Sustainable Development
This post is partly tarea (homework) from the field trip, answers to questions posed by Peace Corps for us to think about, but I think the questions and thoughts might be interesting.

1.    What issues/activities/aspects caught your attention during this trip?

What caught my attention was the question of ecotourism. It was mentioned at several of the sites but how it would work to better the lives of the local people is really a question. There has to be a reason for tourists to visit. There’s a big difference between local and international tourists – they say that Mexican tourists are less interested in outdoor activities and hiking. With the downturn in tourism due to bad international publicity about the violence, does it make sense to focus on eco-tourism right now? The various places we visited all presented different aspects of this question.

At the first stop, the Parque de Gogorron, we visited a beautiful hacienda. It was privately owned and being converted to a hotel, but it was pretty run down. The two Zorro movies were filmed there, and they left many of the sets in place with the idea that this would make it a tourist destination, which it did for the locals for a while but it hasn’t lasted. The sets were not made to be permanent, of course, so they are disintegrating. Plus they are fake, which is such an irony – the attraction is the constructed old Mexico while the lovely hacienda is there behind the set. There are evidently ruined haciendas like this all over the country. Remembering our stay in Spain in the historic parador hotels run by the government, I wonder if a system like that could be developed here.

The second stop was at a town called Kilometer 58. Of course, the first thing they need to do is to get an attractive name, or a cool story as to why they are called that. We walked in the hills, which were lovely, but it’s unclear if there’s much more than pretty hills to attract visitors.

The third was the success story of the trip. Media Luna is a hot springs/stream/archeological site/tourist center that has been popular for decades. The members of the ehido (communal farm) who own it have developed it beautifully with help and some funding from the government. For many years the site was abused – scuba divers removed archeological items and fossils (mammoths, etc.) from the caves that are as much as 90 feet below the surface. Now they own the concessions and control uses. Evidently during Holy Week many thousands of Mexicans came to picnic and party there. Now they are charging admission (much higher during Holy Week) and restricting the number of visitors to a maximum of 3500 at any one time.

2.    What approaches or strategies seem to be producing positive results and why?

Media Luna is certainly the most successful of the places we visited. It has a unique attraction with a history of tourist activity.

3.    What challenges did you identify?

For Media Luna, the challenge is to make sure that the benefits of the development reach all of the members of the ehido. We asked how the revenues were divided and they said that some went to the poor and elderly if they needed help. They need to maintain the restrictions on overuse, but they seem to be doing a good job. I think this is part of an issue that affects anywhere that wants ecotourism and is owned by an ehido – how to manage change communally.

Another challenge is to make money from ecotourism. Media Luna has it solved, but the other two places are far from deriving any revenues from their locations. They need a lot of infrastructure, something to attract visitors, and marketing to bring them in, all major challenges.

4.    Why do these challenges exist?

 The challenge regarding management and who benefits from ecotourism exists because of the nature of ehidos. When land is communally owned and decisions must be made by a group, it is more difficult to make progress.

The challenge regarding how to benefit financially from ecotourism has two parts – how to attract tourists and then how to get them to spend money in the village. These are challenges of ecotourism everywhere.

5.    Are those challenges related? How?
They aren’t really related.

6&7. What would be an alternative approach? How would you start?

The problem of who benefits from ecotourism is really outside the scope of a Peace Corps volunteer, although it would be possible to encourage the involvement of women in any project with which you were involved, in a way that might result in benefits for them.

Bringing tourism to a remote town is a big challenge. I’d bring in someone with experience analyzing markets (if possible, perhaps another volunteer) who could look at whether there were people who could access the location. I’d consider the pros and cons of the site as an attraction – how good are the roads, are there other sites nearby that could also be visited, is there a rare bird for birdwatchers or an usual animal that might be seen, are there stories or legends that might attract people? I’d consider the infrastructure, roads, welcome center (which could be a one-room building with small exhibits), toilets, food, clean water.

8. Do you think the alternative approach you described above would be welcomed by the community leaders?

I think the ideas would be welcomed if there really were the potential to derive financial benefits from the development. I think it would be important not to raise expectations that would not be accomplished.

9. How could you promote your ideas to help get them adopted?

If we determined that there was potential for ecotourism, it would be important to engage the community in discussions about what was needed. I would talk to the town leaders, both men and women, to make sure they supported the ideas. It would be best if many of the specific ideas came from them. I would work with them to make plans and develop projects that could qualify for funding.

10. How do you think sustainable development is linked to daily activities within the communities, or how could they be linked?

Sustainable development is very much linked to daily life. If what is proposed is not consistent with what people are used to doing, it will be disruptive and less successful. Ideally the roles played by community members with development are improved, by training and experience, versions of what they have been accustomed to doing. It is important to consider the needs and wishes of the community when proposing development.