With the easing of travel restrictions, beach resorts are preparing to receive tourists eager to travel after nearly two years of confinement at home. So-called “revenge travellers” are already making plans, booking flights and packing their bags as summer quickly approaches.
While most resorts are trying to bring their facilities and staff to a pre-pandemic state, others like Club Paradise Palawan, located on Dimakya Island, are looking to go a step further and focus on sustainable tourism.
One of Club Paradise Palawan’s latest sustainability initiatives is the EcoConserve program. What is particularly interesting in this initiative is the GarMa (Garbage Management) working group, which has found very interesting ways to reduce waste by recycling non-biodegradable waste and using biodegradable waste as fertilizer for the nearby Taranuman organic farm.
For non-biodegradable materials, the station has found ways to use old tires, glass and plastic bottles, plastic waste and more. These items were given “new life” and repurposed: old pickup truck tires from the station’s transport fleet stacked and embedded in the steps of the Eagle’s Point hiking trail; used wine bottles have been transformed into pretty vases for the rooms and the restaurant; oversized spools of yarn became beautiful plant shelves; tree trunks washed up on the shore were saved and turned into chairs for the Sand Bar; and excess fabrics were sewn into face masks and donated to Coron Town frontliners.
Another initiative of the EcoConserve program is the Ecobricks project. Resort staff learned how to make strong Ecobricks using plastic waste (empty sachets, wrappers, etc.) and soda bottles. Ecobricks were used to build a Vermi House (for African Night Crawlers) at Taranuman Farm. The GarMa working group has also organized several ecobrick-making training sessions for local primary school students in Coron, as well as beach clean-ups so they can gather more materials to recycle into ecobricks.
Club Paradise Palawan’s enduring efforts have not gone unnoticed. In fact, they recently received a 2nd place trophy at the 2022 Green Destinations Story Awards. In the Environment and Climate category, they were among the six destinations chosen as finalists by the Green Destinations jury. They have been recognized with Gocta – Kuelap Amazonas in Peru, Tartu in Estonia, Tibau do Sul in Brazil, Margaret River in Australia and Terres de L’ebre in Spain. They were also the only Philippine property in the Top 100 Green Destinations list.
“We want to send a strong message out there that sustainability and respect for the environment should be part of everyone’s life,” Club Paradise Palawan hotel manager Joegil Magtanggol Escobar said in a video message. “We are just visitors to Dimakya Island where the private island resort of Club Paradise Palawan is located. The wildlife that our guests see roaming the resort freely are the original inhabitants of the islands and it is right that we respect their home and do something to ensure the island is preserved for future generations,” he said. he concluded.
Club Paradise Palawan is a resort of Discovery Hospitality, a local Filipino hotel group that operates the Philippines’ most luxurious hotels and resorts in Metro Manila, Boracay and Palawan.
For more information on Club Paradise Palawan and its advocacy activities, please visit https://www.clubparadisepalawan.com/discover/environmental-sustainability/.
ADVT
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