spell that she did exactly that, writing her second book, Go Lightly. A guide to inspire people to travel as sustainably as possible, the book shares tips and ideas about how to stay, eat and move lightly.
“For me, this will mean taking fewer trips but staying in destinations for longer so I can lower my carbon footprint, make a more lasting financial impact on local communities, and also tell deeper, more nuanced stories,” shares Nina. “Mostly, I’m trying to think of transforming the way I travel not as a sacrifice, but as an invitation to bring more imagination and richness to my journeys.”
While the travel industry is responsible for an estimated eight per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, it’s also a lifeline for many, Nina says. “Tourism accounts for one in 10 jobs, teaches tolerance and broadens world views. So I’m thinking a lot about how we can reform the way we travel, rather than stopping it entirely.”
Conscious actions
Having time to consider our impact on the planet has been one of the few upsides to the global pandemic. In June last year, booking.com released a report drawing on a survey of more than 29,000 travellers and found the pandemic had been the tipping point for many to finally commit to their own sustainable journey. In addition to making positive changes in their everyday lives with recycling and reducing food waste, two thirds (61 per cent) said the pandemic had influenced them to want to travel more sustainably in the future.
And travellers aren’t the only ones taking conscious actions. More and more businesses in the industry are prioritising sustainability, whether it be using renewable energy or reintroducing native plants to regenerate native wildlife. Among those making a difference is Mount Mulligan Lodge, a spacious retreat in Queensland located roughly 150km north-west of Cairns. Perched on a 28,000-hectare outback property, the lodge is completely self-sustainable, with a five-stage water treatment process, organic vegetable gardens and solar energy.
Tour guide manager Simone Phillips says these practices not only help ensure Mount Mulligan Lodge limits its impact on the local environment, but also help educate those who stay at the lodge about simple sustainability practices, like minimising plastic and composting. “That diversity is an education for people who come from larger cities and who can see you can run a successful agriculture business, with the soil health, plant health, animal health and everything around it being taken care of as a whole,” says Simone.
While these practices aren’t new, she believes the pandemic has helped push people to travel more in their own backyard and gather a greater interest in the environmental, sustainability and farming side of tourism. “Through touring experiences in the field, we can influence people to become passionate about why we need to protect [the land], why it’s best not to consume so much and to recycle,” Simone says. “If you see it first-hand and work with it, you really understand the process and the benefits.”
Nina Karnikowski’s tips for the conscious traveller:
Go slow
One of the simplest ways to lessen your carbon footprint is to fly less often. Fewer but longer trips give you a better chance of giving back to local communities.
Give back
Whether you’re getting involved in a conservation or rewilding program while you’re away, shedding light on an issue by fundraising on your social media, or working on something like a permaculture farm, “going lightly” is all about reciprocity. If you want to travel far but feel uneasy about the air miles, consider visiting a destination that needs tourist support to rebuild after a disaster. Travellers can volunteer for environmental and social projects to help devastated communities.
Choose local
Seek out locally owned hotels and restaurants, Indigenous guides and locally made handicrafts to put your travel dollars directly into the pockets of locals.
Focus on nature
Put nature first and choose activities like hiking, camping adventures and boat trips. Not only will you feel more in awe of the natural world, it will encourage you to forgo your own interests for those of others and the planet, and help you to avoid the overcrowded tourist traps.
Go plastic-free
Do your bit to reduce disposable plastics by packing your reusable water bottle, stainless-steel food container and hemp tote for shopping and picking up trash.
Simone Ziaziaris is a freelance journalist from Sydney who loves writing about the arts, sustainability and human rights. When she isn’t at her computer typing, she is out and about taking film photos. Take a sneak peek at her work @simoneziaziaris on Instagram.
