Bird watching provides potential for ecotourism

By ROBERTO GALLARDO
Special to HTW

La Ceiba — In mid December Robert Ridgely, a prominent ornithologist came to Honduras where he visited the Tela and La Ceiba areas. He is part of an organization called RARE Center for Tropical Conservation that works with local NGO’s in the conservation, development and promotion of protected areas in various countries throughout the world.

It was the first birdwatching tour to this country that was organized by RARE that served to ascertain whether commercial tours could be carried out on a regular basis in conjunction with local NGO’s and private tour operators. The tour started out in Belize where they birded in protected areas before continuing on to Honduras.

Ricardo Steiner and Naturalist, Robert Gallardo accompanied the group. They bird watched at the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens, The Lodge at Pico Bonito and the CURLA Campamento study area and saw a total of nearly 200 species of birds. They got spectacular views of Lovely Cotingas, a juvenile Black Hawk-Eagle and Turquoise-browed Motmots.

The Pico Bonito National Park near La Ceiba. The Rare Center for Tropical Conservation wants to promote bird watching tours in Honduras. 

The president of Spain, Jose Maria Aznar greets a member of Ruta Quetzal at the Annual Tourism Fair. 

COMAYAGUA

Ever wonder what Honduras’ highest five sources of income are? Well here’s a brief overview...in the number five spot we have seafood which brought in $87 million in 2001. In fourth position are bananas at $87 million as well. 

In position three is coffee at $89 million, in second place is the maquila or clothing assembly industry which brought in $456 million. And in the number one position —drum roll please— are monies sent back to Honduras by family members living abroad, the lions share in the US. Money orders or remesas, as these funds are known, totaled $478 million. 

Now you might ask: How does tourism fit into the scheme of things? Well glad you asked, tourism in 2001 brought in an estimated $300 million making it the number three source of dollars for the Honduran economy. Within four years it is estimated that tourism will be the number one source of dollars. Now more than ever, with basic commodities prices like coffee down the tubes, tourism is one of the few sectors of the Honduran economy that is poised in the short term to take up the slack.

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All you can eat and drink anyone? Barcelo Hotels and Resorts will soon inaugurate it’s newest all inclusive resort - and it’s first in Honduras, the Palma Real Beach Resort & Casino. The four star property is being constructed on the beach near the village of Roma, 25 km from La Ceiba. In it’s first phase the hotel will have 42 rooms. The project calls for a total of 118 rooms in the future. Barcelo also recently opened two new resort properties in Panama: Barcelo de Ville in Panama City and Barcelo Guayacanes on the Pacific Coast. As well another Barcelo resort is under construction in Nicaragua. On a global level Barcelo has a total of 108 hotels with 50,800 rooms in eighteen countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

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Did you know (or care) that.......30,309 passengers took a domestic flight in Honduras between January - September last year and 77,189 took an international flight? Did you also know (or care) that 6,866 passengers boarding international flights did not pay the $25 exit tax and 940 domestic passengers did not pay the Lps. 20 air passenger tax as they were exempt. 

And finally.....did you know (or care) that in the same time period, 49,376 “impacts” were registered at Honduras’ four international airports. For those out of the air traffic loop, an “impact” is a landing or take off of an aircraft.....correct me if I’m wrong here, but perhaps they could of coined a bit more “warm and fuzzy customer friendly” term as opposed to “impact!”

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While we’re on the subject of airlines....Honduras leads the way in terms of the cost of landing and taking off a jet at a Honduran airport. For example, landing and takeoff for a 737-300 jet will run you $770 bucks a pop, the average cost in Latin America is $568, in Canada $514, Australia, $424, Europe, $404 and the landing in the US will set you back a meager $321.

According to the International Airline Association (IATA), Honduras ranks in the number 4 position in the world when it comes to the turnaround cost (landing and take off of a jet). Let’s see if the new administration takes the problem of opening up Honduras’ skies to the free market and additional competition and comes up with a common sense approach to government tariffs and taxes which put Honduras at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. 

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And finally......rumors were true......the ruins at Copan are now open at night...a fantastic opportunity to get up close and personal with your favorite Maya king carved in stone.

Environmental education and prospects for tourism

The Cuero y Salado Wildlife Refuge La Ceiba offers guided tours through the park to minimize impact on nature.

By IXCHEL GRANADA

SAN PEDRO SULA -- EDUECO, a private environmental organization located in San Pedro Sula provides various educational services including formal ecotours, community development, and ecological restoration projects. Honduras This Week recently spoke with the biologist Suyapa Dominguez of EDUECO regarding the prospects for tourism in Honduras. 

HTW: As I understand it EDUECO promotes ecotourism. What is the difference between ecotourism and tourism and what are the potential benefits of each?

Dominguez: Tourism at the global level is the largest industry in sheer revenues, generating more than the automobile, the agricultural and the manufacturing industry individually. Therefore, one can say that there exists more economic potential in tourism than in any other industry.

The nucleus zone of the Punta Sal National Park in Tela.

Traditional tourism refers to what has occurred in places like Cancun and Acapulco: fast-paced development with little regard for the needs of the local community that has had damaging effects on the local environment. 
Cancun is beginning to add an educational component to its brand of tourism. This kind of change stems from a new kind of tourist who is demanding a more environmentally friendly experience abroad. Environmental education, interpretation and tourism go hand in hand and when combined with conservation efforts and community involvement we begin to create a brand of tourism that could be called ecotourism. According to statistics by the World Institute of Tourism, (WTO) 20% of tourism can be considered ecotourism. Honduras, through the Honduran Institute of Tourism, has begun to incorporate environmental education and tourism precisely this year. Under the supervision of the United Nations as well as funds from the World Bank, Honduras will embark on a five-year strategic tourism plan for sustainable development of the north coast of Honduras. However, developing ecotourism is a gradual process and should be seen as a long-term goal. 

HTW: What are the factors to consider in the development of ecotourism?

Dominguez: Ecotourism is a type of tourism that demands great responsibility, requiring collaboration between governments, private enterprises, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), visitors and the local community. Private sector participation is also a key factor. For example, the Cusuco National Park is supported by several private donors all motivated and initially organized by an environmental NGO responsible for the management of the park. The availability of those funds allows for ecotourism in Cusuco. Governmental support is another key factor. For example, the Wildland and Wildlife department (DAPVS) of COHDEFOR wrote the Strategic Management Plan for National Parks, (SINAPH).We must also figure man in the equation. We all consider protected areas a great national treasure. Protected areas serve to protect and conserve biodiversity, genetic pools, water, and air and soil quality. However, we cannot afford to sacrifice socio-economic growth, nor should we try. We should try to find a balance between the economy and the environment in order to obtain sustainable development and the daily needs of humans; ecotourism is an instrument to meet this objective. Communities should participate in the planning, and execution of the ecotourism project; where they decide what type of ecotourism they want to have in their areas and what role they want to play in it. NGOs become a key factor when they regulate entrances to the protected areas, create low impact facilities satisfying the visitor's needs and provide interpretative trails, and focus on conservation as the main objective. Tourists can participate in the process by demanding a brand of tourism that maintains equilibrium with the environment.

HTW: What do you feel is the ambience for ecotourism in relation to President Maduro and his recent emphasis on tourism?

Dominguez: I believe that many private enterprises have high expectations of Maduro. More so, the tourism sector, because of his emphasis on tourism of course. In order to achieve any strides or advances, the tourism sector itself needs to support its own goals. Let us say, for example, that I as a ecotourism operator gain the financial support of the European community and have the funds for a course and a two or three day training workshop in ecotourism. Then I, as that tour operator, have the responsibility to send my tour guides to that course. Although many operators would prefer not to send their guides because of the lost revenue their absence causes. But one should think of the doors that could be opened. These workshops enrich the quality of tourist services that one can provide, they create a more knowledgeable staff, a better image, and in the long-term a better market. Perhaps with the new administration many efforts will be made towards improving tourism services. I believe the principle role of the government should be motivational, in the way of incentives and regulations, coordination and promotion. 

HTW: Describe for us the different points of view that tourism has within the interest groups involved. 

Dominguez: If we are talking specifically about ecotourism, it was created within the work of NGO's. People have a natural inclination towards nature areas. So what occurred was that the national parks noted the interest and the next question was: How can we use this interest to benefit the cause of conservation? Each group, the private sector, NGOs, and tourists have their own interests. Therefore what is needed is coordination among the groups. Each group should continue to realize its own role and function. And not only the groups mentioned but also the communities that exist in the nearby areas. These communities play a vital role as well. All together building a cohesive unit. For example: Communities want to build a better future for themselves with greater socio-economic options. NGOs want to conserve and protect biological diversity and green spaces through sustainable development. In the case of the tourist what he/she wants is recreation and education, as well as relaxation. The government wants to assure itself that the area is benefiting the general populace, as should be the concern of the government. In this case a private enterprise wants an economic benefit, as is the definition of an enterprise. So as you see there are various interests but these various interests can work together, so we see it as a pie, each taking and contributing to the pie so that all involved can receive benefit. Now, of course this is not easy. Ecotourism is very complicated, in fact. But I strongly believe that ecotoursim as a component of tourism has great potential to support the cause of conservation and provide economic opportunity. But what is needed is much effort, great sacrifice and cooperation from all parties involved. This year has been officially named by the United Nations as the International year of Ecotourism. Honduras faces the challenge of developing responsible ecotourism, changing the traditional way of coexistence between tourism and environment, so lets go for it!! It is worth it.

If ecotourism project works, we'll know why

An ambitious and innovative experiment in conservation and tourism is under way at six World Heritage sites across the globe: two in Mexico, two in Indonesia, and one each in Guatemala and Honduras. RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, a US-based nonprofit group, has teamed up with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the World Heritage Centre of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Foundation, and a team of collaborators at each site to try to ensure that tourism will benefit both the people living outside each park and the biodiversity within. The objectives of the four-year project are far-reaching but straight-forward: increase revenue generated from tourism at each site; build park managers' skills so they can use tourism to support conservation; increase local awareness; help local managers develop tourism marketing strategies; and provide local economic incentives for conservation.These goals are challenging enough, but the project, called the World Heritage Partnership, has even more audacious ambitions. Project managers are involving as many stakeholders as possible, actually listening to their feedback into the project work plan, scrutinizing and documenting progress and setbacks, and will use the lessons learned to change the direction and management of the project, if needed. With a total of $2.5 million from the United Nations Foundation, the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, and the Aveda Corporation, World Heritage Partnership staff is following a very deliberate, often challenging process called "adaptive management." 

Maureen Cunningham, who directs the Partnership project for RARE Center, explains that the first steps in adaptive management involve visits with key players in each site, who are then invited to participate in a "vision workshop," where they together identify the main threats to the protected area and discuss what might be done to diminish each threat. From this meeting, RARE Center drafts a preliminary project model of the threats and the social and economic factors that contribute to them. This entire hypothesis is then tested in the field. Claudia Virgen, RARE Center's national director in Mexico, recently finished field-testing a project model for the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, 1.3 million acres of forests, lagoons, wetlands and mangroves in Quintana Roo state, just south of Cancun. She talked to many people living near the reserve to see if the threats and response strategies outlined during the vision workshop were really on target. 

Alfredo Arellano, director of Sian Ka'an for Mexico's National Commission of Protected Areas, believes that the World Heritage Partnership staff helped negotiate agreement and conciliation among the diverse stakeholders who don't always see eye-to-eye about what can and can't be done inside Sian Ka'an. "Sometimes the community sees us as allies but sometimes as opponents because we establish restrictions with which they disagree," he says. "All the meetings and discussions we've had allow them to see that the program isn't something being imposed on them."The partnership staff has also identified specific ways they will be able to monitor project impact and assess whether they are meeting their conservation objectives. Few conservation projects invest in this kind of follow-up evaluation, but it's vital to the adaptive management process advocated by Foundations of Success (FOS), a nonprofit group founded and managed by Richard Margoluis and Nick Salafsky. FOS, which is working closely with the World Heritage Partnership team, aims to improve conservation success by helping organizations develop and communicate tested knowledge about what works, what doesn't, and why. Margoluis stresses that adaptive management is not trial-and-error. Instead, he says, "It is a systematic approach to identifying the best strategies for reaching your goals and learning about the conditions under which they work. This way, you can not only improve as a manager but also document important results and let other people learn from you." ECO-EXCHANGE

Tourism in Honduras continues to grow at a healthy rate.....According to the ex Minister of Tourism Honduras took in some $300 million in tourism income in 2001, topping the figure of $162 million of 2000. Current projections peg tourism income to reach $350 - $400 million in 2002. The ex-Minister also noted the importance of cruise ships and the tourism revenues generated. This month work is scheduled to be completed on the enlargement of Roatan's dock that will give Roatan the capacity to receive 15 cruise ships per month. For each arrival of a cruise ship some $120,000 - $150,000 is spent on the island. In 2001 some 150,000 visitors arrived in Honduras via cruise ship. Due to problems generated by Sept 11, cruise lines have eliminated or scaled back service to destinations such as the Mediterranean and beefed up cruise offering to the Caribbean. According to the Minister, the Norwegian Line will now visit Roatan all year round, not just during the winter season. The new Roatan dock will also allow larger ships of 2,000 - 3,000 passengers to call on Honduras. 

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New resort to open in Central America......By the end of this year Nicaragua will sport a brand spanking new beach resort. The Barcelo Punta Diamante with 100 rooms is being built at a cost of $10 million on a 200-acre site on Nicaragua's southern Pacific coast, 140 km south east of Managua. The resort will offer a nine-hole golf course and a marina. Punta Diamante will be Barcelo's second resort property in Nicaragua. The Montelimar resort has operated since 1993 and is located 65 km from Managua on a property that previously belonged to the ex strongman Anastasio Somoza. And as we speak...Honduras too will enter the all inclusive beach resort race with the opening of a new Barcelo property just outside of La Ceiba near the village of Roma. The Spanish firm Barcelo has taken the lead in Central America in the niche of all inclusive beach resorts that primarily draw on local Central American weekend tourists.

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Did you know...... that Honduras occupies the last spot in Central America in terms of "economic competitiveness." This according to a study by the Central American Institute for Business Administration and the Harvard Institute for International Development. As well, the Heritage Foundation has placed Honduras in the second to last spot ( Nicaragua is at the bottom of the list) in regards to the level of "economic liberty." And finally Transparency International has placed Honduras at the bottom of the list in Central America and 94 of 99 countries worldwide in terms of the perceived level corruption in the country. It is expected that many of these rankings will change dramatically in the next four years as President Maduro implements far reaching reforms designed to make Honduras more competitive and agile in the global economy.

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Copán Ruins to be opened to night tours.........word on the street here in Copan Ruinas and in the national press is that as a result of the tremendous success of the Presidential Inauguration ceremony at the ruins, the site will be permanently illuminated and opened up to visitors in the evenings. In addition the wonderful Maya theme theater production, which was commissioned especially for the inauguration, will be offered on a weekly basis during the high season.

Utila

The smallest of the three islands known as the Bay Islands of the coast of Honduras, Utila is internationally renowned for low priced diving courses. Several different schools offering a variety of options in obtaining dive certification. If you're not into diving, but just swimming along the surface, most operators offer tours specifically tailored to snorkelers, while others combine the two.

Land activities are also diverse and include hiking, bird watching and lizard watching. Utila is home to an indigenous species of iguana found only on the small island. You can also spend the day and or several days on Water Cay, an uninhabited isle, just hanging out and doing your own thing. Houses on other cays can also be rented on a daily or more basis.

Hotels in Utila

Laguna Beach 435-3239 770.00
Hotel Utila 425-3340 630.00
Sharkey's Cabins 425-3212 525.00
Mango Inn 425-3335 560.00
Bayview 425-3114 230.00
Freddy's Place 425-3142 420.00
Cross Creek 425-3134 168.00
Laguna del Mar 425-3103 154.00
Trudy's 425-3103 154.00

Restaurants in Utila

Mango Tree Gelateria and Expresso Bar

Offers home-made ice gelato featuring island fruit sorbets, and traditional Italian flavors of at least 12 different flavors of a total of over 30 flavors that will be available on a rotating basis. Espresso, Cappuccino, café late also available.

The Jade Seahorse

A truly unique environment decorated with antiques and marine artifacts, this restaurant is unique to Honduras. Tropical gardens offer a an artistic atmosphere to enjoy your meal at the best seafood restaurant.

Thomson's Bakery

Without question the most popular breakfast place in Utila. Fresh baked cakes and rolls, fresh orange juice and a selection of omelets at good prices.

As any ' Hondophile ' worth his salt probably already knows, Honduras has a new President...and for those who may be just a bit out of the loop, his name is Ricardo Maduro of the Nationalist Party. If Maduro's inauguration festivities and ceremonies are any indication, the country is in for some fundamental, much needed and profound changes in the coming four years.

The formal inauguration ceremony as usual took place in the National Stadium of Tegucigalpa, the difference this time around was that the ceremony was quick, businesslike and to the point. Lacking was the traditional pomp, circumstance and interminable hours in the hot sun, listening to meaningless speeches and reviewing the troops. 

After dispensing with the formalities, some 500 VIP's were choppered out to Copan Ruinas where the serious business of celebrating the new Presidents term in office began in ernest. The village of Copan Ruinas and the archeological site were decked out in their Sunday best for the occasion. The Great Plaza at the ruins were lovingly illuminated by a small army of lighting technicians. The invited guests walked into the archeological site as night enveloped the ruins. The site, normally closed to visitors at night, was opened up for this one time for the inauguration. After a quick tour of the ruins, guests were seated, a brief and to the point Presidential speech followed, a document of was signed by all the attending Presidents, and there was classical music and a wonderful theater presentation which was commissioned for the event.

Following all this a gala dinner with all the fixins' was offered at the spectacular Maya Sculpture Museum. While all this was going on at the ruins....in the village there was another party in progress. The newly renovated Central Park was the site of the "People's Inauguration Party"' where townsfolk, tourists and farmers from surrounding villages gathered to celebrate the new President in true country style. There was marimba music, mariachi, typical foods, crafts and plenty of warm fuzzy civic pride feeling to go around. 

By midnight the partygoers were joined in the Central Park by Maduro himself, accompanied by the President of El Salvador. As a fireworks show (donated by the government of Taiwan) went on above town, children and adults held candles as the Presidents greeted the people and enjoyed the cultural presentations. All this was no small feat considering that the typical Presidential inauguration was usually more "fluff than stuff ," this time however the new President made a conscious and concerted decision to offer an inauguration that would be indicative of his administration to come. The inauguration exuded warmth, caring and a businesslike "can do"' style. The choice of Copan signaled not only a commitment to developing Honduran tourism over the coming years but as well a strong desire to tell the majority of Hondurans (who are poor and rural) that they have not and will not be forgotten. 

Never before has a newly elected Honduran President ventured so far and to such lengths to send a signal indicating what direction his administration will take. During the campaign he promised across the board reforms in how the government does business, a zero tolerance/get tough stance on crime, real incentives and the elimination of red tape for investors foreign and domestic, a full court press to get the tourism ball rolling and possibly for the first time in Honduran history undertake to establish an government that truly responds to the Honduran reality. On Maduros' first day on the job, local reporters were aghast that the President arrived to work at the Presidential Palace in his own vehicle with out the usual 1/2 block long escort of dark windowed vehicles with sirens blazing - if this is any indication of things to come, Honduras is in for one heck of a next four years! 

Howard Rosenzweig, a U.S. expatriate living in the village of Copan Ruinas, is the owner of the Casa de Café Bed and Breakfast. He can be contacted at e-mail <casadecafe@mayanet.hn>.