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Guyana protected areas can be key foreign exchange earner
– says veteran tourism entrepreneur
Guyana is on a path to successfully expanding its ecosystem services and ultimately propelling its local tourism sector into a leading foreign exchange earner and an engine of economic development for hinterland communities
A section of the gathering at Moray House for the Protected Areas and Tourism Development presentation.
that neighbour protected areas.
Peruvian nature based-tourism entrepreneur Eduardo Nycander shared his country’s tourism experiences with key stakeholders last Thursday evening during a World Wildlife Fund-hosted Protected Areas and Tourism Development presentation at Moray House on Camp and Quamina Streets.
Nycander acknowledged Guyana’s tourism potential, noting that the two countries’ “natural resources are the same and the equation of the protected areas are the same, so I see the potential that Guyana has”.
Nycander, who has been in the tourism business for close to three decades, runs what is deemed a wildly successful public-private-community-tourism model with his company, Rainforest Expeditions.
His company has worked closely with international donor community, governments and conservation NGOs, and was able to secure substantial grant support for community ecotourism projects while creating innovative financial investment packages. This has seen Peru’s income from the tourism sector grow from less than 200 million dollars to more than 4 billion dollars annually.
In Guyana’s situation, according to Nycander, there must be collaboration or team effort from all levels to ensure marked success is achieved (Miners, Ministry of Tourism and the Protected Areas Commission) complimented by a dynamic international tourism marketing strategy.
“It is going to take time, it must happen, because you have the resources here. You have a problem now (some challenges) but you also have a great opportunity”, Nycander noted.
Meanwhile, Vice President and Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Sydney Allicock, who was an active participant at the evening’s function and who is also a celebrated environmentalist, expressed satisfaction with the progress made locally, although according to him, much more can be accomplished.
“We have already been practicing; there are some communities that are ready for the next phase, the next stage…There are opportunities and we have to find that teamwork, we have to make better linkages, we have to have an understanding of the technology that is available. What is also needed is the expertise and the financial support,” the Minister explained.
Allicock also cited the need to ensure key legislation is in place to ensure greater success is achieved. He commended the significant strides Peru’s tourism sector continues to make.
Like Peru, Guyana is facing its fair share of challenges in finding that equilibrium between the thriving extractive sector, ecosystem services and Tourism-driven initiatives.
As Peru’s example (it has established itself as one of the world’s most interesting and unique tourism destinations) over the past decade clearly demonstrates, nature and culture-based tourism has proven to be a critically important driver of economic development, demonstrating that protected areas can conserve Guyana’s biodiversity and globally important ecosystem services while making significant contributions to growing a Green Economy.
Over the past year, President David Granger has reiterated his administration’s commitment under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) and National Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, to expand Guyana’s protected areas system by two million hectares.
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