Biodiversity and Tourism in Central America and the Caribbean

News in the Framework of the European Business & Biodiversity Campaign

 

Biodiversity and Tourism in Central America and the Caribbean

For two years now, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Global Nature Fund have been working together with partners in Central America and the Caribbean to raise the awareness of tourism stakeholders for the protection of biodiversity.

The initiative, supported by the EU's EuropeAid programme, focuses on the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Haiti. In autumn 2018 the activities were extended to the destination "Lago Atitlán" in Guatemala.
Some interim results:
 
Protection and renaturation of coral reefs
  • 12 coral gardens with more than 4,000 coral fragments were established. In four coral gardens the species diversity of the corals could be increased significantly. The coral fragments are used to renature the natural reefs.
  • Foundation of the Dominican Coastal Restoration Consortium for the exemplary management of coral gardens (e.g. standardization of evaluation parameters).
  • Haiti and Honduras: training of diving schools, numerous workshops and talks to raise awareness of the tourism sector.     
Integration of biodiversity conservation into the management of tourism enterprises.
  • Train-the-Trainer in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Guatemala: 30 experts were trained to carry out the Biodiversity Check
  • Biodiversity Check: More than 30 hotels and leisure activity providers have implemented the check and are working on a Biodiversity Action Plan.
  • 12 tourist attractions that attach particular importance to the protection of biological diversity
  • Promotion of biodiversity-friendly offers by tour operators in the EU.
  • Implementation of the first TourCert certification in the municipality of Las Galeras (Samaná,DR).
Ten tourism companies in the Dominican Republic are now contributing to a coral reef renaturation fund. The partners are confident that there will be more companies in the future that will also participate financially in biodiversity projects.

Further information on the project: Biodiversity in the Caribbean
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