Successful Event Took Place on the Occasion of the International Coastal Cleanup Day

Successful Event Took Place on the Occasion of the International Coastal Cleanup Day
La Romana-Bayahibe, October 2 2015

Latino Americans: 500 Years of History supports the American public’s exploration of the rich and varied history and experiences of Latinos, who have helped shape the United States over the last five centuries and who have become, with more than 50 million people, the country’s largest minority group. The cornerstone of the project is the six-part documentary film Latino Americans, created for PBS in 2013 by the WETA public television station and supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The award-winning series chronicles Latinos in the United States from the 16th century to present day.

About 200 volunteers, employees and partners of the Tourism Cluster participated in the activity whose objective was to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the coastal and marine resources in the Dominican Republic.

This year’s event included the cleanup of over 10 kilometers of beaches, where paper, cardboard, wood, plastic and organic waste were collected from the Dominicus Beach, the Bayahibe Beach, Magallanes, the public beach of the Canoa Hotel, and the Catalina Island.

For several hours, volunteers collected plastic bottles, cans, glass bottles, shoes, glasses, plates and other materials such as foam, buckets, dolls, vehicle spear parts, pieces of wood, sponges, ropes, pieces of sacks, engine rubber, pieces of cloth and underwear, among others.

The cleanup day was sponsored by Agua Alaska and Agua Pelícano, which provided refreshments for the volunteers.

Among the businesses and institutions that participated in the operation, in addition to the Association of Hotels of La Romana-Bayahibe and the Tourism Cluster of La Romana-Bayahibe, were the Ministry of the Environment, Parque Nacional del Este, Armada Dominicana, and CESTUR.

Other participants included the Viva Wyndham Dominicus hotels, Be Live Collection Canoa, Iberostar Hacienda Dominicus, Catalonia Gran Dominicus, Dreams La Romana, Fundemar, and residents of the Bayahibe community.

Cleanup Program
Ana García, Executive Director of AHRB and CTRB, reported that each year, in response to the request of the tour operators, and because of the great concern that exists regarding the level of pollution and waste accumulation in the protected area, “we undertook the coastal cleanup operation as part of the extensive program of environmental management we run throughout the year.”

She explained that the goal of the environmental management program is to create awareness among the public and to promote change in the practice of responsible use of the coasts and seabed of the tourist destination, in order to curb pollution.

García explained that the environmental management program they run includes cleanup and reforestation events, lectures and workshops on waste management, recycling, resource conservation and climate change. They take place at schools, SMEs and among the general population.

About the AHRB
The Association of Hotels of La Romana-Bayahibe (AHRB) was created in the year 2000 to ensure the sustainable development of the tourist area, to carry out the hotel operations using friendly practices with the environment, to promote the conservation of natural resources, and to implement social programs aimed at neighboring communities.

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