Tourism
Doing It Right The First Time
Yap Workshop Gives Pointers for Low-Impact Tourism Development
The green movement is alive and well in the western Pacific. Yap, one of four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, hosted in January the Community Marine Ecotourism Development Workshop, a project sponsored by the Apia, Samoa-based South Pacific Regional Environment Program. Representatives of government agencies and non-government organizations from seven island groups—Palau, Yap, Guam, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Marshall Islands, and Nauru—received training in ecotourism development and environmental awareness.
"Degradation of our marine ecosystems can be likened to cancer," said SPREP director Tamarii Tutangata. "It must be treated at its early stages, otherwise it becomes excruciatingly expensive and terminal in its later stages."
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Tutangata said that SPREP is assisting its member countries in the Pacific to develop and manage marine resources and the marine environment through non-destructive revenue earning activities. Currently, there are 34 new conservation areas in 13 Pacific islands — a total of 1.3-million hectares of rainforests, mangroves, reefs, and coastal waters — that have been established by local communities in the past four years. "Simply put, marine ecotourism is earning dollars from conservation through ecologically sustainable tourism," he said.
Although eco- and cultural tourism has been a mainstay in Central America for more than a decade, marine biologist and SPREP workshop instructor Robin Aiello said the concept is in its infancy in Micronesia. "We’re trying to establish a step-by-step process and understanding that will allow individuals and communities to set up ecotourism properly the first time around," Aiello said. "This allows the communities to be proactive in community development and environmental protection, rather than reactive."
The Yap workshop is part of a new initiative by SPREP to promote ecotourism developments as a proactive way to maintain or improve environmental quality in a region that is increasingly under environmental stress.
Ecotourism expert and SPREP workshop facilitator Russell Boswell said that it’s important that ecotourism models be adapted to the local needs in order for it to be successful. Aiello, Boswell, and island representatives created two ecotourism models in Yap—Ma’a Village and Riken—for the community to develop. Kayaking through the mangrove forests, photographing endangered flora and fauna, understanding more about the seaside faluuw (meeting house), and strolling down moss-covered stone paths while receiving a lesson on medicinal plants were part of the itinerary.
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Developed ecotourism in Yap is best shown at Kadai Village, where the community organized and developed a cultural tour that includes dancing, weaving, and explanations of Yapese cultural ways. "The tour serves to have traditional skills and knowledge passed down from the elders to the young, thereby preserving culture and traditions," said Kadai Community and Cultural Development Organizer board chairman Stan Fillmed.
