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It all started with the glittering turquoise blue Caribbean Sea.
And
then, a thatch-roof airport. This was the sight that greeted me as the
plane descended on the runway. Swaying coconut palm trees. Rocking on a
beach hammock. A morning jog along the coast to watch the sunrise.
Thatch-roof huts glowing in silhouette against the sunset. An endless
array of colorful fruits of papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, mango. A
postcard paradise. Welcome to the Caribbean’s best kept treasure: the Punta Cana resort in the eastern tip of Dominican Republic.
What
brings most people to Punta Cana is vacation; what brought me and
fifteen other journalists to Punta Cana was a week-long seminar, “How Environmental Issues Influence Our Daily Lives: The Nexus Between Environment, Economics and Business” by The New York Times Institute on the Environment.
We came from diverse ages, experience, and media backgrounds. From
spread out locations of New York, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Washington DC, California, Montana and
internationally, from Johannesburg, Montreal and Santo Domingo – we all
united in Punta Cana resort with one purpose: to learn about the
current environmental issues. It is my first time to Dominican Republic
and the first time to the Caribbean. I hope staying at a luxurious
resort will not inhibit me from having a real experience.
The
Punta Cana resort was founded by Ted Kheel, and his partner Frank
Rainieri over 30 years ago. A labor lawyer from New York he invested in
this eastern part of Dominican Republic at a time when the area was
barren and unknown. As a result of the resort and tourism, the region’s
economy has been transformed, providing all sorts of employment for the
Dominicans. But not just the locals benefit, also benefiting are their
neighbors, the Haitians. These two countries share the island of
Hispaniola, a significant historical location as it was first stop for
Christopher Columbus when he first arrived in 1492 on his way to
America. Ever since reading: Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,
I’ve been intrigued by how history and environment affects a country’s
economy. Though Dominican Republic and Haiti share the same island,
with similar environments, resources, climate, and a history as former
colonies - their current situations are totally different. Haiti is one
of the most impoverished nations on earth and is the poorest country in
the Western Hemisphere. So poor are the Haitians that they escape to
Dominican Republic to become ‘environmental refugees’.
Less than
a century ago, Haiti was still a lush country with 60% forests covering
the lands. Since then, the trees have been cut down and today Haiti
only has 1 percent of its land covered in forest. Its neighbor,
Dominican Republic on the other hand has environment that is protected.
Its economy continues to grow and there is interaction with the
international community. From this simple case study, I learned how
vital it is for a country to be aware of its environmental problems.
Unlike most resort owners in the world, Ted Kheel believes and supports
environmental sustainability. He understood early on that the business
of tourism is also a business of preserving the natural environment. Punta Cana Ecological Foundation
was established to preserve the coastal zone, monitor water quality and
has a recycling center and an Ecological Park and Reserve. Punta Cana
Resort is setting an example of how it’s possible to develop a region,
maintain economic growth and still preserve the environment.
Each day the journalists had the seminar classes in Ted Kheel’s resort home, Casa Guayacan.
We had a field trip one afternoon that took us outside our
Paradise-land to the shantytowns. Located in an area around the resort,
this is where the resort workers and locals live. People are poor, with
homes made of plywood or sheet metal. Our van passed by fields of
migrant workers, of all shades of skin of black, chocolate and caramel,
working on building the roads, gardening the plants, etc. We visited a
medical clinic and an elementary school, all established by the resort
owner to help the people in the impoverished area. Journalists get the
rare privilege to view things differently, seeking out the
extraordinary in the ordinary – just by definition of their profession.
And whether in written words or photographs or moving images, they
transcend what they have learned to others. Environmental journalists
especially, I feel are humbled by their exposures of what they see. The
interactions during the week-long seminars, both in and outside of
class were tremendously dynamic - and because of all of them, Punta
Cana was not only alluring for the sight but also stimulating for the
intellect too.
As I sat on the plane heading back to New York
City, I thought how Punta Cana turned out to be the perfect location
for an environmental/economics seminar and a great introduction to
Dominican Republic. It was as one fellow journalist said, “A
rejuvenating experience learning about environment, socio-economics and
life in general that left me with a great will to travel more and do
better work". The experience has made me eager to return to the
Caribbean. The next time I hope to be speaking with the locals in
Spanish and making some great films. But until that next opportunity, I
will always have the image of the coconut palm trees swaying in the
foreground of the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea.
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| | Posted 4/10/2008 7:57 AM - 77 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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