Dominican Institute of Environmental Rights Presents International Awards to Eco Schools, Green Key and Blue Flag Organizations

The Dominican Institute of Environmental Rights (IDARD) recently held a special ceremony to distribute awards from international organizations to local entities in the Dominican Republic. The international organizations Eco Escuelas, Llave Verde and Bandera Azul 2018/2019 handed out awards to 76 local organizations and institutions for the efforts they have carried out in support of the environment and sustainability.

The event was held on Thursday, January 24 at the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development’s (GFDD) sister organization, la Fundación Global Democracia yDesarrollo (Funglode) headquarters in Santo Domingo, as part of an existing cooperation agreement between Funglode and the local Dominican organizations.

Opening remarks were delivered by Yamile Eusebio, Director of Funglode’s Educational Activities Program and Director of the New York Office of GFDD.

Eusebio highlighted the importance of environmental issues for both GFDD and Funglode. The Director of the GFDD New York Office also thanked IDARD for including GFDD/Funglode as participants in such initiatives.

Ydalia Acevedo, Vice Minister of Coastal and Marine Resources at the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, explained the importance of the award-winning programs, which preserve the environment and contribute substantially to the wellbeing of the Dominican Republic.

José Amado Rodríguez, Director of the Ministry of Education’s Environmental Education Department, then spoke and stressed that environmental education is an important aspect of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Representatives from the Bandera Azul (Blue Flag) national jury, consisting of 11 national institutions, distributed the awards to the organizations and institutions present.

In the category Llave Verde 2018/2019 (Green Key), eight important hotels – operated by the Iberostar and Sirenis hotel groups – received awards for their development of sound sustainable tourism policies in the ecosystems that surround their facilities.

In the category Eco Escuelas 2018/2019 (Eco Schools), 39 educational centers received awards for their successful educational programs in sustainable development and efforts to improve their surrounding communities. In this category, the following companies were recognized for their continued support:  Gildan, Ege Haina, Unilever, Cemex, Fundación Propagas, and Coalición Río Higuamo.

In the Bandera Azul 2018/2019 (Blue Flag) category, 29 Dominican beaches were distinguished for excellent standards to protect environmental quality, security and accessibility. Many of the beaches nominated are those managed by the following hotel brands: Bahia Principe, Iberostar, Paradisus, Occidental, Barceló, Dreams, Hilton, Be Live, Royalton, Palladium, Catalonia, Viva Wyndham, Sirenis, Natura Park, Eden Roc, Hard Rock, Casa de Campo and Oasis I. The latter is the first public beach to receive the Blue Flag award.