Cuban environmental policy clearly defines the instruments of environmental management within which environmental education is found. The legal and theoretical framework of the same includes a whole legislative system that, based on the country's Constitution as a fundamental law, is implemented within the National Environmental Strategy for the period between 2011 and 2015. The Ministry of Tourism, for being an organism of the central administration of the Cuban State, it promotes the tourist development of Cuba as a driving force of the economy and society, from a tourism of peace, security and health, based on compliance with the national and international legal framework to advance towards sustainability and supported in the continuous improvement of its workers, towards an environmental culture and awareness. Within this premise, the content of this article refers to the processes of education and training of workers in the hotel business context of the largest tourist destination of sun and beach in Cuba: Varadero.
Overview of the legal approach to environmental education in Cuba
In Cuba, aspects related to the environment are widely considered with a focus on sustainability, from the governing documents of the state and society, through business organization. In the Constitution of the Republic, “The State protects the Environment and the natural resources of the country. It recognizes its close link with sustainable economic and social development to make human life more rational and to ensure the survival, well-being and security of current and future generations. It is the responsibility of the competent bodies to apply this policy. It is the duty of citizens to contribute to the protection of water, the atmosphere, soil conservation, flora, fauna and all the rich potential of nature ”.
The fundamental Law in Cuba regarding the environment is Law 81, where environmental education is considered one of the instruments of environmental policy and management and environmental education is defined as a “continuous and permanent process that It constitutes a dimension of the integral education of all citizens, oriented so that in the acquisition of knowledge, development of habits, skills, abilities and attitudes and in the formation of values, the relations between human beings and theirs are harmonized with the rest of society and nature, to promote the orientation of economic, social and cultural processes towards sustainable development ”.
This law defines important terms that serve as a basis for understanding the aspects that will be dealt with later on, such as environmental management, defined as “a set of activities, mechanisms, actions and instruments, aimed at guaranteeing the administration and rational use of natural resources. through the conservation, improvement, rehabilitation and monitoring of the environment and the control of human activity in this sphere. Environmental management applies the established environmental policy through a multidisciplinary approach, taking into account the cultural heritage, the accumulated national experience and citizen participation ”.
Regarding environmental education, Law 81 contemplates three articles dedicated to laying the fundamental foundations to indicate the guidelines to follow; designates the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment for the elaboration of environmental education strategies and contribution to their implementation, promoting the execution of programs in all sectors of the economy and services, social groups and the general population. Regarding responsibilities, it states that all state organs and agencies, in accordance with environmental education strategies and in the exercise of their functions and powers, promote and carry out activities with their workers, social groups or with the population with which they interact.,In order to increase their knowledge about the environment and its links with development and promote a higher level of awareness in this area, it also considers that the institutions that carry out improvement and training programs with management personnel, technicians and workers in general will include in the same the environmental theme and, in particular, the aspects related to the links and influence of its productive activity or services, with the protection of the environment.aspects related to the links and influence of its productive activity or services, with the protection of the environment.aspects related to the links and influence of its productive activity or services, with the protection of the environment.
The National Environmental Strategy, expression of the Cuban environmental policy, in which its main projections and guidelines are embodied, it is embodied as a specific objective Consolidate the processes of environmental education in the Organizations of the Central State Administration, government agencies, national programs and projects for environmental management and prioritized ecosystems, so that they contribute to the solution or mitigation of environmental problems within the sphere of its competence.
As a consequence of what was previously stated in the National Strategy for Environmental Education; points out that "… environmental education must be a continuous and permanent process that reaches all educational, formal, non-formal and informal spheres, aimed at all ages, sectors and social groups."
The different business sectors also elaborate their environmental strategies, in what is known as Business Environmental Strategies. The Ministry of Tourism is an Organism of the Central State Administration that promotes the tourist development of Cuba as a driving force of the economy and society, based on tourism of peace, security and health, based on compliance with the national legal framework. and international to advance towards sustainability and supported in the continuous improvement of its workers, towards an environmental culture and awareness. This ministry has determined its environmental vision that states: "Offer a competitive tourism product on an international scale whose main attribute is sustainability for the satisfaction of customers and other actors,where they actively participate and make it the pride of our society ”.
Among the general objectives of the Environmental Strategy of the Ministry of Tourism are:
• Possess and impart the necessary knowledge for the creation of an environmentalist culture in managers, technicians and other workers in the sector, introducing with it a change of behavior towards the environment, at the same time extending knowledge and attitude about the populations involved with the tourist product.
• Incorporation of continuous management of environmental improvement and sustainability in the development of the sector and its products.
• Consideration of the role that tourism plays in the dynamics of the main national environmental problems defined in the National Environmental Strategy.
Varadero as a tourist destination for sun and beach
In the last decades the tourist activity in Cuba has developed considerably. Due to the geographical position of the Cuban archipelago and the characteristics of its coasts, the modality of sun and beach tourism is among the most widely spread in our country. One of the best-known beaches in the Caribbean in the international arena is Varadero beach, which stretches for more than 20 km in length along the Hicacos peninsula, a settlement of fishermen in former times, today becoming the most important destination of sun and beach of Cuba.
Varadero is characterized by the quality of its bathing waters, the fine sand and the security offered to tourists, nuanced by the joviality of Cubans. This ecosystem is highly fragile, given firstly because it is located in an island system, where the interrelationships between its components are magnified, and on the other hand, it is found on a peninsula in the northernmost part of the island of Cuba.
In the territory of the Hicacos peninsula a high occupation of the geographical space is carried out, locating the local community of about 7,000 inhabitants, in what is known as the historic Varadero and a powerful hotel, non-hotel and tourism support infrastructure. Currently there are 50 hotel facilities with a total of 18 066 rooms, operated by four hotel groups: Cubanacán, Gran Caribe, Islazul and Gaviota, several of the hotel facilities were built prior to the enactment of Decree Law 212 that regulates the management of the coastal zone, according to the principles of the integrated management of the coastal zone, a significant number were built later, in harmony with the particularities of the environment and respecting the regulations,Therefore, not all sectors of the beach have similar conditions, which is why it is necessary to develop environmental education among workers in the tourism sector in order to guarantee a sustainable tourism approach for the enjoyment of current and future tourists.
Since 1998, an intense, orderly and gradual program for the improvement of environmental conditions has been carried out on Varadero beach, which has permanent monitoring, which has allowed the beach to be recovered and maintained. The work carried out has been led by the Office of Integrated Coastal Management and the Environmental Services Center, which maintain a close link with the different local institutions.
Environmental education in the hotel business context
Environmental education should be directed to all sectors of society, as we saw in the initial section, in Cuba a derivation is shown from the Constitution of the Republic, through the ministries and from these to their companies. So it is worth asking: If environmental education must be addressed in all sectors, will it be homogeneous, egalitarian, will it follow the same model for all companies, in short, what to do? The answers to the question can be multiple, complex and even contradictory.
When environmental education is developed in educational centers of different levels of schooling, the answer is within the reach of teachers, but when the context where environmental education is developed is business, we must carefully reflect on how, what to do, how far to go and Mainly aimed at who and for what purpose, what impact does the environmental education of workers and managers have on the performance of the company.
It would be very convenient to think about the characteristics of the people who learn “Within the psychological edge of an environmental problem in its multiple factors that condition it, it is essential to take into account the needs, motivations and attitudes that the target or target audience must have to participate in solving the environmental problem ”.
The adult as a learning subject has a wealth of knowledge and skills as a result of his formal studies and experience, will be willing to make an effort to learn what he perceives as necessary and useful, tends to show an orientation focused on practical problem solving, he is selective in dependence on intrinsic motivations, he generally has a great capacity to make comparisons, generalizations and abstractions, as well as to make his own decisions, he usually offers resistance to change, since it is difficult for him to abandon his customs.
Training processes such as environmental education, whether formal or not, require adequate planning, coordination and commitment from the highest management to guarantee success.than expected, even more in the hotel business context where a high labor dynamics is maintained throughout the day. A question then would be, how is environmental education developed in the hotel business context? Hotel companies in Cuba have a Training and Training Specialist who among their functions is to coordinate courses, conferences, seminars, workshops, trainings and other forms of training for human resources, depending on the diagnosis of learning needs they have This is the most formal aspect for each worker and manager, which is resolved by the company, requesting enrollment in the courses offered in the Hospitality and Tourism Schools distributed in all areas of tourist development.
But the other side of the problem remains, how to achieve a better environmental performance of workers and managers in the particular conditions of a hotel company, how to make it a "truly tailored suit", so that consciously increase the knowledge, that these are reverted into good environmental practices that are demonstrated as another professional competence in the daily work, that lead to commitment and action and finally that a collective goal is reached.
Following the ministerial strategies, each hotel group draws up its environmental strategy and guides all the hotels in its group to prepare the environmental strategy, the basis for the development of the environmental strategy of a hotel company is the environmental diagnosis, which can be carried out by Different routes: hiring the service to a specialized company, hiring the advisory service to one of the Hospitality and Tourism Schools, or through an internal team that performs the self-diagnosis, generally led by the Quality Specialist or a representative appointed in the company.
To prepare the environmental self-diagnosis, there are different methodologies depending on the purposes for which it is carried out, either for the implementation of an Environmental Management System (Ex: ISO 14 OOO Standards), to obtain a certification that accredits its environmental performance (Ex: Endorsement of Compliance with the Environmental Legislation in force in Cuba, granted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment), or to obtain recognition (eg, Territorial Environmental Recognition or National Environmental Recognition, granted by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment)).
Once the environmental diagnosis is completed, the environmental aspects and impacts are determined for each of the work areas, the result is reported to the highest management and to the group of workers in each area, the needs for environmental training are determined of the different groups of workers and of the managers as the case may be, when the diagnosed problems are related to inadequate environmental practices that show deficiencies in environmental education, the Environmental Education Program for the hotel company is then designed.
The following are involved in the design of the Environmental Education Program:
• The top management of the hotel company. (Determine deadlines, tasks, responsibilities, authorize, call)
• Education and Training Specialist. (Coordinates the actions of the program, specialists, premises, calls, deals with the necessary documentation, means and materials)
• Quality Specialist or the Representative designated by the hotel company. (Responsible for the preparation of the Environmental Strategy, its compliance and is accountable to the highest management).
• Professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism. (FORMATUR) (In the capacity of advisor, lecturer or evaluator).
Below is an example of an Environmental Education Program for the context of a hotel company in Varadero as a tourist destination for sun and sand, it is a real program and carried out in the course of this year 2011.
Hotel company environmental education program
Introduction:
The hotel is engaged in the implementation of its Environmental Management System to improve performance in this regard and obtain the Compliance Guarantee of the Environmental Legislation in force that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) grants, so during the year In 2011, a set of actions were designed which includes the implementation of the Environmental Education Program for people from the hotel company.
Overall objective:
• Raise knowledge about the environmental conditions presented by the company, to facilitate awareness of the need for a change in attitude that favors taking actions with collective and individual participation that lead to the implementation of good environmental practices that improve performance for the obtaining the Environmental Guarantee.
Program Goal:
The elevation of the Environmental Education of the actors that interact in the hotel, by means of the execution of the different activities of the proposed program, that reverts in the daily action, in the improvement of the general environmental conditions and in the obtaining of the Environmental Guarantee in the year 2011
Context analysis:
The hotel has an Environmental Diagnosis prepared in 2008 by the Varadero Environmental Services Center, in which a group of environmental aspects and impacts were identified, it is also appreciated that in the subsequent reports of visits made by different specialists it continues considering the problems detected by CITMA, as well as other indications that derive from inadequate environmental practices, even in this year the problems continue without being resolved, which is evidenced in the update of the environmental diagnosis of 2011.
Analysis of people learning:
The people who will be benefited with the program have a great homogeneity, which is evident in the following aspects:
• Their school level ranges from upper secondary education to university.
• They have a good level of communication, adequate physical and mental health.
• They have ethical conduct in accordance with the demands of our current society.
Key program directions:
1. Strengthening of institutional capacity in the hotel.
Activities:
1.1 Obtain the Cuban norms, environmental and sanitary regulations applicable to hotel facilities.
Participant: Responsible for the Environment.
1.2 Eliminate environmental and sanitary violations that proceed in each work area of the hotel.
Participants: Managers and workers.
1.3 Achieve prioritization of obtaining Environmental Guarantee in 2011
Participants: Managers, responsible for the Environment and workers.
1.4 Achieve the updating of the environmental diagnosis and the proposal of the Environmental Management System.
Participants: Executives, Head of Environment and FORMATUR Advisory Professor.
2. Strengthening of education and training of human resources.
Activities:
2. 1. Run specialized conference: Hotel environmental characterization
Participants: Hotel Board of Directors and Head of the Environment.
2.2. Run training on Coastal Zone Management
Participants: Hotel Board of Directors, gardening, maintenance workers, Head of Environment and Specialist of the Coastal Management Office.
2.3 Execute a course on Good Environmental Practices for facility managers.
Participants: Hotel Board of Directors and Head of the Environment.
2. 4 Execute a course on Good Environmental Practices for facility workers.
Participants: Workers in the accommodation area
2. 5. Run a Hazardous Waste Management course for facility workers.
Participants: Workers in the maintenance area and Responsible for the Environment.
2.6. Execute Postgraduate Training Environmental Management
Participants: Responsible for the Environment and professor at FORMATUR.
3. Strengthening of environmental information on human resources.
3.1. Commemoration of World Environment Day.
3.2. Installation of the Environment mural
3.3. Place signage to the main plant species
3.4. Place information in the coastal area to contribute to its care and conservation
3.5. Design and place environmental information for rooms in order to contribute to the saving of energy carriers and water
3.6. Systematically disclose internal water customers about water and energy consumption.
3.7. Publicize the environmental aspects and impacts of each of the work areas.
3.8. Publicize the status of the facility with a view to obtaining the Environmental Guarantee.
Compliance with the proposed program has allowed raising the environmental performance of hotel companies due to the execution of good environmental practices in the different work areas with the active participation of workers and managers, which shows that environmental education and information actions they contribute to raising the results of a company.
Bibliographical sources:
1. ARIAS HERRERA, HÉCTOR: The community and its study - Personality - Education - Health. Editorial Pueblo and Education. Havana. 1995, 134p.
2. CITMA: Provincial Environmental Strategy. Territorial delegation of CITMA. University of Matanzas Printing. March 1998, 19p.
3. ______________ National Environmental Strategy. 2011 - 2015. CITMA. Havana. 2010, 27 p.
4. ______________ National Strategy for Environmental Education. Havana. CIDEA editions. 1997, 36p.
5. CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA. Political Editor. Havana. 1992.
6. MINTUR Environmental Strategy. Cuba. Ministry of Tourism.
7. NOVO, MARÍA: Formal and non-formal Environmental Education two complementary systems. In Iberoamerican Journal of Education No. 11, 1996.
8. ____________ Environmental Education. Ethical, conceptual and methodological bases. UNESCO and Editorial Editions UNIVERSITAS SA Madrid. 1998, 290p.
