Published on : Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Green Fins, established by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), recently released its list of Top 10 Dive Centers in Asia and the Indian Ocean. The selected centers actively work to reduce their impact to the marine environment in which they operate.
After a thorough assessment by Green Fins, El Nido Resorts’ Pangulasian Island and Lagen Island in Northern Palawan, Philippines, placed on the top two spots respectively.
“This is another significant international recognition on El Nido Resorts’ efforts and compliance with stringent criteria on sustainability and protection of the environment,” says Laurent Lamasuta, El Nido Resorts President.
Businesses who have managed to get the lowest assessment scores out of all of the assessed Green Fins dive centers within the last 18 months form the Top 10 List. The lower the score, the less environmental impact or threat there is to the coral reefs and other marine life.
“Being on the list affirms our quadruple bottom line of putting environmental stewardship and community engagement as priorities together with financial growth and organizational development,” says Lamasuta. “Our conscious efforts in keeping our guests and the townsfolk involved in environmental protection prove to preserve El Nido’s beauty,” he adds.
Samantha Craven, Project Coordinator, explains that “Green Fins are the only recognised environmental set of standards with a comprehensive management approach to provide guidance and support for business owners and national authorities to promote best practices.”
“This is primarily done through the private sector adopting a Code of Conduct that will help mitigate their impacts when carrying out marine tourism activities. The Code of Conduct consists of 15 points, which target environmental threats posed by the tourism industry, both under water and on land,” she adds.
Green Fins members receive the training and the tools to promote environmental education and awareness, tapping into the tourists and the diving community, which is shifting more and more towards eco-friendly initiatives as a result of the demand from the consumer.
“We have looked at the scores of all dive centers assessed across the participating countries of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Maldives and the Philippines, but we only take into considerations scores that were collected in the last 18 months,” says Ms. Craven. “These are considered active members who are doing their best to reduce their score, and subsequently their impact,” Craven points out.
Source:-El Nido Resorts
Tags: El Nido Resorts recognized by GREEN FINS as Asia's Top Dive Centers, Hotel News
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