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CAST WEBSITE AT:
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To see the April
2005
Issues of the BroadCAST, please click
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Director's Cut
The Atlantic
hurricane season has begun with a
bang! The U.S. National Hurricane
Center reports that on average (as
deduced from over 100 years of
record keeping) the Caribbean
experiences 10 named storms, 2 hurricanes and 2
major hurricanes – i.e. Category 3
or higher. The 2005 season is
predicted to yield 13 named storms
with 7 hurricanes and 3 of these
becoming major hurricanes. An
above-average season! At the time
of writing, we have already seen 5
named storms and 2 hurricanes with
both being major hurricanes. What a
start! We are already ahead of the
prediction curve!
This means
that all tourism interests should
have already activated their written
emergency plans – and if
(incredibly!) you do not have a
written plan, you should be moving
feverishly to secure your staff and property
from possible devastation. A few
tips are provided in the feature
article below. By the end of July
2005 CAST would have trained this
year alone, well over 300 persons in
Jamaica, Grenada, Aruba, Belize and
Trinidad. That’s 300 persons with
improved skills and sensitivities to
the techniques of preparing for the
devastation wrought by hurricanes.
The
Sustainable Tourism Round-up section
of the BroadCAST also provides a
whiff of the plethora of activities
going on in the region,
collaboratively and with our
industry partners. It is a busy time
and we hope that you will contribute
to the various efforts and strive to
make your tourism businesses as
resilient as possible.
Cheers,
Deirdre P. Shurland
Making
the Case for Adequate Hurricane
Preparedness
This feature article focuses on the
various hazards associated with
hurricanes and the need to adequately
prepare for them. Your comments are
welcome and should be sent to
cast@cha-cast.com
By:
The
Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable
Tourism
Hurricane
preparedness is not rocket science!
It requires you to be sensitive
about your personal and property
vulnerability and to exercise the
will to do what is required to make
your business more resilient to
hurricane hazards. There are four
(4) categories of hurricane hazards:
-
Extreme winds:
Hurricanes are characterized by
a circulation centre or “eye”
which can vary in diameter from
a few miles to some tens of
miles. In the Northern
Hemisphere, circulation around
the “eye” is anti-clockwise.
Usually, the more pronounced the
“eye” the more intense the wind
field and the greater the
potential for major destruction
of property. Most persons have
witnessed or are familiar with
scenes of devastation from
hurricane-force winds e.g. roofs
blown off, collapsed building
walls, broken tree limbs or
downed power lines. Design of
structurally sound building
roofs (e.g. roof pitch, hips,
gables, rafters, materials etc.)
can go a long way in making such
structures more resilient to
extreme winds. Sound building
design guidelines and
technologies are commonplace in
locally available standards and
building codes. You would do
well to ensure that your
property meets these minimum
standards.
-
Intense Rainfall:
Associated with a hurricane’s
“eye” or centre of circulation
are very intense cloud systems
which become denser closer to
the eye. These cloud systems
develop from a violent interplay
of convection forces in the
upper atmosphere resulting in
the dumping of very heavy rain
in areas where the hurricane
makes landfall. The intensity of
rainfall poses a serious problem
for countries because of the
large volume of rainfall
received over very short time
scales - it is not usual for
some countries to experience a
year’s rainfall in 6 hours or
less. This rainfall intensity
usually results in massive
flooding with tremendous loss of
life and property. The 3,500
deaths in Gonaives, Haiti
following Hurricane Jeanne in
2004 is an example. Part of the
solution lies in ensuring
proliferation of healthy forest
ecosystems and/or tree cover
generally. These serve to impede
run-off and lessen the exposure
of bare soil to heavy rains.
-
Storm Surge:
Picture an imaginary grid placed
over the centre of a hurricane.
Relative to the system’s forward
motion, the right front quadrant
(or NE section) of the grid
poses the most problem for
Caribbean and Gulf coastal
areas. This is because of the
phenomenon known as “storm
surge”. The hurricane’s forward
motion, wind intensity and low
pressure at its centre, all
combine into powerful forces
simultaneously and violently
churning up the ocean waters.
The effect is a dramatic rise in
sea level noticed along beaches
and coastlines which inundates
and destroys properties caught
in the maelstrom. The solution,
limit construction of property
along beaches, on dune systems
or too close to waterfront
areas. If your property is
already in these zones, consider
fortifying foundations to resist
10-15ft. storm surges and/or
elevating buildings.
-
Indirect Hazards:
These include flooding,
landslides and mudslides all of
which can separately or
collectively wreak havoc on
towns, buildings and persons
caught in the flow. The sheer
power of landslides or mudslides
can snap gas and power lines,
and roads and wipe out major
villages. Many towns and lives
were lost in this way in
Honduras during Hurricane Mitch
in 1998. Similarly, flood waters
frequently trouble many
Caribbean islands and the lower
east-central states in the U.S.
e.g. Mississippi, northern
Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
These indirect hurricane hazards
can also result in disruptions
to electrical power and water
supplies bringing great
inconvenience to thousands of
people. A few solutions are to
avoid constructing properties in
areas with a history of flooding
or slope failure or o take out
or increase the flood insurance
on your properties. Many
countries have also struggled
with looters preying on the
inadvertent chaos wrought by
hurricanes. This creates great
social tensions and fear in the
society already severely
stressed by the devastation. The
usual response is to ensure that
immediately following the
passage of a major storm, secure
your property and personnel as
adequately as possible.
The
discussion above has rather
simplistically described the varying
physical and social effects of
hurricane devastation typically
experienced in the Caribbean. A few
rather unlucky countries have had to
grapple with some or all of these
hazards at the same time. If you are
still completely unprepared or
unaware of these hazards then you
are potentially flirting with major
disaster!
Back To The Top
Leading
Lights
Leading Lights are Caribbean leaders who
have made significant achievements in
the environmental and social performance
at their properties. Each 'Leading
Light' was interviewed about their
leadership and philosophy and these are
their words:
Daniel Hernandez,
Sunscape Casa del Mar,
Dominican Republic, winner of the
CHA/AMEX 2005 Green Hotel of the Year
Award - Large Hotel:
"We are motivated by the necessity
to preserve the environment and by our
desire to assure that our guests
perceive our constant preoccupation for
protecting and preserving the area in
which they vacation. We understand that
our industry will continue to impact the
environment and we desire to minimize
those impacts in whatever way possible
as well as set an example for our
employees and the community at large.
We motivate our staff by realizing the
ecological goals set forth by the
general management in association with
the green team and staff. We keep our
staff up to date and offer them
opportunities to improve their skills.
Our most rewarding achievements to date
are: winning the CHA/AMEX Green Hotel of
the Year Award 2005, achieving Green
Globe Certification, reviving and
preserving the natural springs on
property and assisting the local
community. It is our goal
to provide our staff with additional
training outside of those programs
currently offered at the hotel as well
as involve the community of Bayahibe
more so that they understand the
importance of preserving their
environment.
Jem
Winston,
3 Rivers Eco Lodge, Dominica, winner
of the CHA/AMEX Green Hotel of the Year
Award - Small Hotel:
Our belief in the benefit of protecting
and preserving our environment is of
paramount importance. Dominica’s natural
ecosystems are an example of one of the most delicate
balances of nature on the planet, 8
active volcanoes, hurricanes,
earthquakes, rain and sunshine, if any
one of those is lost, who knows what the
result would be. Furthermore, preserving
the environment will undoubtedly ensure
the
people of the country lead long and
healthy lives.happens all
by itself. At 3 Rivers we mostly attract
guests who are seriously concerned about
environmental preservation, and this
guest enthusiasm rubs off on the staff
every day whilst they spend time with
them. We hold continued training
sessions and staff participate in our
monthly sustainable living workshops
which are open to the public.
Almost every school in Dominica has now
visited 3 Rivers to learn about
environmental issues. At the beginning
of each session when we quiz the
children we find that their
understanding of the issues is minimal.
By the end of the day not only have
they understood what they have learnt,
but most of them say they will go home
and get their families to do at least
one thing they have learnt during their
visit. . Some of the children return
within a few weeks to show their parents
who are also keen to put into practice
some of the practices which we do here
at 3 Rivers. The sustainable living
workshops are also very rewarding, as
not only do participants gain a greater
understanding, but we have funding to
lend them the money to install the
equipment at their homes, thereby
reducing their utility bill
substantially and alleviating their
poverty situation to a certain extent.
We plan to hold a sustainable living
workshop every month, both on property
and in the surrounding villages, thus
attempting to get the whole of Dominica
at least thinking about renewable
energy, and hopefully persuading a large
proportion of the population to actually
use it.”
Back To The Top
CAST News
-
QTC Standards Back on the Agenda:
During June 13th–15th
2005 CAST co-facilitated a Standards
Sub-Committee meeting in
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad hosted by
its implementation partner – the
Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC)
under the Quality Tourism for the
Caribbean (QTC) program.
 This
meeting assembled the Standards
Sub-Committee comprising a balanced
group of public health and standards
personnel, hoteliers and hotel
association representatives. The QTC
Standards Sub-Committee deliberated
over the 6 environmental standards
(Energy Management & Efficiency,
Water Treatment and Efficiency,
Solid Waste Management, Integrated
Pest Management, Sewage Treatment
and Efficiency and Environmental
Management Systems). A most
significant result is the unanimous
endorsement from all participants on
the significance of the QTC program
to the region’s tourism and health
sectors. The Sub-Committee
recommended further revisions to the
6 environmental standards which will
be made available for comment to the
wider Caribbean in late 2005. The
Food Safety and Sanitation
standard is industry ready and is
available upon request from Dr.
Lisa Indar-Harrinauth at CAREC:
indarlis@carec.paho.org.
-
CAST Hurricane Training
Workshops: CAST is still hard
at
work providing training to regional
staff this year. CAST has been
implementing its Hurricane Preparedness
and Response workshops:
-
May 18, 2005:
Grenada
in
association with the Grenada Hotel
and Tourism Association (GHTA).
-
July 19-20, 2005:
Belize City Belize at the Princess
Hotel and Casino- 2-day detailed
planning workshop with
co-facilitator Stanley Smith
of SmithOrloff Insurance Adjusters
and in association with the Belize
Tourism Industry Association (BTIA).
-
July 26, 2005:
Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and
Casino in association with the Aruba
Hotel and Tourism Association (AHATA).
-
July 28, 2005:
Trinidad in association with the
Ministry of Tourism and the Trinidad
Hotel and Restaurants and Tourism
Association (THRTA).
For more information about CAST's
training courses please visit the
training page on the website:
http://www.cha-cast.com/Training1.htm
-
CAST Presents at
the Caribbean Media Exchange's
CMExPress On Disaster
Preparedness:
CAST's Program Manager, Jennifer
Dohrmann-Alpert, addressed the
regional media and Caribbean
Officials in Antigua on the
importance of disaster preparedness
and the need for public and private
sector partnerships in this regard.
Jennifer emphasized the importance
of early plan preparation, frequent
drilling and the need for the hotel
sector to coordinate their
preparation efforts with regional
governments and disaster management
agencies. In this regard, she
acknowledged that hotels often
perform a delicate juggling act
while preparing, in order to run
their operations efficiently and to
ensure that they will continue to be
efficient following a disaster. In
closing she reminded, "Just as we
ask the private sector to walk lock
step with the public sector, we also
ask you, the media, to walk lock
step with us by embracing these
issues pertaining to sustainable
tourism for it is through you the
media that we will be able to
educate and elevate these issues in
the region."
-
CAST
Preparing A Usable Framework for
Corporate Sustainability Reporting:
Cornell
University Student Bruce Armstrong
who is in the midst of a summer
internship at CAST is researching
and developing a user-friendly
framework for Corporate
Sustainability Reporting (CSR). In
his own words, “There is an
increasing demand for information
sharing, be it environmental
policies and performance or the more
traditional financial performance.
Luckily, one tool has shown itself
to be an effective way of
approaching both sustainability and
transparency—i.e. the sustainability
report. The demand for both
sustainability and transparency will
continue to grow and impact the
tourism industry. Being able to
adapt and respond to changes in the
business climate defines the
long-term success of a company, and
sustainability reporting is a good
base for approaching these demands.
It is hoped that this framework will
encourage Caribbean tourism
businesses to recognize the
advantages that issuing a
sustainability report can bring.”
Coming soon, a draft of this
Framework for your review and
comment.
-
CAST
Speaks on Radio Broadcast: An
interview of CAST Director, Deirdre
Shurland, conducted by Josue Merced
Reyes for his "Pleasures of the
Caribbean" radio broadcast
will air July 30th 2005 at 10:00am
on 1030am, Puerto Rico Radio.
-
Green Globe 21 International
Eco-Tourism (IES) Standard Training:
CAST is finalizing its plans to
stage, for the first time in the
region, a proficiency training
course in the International
Eco-Tourism Standard in San Juan,
Puerto Rico in early September 2005.
Contact CAST at:
cast@cha-cast.com
to indicate your interest in
participating. Although no prior
experience is required to attend the
training course, those wishing to
achieve the Certificate of
Proficiency and/ or Assessors
Certificate must indicate prior GG21
proficiency training and demonstrate
experience in EMS work.
-
Support the
Cause - Become a Corporate Friend of
CAST!:
CAST continues its fundraising
effort for support of its promotion
of sustainable tourism practices
throughout the region; including,
but not limited to, community based
initiatives and the improvement of
hotel operating standards. CAST is
continually evolving to serve you
better.
The Caribbean is Your Paradise!
Our Mission! Support the cause!
Send in your contribution today!
More info.
Back To The Top
Sustainable
Tourism Roundup
Robert F. Kennedy
Jr. Sets the Tone for the Caribbean
Hotel Industry Conference (CHIC) held at
the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Miami on June
28, 2005:
“The future whispers and the present
shouts! And our job as environmentalists
is to amplify those voices of the future
generation and inject them into the
political dialogue to make sure that the
decisions that we are making today are
not short term decisions that end up
penalizing the next generation of our
community."
These were the heartfelt words of Robert
F. Kennedy, Jr. who invigorated
delegates at the CHIC Opening Ceremony
in Miami. In his keynote address, he
called on the Caribbean region to invest
in the environment in ways that embrace
all walks of life. “One of the big
problems in the Caribbean is that the
shorelines are the easiest areas for
development to reap quick profit,”
Kennedy said. “An impact of this is
that, in too many cases, the development
is done carelessly in ways that not only
contaminate the environment and destroy
the coral reefs but also fences out the
poor members of the public from their
traditional resources.” “The future
whispers and the present shouts!” We
ignore these words of advice at our
peril!
Green Hotel of the Year Awards Given at
CHIC: The
2005 winners of the CHA/AMEX Green Hotel
of the Year Award (large and small
categories) obtained the highest
combined scores, based on their
performance in the following five
criteria: Environmental Management &
Stewardship, Infrastructure, Awareness,
Conservation, and Health & Safety. And
the winners are:
From Left to Right: Alejandro Zozaya
(Sunscape) and Jem Winston (3 Rivers)
-
Small Hotel Category –
3 Rivers Eco Lodge, Dominica:
The property, its management and
staff live by a fundamental goal: to
live in harmony with, and have as
little harmful impact as possible,
on the unspoiled natural beauty of
its surroundings and community.
The sun powers the entire property.
Even the water supply is pumped from
the river using a solar powered
pump, which works in silence to
avoid disturbing the surrounding
natural habitats. To minimize water
consumption, gray water is treated
and then re-used in the garden, and
campers use dry toilets. The hotel
composts all kitchen and garden
waste, and uses that compost to grow
organic fruits and vegetable A
truly original invention is the
modification of a pick up truck that
has been retrofitted to run on used
vegetable oil as well as diesel
fuel. With the ‘cooking oil truck’
they have reduced harmful emissions
by some 93%, and are able to
re-cycle oil that had been
previously discarded by local
restaurants in local rivers and
ravines.
An important aspect of 3 River’s
philosophy is to involve the local
community. Employees come from
local villages, and they are trained
in sustainable living. As an
Eco-Lodge, the hotel owners feel
that community-based tourism is
essential in order to ensure that
their local friends benefit from the
hotel’s existence. Bearing this in
mind, the hotel offers a number of
local community based activities for
the visitors’ enjoyment, which, at
the same time, help many native
people earn money to provide for
their families. The activities give
guests a true taste of life in
Dominica, as seen by a Dominican,
and are as innovative as they are
engaging.
-
Large Hotel Category –
Sunscape Casa del Mar, Dominican
Republic:
An Environmental Management System
is used to set targets and monitor
progress on the property’s
environmental impact, conservation
of water and energy resources, and
improvement of the property’s image
among the community. All departments
continuously assess needs and
identify new projects, as well as
the allocation of funds to undertake
them. Over a three-year period, they
proudly show a 23.5% decrease in
energy consumption! When the
property was originally developed,
many of the natural underground
springs and waterways that ran
through it were disturbed and became
dry. The new management set out to
excavate and reforest to facilitate
the survival of the springs, also
bringing in indigenous fish that
keep the waterways clean. Energy
consumption is controlled thanks to
the design of all public spaces in
such a way that air conditioning is
not needed and natural light filters
in to illuminate the areas. In
addition, solar panels heat the
jacuzzis, photo cells power the
pathway lights, and key cards in the
guest rooms automatically turn the
electricity on and off when the
guest enters or leaves the room.
Reaching out to facilitate
sustainable outcomes for the
surrounding community, the hotel has
connected the town’s sewage to the
hotel’s sewage treatment plant,
ending the days when the community’s
black water would drain out to sea.
This is the most recent example of
their good neighbor policy, which
also includes clean ups,
reforestation, and beautification
projects year-round.
2005 Responsible Tourism Awards -
Nomination Deadline Fast Approaching:
Nominations are open for the 2005
Responsible Tourism Awards. The idea
is to celebrate the best of the
best, and inspire the tourism
industry about what is possible with
responsible tourism. Full details
can be found at
www.responsibletravel.com/awards
New
Ecotourism Center for Bayahibe,
Dominican Republic:
The La Romana & Bayahibe Hotel
Association and the Ministry of
Environment will be working together
this year to build the Ecotourism Center
of Padre Nuestro, in the National Park
of the East. The center promises to
become one of the better ecotourism
attractions of the country. A visitor
center will be created, as well as
ecological trails to the springs.
Visitors to the park will be able to see
endemic species, observe birds,
butterflies and animals that live in the
wild. Samples of pre Hispanic cave art
will also be on display in the many
caves around the springs. The facility
will be open to the public next year.
The
La Romana & Bayahibe Hotel Association
had the vision to relocate the community
that lived in the area of the springs to
a new town built in the nearby area of Benedicto. Many who lived in shacks, now
have their property titles to their own
cement houses with running water,
electricity, sewage installations in an
area that has its own school, community
center, paved streets with sidewalks.
The agreement for the park is expected
to serve as a model for collaboration
between the private tourism sector and
the Ministry of Environment in the
Dominican Republic. The
Dominican Institute for Integral
Development (IDDI) will be implementing
the project that will be funded by the
Association of Hotels of Bayahibe and
FIPA/USAID.
Bonaire
To Recycle Glass:
The waste
treatment company Selibon
indicated that before the end of the
year, the company will have all the
Bonaire hospitality-companies recycling.
Starting September 2005, all tourism
operations have to deposit their
waste-glass in designated containers.
Also, private households will be
involved in this project within a year. According to Rutsel Leito, acting manager of
Selibon and chairman of the recently
established Recycle Bonaire Foundation,
within a few months it should be
possible to process glass into cement. Selibon has ordered about 100
containers for the island and their
data reveals that between the
private households the hospitality
industry, and in the streets,
respectively 830, 100 and 5 tons of
waste glass is being produced on an
annual basis. This will result in
significant reductions to the
landfill once the program is fully
operational.
(source: Aruba AM, June 2005)
New Sustainable
Tourism Best Practices Directory
Available in Spanish Online:
The Rainforest
Alliance has posted its "Directory of Best
Practices, Certification and Codes of
Conduct for Sustainable Tourism" on their
website. The directory is in Spanish and
offers users a complete guide to best
practices and how to implement them.
Information in the directory is grouped
in three categories: environmental, socio-cultural and economic. To learn
more about this directory please go to:
www.rainforest-alliance.com/programs/tourism/certification/bmp-portal/index.html
Back to the Top
|
Feedback From Our
Readers
"I participated in CAST's Hurricane
workshop in Grenada in May. I came with
high expectations because my property
already had a plan in place. I found
that the course helped me improve upon
my existing plan and by the end of the
day I was wishing we had one more day...it
was a fabulous learning experience." R.
Coleman, Grenada
CAST also encourages readers
to send in comments and feedback on
BroadCAST articles, news and
achievements from your properties, or
with your own questions or concerns, All
submissions should be emailed to
cast@cha-cast.com
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Views expressed above are not necessarily those of the
Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism
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