Travelling with Purpose in the Dominican Republic

By Renée S. Suen

With a growing number of resorts embracing green initiatives, supporting ecotourism and enhancing the well-being of the community through ground-breaking sustainable initiatives, travelling with purpose across the Dominican Republic is becoming easier. For environment-conscious visitors, it is something they can feel good about.

“Many people think coral are plants, but they’re members of the jellyfish family,” Macarena Blanco Pimentel tells our group as she points to the pottery-like fragments in an aquarium at Punta Cana’s new Coral Lab in Coral Level Iberostar Selection Bávaro. Operating under strict scientific standards, the temperaturecontrolled tanks help the scientific coordinator study the effect of rising temperatures on tissues harvested from nearby waters.

Home to a quarter of all marine species, coral reefs are complex ecosystems that serve as a source of food and livelihood for coastal communities. However, their existence is being threatened by climate change and disease. Pimentel and her colleagues hope their research will help with the preservation and restoration of marine life in the Caribbean.

TOURING THE CORAL NURSERY

Besides managing the Spanish hotel chain’s in-water coral nurseries, identifying genotypically-unique species to store in a coral genetic bank, the team’s findings have also repopulated at-risk coral beds with heat-stress resistant coral. Nestled in Playa Bávaro’s powdery white sand and lapped by the turquoise waters of the Atlantic, the research laboratory is an amenity open to hotel guests curious about the conservation work being done at their vacation destination.

The convergence of science and eco-conscious travel is an example of how hotels are responding to a preference among travellers for brands, products and services that adopt sustainable practices. No longer a fringe social cause, many companies are finding value in going green in new ways.

The government of the Dominican Republic has also stepped in, developing a Roadmap for Low-Carbon and Resource-Efficient Accommodation for the country in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme. Launched in May 2019, the plan sets targets for hotels in reducing food waste, increasing energy efficiency, and promoting renewable energy use.

Going beyond green, these hotels are leading the charge in Punta Cana.

WAVE OF CHANGE

Started in 2017 by vice chairman and chief sustainability officer, Gloria Fluxá, Iberostar’s Wave of Change movement is driven by responsible tourism. As the first hotel chain to enact a company-wide elimination of single-use plastics, the replacement of disposable cups with reusable ones, for example, has saved 8 tonnes of CO 2 emissions each year. Its commitment in encouraging responsible consumption of seafood includes working with local fisheries and respecting local seafood bans—including lobster during springtime in the Dominican Republic. Going beyond serving certified sustainable seafood, it is the first in the resort industry to offer restaurants that meet Marine Stewardship Council and Aquaculture Stewardship Council standards. Finally, with 80 per cent of their properties on the beachfront, its pledge to improve coastal health includes protecting coral reefs. Working in collaboration with research centres and universities from around the world, they built a coral nursery at Coral Level Iberostar Selection Bávaro in 2019. The facility acts as a refuge for coral species under threat from rising ocean temperatures, disease and hurricanes that affect Caribbean reef viability.

IBEROSTAR SELECTION BÁVARO, PUNTA CANA

GREEN GLOBE

Recognized for its sustainable management and operations, Barceló Bávaro Grand Resort’s Green Globe Gold-certification acknowledges the property’s continuous efforts and innovation in environmental practices with minimal negative impacts. For example, conservation of the resort’s paradise-like surroundings is maintained by a state-of-the-art waste treatment facility and the hotel group’s commitment to waste reduction. That initiative includes constantly improving its food composting program and a strict ban on single-use plastics, reducing plastics use by more than 2 tonnes annually. To save energy and water, it has incorporated biomass and solar power into the energy supply, and a water management system using black and grey water to reduce overall usage.

In responsible tourism, the resort holds a Blue Flag Award for maintaining Barceló Bávaro beach; and works preferentially with a tour company with off-property experiences including immersive educational visits to the rural community or local industries, zip line tours of the Anamuya Mountains and eco trails through Runners Adventures, which provides a range of outdoor and cultural excursions.

GRUPO PUNTACANA FOUNDATION

A pioneer in sustainable tourism, PuntaCana Resort & Club is widely known for its commitment to the environment and local communities, and the work done through its not-for-profit research organization, Groupo Puntacana. Developing solutions to environmental and social challenges in tourism, it helps with sustainable agriculture initiatives (growing organic produce for local consumption), supports the conservation of endangered species (i.e. Ridgway’s hawks), and maintain the Ojos Indígenas Ecological Park, a forest with 12 lagoons with crystalline water. It is located within the resort’s 42-kilometre grounds and offers hiking, freshwater diving or guided horseback riding tours. Its leadership in the Partnership for Ecologically Sustainable Coastal Areas has resulted in the expansive restoration of coral reefs and sustainable fisheries management in marine protected areas.

Stop by the Sustainability Centre to learn about the foundation’s work from co-managing a rural clinic in Veron to designing and implementing the country’s largest integrated solid waste management and recycling project (Zero Waste) that has led to the creation of supporting businesses focused on recycling and waste management.