Ibarra Conference 2002/Planeta.com

Working Notes from the Ibarra Conference
by Ron Mader

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The following are working notes taken during and after the July 2002 ecotourism conference in Ibarra, Ecuador

IBARRA, ECUADOR -- The International Ecotourism, Rural and Community Tourism Conference was organized by the municipality of Ibarra and in particular their tourism director Oscar Aguirre. Special kudos go out to the students from the Universidad Catolica de Ibarra who assisted throughout the event. The conference was held at the Hotel Ajavi from July 11-13 in recognition of the International Year of Ecotourism.

This was an exceptional event. About 300 people participated, mostly students from various parts of Ecuador. There was also a large contingent of Colombians -- entrepreneurs, academics and park staff. Ibarra is an hour from Colombia.

PRESENTATIONS

The quality of presentations was excellent. I was honored to be in such esteemed company. This was a terrific show of national ecotourism projects as well as lessons from abroad. Among the expositores:

ECUADOR:

Luis Palma and Rodrigo Ontaneda, Fundacion Maquipucuna
German Collaguazo, Proyecto Yunguilla
Daniel Koupermann - Kapawi Ecolodge
Maria Eliza Manteca, Fundacion Golondrina
Jorge Perez/Volcanoland

INTERNATIONAL:

CUBA - Norman Medina/Turismo de la Naturaleza
VENEZUELA - Maria Ida Cardenas
PERU - Hector Quispe Valdiva/Granja Yanacocha
PERU - Jorge Martel Alvarado/Llama Trek
COSTA RICA - Sefora Cerrato
USA/PERU - Roberto Portugal
MEXICO/USA - Ron Mader
CHILE/SPAIN - Ana Garcia Pando/Duoc -- http://www.duoc.cl
PANAMA - Jorge Luis Abrego
COLOMBIA - Andres Castrillon Muñoz/Universidad de Cauca

VIRTUAL/NATURAL WORLD LINKAGES

A special plus for me was being able to meet several of the participants from the Sustainable Development of Ecotourism Web Conference, including Norman Medina and Maria Ida Cardenas.

REFLECTIONS

There were so many presentations there was little time for discussion or reflection. I wish I had known that there would be so many students in attendance so that I could have prepared materials that would be better suited for those just entering the field.

Yet with so many presentations, we were able to see some parallels -- particularly the work communities need to complete before they can develop tourism. For example, Peru's Granja Porcon has spent decades working on agroforestry and related projects and recently begun developing tourism. Successful operations require at least 5-10 years of commitment in the start-up phase.

The role of NGOs and foundations came up a few times, and I did mention our upcoming October online conference. Several people were a bit frustrated at the lack of accountability from NGOs. My point is that we should look at the successes and failures of NGOs as they develop ecotourism operations. I quoted the recent dialogue on the IYE 2002 Forum in which a student asked "how do we know what works?" We need to encourage all sectors to be more accountable.

As a researcher and journalist, I'd like to know how well programs work and by what measures. Surprisingly, I've had the most difficulties in getting honest replies from the NGO community. Perhaps the problem is that NGOS are loathe to admit failure at the risk of not having programs renewed. How do we change this so we can accept "lessons learned" and move us all ahead?

CHISME

Carlos Ricaurte from Chimborazo Polytechnical University is developing an ecotourism conference and academic program later this fall:
Web: http://www.espoch.edu.ec

Elsa Maria Castro gave me copies of the formal presentation of how Ecuador is decentralizing tourism development. Decentralization has been the buzzword in Ecuador for the past few years.
Web: http://www.vivecuador.com

I finally had the chance to meet Francisco Molina from the community of Santa Lucia (which neighbors Yunguilla). Francisco and Mary Finn have been participating in the Planeta Ecuador Forum for some time and it was good to learn about the project first-hand. Now I just need to visit!

POST CONFERENCE

After the conference Norman Medina and I stayed an extra day to tour the organic farm run by Fundacion Golondrinas and a beautiful new hotel, the Hacienda Primavera in Carchi. Our guide was none other than the vice-mayor who turned out to be a font of information and passion for the province. I'm not sure if it was escaping the world of Powerpoint presentations and large salas, but it was a gorgeous day spent outdoors.

Monday I returned to Quito, a bit later than I expected but with enough time to visit friends at South American Explorers and meet with a group at the Reina Victoria Pub. The managers, Boz and Caz, are ex-managers of the SAE and also work with the Footprint guidebook series. They also serve great stout beer and have formed a rugby club. A connection was developed when Francisco Molina was able to talk about his project with Sarah Mazur , who just arrived in Ecuador to begin a 5-week investigation of ecotourism. Sarah is a student from the United States and posted her introduction in the Planeta Ecuador Forum a few weeks ago. Personally, this was a vindication how the Web serves as a great tool to bring people together. That it happened over a pint of Pilsener was an extra bonus.

Ron Mader lives in Mexico and hosts the award-winning Planeta.com website -- www.planeta.com. Ron is the author of the Exploring Ecotourism Resource Guide and can be contracted for presentations and workshops.

PLANETA.COM GUIDES

Ecuador Guide

Exploring Ecotourism Resource Guide

Eco Travels in South America

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