Cebu resort proves sound environment practices make for a good investment

GOOD environment results in good business. This working principle runs a quaint piece of paradise on the island of Cebu—Alegre Beach Resort. A penchant for nurturing nature runs in their blood, from the owners to managers to staff members, and every operation has that innate character of caring for the environment. Fronting the resort premises is the Alegre House Reef, a 200-meter-by- 800-meter sea marine sanctuary. A continuing program running nearly 10 years, the Alegre House Reef protects and preserves the reef’s ecosystem. Collecting coral polyp predators, suctioning silt from reef flats, placing fish shelters, planting sea grass, reseeding giant clams, culturing mussel, monitoring of marine life cover a typical day for Alegre resident biologist Gerie Sola. The results are astounding—incredibly wonderful swimming and diving spots, rich and colorful marine life. Teeming there are rare large mullet fish, elusive seahorses, green sea turtles, barracuda and many more. Resort guests feed the fish by the hand, either underwater or by the beach. More than 5,000 trees and seedlings and about 10,000 flowering plants, palms, grasses and shrubs are in the resort fertilized and grown under the Alegre’s Tree Planting and Greening Program. The trees attract more birds and native animals, like huge monitor lizards, which have made the resort their home. A wastewater-treatment facility prevents direct wastewater run-offs. Water is collected, treated and recycled, then used to irrigate the resort. The dried sludge from the wastewater-treatment facility is mixed with garden soil, which is then reused as organic fertilizers. Rainwater is collected in tanks and is used for laundry and washing and bathing in the staff quarters, cafeteria and locker rooms. Hot water for the kitchen is heated on the brick oven to conserve energy. Staff and guests are regularly advised to keep doors and windows of air-conditioned rooms and offices closed, as emissions from them contribute to global warming. Signages are also put in guest rooms, advising guests to maximize use of linens as residues from detergents used in laundry is also detrimental to the environment. But Alegre management does not stop there and takes the initiative to educate its neighboring communities. Alegre has partnered with officials in local government units, experts from Silliman University and the University of San Carlos, officers from the Philippine Coast Guard, and many more advocacy groups and institutions to conduct advocacy campaigns for waste segregation and recycling and regular coastal and underwater cleanup drives. To date, the local government units of Sogod (where Alegre is situated), Borbon, Tabogon, Bogo and San Remigio have successfully established and maintained their marine-protected areas. Alegre trained their fish wardens and provided technical and diving instructions and reef check/monitoring. Nine marine sanctuaries have been established in the area. Alegre envisions a network of sanctuaries in the northeastern coast of Cebu—independent but complimenting and supporting each other—with it as the nucleus—to serve as a springboard where the marine ecosystem could rebound and recover from the excesses of the past. It always pays to nurture nature.