Grupo Piñero, Spanish tourism group founded in 1975 and headquartered in Palma de Mallorca present throughout the value chain of the vacation industry as part of its commitment to biodiversity conservation has successfully managed the first sea turtle nesting on the beach of its exclusive Cayo Levantado Resort, situated on an idyllic island in Samaná Bay in the eastern region of Dominican Republic, well – known tourist destination in the Caribbean country, thanks to its Sea Turtle Protection Program.
The Sea Turtle Protection Program aims to ensure the safety of sea turtles, such as the green turtle and loggerhead turtle, both endangered species, a programme that over the past ten years has protected more than 15.000 nests at rhe group's various properties in Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
The team of Cayo Levantado Resort to ensure the correct identification and protection of nest on its beaches carries out patrols during the nesting season running from May to October and in the case the nests are endangered by predators or adverse conditions, they are moved to specially conditioned hatching pens, ensuring that the young are born in a safe environment.
This effort in critical to the survival of these vulnerable species and the resort team also maintains vigilance to prevent possible interference with natural spawning processes ensuring a protected environment for both adult turtles and hatchlings.
The plan of the group also includes safety measures with innovative strategies created to prevent predator attacks with the use of acoustic, olfactory and visual barriers, which have proven effective in protecting nests from threats as raccoons and coatis.
The programme apart the protection work also promotes education and awareness among employess and visitors about the importance of the program's work.
Guests of the resort can participate in expertly supervised ecotourism activities, such as nesting observation and the release of baby turtles, contributing to awareness of the preservation of these species.
Thanks to rigorous process and procedure in the last years, this great initiative was able to protect more than 15.000 nests on group's property in the Dominican Republic and in Mexico, consolidating its role in the presercation of biodiversity in the destinations in which Grupo Piñero operates.
The success of the first nesting at Cayo Levantado Resort reflects the positive impact of the measures integrated and adopted with the company's continued commitment to a regenerative tourism model.
In addition to this specific program linked to Sea Turtle Protection, further resort's greater achievements has been its ambitious flora conservation and restoration program highly focused on the identification and elimination of invasive exotic plants.
The notable collaboration with the National Botanical Garden allowed to eliminate more than 1.400 specimen of invasive species such as leucaena and noni, an operation which has permitted the restoration of the native vegetation of the island.
Also the conservation of fauna is another fundamental pillar, and linked to that more than 50 birds fallen from their nests were assisted as other injured animals which have been treated by specialized institutions or relocated to safe areas.
Within this comprehensive approach Cayo Levantado Resort has also implemented an innovative assisted butterfly breeding program, planned and designed to increase the density and diversity of these insects.
By creating specialized gardens that include floreal and host plants, Cayo Levantado Resort has facilitated the breeding and release of more than 500 butterflies of four different species, including the Peacock butterfly and the Caribbean Monarch.
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