Aid in Action
Local Sustainable Tourism Advocate Initiates Green Globe Certification for Hotels on the South Coast
Community leader attends world renowned environmental certification conference
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Thursday, August 30, 2007
USAID Jamaica
“Based on the knowledge I received from attending the Green Globe conference, I will now work with the community to achieve Green Globe environmental certification along the South Coast. Thanks to USAID’s help, I am now knowledgeable enough to move this initiative forward in my community” says Community Project Manager Eric Morrison.
Mr. Eric Morrison is working at the BREDS non-profit association established by local community leaders to provide assistance for cultural heritage initiatives and environmental awareness in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth. Additionally, Mr. Morrison has been working for the past several years to improve environmental management of the hotel sector and improve waste disposal in neighboring communities along the South Coast of Jamaica.
Through the REACT grant program, Mr. Morrison received funding to attend The Green Globe International and Caribbean Green Tourism Conference from October 31st to November 3rd 2006 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The 2006 Green Globe and Green Tourism Caribbean Conference presented participants, like Mr. Morrison with an extensive combination of international and national keynote speakers, engaging concurrent sessions and interactive regional themed stream sessions. The topics covered at the event included sustainable destinations, planning for emergencies and disasters, maximizing the benefits of sustainability, certification essentials, green marketing, green technologies and suppliers, ecotourism and innovative practices.
As a result of USAID’s help, Mr. Morrison learnt the important steps in the Green Globe benchmarking progress and plans to apply these skills in order to improve the Treasure Beach area hospitality industry and its impact of the environment and the community. The skills he gained by attending the Green Globe conference enable him to share knowledge with the local community in order to measure, monitor and make ongoing improvements to environmental performance along the South Coast.
“Based on the knowledge I received from attending the Green Globe conference, I can now work with the community to assist small guest cottages and villas in order to achieve Green Globe environmental certification”, says Mr. Morrison. Through his efforts at making the tourism industry more sustainable, he is urging community members on a daily basis to contribute to conservation efforts, so that the development of the community may continue.