The Dominican Republic seeks to show leadership in protecting the natural beauty that it relies on to be the leading Caribbean tourism destination. On 1 July 2019, the country together with the United Nations launched the Roadmap to the general public.
The Roadmap for Low Carbon and Resource Efficient Accommodation in the Dominican Republic was first presented in May 2019 during a meeting attended by 75 representatives from the tourism sector in Punta Cana. The country seeks to play its part to minimize the impacts of climate change and pollution.
The roadmap provides context, highlights key issues to be addressed, sets goals and targets, identifies a range of solutions and actions and maps the stakeholders that need to come together to help to deliver them.
The vision for the 18-month roadmap is for an environmentally sustainable, resilient and competitive accommodation subsector in the Dominican Republic that will become globally recognized as a guardian of the country’s natural and cultural diversity, supported by the hospitality of its people.
The roadmap sets five targets for the accommodation sector in the Dominican Republic: to reduce by 25% greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (from a 2020 baseline), reduce food waste by half, a 25% of reduction in non-renewable energy use, the complete elimination of single-use plastics and the uptake of a sustainability certification for hotels.
“This roadmap would not have been possible without strong cooperation between the public and the private sector,” says Olga Rosario, director of the Sustainable Production and Consumption Department in the Ministry of Environment. “It’s the first time they have collaborated to establish clear targets to achieve sustainable development for the tourism sector.”
UN Environment
One Planet Network
One Planet Network
2 July 2019