Building community-based ecotourism in the Chiquitanía-forest of Bolivia

Project period:

01.08.2020 - 28.02.2022

Granted amount:

500,000,- DKK

Organization:

Aktion Amazonas

Partners:

Fundación para la Conservación del Bosque Chiquitano

Pool:

Civilsamfundspuljen

Grant type:

Medborgerindsats

World goals:

Goal 1: No Poverty

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being

Goal 5: Gender Equality

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Goal 15: Life on Land

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Efforts take place in:

Bolivia

Overall targets

Improve local livelihoods in the pilot indigenous community in the eco-region of the Chiquitano dry forest in Bolivia based on the diversification of activities related to ecotourism and by doing so ultimately reducing the extent of deforestation in the Chiquitano Forest

Immediate targets

EAA and FCBC have already initiated an ecotourism project in SR though with this intervention they seek to further ensure that: 1. The community has the capacity and infrastructure to engage in ecotourism 2. The already established Ecotourism Committee (EC) has the capacity to promote and integrate ecotourism into local planning and management instruments 3. FCBC can facilitate promotion and marketing, and support the strengthening of the capacities of EC and community authorities to market the ecotourism project.

Target groups

The main target group of this intervention is the community of SR, however project activities also target the EC. 1. A total of 25 SR community members, of which the majority are women, will participate in activities such as environmental education, tourist-services, establishing tourist infrastructure and capacity building all in order to diversify their livelihoods using ecotourism. The families of these community members are the indirect beneficiaries, the equivalent to 175 people. 2. A total of 17 women from four other ecotourism communities will do a so called exchange visit where they will facilitate training sessions in SR, in order to improve the sales of local handicrafts. 3. It is estimated that 41 people of which 34 are men and 7 women from three other communities interested in joining the ecotourism venture, will be directly involved in the project’s training sessions potentially benefitting 41 families equivalent to 246 people. 4. The 14 members of the ecotourism committee and 8 community members will receive training in financial management and ethics. Also their ability to engage in local public- private-communal alliances will be improved in order to promote ecotourism regionally. 5. Finally 6 community-members will receive training in using social media tools to promote and market the ecotourism activities offered in SR. Once the ecotourism venture is firmly established all participating families will benefit from the income generated and reinvested in the community.

Resume

The Chiquitano Forest is one of the world's largest areas of tropical dry forest and the second largest forest ecosystem in South America. In Bolivia rural communities depend on the Chiquitano Forest for food, fuel, medicine, household income, ecosystem services, such as water, soil conservation and to reduce their vulnerability to climate changes. However, the Chiquitano Forest is also one of the world's most exposed forest types in terms of deforestation. By strengthening sustainable community territory management and organization, raise awareness about nature conservation and develop community driven ecotourism in a pilot indigenous community in the Chiquitano dry forest ecoregion of Bolivia the project will create an alternative to subsistence agriculture and build local resilience to external commercial interests thus contributing to reducing pressure on the Chiquitano Forest and improve local livelihood among primarily indigenous rural families.