I take a holiday for fun. I want to relax. I want to see wildlife, perhaps birds or marine mammals that I haven’t seen before.

I don’t want to see garbage or deal with cramped airplane seats and I confess, I don’t think about ethics when I’m planning my next big trip. Do you?

Maybe it is time to consider ethics in planning a trip. Each year Berkeley-based non-profit Ethical Traveler looks at policies and practices of the world’s developing countries using public data to evaluate environmental protection, social welfare and human rights.

Sounds like a dull process but I was surprised to see a country that has long been a fave of nature travelers – Costa Rica – didn’t make the Top 10 list last year. It lost marks on animal welfare because no progress was being made on reducing turtle egg poaching and there was inconsistent support of endangered shark protections.

Ecuador – touted as an affordable place for ex-pats – doesn’t qualify as a top ethical destination because of environmental and human rights issues. Probably not something people are thinking about when planning a trip to the Galapagos but it is nice to know the information is there if you want it.

Wondering how your travel plans match up against ethical travel criteria? Here are the 2017 Ethical Destination Awards Winners (in alphabetical order):

• Belize
• Cabo Verde
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• Dominica
• Mongolia
• Palua
• Tonga
• Uruguay
• Vanuatu

How many have you visited? Are there any you want to see now that you know they are making progress in three important areas?

“Act the way you’d like to be and soon you’ll be the way you act” Leonard Cohen

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