ABS-CBN Foundation's Gina Lopez spoke to the audience about how important it is to preserve islands' natural beauty and resources, and how tourism can fit into that vision.
The keynote speaker at the Bank of Guam's Economic Forum, Gina Lopez, got the audience singing, dancing and cheering for Guam's well-being on Tuesday.
Lopez briefly served as the Philippines' Director of Environmental and Natural Resources and is member of the Lopez family that owns the prominent ABS-CBN media company in the Philippines.
She spoke to the audience about how important it is to preserve islands' natural beauty and resources, and how tourism can fit into that vision.
"Tourism must benefit the local communities as well," Lopez said. "It can't be just about the money. It has to be driven by values."
She insisted that the motivator for sustainability must be love: love for one's environment, love for each other.
"I truly believe in the power of love," she said. "We're not material beings. We're spiritual beings."
She shared many examples of projects she is overseeing which intend to clean up the environment and provide sustainable living for communities who are dependent on tourism. According to Lopez, higher spending visitors are seeking unique experiences, farm to table food experiences and pollution-free natural environments.
One of her projects includes supporting Bantay Kalikasan, an organization that provides relief operations and rehabilitation programs for the environment. The organization was integral to the reforestation of the 2,700-hectare La Mesa Watershed Area in the Philippines and catalyzed the public to adopt more trees. The organization, like Lopez, "believes that a community rooted in the love for nature makes it a champion for true sustainable livelihood," according to her website.
She finished her talk off by asking all the audiences members to stand up, and led them through a song, dance motions and a cheer.
"Do you care about Guam? Do you care about your future?" she said. "There are two things you need to make things happen: the heart and the will."