East Greenland cruise

Planet

We work hard to protect and conserve the destinations we visit around the world and the fragile Arctic ecosystem is no exception. In protecting the Arctic and instilling a sense of environmental stewardship in our clients, we employ a range of successful methods and initiatives.

Whilst on these trips, your-on board natural history experts, through guided walks and evening talks, reveals not only the wonders of the Arctic realm and its wildlife but also some of the conservation issues which this fragile habitat and its species face

.Our Arctic expedition ships are smaller, less imposing on the polar landscape than the bigger cruise ships. Group landings by zodiac are more easily managed and a low ratio of leaders to passengers provides a personalised, added value experience. Your onboard natural history experts, through guided walks and evening talks, reveal the wonders of Arctic scenery and wildlife. In this way you will be introduced to some of the local and global conservation issues which this fragile habitat faces.

Our expedition trips are made under full membership of AECO Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators and as such encounters with all wildlife are controlled by strict responsible codes of conduct.

Our Arctic expeditions are committed to the conservation of the places we visit. Conservation donations to environmental conservation programs include bird protection projects (i.e. Save the Albatross campaign) researching by the catching of seabirds in fisheries.

In a global context our company has its origin and heritage in marine and environmental science, research and rainforest conservation. Our team consists of marine and environmental scientists, conservation experts, professional wilderness guides, diving instructors and yacht masters.

Aqua-Firma is committed to being Carbon and Biodiversity Positive and work closely with our partners including Rainforest Concern and the Rainforest Trust towards this objective. Your travel with us helps to pay for the permanent protection of rainforest, areas which without protection are likely to be felled for timber and burned to make way for cattle, palm oil and other agro-uses.

Over the past few years projects have included: Peru, where Aqua-Firma committed to fund the creation of a 10,000 acre protected forest reserve within a 5.9 million acre of national park, national reserve and 57 community owned territories in Amazonian Peru. We have also been contributing to the development of a rainforest corridor in the Choco-Andean cloud forests of Ecuador - an area where a rare carnivore called the Olinguito, new to science in 2016, is anticipated to survive.

In Madagascar we funded 1,000 acres out of 76,000 acres of new rainforest reserve, where the Golden Mantella Frog, once considered extinct, survives; alongside Madagascar's largest surviving lemur, the Indri. We continue to support this project with ecotourism development, reforestation and sustainable farming projects.

In view of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we have been contributing to Rainforest Concern's efforts to increase self-sufficiency and protective equipment for indigenous people in Amazonian Colombia and the Xingu region of Brazil. These people are guardians of rainforest, at the often dangerous frontline in preventing rainforest destruction.

Our next target will be the protection of 4,412 acres of rainforest in southwestern fringes of the Amazon.

People

Some voyages we offer are so remote that there is no indigenous village / community – as is the case in Spitsbergen, outside of the main town Longyearbyen. In Greenland however, the Inuit have a rich and colourful culture. On our Greenland voyages we visit local museums and small shops, but where these do not exist we often radio the head of the village to check if a visit is welcome – which it invariably is. Most recently in Greenland, the head of the village (who spoke 5 languages) invited all 15 of us to tea and cake at his house – then we visited the local school, where our expedition leader was proud to point out 2 of the school books he had written on the shelves! Wonderful win-win scenarios for which language is no barrier.

Where opportunities exist, we encourage guests to purchase souvenirs – other than shells and polar bear related goods. In the Arctic and in particularly in Iceland, we advise strongly against the purchase of whale meat in the local restaurants, which showcases the whaling trade (by the tourist) when the local population do not themselves eat whale meat.