Tourism faces a critical sustainability challenge. Particularly, destinations that are close to oceans. The worst consequences of emitting so much carbon occur underwater. Starting in March 2023, sea surface temperatures began breaking daily records, and have remained that way ever since. This is a bad sign for hurricane season and the health of ocean ecosystems. The reefs bleached by the heat are the charred jungles of the sea. The sea burns. And it is no small thing. According to the report State of the world’s coral reefs: 2020coral reefs are home to 25% of marine species and provide “coastal protection, well-being, food and economic security for hundreds of millions of people.”
“How do we do sustainable and responsible tourism?” That was the question that Erika Harms has asked herself throughout her career, who seeks to build bridges between industry, governments and civil society to achieve environmental and social progress. He has worked in regional, national and global contexts; led the development of more than $50 million in multi-sector partnerships to protect the environment and improve the human condition, collaborated on the World Resources Institutehas more than a decade of experience in the field of responsible tourism and the sustainable ocean economy.
Among other projects, he participated in the founding of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and has spent the last two years coordinating the advisory board of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economyin which 14 countries committed to sustainably managing their ocean waters. Now, he leads the Wave of Change movement, that has allowed the Iberostar Group to lead the path of responsible recovery in the tourism sector, recognized by the WTTC, the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, the UNWTO and UNEP, among many others. In addition to its work in the Circular Economy and Responsible Consumption of fish, the work of the Mallorcan hotel group in coastal health has become a differentiating factor. The work of discovering, protecting and restoring the ecosystems surrounding its resorts has highlighted scientific rigor and creative solutions.
The initiative is based on five pillars. First, the circular economy, where they drive business models through the regenerative and restorative sourcing, use and end-use of water, energy and products in the built environment. In five years they have applied strategies to eliminate single-use plastics, not send waste to landfills and decarbonize operations in accommodations. Second, Nature-Based Solutions, where they restore the services of coastal ecosystems to reduce and mitigate the risks of climate change, improve the quality of the beach and water in coastal destinations and enhance green spaces for well-being in the coastal areas. Finally, they take care of the so-called Blue Foods, Climate Action and Destination Management.
In their hotels they have a kind of Noah’s ark for colares; a system that integrates artificial intelligence to manage their food waste while cooperating with local scientists who are making a huge effort for conservation. They have also made changes in electrifying their operations, transitioning to renewable energy, restoring coral reefs and coastal dunes, phasing out F gases, adopting green hydrogen technology, working with communities local and the promotion of blue foods.
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