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Activities in Sian Ka'an

Categories: Forests

At Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, reserve staff and local partners, such as Amigos de Sian Ka'an, are developing strategies to mitigate the pressures from mass tourism on the site's tropical forests, mangrove canals and coral barrier reef, the second largest in the world.

Objective

Increase the quality of existing ecotourism services;
Reduce the impact of visitors on the environment;
Educate communities on the values of responsible waste management technologies and conservation.

Our goal is to combat unplanned and uncontrolled tourism development, and the resulting degradation of coral reefs and other natural systems, by increasing the quality of existing ecotourism services, reducing the impact of visitors on the environment, and educating communities on the values of responsible waste management technologies and conservation.

Outcomes

Promoters from Sian Ka'an and Guatemala 's Tikal National Park exchanged ideas and lessons learned from their respective tourism experiences at a workshop. It was the first such opportunity for communication and collaboration across pilot sites.
Ecotourism promoters began to develop and refine new products.
Nature guides began training.
Promoters attended a kayaking clinic taught by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in support of an initiative by the Laudalina Ancona of Las Boyas Cooperative to offer kayak tours out of Punta Allen. Among other products being developed are birdwatching at a RARE-sponsored trail in Muyil, flyfishing and a new activity called Snuba, which combines techniques from snorkeling and scuba. RARE plans to offer biological monitoring lessons to the promoters to encourage the sustainable development of their products. Promoters will learn to collect information on species such as birds and sea mammals to support protection of the coral reefs.
RARE staff, the Public Use Coordinator and the Sian Ka'an site director are in discussions on integrating the new products into the reserve activities, clarifying guidelines for cooperatives to follow. An annual work plan for the Public Use Planning (PUP) programme is being negotiated along with an agreement on how to manage tourism in public use zones.
Enterprise Development: In the process of formal registration, Ecoturismo Sian Ka'an has a new name, is forming a marketing plan, and working diligently to improve the quality of their guides and tours. This enterprise has already taken on its very first tour groups, including the Rare Board of Trustees in January, employees from Aveda Corporation in February, and students from the Georgetown University MBA Program in April. The enterprise is now collecting extensive data about market segments and visitation, and will use this to create a demand-driven marketing strategy this summer, with help from an MBA intern from the University of Virginia , who is supported by the Packard Foundation.
Pride: Elsa Escamilla, the Pride Coordinator for Sian Ka'an, has begun her campaign, which will focus on both promoting pride in World Heritage and preventing forest fires. Her flagship specie is the toucan, which she will use to educate and excite both children and adults in and around the reserve.
Public Use Planning: Jeanett Acosta, Sian Ka'an's Public Use Coordinator, has completed her revised plan for the reserve. It is currently being reviewed by a group of Rare staff and once completed, the plan will be implemented into the reserve management plan.
A workshop took place with Sian Ka'an and Tikal promoters in order to encourage both groups to exchange ideas and lessons learned on their distinct tourism experiences.
Ecotourism promoters completed Module Two and began to develop products.
Nature Guide Training was initiated. http://www.sectur.gob.mx/, http://conap.online.fr/