A group of ten walking the same line through a forest leaves almost nothing. The same ten, each choosing their own line, leave ten bare tracks that take several seasons to green over again.
The set of principles known as Leave No Trace, promoted by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, has seven parts: plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimise campfire impacts, respect wildlife, and be considerate of other people who are out there too.
The seven principles, in Vietnamese conditions
- Plan ahead: know the route, the weather and the rules of the forest, and get permission if it is needed. Most waste and most damage come from going without preparation.
- Travel on durable ground: follow existing paths, rock, gravel or hard soil. Avoid cutting across moss carpets, damp grass and stream banks, because those recover most slowly.
- Pack out your waste: everything you carry in comes out, including fruit peel and tissue. If you have to relieve yourself, do it well away from water and the path, and cover it carefully.
- Leave what you find: do not strip bark, do not pick plants, do not carve names, do not take stone and moss home.
- Minimise fire impact: use a gas stove first. If a fire is unavoidable, reuse an existing fire ring, keep it small, use fallen wood and put it out completely with water.
- Respect wildlife: watch from a distance, do not feed, do not block the way, keep food sealed.
- Be considerate of others: keep your volume moderate, do not play music on a speaker, give way to people coming uphill.
Why the path you walk matters so much
Damage outdoors rarely comes from one large act. It comes from a great many people doing one small thing in the same place. One footstep on a moss carpet does not kill it; a thousand do. That is why the principles concentrate impact where impact has already happened, instead of spreading it thin everywhere.
On ZUNGZA trips, the hardest habit to hold is not litter but cutting corners when it gets dark or when people are tired. We handle it by slowing down and adding time to the plan, because most harmful decisions are made in a hurry.
A few questions you often send us
Do banana peels and apple cores have to be carried out
They should be carried out. They break down more slowly than people think in dry or cold places, they spoil the natural look of a resting spot, and they teach animals to come close to where people sit. A small bag in the pack is enough to settle this.
Is lighting a fire in the forest allowed
It depends on the forest and on the time of year, so the answer has to be looked up with the managing authority beforehand. In many places and many seasons, fire is banned outright. When it is not clear, treat it as not allowed.
What a large group should do
Split into smaller groups and walk in single file on one path. If you need to rest, gather in a spot that is already clear rather than spreading out onto the vegetation.