Friday, July 27, 2007

SALTO DEL LIMON AT SAMANA DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Source: Turismo Visión, Informative Service of TourismWatch

Wep page:
http://www.tourism-watch.de/esp/2esp/2esp.dominicana/index.html

By Leida Bouglas.

Dominican Republic: Organizing community groups around eco-tourist practices and conservation of Nature.

The case of Salto del Limón, Samaná, Dominican Republic.



The Cascade of El Limón comprises a great deal of the landscaping attractions at the peninsula of Samaná, Dominican Republic. The tourist potential that has this region offers the possibility of promoting a type of tourism that ties the generation of benefits by means of the reasonable use of the resources with the conservation of Nature.

Nevertheless, until now the region is rather developing a traditional tourism. Most of the tourists buys the “all-included” packages from their countries of origin, which remarkably limits the economic benefits in the destiny countries. This type of tourism development, in addition, can be pernicious to the environment.

A “Diagnosis of the Tourist Sector in the Province of Samaná” from the year 1996 confirms this problem. The affected local people recognized the necessity to develop solutions and changes.



In search of an improvement, the non-governmental organization CEBSE (Centro para la Conservación y Ecodesarrollo de la Bahía de Samaná y su Entorno) (“Center for the Conservation and Eco-development in the Bay of Samaná and its Surroundings”) promotes strategies for the sustainable development of tourism (Plan de Manejo Integrado para la region de Samaná, 1996) (“Plan of Integrated Management for the region of Samaná”, 1996). This plan implies the involvement of the local community groups and opportunities of income for them by means of regulated eco-tourist practices.


Around the cascade, approximately 1,500 people live in the rural localities of Rancho Español, Arroyo Surdido, Loma de la Cruz y El Café. Ten percent of the population works directly in tourism, and many families obtain indirect benefits. In tourism, which began to introduce itself about 15 years ago, many see an economic alternative, more attractive than agriculture.


Nevertheless, problems, unexpected by the communities, arose. This new form of work distorted the social customs, and individualism and lack of fellowship arose, which are not very usual in the rural population. Competitions and conflicts of opposite interests increased, and the quality of the tourist services diminished.


CEBSE tried to generate a base of confidence among the community groups. Activities began to improve the situation together, like, for example, the rehabilitation and the improvement of the footpaths. Little by little, people began to organize themselves and to act in a collective way to improve their services, and mainly to defend their interests before agents like the tourist operators. In workshops, they formulated their expectations, and the strengths and the weaknesses were analyzed. Important subjects of the discussion were the community organization, tourism in general, the protected areas and eco-tourism, the improvement of the tourist services, social problems, other additional economic activities to eco-tourism, and the tourist capacity of the region.


As a result, the Asociación Comunitaria de Ecoturismo del Salto del Limón (ACESAL) (“Eco-Tourism Community Association of Salto del Limón”) arose. Another decisive step was the participation of public organizations in the certification workshops, which contributed “to break the ice”. An important role was also played by the continuous self-evaluations of the activities.


Results and learned lessons.

In order to regulate the tourist activity, ACESAL, CEBSE, and SECTUR (Secretaría de Estado de Turismo) (“State Secretariat for Tourism”) discussed and elaborated in a participative way a plan of norms of use and control for the area. This process was historical, because it was the first time that this governmental instance made norms with previous consultation and approval of the communities. Another result was the formation of a community association integrated by 200 members from 5 communities to make joint activities for the improvement and the sustainable management of the eco-tourist activities. There was also a significant improvement in the infrastructure and the tourist offering, and a greater recognition of the importance of the conservation of the natural resources. Voluntary actions are organized to improve the quality of the place like, for example, cleaning or reforestation initiatives.

Although the Board of Directors and the sub-commissions of ACESAL meet periodically and conduct positive debates, weaknesses in the decision making process, assuming shared responsibilities, and the operation of the same association exist. Nevertheless, ACESAL has begun to take its first steps.


At the moment, there are 12 micro-companies that offer tours with an on-foot or on-a-horse tour guide towards the cascade or the beaches and the caves of the region, as well as typical food, and there are sales of local crafts, organic cacao or coffee. In the tourist activity almost 200 people work directly. Salto del Limón received approximately 20,000 visitors in 1998. The increasing number of visitors raises the expectations put in tourism, but they also increase the disappointments.


The authoress is consultant at Centro para la Conservación y Ecodesarrollo de la Bahía de Samaná y su Entorno (CEBSE) and contributor to the DED (Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst / Servicio Alemán de Cooperación Social-Técnica / German Service of Social and Technical Cooperation)

FREDDY MIRANDA
www.freddymiranda.com
Traduced by Orlando Alcantara

1 comment:

Erin said...

What happened to ACESAL? I can't find their website anymore.