Cap'n Chris said:
al said:
Not sure why you've singled out clubs
Because BCA is drafting new conservation codes which it will be sending out to clubs and the obvious question is "will clubs forward the codes to their members?". i.e. will the leaflets be effective in their goal?
That may depend on the quality of the codes. I've seen well meaning cave conservation codes in the past which have included bad advice, based on ignorance. Here's one example, of many I could quote. We have been told by such codes formerly that active streamways are less vulnerable than abandoned passages. Whoever told us that has probably never dived a downstream sump in a popular stream cave, otherwise they'd have seen all the rubbish which can accumulate in such lower energy environments. But that's still an "active streamway". Just because that part of a cave system is seldom visited doesn't mean it's any less valuable.
Another thought; many
individuals in clubs (and groups of individuals) play very active roles in cave conservation and do much excellent work. To what extent should that be considered a "club" activity? Such questions reveal the dangers in reading too much into "surveys" such as this.
Does it really matter if clubs don't have conservation written into paperwork provided these clubs maintain a good conservation
ethos?
The bottom line is that our many caving clubs in the UK do a great deal to promote and actively intervene in cave conservation and deserve a great deal of credit for this.
By the way, I applaud the OP for what is clearly an admirable effort to raise the profile of cave conservation. I also applaud the BCA for their efforts with any new initiatives in the area of cave conservation, including updating codes.