Green Panthers stand up for a lot of causes. We are often trying to make something more eco friendly or fighting for the rights of some mistreated animal, such as our recent dolphin campaign, the ongoing anti shark fin campaign, and elephant ambassadors. However, we also try to support what we consider ‘good’ business. We are always looking for new adventures in sustainable, ethical, and responsible tourism.
August 31, we went to Petchburi to do a whale tour. We found 7 whales, including 2 pairs of mother and calf, with mother teaching calf how to feed. It was an incredible sight to see them in such a nice setting and watching the bond between mother and calf.
Check out this 14 second whale video caught by a student. Do you think she was excited?
Students also put the tour through the sustainable compass test. We look at it through the lenses of Nature, Economy, Society, and Wellbeing. If it fails and we don’t think this is sustainable we would not return, unless they could improve to meet our criteria. We have done this in the past and helped improve sustainable practices with some companies. However, the whale watching tour passed with flying colors and was considered very sustainable in its current state, but we did warn them to proceed with caution and keep the focus on sustainability and the wellbeing of the whales; not profit.
How was it sustainable, responsible and ethical?
- They took great care not to disturb the whales, with strict guidelines about not getting to close or crowding the whales. In fact, we were the only boat there.
- The captain drove slowly and never ‘chased’ a whale.
- With every decision the whales seemed to be the first priority.
- Even the lunches were packed in reusable tupparware and not disposable styrofoam.
If you would like to support sustainable tourism in Thailand here is more information. The tour information can be found here https://chomwhales.org/
Map – https://chomwhales.org/our-trip/travel-route/
The trip costs 2000 baht, which includes return transportation from Bangkok and a lunch.
Look out for more sustainable eco trips from the Green Panthers. They will be announced in the daily bulletin.
If your child would like to join the Green Panthers they can sign up here.
Thank you,
Kerry Dyke