The SGV Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) team held its first in-person Sustainabits session titled “Sustainable Tourism: Increase Footprints, Decrease Carbon Footprints” at the Washington SyCip Development Center. The session was also streamed via MS Teams as part of the inaugural SGV Sustainability Summit 2023. It was attended by more than 500 participants both in-person and online. The session aimed to increase awareness of coastal and marine environments and promote sustainable tourism practices among SGVeans to support marine and coastal conservation.
Executive Director and Chief Mermaid of Save Philippine Seas Anna Oposa presents SPS-developed guidance on sustainable tourism
The session’s resource speaker, Executive Director and Chief Mermaid of Save Philippine Seas (SPS) Anna Oposa discussed topics on coastal and marine environments and key issues surrounding these ecosystems. She also talked about mangrove forests, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows, and described the ecological benefits of each environment, as well as the threats they face.
SGV Consulting Partner Conrad Allan M. Alviz presents a certificate of appreciation to resource speaker Anna Oposa for sharing her knowledge and insights on sustainable tourism
To help SGVeans become more responsible tourists, Anna also detailed and emphasized different sustainable tourist practices. These practices include respecting the locals, leaving no trace behind, and not taking shells as souvenirs, among others. She concluded her presentation by sharing how to take part in coastal and marine conservation efforts. She then led a fun and insightful open discussion to answer questions from the participants.
As part of SGV’s commitment to sustainability, participants were encouraged to declare their commitment to sustainable tourism and to support marine and coastal conservation. The Declaration of Commitment segment was led by Sustainabits team-in-charge and CCaSS Senior Director Crystal Aleli Cornell, CCaSS Senior Associate Russel James Andrade, and CCaSS Associate Franchezka Mendoza.
The SGV Sustainable Actions for Value-Creation and Enablement (SAVE) Council’s Sustainabits initiative is a series of half-hour webcasts covering ideas, movements, principles, and leading industry practices regarding sustainability, social equity, and climate change.
