Leave No Trace (Teil 1) - Conservation Ethics in Outdoor Tourism
Since the 1950s, with the beginning economic recovery after WWII, people in many western countries started to rethink their attitude towards protection of wild nature reserves. Today, just a few decades later, gigantic unwanted impacts of the sharp rise in tourism have to be absorbed. The "leave no trace" concept with its 7 basic rules isn´t a bad way to start.
The organization Leave No Trace was founded in 1994 in the USA as a non-profit organization (NPO). Their full name reads “Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics”, in the internal slang also simply called “The Center”. The roots of this organization go back to the 1960s and are closely linked to the emerging ecology movement.
Worldwide population growth, increasing resource consumption, and the expansion of man-made areas have been weighing on our natural resources on this planet since the beginning of industrialization. This finding has become even more acute in the turbo-capitalist 20th century, not least due to the strong increase in outdoor tourism. The “economic miracles” of man endanger the “natural miracles” of the earth. Public natural resources, which by definition belong to all people equally, due to their limitations are always threatened by the commons problem. If everyone is allowed to consume everything in an uncontrolled manner, resources quickly run out.
Since the middle of the 20th century a slow rethinking began. Various nature conservation organisations were founded – most widely known are Greenpeace and the WWF. It was in this context that “Leave No Trace” was created in the USA. With the aim of protecting natural resources while at the same time safeguarding the rights of people seeking recreation to be allowed to enter nature, a catalogue of seven rules of conduct and an “outdoor ethic” were developed. The interests of future generations in particular played a role here.
Since then, these principles have been further developed and adapted to the many different outdoor activities, ecosystems and local requirements. The rules were also scientifically reinforced and justified. Two still young research areas played a major role in this: above all the so-called “Recreation Ecology”, which deals with the different influences of tourism on protected natural areas and their interaction. The scientists of these sub-disciplines of geography, biology and ecology search for the natural limits of different ecosystems and how harmful human influences can be reduced to a minimum.
Secondly, the very young research area “Human Dimensions of Natural Resources”, which deals with the sociological, psychological, cultural and economic aspects of planetary natural resources. Paradoxically, the growing number of outdoor enthusiasts is mainly responsible for increasing pressures. Pedagogy therefore plays a major role here, as does the question of the effectiveness of educational programmes in schools and universities, but also directly in nature reserves.
At first glance, the seven “Leave No Trace” rules seem rather self-explanatory. Also they´re not official prohibitions, merely a recommended set of behaviours for stays in nature. At second glance, however, they prove to be quite complex and not so easily integrated into the behaviour of visitors to nature parks. Again and again these rules are violated, some knowingly, some unintentionally. Therefore, much more information and education of the public seems to be necessary.
Last but not least: If properly thought out, the “Leave No Trace” rules are also a spiritual invitation to all people on this planet to more consciously enjoy the very precious form of extreme freedom in untouched nature. This freedom will inevitably be destroyed if we all don´t take responsibility. Thus “Leave No Trace” is an ethos, a state of mind, a practice of mindfulness, even a “lifestyle”, a kind of positive inner attitude towards the world as it should be – a utopian stance.
A Closer Look
The rules are deliberately kept as general as possible, so that they can easily be adapted to any type of outdoor activity, region, ecosystem, and any type and size of tourist group.
The 7 “Leave No Trace” rules are as follows:
- Plan and prepare your tours well
- Only tread firm subsoil and solid underground
- Dispose of waste properly
- Take nothing from nature
- Minimize the effects of fires
- Respect the animal world
- Consider the needs of other visitors
“Backcountry” and “Frontcountry”
Originally, these rules were only developed for the “backcountry” – real hinterland, lonely mountain ranges and the wild heart of the national parks. People can’t get lost in this wilderness in everyday life. They go there deliberately to experience the untouched nature and they take precautions because there are certain dangers connected with it.
Leave nothing but your footprints and take nothing with you but your impressions.
In the meantime, however, the 7 rules have also been adapted to stays in the “front country” – i.e. the spaces between densely populated areas (“civilization”) and the wilderness. These are mostly natural spaces that may be marked as such, but are still relatively tamed, domesticated and highly influenced by humans. These are, for example, hiking trails in forest areas close to human civilization. Or camping sites in the periphery of national parks and biosphere reserves.
These transitional and peripheral areas are of course also worth protecting. Perhaps nature conservation is even more urgently needed here, because many more people live in this zone or populate it on weekends. The slightly adapted 7 rules in these areas are:
- Know the visited area
- Stay on hiking trails and camp properly
- Take garbage with you (also collect garbage)
- Take nothing from nature
- Caution with campfires
- Do not disturb the animal world
- Take care of other visitors, keep pets on a leash
At first glance, the differences are hardly noticeable, but in reality they are serious:
- A detailed tour preparation can save lives during outdoor activities. (Maybe one or the other knows the movie 127 Hours.) For excursions in the Frontcountry a rudimentary knowledge of the place might be sufficient.
- While in the Frontcountry one can rely on the fact that there are signposted hiking trails and even camping sites, in the wilderness one walks and camps largely without signs, paths and other clues. A good rule of thumb is not to fight your way through the undergrowth where you can disturb animals.
- In the highly frequented frontcountry you will (unfortunately) come across heavily polluted areas again and again. Even if you are not the cause yourself, you should try to remove as much rubbish as possible. Of course you should take your own garbage (in bags) with you until the next disposal possibility. In the backcountry, on the other hand, one rarely or not at all comes across civilization remnants such as yoghurt cups and toilet paper.
- To extract nothing from nature is a rule that applies to all outdoor activities in all zones. Do not take branches from living trees; keep dead wood and stones to a minimum; leave animals completely alone (see also point 6).
- In the backcountry it is about making no fires at all or as small fires as possible. Large campfires should only be made in the frontcountry and preferably only in well-secured places provided for this purpose.
- Animals are taboo everywhere, no matter if in the frontcountry or in the backcountry.
- For in the backcountry you are mostly alone or in your own group and rarely meet other people, the main thing is to think about later visitors of the same area and leave it as you found it. In the Frontcountry, on the other hand, you are seldomly completely alone, and some people may even have their dogs with them (leashes obligatory almost everywhere!). Therefore, it’s all about social interaction, through which every visitor can enjoy his stay.
We present each of the 7 rules in part 2 of the series in detail and give tips for practical implementation. On the “Leave No Trace” website you´ll find further information about the seven principles and their scientific justification.
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