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*Waküvero to Sustainable Development

In Canaima National Park, in the south of Venezuela, the indigenous communities promote sustainable tourism and ecology

By United Nations Development Programme

August 7^th, 2015

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Canaima, Indigenous land

In the valley of Kamarata, located within the Canaima National Park in the south of Venezuela, various communities live together: Uruyén, Kavac, Kamarata, Kamadac y Santa Marta. The population of approximately 6000 people, all belonging to the Pemón ethnicity, have traditionally been dedicated to agriculture and fishing. Recently, they have moved to sustainable tourism through the foundation of different camps that offer visitors a sample of their everyday life, landscapes, food, ways of living, and culture.

The tourism activity of the area began in 1980 as an effort to diversify the sources of income and to counter the growing mining activity that is practiced in the area, which has damaged the environment and the health of the local people. Tourism has become a way of ensuring their autonomy and culture, whose revenues are administered by local councils to address the problems of health, education, and community improvements.

UNDP, through the Small Grants Programme for the Global Environmental Fund (FMAM), implements the project “Ecotourism: Sustainable development in the Uruyen, Kavak, and Kamarata communities,” which includes various activities aimed at the development of ecotourism activities in the Kamarata valley to improve the conservation and sustainable development of the area.These activities generate economic and social benefits for all the communities involved, for the preservation of nature, and the proper care and use of natural resources. They also generate employment for the local population, especially for women in the ecosocioproductive activities that are the base of the local economy.

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The project encourages collaboration between the camps to maximize ecotourism operations and to strengthen the philosophy of sustainable tourism as a strategy of improving the local economy, conserve the biodiversity, and mitigate the effects of climate change.

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Victorino Carballo, community representative of Uruyén and president of the first ecotourism camp built in Uruyén, descends from a family that pioneered ecotourism activities in the area. “In 1974, we started to open our minds, and in 1984 we got the idea of building the camp,” he said. “My father was the founder, and this is now the inheritance of my family and this community.”

“The camp is an instrument to preserve its environment and the well-being of the local people,” he assures. “The tourism helps the community, which will benefit from the work that it generates, and it also safeguards our identity as an indigenous community.”

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UNDP and PPD-FMAM support the improvement of the physical infrastructure of the camps and their ability to provide ecotourism services. It also looks to support agro-ecotourism activities, like small plots of cultivated lands, fish farms, and other economic alternatives of low environmental impact. According to Victorino, “With the improvement of these services, the entire community has benefited…Thanks to the support we have received, a lot has changed. We are reclaiming our land with these resources.”

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Hortensia Berti, another beneficiary of the project, is a woman also of Pemón ethnicity, president of the Civil Association of the Indigenous Community of Kamarata Kavak-Lodge, Karan Tapüyi, a non-profit organization whose objective is to propose a program of socio-productive development in the area focused on improving basic services, health, and the use of technologies. Hortensia emphasizes, “We need to explore the ‘gold and diamond’ of our region but with the ecotourism approach,” in relation to illegal mining activity done in the area that quickly degrades the ecosystem and destroys local biodiversity.

“When UNDP and PPD-FMAM arrived, we were very happy, because this project involves all the community. It involves us. And we want to take advantage of this benefit, growing better infrastructure in health and education.” Hortensia coordinates the Kavak-Lodge camp, and aspires, like Victorino, to expand and improve its facilities to give a better experience to the visitor.

Footnotes

*Translation from Pemón to English-Waküvero: greeting/ welcome. Photos: Silvia Orozco/ UNDP Venezuela

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FootNotes

*Translation from Pemón to English-Waküvero: greeting/ welcome. Photos: Silvia Orozco/ UNDP Venezuela

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*Waküvero to Sustainable Development

In Canaima National Park, in the south of Venezuela, the indigenous communities promote sustainable tourism and ecology

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