Towards Sustainable Environmental Management through Green Tourism: Case study on Borneo Rainforest Lodge

Sustainable environmental management practice is the main contributor to green tourism in the context of the tourism industry. Tourists who are concerned about the environment are more likely to choose a tourism destination with the green tourism concept. Great environmental management can contribute to both conservation and tourism industry development, which involves a dynamic relationship between tourism, biodiversity and communities. This paper focuses mainly on tourism activities related to the sustainable environmental management practices such as energy management, waste management, waste water treatment and the use of local products and community participation in the instance of the Borneo Rainforest Lodge (BRL), which the authors offer as an exemplary green tourism destination. Keyword: Sustainable; Environment Management; Green Tourism; Borneo; Rainforest Lodge; Danum Valley Introduction Environmental awareness and its inclusion in tourism development models has received increasing attention from all perspectives since the 1990s (Kirkpatrick 1990, p. 44-52; Erdogan and Tosun 2009, p. 406-414). Green tourism is a sub-sector of the tourism industry that is growing rapidly all over the world. The concept of green tourism is appealing to tourists as it propagates the opportunity to explore natural landscapes while enjoying clean air and viewing the diverse flora and fauna (Ras Melaka 2011). Examples of green tourism may differ slightly in focus and meaning, but generally the term translates as environmentally friendly tourism (Furqan et al. 2010, p. 64-74).