Green Hikers Campaign - Advice for Himalayan Hikers

It's an increasingly carbon sensitive world out there and any methods that hikers can employ to help reduce their carbon footprint is helpful to the environment and also to hikers with a conscience.

The Green Hiking Campaign may seem like a strange concept, given that most hiking enthusiasts tend not to emit carbon dioxide in lorry-loads when practicing their favoured activity. But one question does need answering - how do hikers get to the areas in which they want to go hiking in the first place?

Some ultra dedicated green hiking professionals will of course walk there - in fact, there is no beginning or end for these people - hiking is a way of life and they'll walk everywhere. But not all hiking fanatics are quite so dedicated - and it's understandable why.

Travel, along with littering and general disrespect for the environment is one reason why the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched its Green Hikers Campaign to help raise awareness about environmental issues in the Himalayan region. In association with the Indian Government's Tourism Ministry, the Green Hikers Campaign has been set up to ensure that dangerously fragile ecosystems in the Himalayas are protected by encouraging tour operators and their passengers to decrease their impact on the local environment.

With the slogan "nature leaves a mark on you, don't leave one behind", the campaign features a Green Hiker Animation Film which was released at the launch again reinforcing the aims of protecting the Himalayan environment.

To find out more or to follow the campaign, hikers can sign up for updates at the WWF Website, or read some of the comments that green hikers have already left about the benefits to the campaign. Whilst the Green Hiker Campaign is focussed on the Himalayas and tourism operating in India and the regions, many of the basic principles of green hiking can be translated to any hiker in any location across the world.