Mesoamerican Regional Meeting for the International Year of Ecotourism

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Directory of Participants

Steering and Organizing Committees

Information on Keynote Speakers

Over 70 representatives of organizations working on ecotourism from eight Mesoamerican countries gathered in Belize City, Belize, November 26-28, 2001, to conduct a critical and objective review of ecotourism as it is being practiced in this region, and to develop recommendations for action from the region to be presented at the World Ecotourism Summit scheduled to be held in Quebec, Canada in May 2002. This Mesoamerican regional meeting is one of six regional events supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) as part of the United Nations-declared International Year of Ecotourism in 2002. Other meetings are planned for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Arctic, with another fourteen planned by the Year’s co-sponsor, the World Tourism Organization.
The three day program was hosted by the Programme for Belize, a Belizean non-governmental, conservation organization, and co-hosted by five other regional and international NGOs: the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, the Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance, Conservation International, The International Ecotourism Society and Rainforest Alliance.
The meeting delegates hailed from southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The participation of 30 delegates from non-governmental organizations and local communities, who otherwise may not have had a voice in international events associated to the International Year of Ecotourism, was made possible through funds provided by the host committee and by UNEP. The delegates at the meeting moved to call the event a Mesoamerican meeting, as opposed to a Central American meeting, in recognition of the contribution of the delegates from southern Mexico.
The meeting featured keynote presentations, case study presentations and multisectoral working group sessions on five key topics: Ecotourism Planning in Protected Areas, Community Involvement and Community based Ecotourism, Ecotourism as a Business Activity, Ecotourism Policies at the National Level and Ecotourism Policies at the Regional and International Levels. Participant evaluations indicated that the program succeeded at covering the most relevant ecotourism issues in the region, and that the participative nature of the meeting allowed them to have full input into the results document.
Results of the Mesoamerican Regional Meeting for the International Year of Ecotourism
We, the participants of the Mesoamerican Regional Meeting for the International Year of Ecotourism, representing a diversity of groups from the countries of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama, believe that ecotourism can and does make an important contribution to the protection of nature in our region and to the well being of local peoples. We recognize that ecotourism continues to evolve in both theory and practice and that it benefits from the collective lessons learned daily in the field, both positive and negative. It is in this spirit and in a desire to strengthen the success of ecotourism as a conservation and economic development activity, that we present the platform from our meeting to the United Nations World Ecotourism Summit.
–Participants of the Mesoamerican Regional Meeting for the International Year of Ecotourism
The results posted on this website reflect the summary of three days of keynote presentations, case studies, and multisectoral working groups on five themes: how ecotourism is planned in protected areas, how community involvement and community-based ecotourism is progressing, how ecotourism is working as a business activity, what type of national policies for ecotourism are in place and what policies are needed, and what policies are needed at a regional and international level. The discussions of the multisectoral working groups were focused on reviewing objectives, barriers and strategies for four issues-Planning, Regulation, Product Development and Monitoring-of each of the five themes. The themes and issues discussed at this regional meeting were established by the United Nations, and are the same to be discussed at other International Year of Ecotourism Preparatory meetings held throughout the world.
The results presented on this website are the direct product of the working groups and have not been edited. A final edition will be edited for UNEP by Megan Epler Wood of The International Ecotourism Society in cooperation with co-editor Raul Arias de Para of Panama, and the Steering Committee established for the meeting, which has representatives from each Mesoamerican nation. This version will be posted on the TIES website, www.ecotourism.org. All participants will be invited to review and comment well before the World Ecotourism Summit.
A final declaration will be prepared by the delegates elected from the Mesoamerican regional meeting to attend the World Ecotourism Summit in cooperation with the Steering Committee. The final declaration will be prepared to reflect the spirit of cooperation between organizations and nations that was fostered at the meeting, and to strongly affirm what actions and policies are necessary in the region to ensure that ecotourism is a genuine sustainable development tool. It will also be posted at www.ecotourism.org.

I. Ecotourism Planning in Protected Areas
II. Community Involvement and Community based Ecotourism
III. Ecotourism as a Business Activity
IV. Ecotourism Policies at the National Level
V. Ecotourism Policies at the Regional and International Levels
For more information on issues and meetings related to the International Year of Ecotourism, contact Fergus Maclaren, at The International Ecotourism Society, fergus@ecotourism.org.

Belize

Costa Rica

El Salvador

France

Guatemala

Honduras

Nicaragua

Panama

Mexico

Belize Audubon Society GEF/ Small Grants Program, UNDP Protected Areas Conservation Trust Programme for Belize
12 Fort Street

P.O Box 1001

Belize City, BELIZE

Phone: (501)2-35004

Fax: (501)2-34985

email: bas@btl.net

* Valdemar Andrade —

Acting Executive Director

* Ian Courtenay —

Marketing and Development Coordinator

Gabourel Lane

P.O Box 325

Belize City, BELIZE

Phone: (501)2-31913

Fax: (501)2-31943

email: btb@btl.net

* Gina Escalante —

Senior Product Development Officer

* Vincent Palacio — Training Unit

2 Mango Street

P.O.Box 443

Belmopan City, BELIZE

Phone: (501)8023637 Fax: (501)8-23759

email: pact@btl.net

* Valerie Woods

* Lisel Alamilla

* Emelda Lizarraga

#1 Eyre Street

P.O Box 749

Belize City, BELIZE

Phone: (501)2-75616 Fax: (501)2-75635

email: pfbel@btl.net

* Herbert Haylock — Manager, Administration and Planning

* Ramon Pacheco — Field Station Manager, La Milpa

* David Tzul — Naturalist, Hill Bank Field Station

Chaa Creek Cottages Community Baboon Sanctuary-Women’s Group Friends of Five Blues Lake National Park Friends of Laughing Bird Caye
P.O. Box 53

San Ignacio, Cayo

BELIZE

Phone: (501)9-12010 Fax: (501)9-23912

email: frontdesk@chaa creek.com

* Mick Flemming — Owner

Bermudian Landing Village

Belize District, BELIZE

Phone: (501)185407

email: contact through pfbel@btl.net

* Jessie Young — President

Gales Point Village

Belize District, BELIZE

* Nicole Andrewin

Placencia Village

Stann Creek District, BELIZE

* Lindsay Garbutt

Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center GEF/ Small Grants Program, UNDP Birds Eye View Lodge Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
29 Mls. Western Highway

Belize District, BELIZE

Phone: (501)8-13004 Fax: (501)8-13010

email: belizezoo@btl.net

* Deon Lind

Constitution Drive, Belmopan

Cayo District, BELIZE

Phone: (501)8-22462 Fax: (501)8-23364

* Miguel Usher — Operational Assistant Program

Crooked Tree Village

Belize District, BELIZE

Phone: (501)25-7027

email: Contact through pfbel@btl.net

* Verna Samuels

Western Highway, BELIZE

email: mbay@btl.net

* Matthew Miller

Peace Corps Belize Sandy Beach Women’s Cooperative Toledo Institute for Development & Environment Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)
789 Bella Vista /2882 Coney Drive

Belize City, BELIZE

Phone: (501)2-45399/31681 Fax: (501)2-30345

* Ken Goodson — Associate Director for Environment/Agriculture

Hopkins Village

Stann Creek District

BELIZE

Phone: (501)5- 12084

* Verna Nunez

P.O. Box 150

Hopeville

Toledo District, BELIZE

Phone: (501)7-22274 Fax: (501)7-22655

email: pgwil@btl.net / tide@btl.net

* Will Maheia — Executive Director

* Stacey Noel

12 Eve Street

P.O. Box 1836

Belize City, BELIZE

Phone: (501)2-31514 Fax: (501)2-31330

email: ymcabze@btl.net

* Monica Ott — Volunteer/ Ecotourism Officer, Belize

Cooprena Instituto Costaricense de Turismo Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
San Jose

COSTA RICA

Phone: (506)2482538 Fax: (506)2481659

email: cooprena@racsa.co.cr

* Leyla Solano — Director

San Jose

COSTA RICA

Phone: (506)223-1733 ext 253 Fax: (506)255-0578

email: asalas@ict.go.cr

* Alberto Salas Roiz — Jefe de Fomento y Coordinador del Programa CST

Santo Domingo de Heredia

COSTA RICA

Codigo: 22-3100

Phone: (506)2990690 Fax: (506)2492816

email: rgarcia@inbio.ac.cr

* Randall Garcia — Coordinador Programa Conservacion

Corporacion Salvadorena de Turismo Ministerio del Ambiente y Recursos Naturales SalvaNATURA
Boulevard del Hipodromo

#508. Calle San Benito

San Salvador

EL SALVADOR

Phone: (503) 243-7838 Fax: (503) 243-0427

email: planifcorsatur@salnet.net

* Ramon Eduardo Servellon Rodriguez — Unidad Desarollo

San Salvador

EL SALVADOR

Phone: (503)2603114

Email: leonorquevedo@yahoo.com

* Maria Leonor Quevedo Hernandez — Tecnico de Sistemas Ambientales

33 Avenida Sur # 640

San Salvador

EL SALVADOR

Phone: (503)279-1515

email: jmalvarez@saltel.net

* Juan Marco Alvarez — Director Ejecuitvo

UNEP Tourism Program
Tour Mirabeau

39-43 Quai Andre Citroen 75739

Paris, France

Phone: (01)4437-7636

email: wesley.massey@unep.fr

* Wesley Massey – IYE Representative

Agropecuaria Ecologica Asociacion Alianza Verde Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo
Avenida Reforma 8-95, Zona 10

Ciudad de Guatemala

GUATEMALA

Phone: (502)771-5737 Fax:(502)771-5731

email: tags@guate.net

* Antonio Ralda — Gerente General

* Ricardo Morataya — Director

Castillo de Arismendi

Parque Central

Ciudad Flores, Peten

GUATEMALA

Phone: (502)926-0718 Fax: (502)926-0718

email: saulblanco@yahoo.com

* Saul Blanco — Director Tecnico

7a Avenida 1-17, Zona 4

Ctro Civico

Ciudad de Guatemala 01004

GUATEMALA

Phone: (502)3327628 Fax: (502)3314416

email: ivajesfam@inguat.gob.gt

* Bruno Antonio Busto Davaux — Director de Segmentos Turisticos

* Walter Augusto Fischer — Director de Mercadeo

Eco-Escuela de Espanol Proyecto Ecologico Quetzal Ecomaya, S.A
San Andres, Peten

GUATEMALA

Tel/Fax: (502) 928-8106

email: lucreciaromerogt@yahoo.com

* Esdras Aroldo Burgos — Consejo de Administacion

2 Calle 14-3621

Coban A.V.

Guatemala, C.A.

Tel: (502)9521-047 Fax: (502)9521-047

email: bidaspeq@guate.net

* Helene Schleehauf – Coordinadora de Ecoturismo

Calle Centro America

Ciudad Flores, Peten

Postal: 17001

GUATEMALA C.A

Phone: (502)926-3202 Fax: (502)926-3202

email: lucreciaromerogt@yahoo.com ecomaya@guate.net

* Lucrecia Yaneth Romero Obando — Asesora Tecnica

Fundacion Para la Proteccion de Lancetilla,

Punta Sal y Texiguat (PROLANSATE)

Fundacion Parque Nacional Pico Bonito (FUPNAPIB) Mesoamerica Travel, S.A
Texiguat

Tela, Atlantida

HONDURAS

Phone: (504)448-2042 Fax: (504) 448-2042

email: fprocans@honduter.hn

* Rafael Sambula Morales — Director Ejecutivo

La Ceiba, Atlantida

HONDURAS

Phone: (504)443-3938

email: fupnapib@laceiba.com // fito_steiner@yahoo.com

* Ricardo Steiner Bendeck — Presidente

San Pedro Sula,

Puerto Cortes

HONDURAS

Phone: (504)550-5262

email: dm@mesoamerica-travel.com

* Dean Milverton — Assistant Manager

Mosquitia Ecoventuras Red Ecologista Hondurena para el Desarollo Sostenible (REHDES) Universidad Tecnologica de Honduras
La Ceiba, Atlantida

HONDURAS

Phone: (504)442-0104 Fax: (504)442-0104

email: moskitia@caribe.hn

* Jorge Emilio Salaverri — Operador Ecoturistico

La Ceiba, Atlantida

HONDURAS

Phone: (504)440-0385 Fax: (504) 440-0385

email: rehdes@caribe.hn // norman @rds.org.hn

* Norman Javier Flores Enamorado — Director Ejecutivo

Calle Armenta

San Pedro Sula

Honduras

Phone: (504)551-2220 Fax: (504) 551-2240

email: joaquimdn@hotmail.com

* Joaquim Duc Nebot

Fundacion Cocibolca Camara de Turismo Ometepe
Nicaragua

Phone: (505)278-3224 Fax: (505)270-0578

* Juan Carlos Martinez – Director Tecnico

Mayogales, Isla de Ometepe

Nicaragua

Phone: (505)459-4244 Fax: (505)459-4218

email: ometepehugonavas@hotmail.com

* Hugo Jose Navas Mora

Asociacion Nacional para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza (ANCON) Fundacion Natura Grupo Odesen
Calle Elvira Mendez

Edificio El Dorado

Planta Baja

Panama

Phone: (507)269-9415 Fax: (507)264-3713

email: info@anconexpeditions.com

* Marco A. Gandasegui N. – Vice Presidente Ejecutivo

Llanos de Curundu

Panama

email: info@naturapanama.org

* Yolanda del C. Jimenez – Oficial de Proyectos

Pueblo Naso de Panama

email: turismo_odesen@hotmail.com

* Adolfo Villagra

Conservation International EcoBiosfera El Truinfo S.C. Ecosistemas Costeros de Chiapas A.C. Escudo Jaguar
191 Col Moctezuma

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas

Mexico

Phone: 52-961-602-9032 Fax: 52-961-602-5816

email: rhernand@ci-mexico.org.mx

* Ricardo Hernandez – Coordinator de Ecoturismo del Corredor Selva Maya

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas

Mexico

Phone: (961)40779 Fax: (961)40378

email: ecotriunfo@hotmail.com

* Sonja Bartelt – Coordinadora, Programa de Ecoturismo

3a Norte Oriente, No. 1621

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas

Mexico

Phone: (961)82105 Fax: (961)82105

email: kenyb2002@hotmail.com

* Martha Eugenia Barrios Herrera – Presidenta

Conocida Frontera Corozal

Mexico

Phone: Contact Ricardo Hernandez

email: rhernand@ci-mexico.org.mx

*Luis Arcos

H. Ayuntamiento de Othon Blanco Ninos y Crias A.C. Sociedad Cooperativa Sac-Bahlan Reserva de la Biosfera La Encrujada
Comite Permanente de la Expofer 2001

Ave. Ochoa de Mexino

Esq.5 de Mayo

Mexico

Phone: (983)839-1370 Fax: (983)832-0540

email: msosahuerta@hotmail.com

* Miguel Angel Sosa Huerta

Calle 33d 503 entre 7 y 72

Col. Reperto Dolores Patron

Merida

Yucatan, Mexico

Phone: (999)925-3947 Fax: (999)925-3947

email: anamancera@hotmail.com // chicho@mda.com.mx

// sandychelonia@hotmail.com

* Ana Bertha Mancera Valencia – Promotora de Ecoturismo

* Rodrigo Migoya Von Bertrab – Director

* Sandra Flores – Promotora de Ecoturismo

Conocida Ejido Ixcan

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas

Mexico

Phone: Contact Ricardo Hernandez

email: rhernand@ci-mexico.org.mx

* Oscar Morales – Presidente

3a Norte Oriente, No. 1621

Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas

Mexico

Phone: (961)82105 Fax: (961)82105

email: laencrucijada@infosel.net.mx

* Matilde Rincon Perez – Jefa de Educacion Ambiental y Desarollo

List of Co-hosts

Costa Rica

Belize

USA

Rainforest Alliance 
Moravia, San Jose
Costa Rica
Phone: (506) 248-04-93 / 248-1170
Fax: (506) 248-1268 / 248-0493
email: rsanabria@ra.org 
* Ronald Sanabria – Manager,
Sustainable Tourism Program

Programme for Belize
#1 Eyre St.
Belize City, Belize
Phone: (501) 025-7616
Fax: (501) 025-7635
email: pfbel@btl.net
* Seleni Matus – Event Organizer

The International Ecotourism Society 
PO Box 668
Burlington, VT 05402
USA
Phone: (802)651-9818 Fax: (802)651-9819
email: ecomail@ecotourism.org // jessica@ecotourism.org 
* Megan Epler Wood – President
* Jessica Staats – Assistant to the President

Conservation International
1919 M Street, NW Suite 600
Washington DC 20036
USA
Phone: (202) 912-1000 Fax: (202) 912-1044
email: g.ryan@conservation.org // s.edwards@conservation.org
// c.christ@conservation.org
* Greta Ryan
* Stephen Edwards – Americas Region Manager, Ecotourism Department
* Costas Christ – Senior Director – Ecotourism

RARE Center for Tropical Conservation 
1840 Wilson Blvd
Suite 402
Arlington, VA 22201
USA
Phone: (703)522 5070
Fax: (703) 522-5027
email: jdion@rarecenter.org 
* James Dion – Director of Ecotourism and
Community Development Program

List of Moderators

Belize

Mexico

USA

Costa Rica

Panama

University of the West Indies, School of Continuing Studies 
Princess Margaret Drive
Belize City, Belize
Phone: (501) 2-30484
email: uwi@btl.net
* Dr. Joseph Palacio – Lead Facilitator

Conservation International 
Selva Maya Rainforest Corridor
Mexico
Phone: (529) 602-9032/5825
Fax: (529) 602-5816
email: imarch@ci-mexico.org.mx 
* Ignacio March – Director

The Nature Conservancy 
4245 North Fairfax Dr.
Arlington, VA
USA
Phone: (703) 841-5300
Fax: (703) 841-1283
email: jgrant@tnc.org
* A. Joy Grant – Vice-President and Managing
Director of the Atlantic Conservation Region

RARE Center for Tropical Conservation 
1840 Wilson Blvd
Suite 402
Arlington, VA 22201
USA
Phone: (703)522 5070
Fax: (703) 522-5027
email: jdion@rarecenter.org
* James Dion – Director of Ecotourism and
Community Development Program

The International Ecotourism Society 
PO Box 668
Burlington, VT 05402
USA
Phone: (802)651-9818
Fax: (802)651-9819
email: ecomail@ecotourism.org // megan@ecotourism.org 
* Megan Epler Wood – President

Conservation International 
1919 M Street, NW Suite 600
Washington DC 20036
USA
Phone: (202) 912-1000
Fax: (202) 912-1044
email: s.edwards@conservation.org
* Stephen Edwards – Americas Region
Manager, Ecotourism Department

InBio
Sto. Domingo
Heredia, Costa Rica
Phone: (506)244-0690
Fax: (506)244-2816
email: rgarcia@inbio.ac.cr
* Randall Garcia Viquez – Coordinador del Programa Conservacion para el Desarollo

Canopy Tower 
Marbella, Edif World Trade Center
Panama
Phone: (507)264-5720 Fax: (507) 264-2784
email: stay@canopytower.com
* Raul Arias de Para – President

STEERING COMMITTEE
A. Joy Grant
The Nature Conservancy
Belize
Dr. Gerardo Budowski
Universidad para la Paz
Costa Rica
Juan Marco Alvarez
SalvaNATURA
El Salvador
Saúl Blanco
Asociaciación Alianza Verde
Guatemala
Rolf Baumgartner
Mesoamerica Travel S.A.
Honduras
Biol. Miguel Sosa Huerta
H. Ayuntamiento de Othon P. Blanco
México
Juan Carlos Martinez
Fundación Cocibolca
Nicaragua
Lidre Sucre
Asociación Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza Panamá
HOSTS OF EVENTS & ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Seleni Matus
Programme for Belize
James Dion
RARE Center for Tropical Conservation
& Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance
Costas Christ & Greta Ryan
Conservation International
Megan Epler Wood
The International Ecotourism Society
Ronald Sanabria
Rainforest Alliance
TopicsKeynote Speakers
Ecotourism Planning in Protected AreasRandall Garcia
Coordinator of the Conservation for Development Program
Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Costa Rica
Community Involvement and Community based EcotourismJames Dion
Director of Ecotourism and Community Development Program
RARE Center for Tropical Conservation
Ecotourism as a Business ActivityRaul Arias
President
Canopy Tower, Panama
Joy Grant
Vice-President & Managing Director of the Atlantic Conservation RegionThe Nature Conservancy
Ecotourism Policies at the National LevelIgnacio March
Director, Selva Maya Corridor
Conservation International – Mexico
Ecotourism Policies at the Regional and International LevelsStephen Edwards
Americas Region Manager, Ecotourism Department
Conservation International
Megan Epler Wood
President
The International Ecotourism Society

Ecotourism Planning in Protected Areas
Randall Garcia is a Forester who holds a Master’s degree in Ecoturism. His profesional experience has mainly been in the areas of reforestation and planning and managing of protected areas. Currently he is the Coordinator of the Program for Conservation for Development of the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad located in Costa Rica.

Community Involvement and Community based Ecotourism
James Dion is Director of the Ecotourism and Community Development Program at the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation. Previous to his work with the RARE Center he was the Ecotourism Director at Pronatura Veracruz in Mexico. His interest in conserving tropical biodiversity, and in linking ecotourism to conservation and community development, is an outgrowth of his over 15 years experience as a river and outdoor guide/outfitter working throughout North, Central and South America and Europe.

Ecotourism as a Business Activity
Raúl Arias de Para studied economics in the United States where he obtained a Master’s degree in International Finance from the University of Virginia. His experience spans from banker and entrepeneur to politician and goverment excutive. For the last ten years, he´s being involved with ecotourism, bird research and conservation. He is memeber of the Smithsonian Foundation, Audubon Society of Panamá, Friends of the Harpey Eagle Foundation and Vice-President of the Sustainable Development Association for El Valle of Antón. In 1999, he founded Canopy Tower, an eco-hotel located at an old U.S. Air Force Radar Tower in the Soberania National Park. Specializing in the observation of avifauna, Canopy Tower has being recognized by many magazines and international organizations as one of the best places in the world for bird watching.
A. Joy Grant dedicated Belizean environmentalist having worked in the conservation field for over fourteen years. She is currently Vice-President and Managing Director of the Atlantic Conservation Region of The Nature Conservancy. This Region comprises thirteen States in the Eastern United States, the Caribbean, and Central America. She is also a member of The Conservancy’s Executive Leadership Team that sets its overall strategic direction and establishes organizational priorities. Prior to this, Mrs. Grant established, developed and was Executive Director of Programme for Belize, a conservation organization committed to the sustainable development of Belize, which holds 268,000 acres of land in trust. A. Joy Grant also served her country in the Foreign Service as Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Belize in Washington D.C. She also has over ten years comprehensive experience in international and development banking.

Ecotourism Policies at the National Level
Ignacio J. March Mifsut holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Mexico City’s Metropolitan University (1979?1984), and a Masters degree in Wildlife Management and Conservation at the Regional Program of the University at Heredia, Costa Rica (1987-1990). From 1983 to 1999, he served as a senior researcher at two Federal Research Institutes in Southern Mexico. From 1999 to 2000, he coordinated Conservation International’s (CI) activities in the Lacandon Rainforest of Chiapas. Since 2001 to now, he is Director of the Maya Rainforest Corridor at Conservation Interational – Mexico. Ignacio has dedicated the past 18 years of his career to working for the protection of the Maya Rainforest and its rich biodiversity as well as in the improvement of the standard of living of local people. He has captured and shared his work in conservation and community developed through the publication of a book and fifteen articles in several scientific journals and magazines.

Ecotourism Policies at the Regional and International Levels
Megan Epler Wood is the President of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES). Since 1990, she has worked with board members, advisors, and members from around the world to shape an organization that defines ecotourism as a tool to conserve natural resources and provide sustainable development opportunity worldwide. She has acted as spokesperson and lecturer on these issues for TIES and instructor of customized training workshops for governments, NGOs, and the private sector in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Trinidad, Tahiti, Fiji, Western Samoa, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Brazil. She taught an annual international workshop on Ecotourism Planning and Management for The George Washington University for five years in Washington D.C. during the 1990s. Epler Wood is a strong proponent of guidelines and evaluation programs for the ecotourism industry and a well-known analyst on the issue of ecotourism certification. She was the editor of the first international Ecotourism Guidelines for Nature Tour Operators in 1993. She has researched how community participation can be improved in ecotourism, and published an America Verde report on this issue for the Latin America Division of The Nature Conservancy in 1998, and was the guest editor of the 1999 issue of Cultural Survival Magazine on Ecotourism, Sustainable Development and Cultural Survival. Epler Wood collaborated with the United Nations Environment Programme on her latest publication Ecotourism: Principles, Practices & Policies for Sustainability. The text is due for publication in January 2002, and will be the premiere reference text during the International Year of Ecotourism 2002 and beyond.
Stephen Edwards is responsible for the management, development, implementation, fundraising, and programmatic aspects of Conservation International ecotourism projects in the Americas Region. He works collaboratively with more than 12 of CI’s country programs in the Americas, as well as with other CI programs around the world. Mr. Edwards has overseen and supported ecotourism projects in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Ghana, Botswana, China, and the Philippines, and has represented CI’s ecotourism programs at international conferences of governments and non-governmental organizations. Mr. Edwards received his Bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and economics from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and his master’s degree in resource recreation and tourism from the University of Idaho. He recently published a report for the OAS, an article in the Interamerican Investment Corporation Annual Report, and has a chapter in print on ecotourism policy in the Americas.

List of Guest Speakers

TopicsGuest Speakers
Ecotourism Planning in Protected AreasSeleni Matus
Programme for Belize and Mesoamerican Ecotourism Alliance
Juan Carlos Martinez
Foundation Cocibolca, Nicaragua
Community Involvement and Community based EcotourismRicardo Steiner and Rafael Sambula
PROLANSATE, Honduras
Luis Arcos
Escudo Jaguar, Mexico
Ecotourism as a Business ActivityMick Flemming
Chaa Creek Cottages, Belize
Ecotourism Policies at the National LevelValerie Woods
Protected Areas Conservation Trust, Belize
Ecotourism Policies at the Regional and International LevelsRonald Sanabria
Rainforest Alliance, Costa Rica
Saul Blanco
Association Alianza Verde, Guatemala

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