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Javari River Leticia -Tabatinga
Cacao Island
PERU
Puerto Nariño
Korea Island
BRAZIL
BRAZIL
BRAZIL
COLOMBIA
Mocagua Island
AMAZO
N RIVER
SOLIMOES R
IVER
El TIKUNA TERRITORY
0 100
50 200
300 KM
Antiguo Territorio Ticuna
San Martín
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Location: Trapecio Amazónico
Municipalities: Leticia & Puerto Nariño
Area: 932.300 hectares
Climate: Tropical Rainforest
Mean Temperature: 27° C
International Borders: Peru & Brazil
Rainfall: 2800-3200 mm / year
Humidity > 90%
ANP Area: 293.500 hectares
Overlap with Indigenous land: 10%
NAPATW
AMACAYACURIVER
RIVER OF THEHAMMOCKS
AMACAYACUNATIONALPARK
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ECOTOURISM PROCESS IN THE
COLOMBIAN AMAZON
• 1975: AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK WAS ESTABLISHED AND OVERLAPS ANAREA OCCUPIED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
• 1977: LAST TIKUNA MALOKA IN THE AMACAYACU RIVER WATERSHED• 1979: DRUG TRAFFIC BONANZA• 1981: CONSTRUCTION OF FIRST PARK CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE CABIN• 1983 - 1990: INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES (RESGUARDOS) RECOGNIZED BY
THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT• 1985 - 1987: ECOTOURISM PROGRAM INITIATED IN PROTECTED AREAS• 1988: CONSTRUCTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE - “YEWAE” VISITOR CENTER,
AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK• 2002: DEPARTMENT OF AMAZONAS DETERMINES ECOTOURISM AS A TOOL
FOR FUTURE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AS PART OF THE COLOMBIANNATIONAL TOURISM POLICY
• 2005: MONITORING PROGRAM WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES “GAVILÁNTATATAO” FOR ECOTOURISM ACTIVITIES IN AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK
• 2005: COLOMBIAN NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (UAESPNN) BEGINS A POLICYOF CONCESSION OF VISITOR ATTENTION SERVICES IN SELECTED NATIONALPARKS, INCLUDING AMACAYACU. “YEWAE VISITOR CENTER” COMES UNDERTHE MANAGEMENT OF A CONSORTIUM OF A LARGE HOTEL CHAIN(DECAMERON)AND THE COUNTRY´S LARGEST TRAVEL AGENCY (AVIATUR)
ECOTOURISMPROGRAM 1987-2004
“Yewae” Visitor Center began to
play an important role in visitor reception in thearea
• Indigenous environmental interpreter training programs promoted by the regional andnational government
• Conformation of organized groups of interpreters within the three indigenouscommunities that share jurisdiction of Amacayacu National Park (San Martín deAmacayacu, Palmeras and Mocagua). In the year 2002, three additionalcommunities adjacent to the park requested to be included in the program as well(Macedonia, El Vergel and Zaragoza)
• Informal, verbal agreements among the interpreters and the park were established toorganize ecotourism activities; in actual practice, these were “highly flexible”
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ECOTOURISM
GAVILÁNTATATAO
MONITORINGPROGRAM
• This program is the result of Amacayacu´s20 years of experience in managingvisitors
• The main objectives:Determination of the Carrying Capacity for each
ecotourist activity
Development and implementation of amonitoring program to quantify the effects ofecotourism
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GAVILÁNTATATAO
MONITORINGPROGRAM
• Written, formal agreements were developedamong the Park, the communities, and theConcession whose objectives are to manageecotourism activities sustainably and withinacceptable levels of social and environmentalchange
• Current participation of six Tikuna indigenouscommunities: San Martín de Amacayacu,Palmeras, Mocagua, Macedonia, El Vergel andZaragoza
ECOTOURISM AND LOCALCOMMUNITIES
• The theory: Ecotourism benefits localcommunities without detrimental social orenvironmental consequences
• The implicit hypothesis: an increase ineconomic benefits for local communities willresult in lower direct pressure on NaturalResources
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LOCAL CHANGES INECOTOURISM
• Increase in the number of visitors
AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK DATABASE
• Increase in the number of tour agencies.
2002 – 16 tour operators and travel agencies in Leticia
2007 – 28 tour operators and travel agencies in Leticia
DAFE- Departamento Administrativo y de Fomento Ecoturístico, Amazonas
LOCATION AND YEAR NUMBER OF VISITORS
AMACAYACU : 2004 4.575 visitors
AMACAYACU : 2005 6.222 visitors
AMACAYACU : 2006 8.516 visitors
AMACAYACU : 2007 8.857 visitors
LOCAL CHANGES INECOTOURISM
• Related changes in creature comforts, costs,and visitor profile with the Concession
Hot water, nice beds, chef
More privacy
Package tours that structure less time for local interaction (anddirect economic exchange between visitor and local person)
• Economic benefit for the six local communities isaround 10 % of the TOTAL income received bythe “Yewae” Visitor Center (The NET INCOMEof the Visitor Center is still not completelyknown!)
AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK DATABASE
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LOCAL CHANGES INECOTOURISM
• For the first time in 20 years, the children inMocagua received financing for their schoolsupplies from funds set aside for the purpose byone of the interpeter groups
• Visitors´ interests and attitudes expose localpeople to the “environmental sensitivity” thatmotivates “eco”tourism
• Visitors expose local people to a new level ofconsumerism (they´ve got NEAT STUFF!)
• The Concession management has become moreenvironmentally and socially aware andresponsible in policy and operative decisions
LOCAL CHANGES INECOTOURISM
• Traditional Indigenous Authority Associations(AATI´s) are now influencing governmentaldecisions related to ecotourism
• Local initiatives are becoming part of the NationalDevelopment Plan for ecotourism
• MID-TERM Changes: training and hands-onexperience prepare members of local communitiesfor assuming future regional ecotourismmanagement
• LONG-TERM Changes: “Yewae” Visitor Centerecotourism services will be operated by localcommunities and will serve (in theory) as aPOSITIVE case study for the region
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QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN THEUSE OF NATURAL RESOURCES
• TRADITIONAL USE OF NATURALRESOURCES WAS DIRECT – FORFOOD, SHELTER, LIGHT, CLOTHING,TRANSPORTATION, I.E., BASIC NEEDS
• CURRENTLY, THERE IS INCREASINGINDIRECT USE OF NATURALRESOURCES TO OBTAIN MONEY TO
COVER NEW BASIC NEEDS(SCHOOL SUPPLIES, FLASHLIGHTS,“STUFF”)
QUANTITATIVE CHANGES INTHE USE OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
• Logarithmic population growth (includingfrom immigration) has increased the directpressure of regional residents on NaturalResources
• There are more visitors to the regionwhose presence results in greater directpressure on Natural Resources (e.g., food,handicrafts)
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PALOSANGRE
• THE INHERENT CHALLENGE FOR MANAGING CHANGES THATWILL RESULT IN “QUALITY OF LIFE”:
– THERE IS TREMENDOUS CULTURAL RICHNESS
– ALL THE STRONGEST SOCIOECONOMIC FORCES INTHESE COMMUNITIES AT THIS POINT – INCLUDING THEDEVELOPING OF ECOTOURISM – TEND TO PROMOTE THEDEVALUATION, EROSION, OR LOSS OF THIS TRADITIONALRICHNESS AND THE INTERNAL SOCIAL COHESION ANDCOLLECTIVE IDENTITY OF THESE PEOPLE:
– DISINTEREST IN LEARNING/USING THE TIKUNALANGUAGE IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS
– DISINTEREST IN BEING TIKUNA
– INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN THE CASHECONOMY
– DECREASING BIODIVERSITY
WHAT IS “QUALITY OF LIFE”?
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The “Ngüküripw” Maloka
THE MALOKAThe Maloka is the placewhere the traditionalknowledge and practices ofthe Tikuna are transmittedby the elders through oraltradition. Malokas were anessential part of the cultureand where young peoplelearned by living and doing
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THE CHAGRA
The Chagra and theMinga are fundamentalfor maintaining theTikuna culture andagricultural diversitythrough the daily use ofknowledge andtraditional managementpractices
AN ACTIVE PROCESS FOR GUIDING THE
EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL SUSTAINABLE
USE OF THE MEGA-BIODIVERSITY OF THE
COLOMBIAN AMAZON
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ECOTOURISM PRIORITIES IN
AMACAYACU NATIONAL
PARK
• Monitoring of social aspects is essential inorder to document changes that occur
• Women in these communities seem tohave a better perception of sustainablemanagement; it is important to suppportand strengthen this tendency
GENERAL PRIORITIES
• Maintain and reinforce the use andtransmission of traditional knowledge thattends to sustain cultural identity andregional biodiversity:
– Local education programs emphasizing thecurrent relevance and importance of traditionaluses of natural resources
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GENERAL PRIORITIES
• Develop mechanisms of which notraditional solutions exist and which areconsistent with local cultural andenvironmental conditions:
– For instance, safe drinking water and wastewater management
REMEMBER…
The forest is of no use without theknowledge of its inhabitants.
If the forest is gone, all will be lost.
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