el tikuna territory -...

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Javari River Leticia -Tabatinga

Cacao Island

PERU

Puerto Nariño

Korea Island

BRAZIL

BRAZIL

BRAZIL

COLOMBIA

Mocagua Island

AMAZO

N RIVER

SOLIMOES R

IVER

El TIKUNA TERRITORY

0 100

50 200

300 KM

Antiguo Territorio Ticuna

San Martín

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Location: Trapecio Amazónico

Municipalities: Leticia & Puerto Nariño

Area: 932.300 hectares

Climate: Tropical Rainforest

Mean Temperature: 27° C

International Borders: Peru & Brazil

Rainfall: 2800-3200 mm / year

Humidity > 90%

ANP Area: 293.500 hectares

Overlap with Indigenous land: 10%

NAPATW

AMACAYACURIVER

RIVER OF THEHAMMOCKS

AMACAYACUNATIONALPARK

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

TIKUNA INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF SAN MARTÍN DEAMACAYACU

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ECOTOURISM PROCESS IN THE

COLOMBIAN AMAZON

• 1975: AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK WAS ESTABLISHED AND OVERLAPS ANAREA OCCUPIED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

• 1977: LAST TIKUNA MALOKA IN THE AMACAYACU RIVER WATERSHED• 1979: DRUG TRAFFIC BONANZA• 1981: CONSTRUCTION OF FIRST PARK CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE CABIN• 1983 - 1990: INDIGENOUS TERRITORIES (RESGUARDOS) RECOGNIZED BY

THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT• 1985 - 1987: ECOTOURISM PROGRAM INITIATED IN PROTECTED AREAS• 1988: CONSTRUCTION OF INFRASTRUCTURE - “YEWAE” VISITOR CENTER,

AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK• 2002: DEPARTMENT OF AMAZONAS DETERMINES ECOTOURISM AS A TOOL

FOR FUTURE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AS PART OF THE COLOMBIANNATIONAL TOURISM POLICY

• 2005: MONITORING PROGRAM WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES “GAVILÁNTATATAO” FOR ECOTOURISM ACTIVITIES IN AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK

• 2005: COLOMBIAN NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (UAESPNN) BEGINS A POLICYOF CONCESSION OF VISITOR ATTENTION SERVICES IN SELECTED NATIONALPARKS, INCLUDING AMACAYACU. “YEWAE VISITOR CENTER” COMES UNDERTHE MANAGEMENT OF A CONSORTIUM OF A LARGE HOTEL CHAIN(DECAMERON)AND THE COUNTRY´S LARGEST TRAVEL AGENCY (AVIATUR)

ECOTOURISMPROGRAM 1987-2004

“Yewae” Visitor Center began to

play an important role in visitor reception in thearea

• Indigenous environmental interpreter training programs promoted by the regional andnational government

• Conformation of organized groups of interpreters within the three indigenouscommunities that share jurisdiction of Amacayacu National Park (San Martín deAmacayacu, Palmeras and Mocagua). In the year 2002, three additionalcommunities adjacent to the park requested to be included in the program as well(Macedonia, El Vergel and Zaragoza)

• Informal, verbal agreements among the interpreters and the park were established toorganize ecotourism activities; in actual practice, these were “highly flexible”

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ECOTOURISM

GAVILÁNTATATAO

MONITORINGPROGRAM

• This program is the result of Amacayacu´s20 years of experience in managingvisitors

• The main objectives:Determination of the Carrying Capacity for each

ecotourist activity

Development and implementation of amonitoring program to quantify the effects ofecotourism

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GAVILÁNTATATAO

MONITORINGPROGRAM

• Written, formal agreements were developedamong the Park, the communities, and theConcession whose objectives are to manageecotourism activities sustainably and withinacceptable levels of social and environmentalchange

• Current participation of six Tikuna indigenouscommunities: San Martín de Amacayacu,Palmeras, Mocagua, Macedonia, El Vergel andZaragoza

ECOTOURISM AND LOCALCOMMUNITIES

• The theory: Ecotourism benefits localcommunities without detrimental social orenvironmental consequences

• The implicit hypothesis: an increase ineconomic benefits for local communities willresult in lower direct pressure on NaturalResources

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LOCAL CHANGES INECOTOURISM

• Increase in the number of visitors

AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK DATABASE

• Increase in the number of tour agencies.

2002 – 16 tour operators and travel agencies in Leticia

2007 – 28 tour operators and travel agencies in Leticia

DAFE- Departamento Administrativo y de Fomento Ecoturístico, Amazonas

LOCATION AND YEAR NUMBER OF VISITORS

AMACAYACU : 2004 4.575 visitors





• Related changes in creature comforts, costs,and visitor profile with the Concession

Hot water, nice beds, chef

More privacy

Package tours that structure less time for local interaction (anddirect economic exchange between visitor and local person)

• Economic benefit for the six local communities isaround 10 % of the TOTAL income received bythe “Yewae” Visitor Center (The NET INCOMEof the Visitor Center is still not completelyknown!)

AMACAYACU NATIONAL PARK DATABASE

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• For the first time in 20 years, the children inMocagua received financing for their schoolsupplies from funds set aside for the purpose byone of the interpeter groups

• Visitors´ interests and attitudes expose localpeople to the “environmental sensitivity” thatmotivates “eco”tourism

• Visitors expose local people to a new level ofconsumerism (they´ve got NEAT STUFF!)

• The Concession management has become moreenvironmentally and socially aware andresponsible in policy and operative decisions


• Traditional Indigenous Authority Associations(AATI´s) are now influencing governmentaldecisions related to ecotourism

• Local initiatives are becoming part of the NationalDevelopment Plan for ecotourism

• MID-TERM Changes: training and hands-onexperience prepare members of local communitiesfor assuming future regional ecotourismmanagement

• LONG-TERM Changes: “Yewae” Visitor Centerecotourism services will be operated by localcommunities and will serve (in theory) as aPOSITIVE case study for the region

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TIKUNA CULTURE

TRADITIONAL USE OF NATURALRESOURCES

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QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN THEUSE OF NATURAL RESOURCES

• TRADITIONAL USE OF NATURALRESOURCES WAS DIRECT – FORFOOD, SHELTER, LIGHT, CLOTHING,TRANSPORTATION, I.E., BASIC NEEDS

• CURRENTLY, THERE IS INCREASINGINDIRECT USE OF NATURALRESOURCES TO OBTAIN MONEY TO

COVER NEW BASIC NEEDS(SCHOOL SUPPLIES, FLASHLIGHTS,“STUFF”)

QUANTITATIVE CHANGES INTHE USE OF NATURAL

RESOURCES

• Logarithmic population growth (includingfrom immigration) has increased the directpressure of regional residents on NaturalResources

• There are more visitors to the regionwhose presence results in greater directpressure on Natural Resources (e.g., food,handicrafts)

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LOGGING

CARANÁ PALM TREE

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FISHING

HUNTING

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PALOSANGRE

• THE INHERENT CHALLENGE FOR MANAGING CHANGES THATWILL RESULT IN “QUALITY OF LIFE”:

– THERE IS TREMENDOUS CULTURAL RICHNESS

– ALL THE STRONGEST SOCIOECONOMIC FORCES INTHESE COMMUNITIES AT THIS POINT – INCLUDING THEDEVELOPING OF ECOTOURISM – TEND TO PROMOTE THEDEVALUATION, EROSION, OR LOSS OF THIS TRADITIONALRICHNESS AND THE INTERNAL SOCIAL COHESION ANDCOLLECTIVE IDENTITY OF THESE PEOPLE:

– DISINTEREST IN LEARNING/USING THE TIKUNALANGUAGE IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS

– DISINTEREST IN BEING TIKUNA

– INCREASING PARTICIPATION IN THE CASHECONOMY

– DECREASING BIODIVERSITY

WHAT IS “QUALITY OF LIFE”?

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ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATION

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGES

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TIKUNA SEED EXCHANGE

LOCAL INITIATIVES

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The “Ngüküripw” Maloka

THE MALOKAThe Maloka is the placewhere the traditionalknowledge and practices ofthe Tikuna are transmittedby the elders through oraltradition. Malokas were anessential part of the cultureand where young peoplelearned by living and doing

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THE CHAGRA

The Chagra and theMinga are fundamentalfor maintaining theTikuna culture andagricultural diversitythrough the daily use ofknowledge andtraditional managementpractices

AN ACTIVE PROCESS FOR GUIDING THE

EVOLUTION OF TRADITIONAL SUSTAINABLE

USE OF THE MEGA-BIODIVERSITY OF THE

COLOMBIAN AMAZON

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ECOTOURISM PRIORITIES IN

AMACAYACU NATIONAL

PARK

• Monitoring of social aspects is essential inorder to document changes that occur

• Women in these communities seem tohave a better perception of sustainablemanagement; it is important to suppportand strengthen this tendency

GENERAL PRIORITIES

• Maintain and reinforce the use andtransmission of traditional knowledge thattends to sustain cultural identity andregional biodiversity:

– Local education programs emphasizing thecurrent relevance and importance of traditionaluses of natural resources

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GENERAL PRIORITIES

• Develop mechanisms of which notraditional solutions exist and which areconsistent with local cultural andenvironmental conditions:

– For instance, safe drinking water and wastewater management

REMEMBER…

The forest is of no use without theknowledge of its inhabitants.

If the forest is gone, all will be lost.

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THE EXCHANGE OF KNOWLEDGE

“NGÜKÜRIPW” MALOKA - San Martín de Amacayacu. November 2007

Acknowledgements

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