Guiding.  Training for young people from communities near La Flor Wildlife Refuge, to serve as ecotourism guides. Subjects: bird watching and identification of unique species, English, customer service, turtle watching, kayaking, and first aid. To learn more, click on the image.

Newly-trained Nature Guides from communities near La Flor Wildlife Refuge
Photo courtesy of Jerry Bauer, USFS

Bird Banding, Survey and Guiding.  Bird banding, survey and guiding workshops for youths at El Jaguar Private Wildlife Reserve, Nicaragua. The guides now accompany tourists on birding excursions and work with the Reserve’s avian monitoring team to track long term trends in El Jaguar’s 278 bird species. They have also laid down their slingshots—basic equipment for capturing birds for sale as pets.

Ecolodge Management.  Held at Finca Esperanza Verde, an award-winning community ecolodge near Matagalpa. Nicaragua, a workshop on running a tourism operation, for members of Caminos Del Viento and COSERTUCHACO, ecotourism cooperatives working in the Chacocente Wildlife Reserve. Ecotourism, centered on viewing wildlife, such as endangered sea turtle species, offers an income-generating alternative to poaching.

Good Practices Manual and Guide.  Development and validation of an ecotourism good practices manual and trainer of trainers guide for use by communities and micro businesses in Guatemala

Certification of Sustainable Tourism.  Technical assistance for businesses and communities to achieve Green Deal certification for responsible tourism practices; for certified businesses, assistance to use their certification in marketing materials and trade shows

Community Linkages.  Facilitation of joint action across sectoral lines—the mayor, governor, large commercial companies, small businesses, non-governmental organizations, local universities—to support sustainable tourism development, in Barahona, Dominican Republic, which has improved tourism services while preserving the natural resources of the region’s national park 

International Market Linkages.  Assistance to a tour operator to create a strategy and itineraries for eco-tours for North Americans in the Datanlí-El Diablo Nature Reserve and La Flor Wildlife Refuge in Nicaragua, featuring local guiding and other services

Bird-Watching Tool.  Publication of the first official Checklist of the Birds of Guatemala, to promote the country as a destination for birding, an important ecotourism activity worldwide  To learn more, click on the image. 

For more Activities in Ecotourism, click here.

For Theme Outreach/Publications, click here.