Case Studies UNDP: COMMUNITY TOURS SIAN KA'AN, Mexico
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Transcript of Case Studies UNDP: COMMUNITY TOURS SIAN KA'AN, Mexico
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7/27/2019 Case Studies UNDP: COMMUNITY TOURS SIAN KA'AN, Mexico
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Equator Initiative Case StudiesLocal sustainable development solutions for people, nature, and resilient communities
Mexico
COMMUNITY TOURS SIANKAAN
Empowered live
Resilient nation
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UNDP EQUATOR INITIATIVE CASE STUDY SERIES
Local and indigenous communities across the world are advancing innovative sustainable development solutions that wo
or people and or nature. Few publications or case studies tell the ull story o how such initiatives evolve, the breadth
their impacts, or how they change over time. Fewer still have undertaken to tell these stories with community practition
themselves guiding the narrative.
To mark its 10-year anniversary, the Equator Initiative aims to ll this gap. The ollowing case study is one in a growing ser
that details the work o Equator Prize winners vetted and peer-reviewed best practices in community-based environmenconservation and sustainable livelihoods. These cases are intended to inspire the policy dialogue needed to take local succ
to scale, to improve the global knowledge base on local environment and development solutions, and to serve as models
replication. Case studies are best viewed and understood with reerence to The Power of Local Action: Lessons from 10 Years
the Equator Prize, a compendium o lessons learned and policy guidance that draws rom the case material.
Click on the map to visit the Equator Initiatives searchable case study database.
EditorsEditor-in-Chief: Joseph Corcoran
Managing Editor: Oliver HughesContributing Editors: Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Erin Lewis, Whitney Wilding
Contributing WritersEdayatu Abieodun Lamptey, Erin Atwell, Toni Blackman, Jonathan Clay, Joseph Corcoran, Larissa Currado, Sarah Gordon, Oliver Hughe
Wen-Juan Jiang, Sonal Kanabar, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Rachael Lader, Patrick Lee, Erin Lewis, Jona Liebl, Mengning Ma,
Mary McGraw, Gabriele Orlandi, Brandon Payne, Juliana Quaresma, Peter Schecter, Martin Sommerschuh, Whitney Wilding, Luna Wu
DesignOliver Hughes, Dearbhla Keegan, Matthew Konsa, Amy Korngiebel, Kimberly Koserowski, Erin Lewis, John Mulqueen, Lorena de la Pa
Brandon Payne, Mariajos Satizbal G.
AcknowledgementsThe Equator Initiative acknowledges with gratitude the Community Tours Sian Kaan (CTSK), and in particular the guidance and input
Roman Caamal, Operations Coordinator. All photo credits courtesy o CTSK. Maps courtesy o CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia.
Suggested CitationUnited Nations Development Programme. 2012. Community Tours Sian Kaan, Mexico. Equator Initiative Case Study Series. New York, N
http://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/Power_of_Local_Action_Final_2013.pdfhttp://equatorinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_winners&view=casestudysearch&Itemid=858 -
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PROJECT SUMMARYThe Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve is the largest marineprotected area in Mexico, spanning more than 1.3 millionacres o land and ocean. It has been designated a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site in recognition o its rich biodiversity andwealth o Mayan culture; Sian Kaan is Mayan or wherethe sky is born.
Working within this protected area is Community ToursSian Kaan, an alliance o three sustainable ecotourismcooperatives that work directly with the Punta Allen andMuyil indigenous communities. While the Sian Kaan
Biosphere Reserve receives thousands o visitors everyyear, indigenous communities have not historicallybeneted rom this trac or rom investments in thelocal economy: the initiative has aimed to change this bytraining community guides in operating small, group-basedecotourism ventures, promoting Mayan culture throughvisits to archaeological sites, and the sale o tourism-relatedhandicrat products.
KEY FACTS
EQUATOR PRIZE WINNER: 2006
FOUNDED: 2003
LOCATION: Tulum, Mexico
BENEFICIARIES: Three cooperatives in two villages
BIODIVERSITY: Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve
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COMMUNITY TOURS SIAN KAANMexico
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Background and Context 4
Key Activities and Innovations 5
Biodiversity Impacts 6
Socioeconomic Impacts 6
Sustainability 7
Partners 7
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Community Tours Sian Kaan (CTSK) is an alliance o three
ooperatives that run sustainable ecotourism operations in the Sian
Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Working directly with members o the
unta Allen and Muyil indigenous communities, the organization
ses low-impact ecotourism to provide the local population with
ustainable livelihoods in a manner that does not diminish the
iodiversity or unique ecosystems ound within the reserve.
Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve
he Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve is the largest marine protected area
n Mexico. It spans more than 1.3 million acres o land and ocean and
as been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition ots rich biodiversity and wealth o Mayan culture. The reserve consists
lowland orests, ooded savannas, mangroves, and a portion o
he worlds second largest coastal ree the Mesoamerican Barrier
ee. It is also home to over 800 plant species, 350 bird species, and
mportant populations o jaguar, puma, ocelot, spider and howler
monkeys, crocodiles, and several types o turtles. The reserve also
ontains 23 diferent archaeological Mayan sites o pre-Columbian
ulture. Sian Kaan is Mayan or where the sky is born.
A community-based ecotourism enterprise
Community Tours Sian Kaan aims to make ecotourism a protable
ector or local communities and a catalyst or conservation action.Within the borders o the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve, the group
rganizes tours, trains and employs local guides, assists communities
in the development o tourism support services such as hotels
restaurants, and collaborates with national and international
governmental organizations to promote sustainable, low-im
tourism and high-impact conservation. The organization
to raise awareness about the cultural and natural wealth in
reserve, the challenges to its survival and the ways in which efe
action can be pursued. CTSK generates both direct and ind
employment or the local community.
CTSK was ounded in 2003 when the cooperatives o Punta A
Vigia Grande, Los Gaytanes, Uyoolche Maya, and Los Aluxes de M
joined orces to provide visitors with a consolidated menu o to
services. In 2007, a business plan was developed which outlinesuite o services and products that would be provided by CTS
a collective to visiting tourists. At the end o that year, the g
was ocially recognized and legally incorporated. Since then
organization has overseen an average annual visitor increase o
as well as a 30% increase in average household incomes.
Governance and institutional structure
The leadership o the CTSK is composed o a president, secre
and treasurer. This executive meets at regular intervals
representatives o member cooperatives to develop short, med
and long-term work plans. Meetings are also held on an ad hoc
when specic challenges or opportunities arise.
Background and Context
Participation of the community is essential. Local people need to be empowered to make decision
about their resources and the environments in which they live.
Roman Caamal, Operations Coordinator, Community Tours Sian Kaan
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Key Activities and Innovations
While the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve receives thousands o
isitors every year, indigenous communities have not historically
beneted rom this trac or rom investments in the local economy.
CTSK aims to change that by redirecting the benets o a tourism-
based economy to the indigenous communities o the region.
Among the main activities o the company are small, group-based
cotourism ventures; operation o botanical gardens; promotion o
Mayan culture through visits to archaeological sites and operation o
community museum (in Muyil); awareness-raising campaigns on
biodiversity loss and indigenous culture; beach cleaning campaigns
as part o the companys environmental and social responsibility);
rainings and workshops or bird-watchers in the bird monitoring
enter (in Muyil); and engaging the local indigenous community inhe development and sale o new ecotourism-related products and
ervices.
CTSK promotes the conservation and preservation o the Sian
Kaan Biosphere Reserve through ecotourism, educational tours,
workshops in schools, and beach cleaning campaigns. The company
armarks 5% o ecotourism revenues or local conservation activities
nd has constructed a 1000-meter trail across a natural channel,
which has reduced the need or an environmentally damaging boat
aunch that was causing erosion in the channel.
Ecotourism in Sian Kaan
As a community-based ecotourism company, Community Tours Sian
Kaam aims to generate jobs or the local people and to promote the
egions natural and cultural wealth through ecotourism services.
CTSK places an emphasis on low-impact tourism that will ensure
he ongoing conservation and preservation o the reserve. This is
ccomplished by a company policy o working with and serving
mall groups o visitors. (Excursions and educational tours are carried
out in groups o no more than 12 people.) To carry out its tours, the
ompany maintains six 23-oot boats with outboard motors, twelve
wo-person kayaks, and two single person kayaks.
Visitors are ofered a range o services and outings, includin
walking tour o Muyil Forest, swimming in the Chunyaxche Lag
a sunset tour o the reserve, a kayak tour o a channel which pa
through our ecosystems, a catch-and-release y shing tour, a
birding and natural history walk) with exposure to the over 350
species in the reserve). The company works with the commun
develop new activities that draw on local knowledge and expe
and which source rom local artisans, painters and wood carver
CTSK aims to change the way tourism companies provide servic
the reserve. The company uses boats with environmentally rie
engines. Instead o bottled water or sot drinks, CTSK prov
visitors with juice made rom local ruits.
Botanical garden and bird monitoring
CTSK has created a botanical garden which houses largely med
plants or the preservation and dissemination o tradit
ecological knowledge. The garden also hosts a comm
museum, which provides visitors with inormation on the ora
auna o the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve and the Yucatan Peni
more broadly. The botanical garden and museum also receive
school children or presentations on biodiversity, conservation
Mayan culture where the children are encouraged to share their
personal ideas on where conservation and culture overlap.
The company is in the process o exploring partnerships with Mex
universities, specically those with conservation and ornitho
expertise. The objective o these partnerships is to encou
graduate students to conduct research in the community
monitoring center, thereby improving the communitys monito
and evaluation capacity and creating new data on which to
strategies or environmental care and the preservation o end
migratory bird species.
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Impacts
BIODIVERSITY IMPACTS
Due to the conuence o a subtropical climate and shallow soil
depths, a rich and unique variety o vegetation is present in the Sian
Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Four distinct ecosystems are represented:
ropical evergreen orest, including the dominant Maya nut and
apodilla species and climber species such as lianas vines and a
variety o orchids; tropical deciduous orest (present in drier regions);
horny orest, which contains a heterogeneous mix o lowland
orests with a high thorn content; and sub-aquatic vegetation, which
s present in the areas brackish lagoons and marshes.
The reserve is home to a number o threatened species, includinghe endangered manatee, as well as regionally and globally
mportant populations o jaguar, puma, ocelot, spider and howler
monkeys, crocodiles, turtles, wild boar, badger, and armadillo. Some
o the 350 bird species ound in the reserve include the Ocellated
urkey, pheasant, toucan, cardinal and vulture. The reserve also
ontains a number o unique rog, toad, and lizard species as well as
attlesnakes, coral snakes, boas, yellow beards.
The tourism services provided by CTSK are educational in nature,
iming to raise awareness about the importance o protecting
nd conserving biodiversity in the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve.
Beach cleaning, workshops, and community discussion orums
have all helped to change local attitudes towards conservationnd the negative impacts human activity can have on the natural
environment. The company has overseen signicant reductions in
lash-and-burn arming, groundwater contamination, and hunting
or poaching).
SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS
The company has created income-generating opportunities,
employment and a value-added ecotourism model to benet the
ocal communities o Chumpon and Muyil. In addition to creating
direct employment in the ecotourism operation, CTSK also supp
local artisans by providing them with a space and showroom t
their products (in the company oce and community museum
average, the company aims to host and serve approximately
visitors per month.
CTSK runs a collaborative business model, bringing togeth
number o diferent community-based tour companies. The
result has been a reduction in price competition. Through CT
consortium o community-based tour companies has been ab
establish standards or pricing, and to raise tour prices by 40%
price o a three-hour tour has increased rom USD 90 in 2003 to
130 in 2006. By establishing similar standards or environmcare and reinvestment in the community, the company has
able to justiy this increase.
Investments have been made in training, education and works
or local translators, operations coordinators, receptionists
managers. Training places an emphasis on customer service.
staf in particular, guides are equipped to be knowledge
and passionate about local culture and biodiversity. The com
has worked with partners such as CYSK, UNESCO, UNEP, the U
Nations Foundation and Rare to build the capacity o nature gu
and that o the consortium to promote and market its ecotou
services.
The community-based ecotourism industry has provided the
population with an alternative to environmentally destru
activities that used to be mainstays o the local economy, na
poaching and illegal logging. Job creation has also reduced
migration to large cities, which has encouraged investmen
youth and long-term education. CTSK has expanded opportun
or local women, and broke new ground by hiring the rst e
tour guide in the reserve. The company helped launch a g
called Ulumil Beh a womens sel-help group that produces dr
ruit jam.
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Sustainability and Replication
SUSTAINABILITYGovernment agencies, national non-governmental organizations
nd international stakeholders play an important role in the
ustainability o Community Tours Sian Kaan. A good amount o
upport has come in the orm o technical training, capacity building
nd the transer o managerial skills and know-how. Partners have
lso been instrumental in the development o marketing strategies,
mplementing community outreach and mobilization strategies,
nancial management, and the construction o inrastructure to
nhance service delivery in the community.
he development o trusted relationships with the tour operators,ravel agencies, hotels and promoters responsible or corralling
nd directing visitors to the reserve rom tourism markets such
s Cancun, the Mayan Riviera and Tulum has been an essential
omponent o success and will continue to be into the uture. By
elivering service-oriented ecotourism activities, CTSK has gained a
eputation or a reliably high quality experience.
here remains, however, a great deal o competition or tourists
oming to the region and to the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve.
Many o the operations the company is competing with have
ignicantly larger budgets and human resource power dedicated
o marketing, advertising and promotion. CTSK recognizes that the
est way to continue winning a larger and larger percentage o theourism market share is to ofer a unique and personal ecotourism
xperience which is set apart by its environmental responsibility and
espect or cultural integrity. This said, partnerships will need to be
everaged over the longer term to penetrate markets beyond the
each o personal testimonials and word o mouth.
he community notes a need or greater exibility rom government
gencies in meeting bureaucratic requirements or permits, licenses
nd business operations. A more enlightened policy environment,
which created incentives and allowances or community-based
action would improve the adaptive capacity o CTSK and th
other grassroots and indigenous organizations looking to c
sustainable livelihoods rom non-extractive activities.
PARTNERSHIPS
Current partners to the CTSK alliance include Expedia (in partne
with the United Nations Foundation); the Management o
Biosphere Reserve; the Government o Mexico; and Rare, a
governmental organization that provides technical assistanc
local capacity building.
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Equator Initiative
Environment and Energy GroupUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
304 East 45th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: +1 646 781-4023
www.equatorinitiative.org
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UNs global development network, advocating or change
onnecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better lie.
The Equator Initiative brings together the United Nations, governments, civil society, businesses and grassroots organizati
o recognize and advance local sustainable development solutions or people, nature and resilient communities.
2012 by Equator Initiative
All rights reserved
Click the thumbnails below to read more case studies like this:
FURTHER REFERENCE
Community Tours Sian Kaan website: siankaantours.org/en
Video on Community Tours Sian Kaan, Green Living Project (Vimeo) vimeo.com/29992277#
http://www.siankaantours.org/enhttps://vimeo.com/29992277#https://vimeo.com/29992277#http://www.siankaantours.org/enhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348163843.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161939.pdfhttp://www.equatorinitiative.org/images/stories/com_winners/casestudy/case_1348161375.pdf