Private AreaNews
› Costa Ricans assist communities in Lama Forest, Benin with environmental education and eco-route development
2010-07-01
In June 2010, four representatives from Rainforest Biodiversity Group and the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center (CECOS) of the Costa Rican side of PSC Project #24-P2-07 visited the Benin partner Eco-Benin to complete the exchange portion of this project. The objectives of this visit were to conduct reciprocal activities in Benin that had been conducted in Costa Rica, as well as learn about the ways that sustainable tourism development is being conducted by Eco-Benin and what challenges are faced in Benin, how those challenges are overcome and how they might relate to eco-tourism development in Costa Rica.
The main activities conducted during the visit were two fold. One included visiting the Lama Forest Reserve and providing the local communities with tools and ideas for developing environmental education within the local communities within the Lama Forest. Andrew Rothman of Rainforest Biodiversity Group presented a food webs activity to the local guide association. The guides got involved in the activity and were thought how to conduct the activity with other visiting tourists as well as local youth. A conservation contest was also conducted to get people thinking about questions to stimulate ideas and questions for environmental education. Dona Ussy Ortiz, a Costa Rican artisan educated the local guide association on the value of local materials for making artwork and how to use them in education. Lastly Gerardo Vega of CECOS, presented the importance of getting youth involved early in environmental education. This was something not being done, but after our presentations the community leaders were very interested in getting kids more involved with the reserve and providing them education about the natural world.
The second activity conducted was visiting a series of sites that could be included in a Benin Eco-Route, a eco-tourism project similar to the Costa Rican Bird Route project being implemented by the Rainforest Biodiversity Group. A proposed route was developed for the Benin Eco-Route and a tour itinerary developed to stimulate visitation to the sites of the Eco-Route. Already, Eco-Benin is thinking about fully developing this tourism project and attempting to extend it other west African nations to create the West African Nature Route. Working together, Eco-Benin, Rainforest Biodiversity Group and CECOS will continue to provide each other with information and tools that can help tourism and education development in both countries.
