Lickan Antay Guide at the Soncor Sector of Los Flamencos National Reserve.
© Hernán Torres
by Marcela Torres
Co-management of protected areas by the State
and local communities is one of the best ways to guarantee that tourism will
provide economic and social benefits to many people who would otherwise be
marginalized, at the same time that it ensures protection for the environment
on which these communities rely on for their income. An excellent example is
the Soncor Sector of Los Flamencos National Reserve, in the Atacama Desert of
the Antofagasta Region, in northern Chile.
Los Flamencos National Reserve is located
within the Atacama La Grande Indigenous Development Area, which was established
in 1997 to promote sustainable development of the ancient territories of the
Lickan Antay peoples. Since then, the Lickan Antay communities have
strengthened their ancient rights to use the resources, in many cases using
traditional ways and in others, applying modern natural resource management
techniques.
When the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF)
began charging entrance fees to visit the Reserve, at the begining of the 2000
decade, the Lickan Antay Community of Toconao cut off the road to access Laguna
Chaxa, in the Soncor Sector, to demand that tourism, carried out in their
ancient territories, would also benefit the descendants of this ethnic group
that live in this nearby town. Their action brought about a revision of the
plan and CONAF and the Lickan Antay communities signed co-management agreements
for four of the seven sectors of the Reserve: Soncor, Miscanti and Miñiques
Lagoons, Moon Valley and Tambillo.
Income generated from the entrance fees to
these sites, which attract national and foreign visitors, has allowed the
communities to strengthen programs to aid elderly and disabled people in their
communities. At the same time, a significant amount of these incomes is
invested in the management of each sector and staff salaries. The inclusion of
local community personnel in the management of these sectors has allowed CONAF
to redirect its staff to sectors and activities that were previously left
largely unattended do to the lack of personnel and resources that affects the
institution.
First Sustainable Visitor Center
Because of the increasing interest shown by
tourists arriving from the nearby town of San Pedro de Atacama, the community
decided to improve the site’s infrastructure and visitor information. To that
end, in 2006, it partnered with CONAF and SQM mining company, which exploits
lithium in the Atacama Salt Flat, to develop the first sustainable Visitor Center in a protected area in the country.
The project included the architectural design
and construction of the Visitor Center, incorporating techniques such as reuse
of grey water and electricity generation through solar panels and wind mills.
The roads were also repaired and the parking lot expanded.
At the same time, a group of local guides was
trained, all of them members of the Lickan Antay Community of Toconao, in
interpretation techniques, to convey effectively to visitors the natural and
cultural values of the area. To support this, 5 bilingual signs were developed
for the interpretive trail and 18 for the inner hall of the Center. A
documentary video was also produced, in Spanish with English subtitles, to
complement information provided to visitors.
The results could not have been better.
Visitors to Laguna Chaxa comment that it is a pleasure to pay an entrance fee
because you can see that the revenues are invested in the people and in improving
the place, where you no longer find garbage lying around and there is good
infrastructure. In addition, tourism has provided local people with a new
source of income and each day more and more Lickan Antay Community members seek
training to be part of the benefits of responsible tourism.
This entry was originally posted by the author on October 6, 2011.
