Tropical islands are popular travel destinations among the Nordic citizens and especially the scuba divers.
Nevertheless, what at first sight looks like a paradise, often at a closer look appears as a location with several environmental challenges. This has to do with the fact that, due to their size, small tropical islands have only limited natural resources and a low carrying capacity.
Commonly, many of the conservation challenges of the tropical islands are underwater. Often too little attention is paid to these needs, as the undersea world is out of sight of most people. This is the case also on Utila, an island in the Honduran Caribbean.
In the 1980s, Utila still was a peaceful island community with few visitors from the outside. In the 1990s, the island started becoming an international diving hotspot due to the beautiful coral reefs, improved flight connections, affordable accommodation and the low prices on scuba diving trips and courses.
This reportage photographed and edited by Erkki Siirilä tells especially about the marine-related environmental challenges of Utila, which is a very popular international travel and divedestination today.
