Invasive Species audio story ATH

The speaker, a science writer, reflects on her experience as a tourist in the Dominican Republic and explores the impact of tourism on the country. She interviews a local driver and the Vice President of Sustainability for a tourism conglomerate, who discuss the economic benefits and challenges of tourism. They also mention the negative impact on the environment and the need for sustainable practices. The speaker concludes that while being a tourist may have negative consequences, tourists can also be a force for positive change by advocating for sustainability. Hi, everyone. My name is Anne. I'm a science writer based in Philadelphia. As someone who reads a lot of science news, I feel like I'm constantly hearing about invasive species. These could be specific types of foreign fish, plants, insects, or other animals that thrive at the expense of the native flora and fauna. Recently, though, I had the experience of being a member of an invasive species for a time as a tourist in another country. The Dominican Republic is a tropical paradise. It's part of the chain of islands that encircles the Caribbean Sea. It's a land of lush green fields, beige sand, and gorgeous aquamarine water. But in certain parts of the country, the beaches sound a little more like this. This is a resort I vacationed at in October 2023. Let me set the scene. People in bathing suits lounge in the sun, in the shade, or in the water. Many of them sip fruity drinks. Some people are sunburnt, some are tanned. Many of them speak English, but I also hear resort guests speaking Spanish or occasionally German or French. After a dip in the ocean, I sit on a shaded lounge chair on the beach, drying off and trying to listen to the waves. I think to myself, this would be really peaceful if it weren't for all that music and chatter. And then it hits me. I'm the foreign invader here. I'm part of the human tide that washes over Caribbean countries every year, eager to soak up some sun, some booze, and good food. I wonder, how does my presence affect the people who live here? And how does my presence affect the place itself? On route from the resort back to the airport, I interview our driver, a man with a medium skin tone wearing a black polo shirt. His name is Jeffrey. He patiently answers my questions, translated by my friend Luke, as we cruise by vast fields of sugar cane. Jeffrey tells us that in the eastern peninsula of the Dominican Republic, where we're located, the economy fluctuates according to the seasons of high and low traffic. COVID hit the area hard, of course. But the government provided stimulus money for service workers out of jobs. And the DR has bounced back. In 2022, the country exceeded its pre-pandemic visitor numbers, a feat no other tourist destination has yet managed. Jeffrey says, we take great care of tourists, because for those of us in the east of the country, we live 95% off of tourism. Later, I spoke with Jake Keel. He's the Vice President of Sustainability for Grupo Punta Cana, a conglomerate that owns hotels, resorts, and housing communities. And it owns the Punta Cana International Airport, the busiest airport in the country. Jake tells me that tourism's impact on the Dominican people is somewhat mixed. You've got this huge, explosive economic growth. And that provides all kinds of positive things for the local community, right? You've got jobs, you've got economic opportunity. But then you also have this negative side, which you don't have water treatment facilities for the local community, the same way you do for the hotels. The waste management is kind of a mess. You don't have public education. You don't have health services. Not to mention, some of the most beautiful spots on the coastline are now mobbed with vacationers, making them much less enjoyable for locals to visit. There's really strong pros, but there's also enormous risks on the local community. Of course, some of the most concerning effects are the impact that tourism has had on the environment. Things that the tourism industry has done, whether it's lack of water treatment impacting coral reefs and coastal habitats, there's definitely been mistakes made in certain projects. Jake believes that sustainability makes good business sense. The beach is really one of the major attractions for visiting the Dominican Republic. And so, if you don't protect your beach and you have to pay to restore it, that is very expensive. And if consumers complain about environmentally unfriendly practices, businesses will listen. The consumer has more power than ever. So, what I really recommend for tourists is make noise and really require these destinations to hold up their end of the bargain. Complain to the hotel, why are you still using plastic bottles in 2023? Sell me a reusable container with your logo on it, and give me places where I can fill up my water bottle. There's a million ways to solve these problems if the destination is really being pushed to do it. To really make sustainability mainstream, we need the customers to speak up. My questions lead me to this conclusion. Yes, my presence in the Dominican Republic may have dubious consequences, but my voice can be an undeniable force for good. Maybe invasive species is too strong a phrase to describe a US citizen in the DR. The thing about international travel is it can give you an emotional connection to places far from home. And the more people who care about protecting clean water and beautiful beaches on a Caribbean island, the more likely they are to stay that way. Thank you to Jake Keel and Jeffrey the Driver for speaking with me, and a big thank you to Luke Swetland for translating. The intro outro music is by Vera Dean, and the interlude music is by Justin Alan Arnold. All other audio was recorded by me and Hilden. Lastly, thank you for listening. I hope I gave you something to think about.