First a definition. 'Ecotourism', a buzz word for the millennium, is a portmanteau word used to describe a wide range of approaches, from ultra-green forest lodges operating in complete harmony with their environment to hotels that trample acres of precious forest and then name their rooms after the rare birds that used to live there. A better term, and the one preferred by the pressure group Tourism Concern, is 'sustainable tourism'.

By its very nature, tourism is rarely wholly ecologically friendly. Even if you sailed on a home-made driftwood raft to a holiday island, dropped no litter, killed only time and left only footprints (to quote a wise if oft-used phrase), you would still inevitably have some impact on the environment.However, it is possible to explore this wonderful planet while at the same time dramatically reducing your impact on its ecosystems, and in some cases actively helping by contributing tourist money to conservation programmes. No self-respecting independent traveller with a passion for the environment should leave home without the will to seek out the most ecological way to travel.

What is needed is respect. Respect for a rainforest's beauty, respect for a tribal people's beliefs and customs, respect for nature. A little more respect, say, than is currently being displayed by a company offering what they call an 'eco-safari', in which tourists are given the opportunity to shoot pellets of washable luminous-pink paint at the noble elephants of Zimbabwe. And just in case the elephant takes offence, a hunter is on hand to shoot it with a real bullet.

So when you step out on your trip, take time to check that, along with the sun creams and guidebooks, you have also spared a thought for why the destination attracted you in the first place and what impact your visit will have.

Why should we care?

Increasing numbers of people are travelling to more and more distant destinations. One exotic spot that has gained huge popularity for its wildlife and beauty is the tiny Central American nation of Costa Rica. Its position - forming a bridge between North and South America - means it is blessed with some of the most diverse flora and fauna on Earth. But all is not well in the forests. In 1980, Costa Rica had just 3,000 international visitors. By 1992 that figure had jumped to 64,000. Tourism brought in US700 million in 1996, which was 30 per cent of total exports and 8.5 per cent of GNP. 1998 heralded a 4 million government publicity campaign, and in 1999 Costa Rica welcomed over 800,000 visitors.The country is now at a crossroads in terms of tourism development. Biological reserves such as Monteverde face the problem of balancing the preservation of their sensitive eco- systems with the streams of tourists that come to marvel at them.

Rodrigo Carazo, former Costa Rican president, is very much aware of the problem but views the situation as a positive opportunity to reduce deforestation: "It is about selling one tree a million times through tourism, rather than once through timber logging." Throughout the 1980s, however, Costa Rica had one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, mainly as a result of the demand for land for cattle-ranching and timber production. Forests covered 72 per cent of Costa Rica in the late 1950s. Now the only remaining forest is within protected areas and represents just 14 per cent of the country.

The world's most popular tourist honeypots are also under intense threat. According to United Nations predictions, visitors to the Mediterranean could total 760 million by 2025, adding to a resident population of 150 million. This would put tremendous further strain on the local environment, vastly increasing the amount of sewage discharged into the sea and thus endangering the natural habitat of marine animals and plants.

Coral reefs are the most endangered of all the world's ecosystems (more so even than the rainforests), yet only recently have conservation projects begun in earnest. Among other measures, these aim to protect them against the tourist habit of breaking off coral (accidentally or intentionally) to provide ornaments for their mantelpieces back home.

Programmes for change

On paper...

Ecotourism has burgeoned to such an extent that an international agency has been set up to monitor its growth. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) was established in Washington DC with the aim of influencing the direction of ecotourism worldwide, and balancing the needs of conservation with those of the multi-million pound/dollar travel industry. The year 2002 has been declared the United Nations International Year of Ecotourism. Non-governmental organisations (NGOS) such as Tourism Concern will be working to ensure that this does not end up as a meaningless marketing ploy. Instead, campaigning organisations will be focusing international attention on the impact our holidays have on local people and their environments.

And in action...

Major TIES projects have included visitor management schemes in the Galapagos Islands (a rapidly growing tourist destination with a fragile ecosystem); national park-user fees in Costa Rica; and guidelines and monitoring programmes for nature tour operators with sustainable planning and design recommendations. Most recently, they have embarked on a consumer education campaign highlighting the impact of travel and how to choose responsible tour operators.

Governments the world over have formulated national ecotourism projects, and many have even signed up, via the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Tourism, to international commitments to sustainable tourism. At the same time, local communities are also taking matters into their own hands, making a success of smaller projects that bring positive results for local residents. These are the communities who know only too well that 'sustainable tourism' is an empty concept if it does not include people as well as flora and fauna.

Environmental and ecological protection tends to work best when it takes into account the social and economic benefits for local people. Tourism Concern's Community Tourism Guide includes community-based projects and tours all over the world.

Some simple steps for sustainable travel

Do your homework. Choose your destination with care. Read up and and inform yourself about the current issues of environmental contention. Ecotourism is the flavour of the month for travel agents and tour operators. A number of them are far from green, however, and are merely using the phenomenon of green travel as a device to sell more holidays. Tourism Concern has some useful questions to ask your travel agent before you go:

They may not have the answers at their fingertips, but give them time to check. And Tourism Concern urges independent travellers to write and tell them what they say.

And when in paradise?

The renowned conservationist David Bellamy believes certain rules must be adhered to if tourism is to function in harmony with the environment:

"If that sounds boring," adds the great professor, "then please stay away. If you demand more, many people and their resources will not stand a chance. I sincerely believe that this is both their and our last chance."

Take Bellamy at his word and add a few more sustainable travelling tips to your list. Use public transport whenever possible to save fuel. If public transport is not available, get together with other sustainable travellers you meet along the way and hire a minibus (it will save you money, too). Bicycle hire can be very cheap, and can offer you access to areas that you would not be able to reach by motor vehicle. Don't drop litter (not long ago piles of pink toilet paper were reported in the foothills of the Himalayas). And when walking through eco- sensitive areas such as national parks, keep to the trails. This will not merely help to preserve the beauty of these areas - it might also save you from a close encounter with a territorially defensive snake.