This document contains information on:

1.Travelling Responsibly

At Midnight Sun Adventure Travel, we define responsible tourism as travel that takes into consideration the 'triple bottom line' issues of:

• Environment: travel that minimizes negative environmental impacts, facilitates awareness of key issues and, makes positive contributions to the conservation of biodiversity, wilderness, natural and human heritage.
• Social/Cultural: travel that respects culture and traditions and fosters authentic interaction and greater understanding between travellers and hosts.
• Economic: travel that has financial benefits for the host community.

During the course of the Arctic Explorer we stay in small scale, locally owned accommodation and frequent local shops for meals, supplies and crafts. These practices facilitate a high degree of contact with locals and ensure that the economic development our business brings goes directly to local businesses and communities. We work closely with local people and rely upon their knowledge of their environment and local culture as an integral part of the holiday experience; as examples, our suppliers for the cultural tour to Tuktoyaktuk and the Delta River tour are First Nations guides. We discourage the purchase of disposable water bottles during the tour and encourage our guests to drink from water canisters in the van. During our walks and hikes we ask you to be vigilant about keeping to the trails - the tundra is especially sensitive and can bear imprints made by foot traffic for years to come.

2. Social and Environmental Issues

During your travels, your guide will provide insight into the social and environmental issues that impact the areas we travel. As you'll learn, the predominant issues facing residents in the Northwest Territories are the development of the Mackenzie Valley pipeline and climate change - two issues that are inextricably linked.

Potentially, one quarter of the world's untapped oil and gas reserves lie in the Arctic. And while politicians debate loud and long over Iraqi oil, and oil executives lay plans for bringing natural gas and oil from West Africa, most know that the Arctic is the real prize in the ongoing international struggle to control dwindling energy resources. That's especially true now, as global warming causes Arctic ice to melt, exposing virgin territory...

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