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Activities in Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve

Categories: Forests

Honduras' forest administration (COHDEFOR) and local NGOs, such as MOPAWI, are seeking sustainable alternatives for the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve. The most important remaining strand of humid tropical forest in the region, Río Plátano is home to 2,000 indigenous people, whose traditional lifestyles are threatened by encroaching settlements and agricultural development. Threats are also caused by hunting, illegal wildlife trade and lack of environmental awareness.

Outcomes

At Ecotourism Promoters Courses students are developing possible entrepreneurial projects in their respective communities.
A feasibility study conducted under the Enterprise Development programme identified priorities for improving tourism infrastructure in the reserve.
An upsurge in national media attention on the endangered status of the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve heightened the local desire to develop sustainable tourism strategies. Newspaper articles on illegal logging and wildlife trafficking have sparked wide-ranging debate both on and off the reserve, and support and collaboration has grown among partners and local communities.
Ecotourism Promoters Course students have begun learning entrepreneurial skills that will enable them to promote sustainable sources of income in communities inside the reserve. They are presenting their ecotourism development activities at local community meetings; evaluating existing local enterprises; analysing potential services, and collecting baseline data for monitoring change within the community. In addition they are expected to brainstorm entrepreneurial activities that will help mitigate threats to the reserve. Alternatives include the development of tourism campgrounds, transportation services, lodging options and trail construction.
Project partners continue to work with the Honduran forestry department (COHDEFOR) on public use planning and economic development within the reserve, including the construction of an ecolodge that might offer recreational activities and access to nature. Other public use activities include the design and construction of a museum/visitor information centre, two trails and the improvement of existing tourism lodges within local communities.
Enterprise Development: With the funds awarded by UNDP, Rare-trained entrepreneurs are laying important foundations for increased tourism in Río Plátano. They are constructing ecolodges, restaurants, nature trails, and other needed infrastructure and transportation systems, as well as implementing training programs and conservation projects in their communities.
The Honduran Tourism Institute (IHT) also is involved in this collaborative effort, providing two architects to work closely with Rare's technical team and offering critical training for local entrepreneurs in customer service. Rare staff will be organizing a series of infrastructure development workshops for our local community partners throughout this year covering architectural design and construction, management and operations, and impact monitoring and mitigation.
Rare staff and the two architects from IHT traveled to Belize and Guatemala in April 2004 to visit six ecolodges and nature-based camps in an effort to gather information on ecolodge design and construction to share with our local partners in Río Plátano through a series of workshops. The products of these visits was a series of photographs, schematics and detailed descriptions of different design and construction elements, such as water and waste management systems, landscape design plans, and electrical systems.
Rare will focus in 2004 on establishing an association of tourism service providers, including but not limited to ten Rare-trained entrepreneurs. Our next step is to work with key association members to complete a business plan and, following that, to further develop and integrate existing ecotourism products into solid tourism itineraries, market and sell the products, and strengthen their links to natural resource protection. Rare will continue to assist the community entrepreneurs and other tourism service providers involved in the association in assessing key market segments and developing marketing materials, integrating products into regional tourism itineraries, actively marketing products regionally and internationally, and further training enterprise staff on business management.
Using outlets such as the Conservation Tours product line (developed by Rare with other World Heritage sites in this project), the Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance, and the UNEP Tour Operators Initiative, we already have successfully begun to market products from Río Plátano to potential regional and international clients, and will continue to do so throughout 2004 and 2005.
Public Use Planning: The reserve staff member, Marlen Espinoza, whose salary is funded through this project, has completed a preliminary Ecotourism Strategy for the reserve that, among other aspects, regulates the use of the reserve's natural resources by communities and other tourism service providers in order to ensure that sensitive areas are protected and used in a sustainable manner. In addition, she is working on a plan to generate additional revenue for conservation efforts by establishing an entrance fee system for the reserve. The Public Use Coordinator also is working closely with Rare-trained entrepreneurs and tourism service providers as they develop infrastructure and new business ventures to ensure that they are linked to biodiversity conservation and the reserve's Management Plan.