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Combining Education and Conservation in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve

1998-03-13

[Photo: Study time at Eco-Escuela.]

As the wooden motor boat pulled up to the dock of San Andrés, a man on the boat pointed up the steep roadway, showing me the way to Eco-Escuela. The purpose of my trip to San Andrés was clear to all who shared the half hour boat ride across Lake Petén Itza from Flores. Like many other foreigners who arrive every week, I had come to study Spanish and, indirectly, to play a role in conserving the biodiversity of this region.

A stark contrast from Cancun's over-developed hotel district, where I had stayed the night before, the town of San Andrés (pop. 7,000) lies within the buffer zone of the 1.5 million hectare Mayan Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala's Petén region. Over the last 20 years, the Petén has faced significant pressure due to migration from other parts of Guatemala and the uncontrolled exploitation of its natural resources — resulting in the conversion of one-third of the forest-rich region to farms and pasture.

Debt-for-nature exchange

In 1992, Conservation International (CI) established, with help from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bank of Guatemala, a US$1.2 million debt-for-nature exchange to support the 'ProPetén' program. The primary goal of ProPetén is to balance principles of conservation with the economic needs of local communities within the Maya Biosphere Reserve in a comprehensive management strategy. It is believed that conservation and sustainable use of the forest's biodiversity will only occur if alternative sources of income can be created for local residents, who primarily depend on forestry, cattle ranching, and slash and burn agriculture. Working with communities within the reserve, the ProPetén program aims to develop environmentally sustainable businesses or 'EcoEmpresas.' One of its businesses, Eco-Escuela, was established in San Andrés to provide households with income from teaching and hosting foreign students.

When Eco-Escuela opened its doors in 1993, it was dependent on both CI and ProPetén for funding and technical support. Now, however, it is an independent institution owned collectively by 56 teachers, hosts, and administrators. For US$135, the school offers students 20-25 hours of one-on-one Spanish instruction plus one week's accommodation and meals with local families in San Andrés. The experience includes exposure to an environmental curriculum focussing on the Maya Biosphere Reserve and its ecology, as well as opportunities to participate in community projects around San Andrés. These projects have included the reforestation of community lands, the clean-up of a local beach, and the creation of an interpretive Nature path, which is used by Eco-Escuela students and local school children.

Without a doubt, Eco-Escuela has brought significant changes to San Andrés. Before the school opened its doors, few foreigners came to San Andrés except for the occasional tourists who would visit the town for an hour or two and then return to Flores where they had come to arrange sight-seeing trips to the nearby Mayan ruins at Tikal. Last year, however, more than 800 students stayed in San Andrés for at least one week.

"Visitor from the moon"

At first, San Andrés residents were somewhat hesitant to host foreign students in their homes. "Many people thought it was like having a visitor from the moon," explained my host father, Alberto Zuniga. But the idea caught on, and the extra income received from hosting and teaching students — or selling goods and services to them — means fewer families rely on activities that contribute to the destruction of the region's forests and its biodiversity. In fact, Eco-Escuela now provides employment to more people than the local saw mill. It has allowed many women who are not able to work outside of the home to make significant contributions to household incomes.

Socioeconomic monitoring studies supported by the International Development Research Centre demonstrate that many families involved in Eco-Escuela have made noticeable improvements in family health and education, and are able to repair and/or enlarge their homes. In addition, 80% of the women working with Eco-Escuela have gone back to school to become better educated.

Sustainable business

Eco-Escuela is already a sustainable business. At the end of the last fiscal year, its revenues exceeded its projected expenses, resulting in a year-end bonus for each member of the cooperative of more than US$200 — about five week's worth of income from hosting a student. Moreover, while the school provides local residents with financially and ecologically sustainable income opportunities, it is also providing foreign students with a wonderful opportunity to explore the language, ecology, and culture of the Petén.

Beth Rohr visited Eco-Escuela in 1997. She is currently an intern at IDRC investigating the use of ecotourism as an instrument for sustainable development. Chusa Gines is responsible for administering the IDRC-supported component of the ProPetén/Conservation International project. [Photo: B. Rohr, IDRC]

For more information:

Conservation International, 1015 18th Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036 USA; Tel: (202) 973-2264; Fax: (202) 887-5188 E-mail: ecoescuela@guate.net or ecoescuela@conservation.org

Chusa Gines, Team Leader, Sustainable Use of Biodiversity, IDRC, 250 Albert Street, PO Box 8500, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1G 3H9; Tel: (613) 236-6163, ext. 2562; Fax: (613) 567-7749; E-mail: cgines@idrc.ca

Iwokrama: Guyana's Rainforest for the World, by Claudette Earle

Protecting Mexico's Tropical Forests: The Calakmul Model Forest Program, by Michael Boulet

The Survival of Vietnam's Forests, by Jennifer Pepall

Tradition Among the Gran Sabana Pemón, by John Eberlee

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