Essays

hacienda tres rios: Environmental responsibility, sustainable development and luxury toruism
Hotel Hacienda Tres Ríos, located in the heart of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, has been developed with the mission of being a model of sustainable development, managing the harmonious equilibrium between the care for the environment and the amenities that luxury tourism demands.

From its initial stages Hacienda Tres Ríos has established itself as a natural tourist site, having adopted a model of tourism development based on environmental principles, which it has implemented through its Environmental Management System. This system is the conduit through which sustainability programs are being undertaken, such as reforestation, comprehensive waste management and the intelligent use and conservation of natural resources. This entire concept of environmental responsibility, sustainable development and luxury nature tourism has been implemented from the planning and design stage, through the construction stage and all the way to the operational phase since 2008. This has led Hacienda Tres Ríos to be recognized worldwide with alliances, accreditations and certifications by important ecological programs such as World Heritage Alliance, Green Globe and Rain Forest Alliance – and earning as a result national and international recognition as a luxury ecological destination.

Hacienda Tres Ríos, based on this concept of responsible tourism development, established a link between the environment, society, culture and the local economy. It is a compound composed of five hotels, a marina and an eco-tourism park located in a mangrove system of caves, sinkholes and – as its name implies - an estuary between three underground rivers. This location offers surroundings of great fragility and importance to the region. Therefore the construction of the hotel was undertaken through a special environmental zoning, which placed the infrastructure in areas of lesser environmental value or already affected naturally – and complying with the criterion of having the least possible impact on the existing ecosystems in the area. Some of the projects that were undertaken during the construction stage include:

• Rehabilitation and reforestation to regenerate the coastal dune which had been lost naturally through the years;
• Preservation of the sinkholes and caverns, placing any type of construction at a distance of at least 20 meters from these natural structures;
• Construction of buildings on 780 piles and over a foundation of permeable rock, so that the ground level of the hotel is almost three meters above sea level, thus ensuring that the natural flow of water, nutrients and fauna among the zone’s various ecosystems;
• Placement of drainage plumbing below all paths to maintain the natural flow of the water in the mangrove area; and
• Use of pre-fabricated elements to elevate the entire infrastructure, avoiding as much as possible the impact of construction work.

• Operation of heat exchange systems using natural gas, contributing to the prevention of pollution by avoiding the use of fossil fuels.
• Program for the rescue of flora and fauna, based on environmental studies, implementing policies for the care of the environment through the monitoring of flora and fauna, reforestation campaigns and environmental education.
• Program for the comprehensive management of wastes and environmental awareness to contribute to the reduction of waste, the reuse of products and the recycling of materials.
• Education on sustainability geared to partners.
• Carbon-free stays through the Travel Green program.

For more information please contact: foundation@caribbeanhotelandtourism.com
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