BERLIN—EL Nido Resorts has always been synonymous with environmental protection and sustainable tourism.
The few times I visited their properties on Miniloc and Lagen Island in Palawan, dubbed by conservationists as “The Last Frontier,” I noticed over the years how their resorts were always clean and organized, their surrounding waters always crystal clear, and the coral reefs underneath remaining lush and profuse with tropical colors, with a myriad of fish and other marine wildlife thriving.
So it’s no surprise that Lio Tourism Estate, the newest property of the resort company now owned by Ayala Land Inc., was recognized as among the world’s Sustainable Destinations Top 100 for 2018, during the awarding ceremonies at the ITB Berlin on March 6 at the Messe Berlin-Palais am Funkturm. ITB is the largest travel trade fair in the world, and while the Philippines had a modest representation, many private stakeholders in the delegation were quite busy answering queries from international buyers.
In between his very full schedule, I had a short chat Joey Bernardino, El Nido’s group director of sales and marketing, about the prestigious award he received on behalf of the company.
From the beginning of its construction, Lio Tourism Estate aimed to be green. It broke the usual cycle of rating contractors based on their capability to beat deadlines and produce good output alone. “We added the need for them to understand why we must follow strict environmental standards through environmental education seminars,” said Joey. This, coupled with the implementation of policies, resulted in positive changes to workers’ behaviors and work practices, he added.
He narrated that most contractors and construction workers in the Philippines are generally more focused on getting the job done, while being remiss in environment-friendly practices. “If left unchecked, proprietors and project developers might end up with illegally sourced building materials, unsanitary work areas [e.g., trash scattered around, cigarette butts tossed everywhere, urinating or, worse, defecating in random areas], and degraded natural areas due to indiscriminate cutting of trees and poaching of wildlife. We saw this as a definite horror story we didn’t want happening in our area, especially considering the wealth of natural resources we have in the estate.”
To solve this, he said, Lio applied a multipronged approach, starting first by placing a sustainability officer in the estate, even during the construction stage. The officer required all contractors to undergo the Be GREEN (Guard, Respect, Educate El Nido) orientation prior to the start of any work. In the orientation, the principles of impact management, leave no trace, clean-as-you-go, child-safe environments, and wildlife-friendly practices were discussed. “We try our best to make sure that each and every contractor and worker understand why we do things the way we do, so that they don’t just blindly follow what we tell them to. With every understanding comes the respect, which then pushes them to become stewards themselves,” Joey explained.
The Be GREEN orientations allowed the estate to easily apply other approaches. “We created policies on sustainable sourcing, waste management, smoking, and preservation of trees affected by development to name a few. Each policy had corresponding fees for violations, which act as negative reinforcements,” explained Joey.
To further ensure compliance, Lio conducted random site inspections, with site reports produced and given to contractors who had issues to improve on. The estate also frequently interacted with safety and pollution control officers so that they were able to provide guidance when needed, and come up with solutions to various concerns together, he added.
Management soon noticed significant changes in the workers’ behaviors and their work practices in general, Joey underscored, like proposing their own solutions in the balling and moving of trees; going to designated smoking areas for smoking breaks; properly handling, storing and disposing hazardous wastes; cleaning up work areas and quickly responding to requests to conduct housekeeping; segregating wastes and recording generated volumes daily; using their own plastic food containers, utensils and water bottles to support the tourism estate’s plastic ban; and organizing cleanups of the coastal area and along the road, to name a few.
Despite the government’s recent crackdown on resorts and other establishments in El Nido town found violating environmental and easement regulations, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the local government and the Department of Tourism have all recognized Lio Estate as a model of sustainable tourism. With each government audit, the estate is used as a baseline for improvements that need to be implemented throughout the municipality.
Located within Bacuit Bay on the west coast of Northern Palawan, Lio’s present crop of equally sustainable resorts are Casa Kalaw, Hotel Covo, Balai Adlao, El Nido Cove Resorts, Seda Lio and hosts a variety of restaurants and bars, with the same mindset of respecting the environment.
The Sustainable Destinations Top 100 competition is organized by the Partnership for the Top 100 and the ITB Earth Award, recognizing tourism destinations that have worked hard to make a difference and take sustainability seriously.