Report on resource efficiency and reducing emissions in the Dominican Republic

UN Environment, an advisory committee member of One Planet network Sustainable Tourism Programme, has launched ‘Roadmap for Low Carbon and Resource Efficient Accommodation in the Dominican Republic.’

This is a roadmap to a sustainable and resilient tourism accommodation sector. The report identifies three systemic solutions to reduce emissions and improve resource efficiency for resilient tourism in the Dominican Republic. Two years of research, data collection and analysis have led to the identification of environmental hotspots relating to GHG emissions. This report aims to help the tourism sector to become a guardian of the natural beauty of the country, on which it relies, and showcase the hospitality of its people, their diversity and their culture.

This research is based on an analysis of the tourism value chain, meaning not only the activities that happen within the hotels and restaurants, but also including all the activities that supply them with energy and materials. It was launched by UN Environment in May 2019, in Punta Cana. The event was attended by 75 representatives from the tourism sector.

A Spanish language version is also available online. 

Background

The Dominican Republic has responded positively to the global United Nations call to join efforts in the fight against Climate Change and its effects. To this end, the country has been developing a series of important initiatives in this regard, not only because it is one of the most vulnerable countries facing the impacts of climate change, but because it has an atomized economy in highly affected sectors, such as agriculture or tourism.

The Dominican tourism sector is mainly concentrated on the coasts of the country and that is why it has also actively joined the actions proposed in the project ‘Transforming tourism value chains in developing countries and Small Island Developing States to accelerate more resource efficient, and low carbon development’.

Check out roadmaps for other countries: https://www.oneplanetnetwork.org/country-roadmaps

Unsplash - Jean Estrella