Ecotourism in Amazonian Perù 2: Explorer's Inn
Case Study C0078
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| Date | 1996 |
| Donor/support agency | Peruvian Government |
| Project type | Self implemented |
| Context(s) | Protected area |
| Geographic coverage | Peru |
| Locality | Tambopata region |
| Biodiversity focus | Ecosystem/landscape |
| Development focus | Local community |
| Conservation goals | Conserve biodiversity in the Zona Reservada Tambopata |
| Poverty reduction goals | None initially. In a second time, a revenue sharing scheme with the local community of Infierno and the provision of jobs for some residents of Infierno |
Summary
Madre de Dios, and the Tambopata region in particular, have long been known to tropical biologists as a region high in species diversity, containing some of the world’s highest recorded alpha-diversities of plants, insects, birds and mammals, as well as some of the world’s largest expanses of pristine tropical forest, including Manu National Park. In 1990, Perú established the 1.5 million ha Zona Reservada Tambopata-Candamo. Unlike the Park, the ‘Zona Reservada’ designation confers only limited protection and, thus, the ZRTC has been colonized, mainly along the river.
Explorer’s Inn lodge on the Tambopata River was founded in 1976. The Peruvian government granted Explorer’s Inn a 5500 ha reserve; this was the confusingly-named Zona Reservada Tambopata. The trail system and buildings, which were paid for by tourism, aided research in tropical ecology. It was subsequently discovered that the Explorer’s Inn’s reserve overlapped almost completely with land which had been previously and permanently assigned to the neighbouring Ese’eja Comunidad Indigena of Infierno. To reduce this conflict, Explorer’s Inn agreed to pay Infierno US$ 1 for each tourist, to provide employment for some members of the community and to fund a cooperative ethnobotanical study. In return, Infierno would respect the boundaries of the reserve and forego hunting macaws on a clay lick located downstream from the lodge.
Initially, the standard model of ecotourism was realized in Tambopata: tourism generated the revenues that employed locals and paid for the maintenance and preservation of the reserves, thereby providing the direct link between habitat conservation and local incomes. However, during the 1980s Explorer’s Inn failed in its pledge to pay the Comunidad of Infierno for each tourist, in part due to a three-year crash in tourism which put the lodge’s very survival at stake. As a result, relations soured between the Comunidad of Infierno and Explorer’s Inn. In 1993, Infierno reclaimed its land and hired a surveyor to demarcate boundaries, leaving Explorer’s Inn with only 15 of its original 5,500 ha. The Comunidad of Infierno’s plans include farming and hunting, as well as timber and Brazil nut extraction.
The failure of the lodge to protect its reserves was probably inevitable given the land tenure laws prevalent in Perú’s Amazonian regions prior to 1994, which didn't grant rights over land. Reforms in the Peruvian land laws since 1994 now make it possible to buy rainforest from the State, turning public lands into private property.
Conservation impact
Initially, tourism generated the revenues that paid for the maintenance and preservation of the reserves. When tourim's revenues decreased, the community of Infierno reclaimed its land to use it for farming, hunting, and timber and Brazil nut extraction.
Poverty reduction impact
Initially, Explorer’s Inn payed Infierno US$ 1 for each tourist, and provided employment for some members of the community. In a second time, due to a crash in tourism, the lodge stopped paying the community of Infierno US$1 for each tourist, which prompted Infierno to reclaim its land.
Strategy for Conservation/Poverty Linkages
Local employment/job creation
Revenue sharing
Reference 1
Yu, D.W., Hendrickson, T., and Castillo, A., 1997, 'Ecotourism and Conservation in Amazonian Peru: Short-Term and Long-Term Challenges', Environmental Conservation 24(2): 130-38
More information
http://www.explorersinn.com/
Similar record to this one:
- Ecotourism in Amazonian Perù 3: Tambopata Jungle Lodge (TJL) (Case study C0079)