MAYA KA'AN | Programs | Amigos de Sian Ka'an

Challenges

To continue with the human and social strengthening of Community Tourism Businesses.

To position Maya Ka'an as a destination of low environmental impact, enabling a sustainable development in the region.

To maintain a collective vision among diverse actors so it allows to create new partnerships.

Actions

Challenges

To launch a new ecotourism destination brand for the Mexican Caribbean in order to inicially benefit 15 rural communities and 65,000 local people in the medium and long term by strengthening the conservation of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve through greater vigilance and paying special attention to its visitors.

To support 19 groups of Mayan handcraft producers to strengthen their marketing company, allowing them to coordinate their production and marketing in order to increase their sales within 5 years by 100% in the different tourism markets.

To strength the Sian Ka'an´s Neighbor Association increasing its participation in solving problems such as waste that reaches the beaches of the reserve.

Permanent Beach Cleaning Program

The efforts of the Sian Ka'an Neighbor’s Association in conjunction with the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve Directorate and Amigos de Sian Ka'an have been great. We have launched the first Permanent Beach Cleaning Program in this reserve which unfortunately receives tons of trash from the traffic at sea and from Central and South America. We formed a group of workers who remove solid waste found on beaches in the northern part of the reserve.　

In two years of operation, the program has removed more than 29 tons of waste. The goal is to cover the entire coast of the reserve and involve as many neighbors as possible.

Conservation of Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

To guarantee the protection of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. With the support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), we are working on the creation of an ecotourism destination brand. Such branding will help promote the development of the community and the region while diversifying tourism in Quintana Roo with a new model based on nature tourism and low-density hotel activity.

This unique project in Mexico will boost sustainable productive projects in Mayan communities (handcrafts, jams, wood carvings sculptures, natural jungle medicines, etc.) and improve the quality of life of its residents by facilitating their participation in the conservation and wise use of natural resources.

Accomplishments

Challenges

Signing of a collaboration agreement with the SEDETUR.

Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with 3 Hotels in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

15 guides certified under the NOM-09-SECTUR-2002.

4 Punta Allen community tourism enterprises obtained the Ecotourist M Distinctive.

Inauguration of the "Center for culture and environmental education Mayan Ka'an ' in Felipe Carrillo Puerto.

Publication of the article Actions, achievements and challenges of the fate of low environmental impact in Quintana Roo, Mexico: "Maya Ka’an” (http://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/9906)

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