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Report 4 (of 6): Against the
Flow - Peru
Introduction
For decades the Amazon Rainforest and the flora and
fauna within it have been a growing tourist attraction
in South America. Conscientious travellers are increasingly
seeking ways of visiting the rainforest without having
a negative impact on this ecologically valuable and
diminishing resource, and ecotourism companies have
grown up which enable indigenous communities to conserve
their wild surroundings, promote their culture and
educate visitors about the value and fragility of
their land.
In 1996 Rainforest Expeditions, an independent Peruvian
travel company, formed a partnership with the Ese'eja
Native Community of Infierno in south-eastern Peru
to build a tourist lodge on the fringe of the Tambopata-Candamo
Reserved Zone, and to train community members in ecotourism.
The lodge, known as Posada Amazonas, opened in 1998,
and the community receives almost two-thirds of the
profits. From this income they have built a secondary
school, the only one in the area. The extra money
also helps to fund a medical post. The venture has
won an Equator Initiative Award for helping to protect
local heritage and conserve biodiversity.
Site location of the Tambopata
Research Centre and Posada Amazonas
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The Community of Infierno
The Tambopata river flows through the ancestral lands
of the Ese'eja community and carries tourists to and
from the nearest town, Puerto Maldonado. In the early
days of this trade the community had the foresight
to create a reserve to protect their environmental
heritage. Before the lodge opened, local people subsisted
largely by growing their own food and collecting brazil
nuts. There was also some mining and logging, but
there was considerable poverty, with competition for
diminishing resources and consequent friction between
the different groups within the community.
When the lodge was constructed at Infierno the community
provided free unskilled labour and sold the project
locally sourced materials such as cane and palm leaves.
The community obtained a loan to pay for imported
materials, and now owns the lodge, receiving 60 per
cent of profits from the use of the lodge as well
as income from handicraft sales and from the bar.
Local people have a wealth of local knowledge about
the rainforest and the wildlife within it and so are
invaluable as tour guides.
In 2000, 25 per cent of the profit was put aside
to build a secondary school. Since then profits have
continued to rise, and there are committees to decide
how to allocate the community's new wealth. Most people
have not given up their previous sources of income,
and so the many local families who have someone working
at the lodge or who are involved in food production
for the tourist industry have experienced a considerable
improvement in their standard of living.
By 2016 the community will take over full control
of the lodge, and already there is evidence that community
decision-making has been strengthened.
Wildlife
The lodge was built on a prime site for wildlife
viewing. Two rare species often seen in Infierno are
giant river otters (Pteronura brasiliensis) and Harpy
eagles (Harpia harpyja). To avoid disturbing the otters
on their lake, no commercial fishing is permitted
and rafts are used to take tourists to viewing points
rather than motorboats. Harpy eagles nest for up to
18 months, giving tourists a good chance of sighting
them. Community members collecting brazil nuts are
able to observe the nests of these and other birds,
as brazil nut trees are dispersed throughout the forest.
Macaws are also a source of great interest locally.
In a new initiative the community monitors three macaw
nests and teaches local schoolchildren about the macaws.
There is also an Earthwatch project to monitor three
species of large macaws (blue and gold - Ara ararauna,
scarlet - A. macao, and green-winged - A. chloroptera),
examining whether tourism is affecting their numbers.
Macaws flock to eat clay from the
riverbank, affording tourists opportunities
to observe and photograph the birds
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It is possible to travel from the lodge to spend
a few days at Tambopata Research Center, which also
has some accommodation and is a five-hour boat trip
further on from Posada Amazonas. The research centre
existed before the lodge was built and is close to
a large macaw 'clay lick'. This is a place where macaws
and parrots gather to eat clay, believed to neutralise
toxins in their diet.
There are several other distinct, easily accessible
habitats where a diversity of birds, including hummingbirds,
kingfishers, herons and toucans, can be seen on special
birdwatching trips, and there are many other forms
of wildlife in the forest, including frogs, butterflies,
turtles and monkeys.
Ecotourism
The hope of ecotourism organisations and travellers
is that the additional income will give local residents
an incentive to protect the indigenous wildlife and
maintain cultural traditions. On its website, the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) cites
the Quebec Declaration as follows:
"Ecotourism 'embraces the principles of sustainable
tourism... and the following principles which distinguish
it from the wider concept of sustainable tourism:
- contributes actively to the conservation of natural
and cultural heritage;
- includes local and indigenous communities in its
planning, development and operation, contributing
to their well-being;
- interprets the natural and cultural heritage of
the destination to visitors; and
- lends itself better to independent travellers,
as well as to organized tours for small size groups'."
Rainforest Expeditions was founded to combine tourism
with environmental education, research and sustainable
development and was already well regarded by environmentalists
when the Posada Amazonas project began. The company
had been involved in regional planning for the reserve
and were conscientious about employing Peruvians to
fill any jobs that arose. Care is taken to protect
the ecosystem, for example by removing and/or recycling
any rubbish generated by the tourists, and by monitoring
the wildlife to detect any adverse effects of the
tourist traffic. For example, Earthwatch volunteers
are monitoring macaws at the clay licks in an attempt
to see whether the numbers are reduced when people
are photographing them.
The Future
The contract between Rainforest Expeditions and the
Ese'eja Community stipulates that the latter will
take on full responsibility for running Posada Amazonas
from 2016, and the Community has formed committees
to work on strategic plans for sectors such as agriculture,
education, ecotourism and handicrafts. The ecotourism
committee is looking into management training, while
the handicraft committee has built a workshop and
organised training to enable more of the community
to make a living from tourism.
Meanwhile, however, the building of the secondary
school and the fact that community members are dispersed
over a wide area - many of them half a day's travel
from the lodge - means that people in Infierno will
increasingly have a choice over whether or not to
participate in the tourism industry.
For further information, please contact:
Websites
http://www.earthwatch.org/
Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit
organisation, with offices in the USA, UK, Japan and
Australia, which promotes sustainable conservation
of our natural environments and cultural heritage.
http://www.nature.org/
The Nature Conservancy works with communities around
the world to preserve plants, animals and natural
communities that represent diverse ecological regions.
www.nativeplanet.org/ngo/ngo1.htm
Native Planet is a non-profit organisation providing
information on indigenous peoples around the world.
This link takes you to a list of non-profit organisations
or NGOs who support the cause of indigenous peoples.
Further reading
Books with underlined titles can be downloaded for
free by clicking on them. Others can be ordered from
the relevant address.
Community-based Forestry Management
IUCN - World Conservation Union Books
Participatory techniques for community forestry:
A field manual
W.J. Jackson and A.W. Ingles
US$18, IUCN, 1998, ISBN: 2-8317-0384-0
Provides a wealth of practical tools and methods for
field workers who work with local communities in developing
collaborative management of forests. While the manual
focuses on participatory techniques for community
forests in Nepal, many of the techniques can be readily
applied to other forms of collaborative natural resource
management
Collaborative management of forests for conservation
and development
J. Fisher
US$12, WWF, 1995, ISBN: 2-8317-0277-1
Explores various approaches to forest management,
including community forestry and joint forest management
as well as those concerned with protected areas. Covers
key issues of theory and implementation and methodologies
for implementation
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Books
Participatory Approaches to Planning for Community
Forestry
FAO and Theo M.P. Oltheten
US$32, FAO, 1995
The community toolbox. The idea, methods and tools
for participatory assessment, monitoring and evaluation
in community forestry
D. Davis Case, T. Grove, C. Apted
US$19, FAO, 2001, ISBN: 9252044159
This title can be bought from the FAO or EarthPrint
Field guide for project design and implementation
on the women in community forestry
www.fao.org/docrep/T8820E/T8820E00.htm
US$8, FAO
Ecotourism
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Books
Ecotourism: Principles, Practices & Policies
for Sustainability
www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/library/ecotourism.htm
US$15, UNEP, 2002, ISBN: 9280720643
This book can be bought from UNEP or EarthPrint
Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas: Guidelines
for Planning and Management
US$26.25, A UNEP/IUCN/WTO publication, 2002, ISBN
2-8317-0648-3
ITDG Publishing Books
Ecotourism and Sustainable Development
Martha Honey
£18.95, Island Press, 1999, ISBN: 1559635827
Ecotourism: An Introduction
David A. Fennel
£18.99, Routledge, 1999, ISBN: 0415201683
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