Gathering reminded Amazon is “the lungs of the world”Under the theme ‘Developing Sustainable Community Based Tourism in the Amazon Region’ the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) commenced a two-day Regional Technical Workshop and Public Forum yesterday.Present at the opening of the meeting being held at the International Conference Centre at Pattensen,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, East Coast Demerara, were Secretary General of ACTO,Cheap Wholesale Jerseys, Mr. Alejandro Gordillo; Manniram Prashad, Minister of Tourism,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, Industry and Commerce; and Coordinator of Tourism,Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys, Transport and Infrastructure and Communication, ACTO,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, Mr. Donald Sinclair.In his opening remarks, Minister Prashad welcomed all the representatives from the various ACTO Member States including Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela, and to the Secretary General who is in Guyana for the first time.He assured that as a signatory to Amazon Cooperation Treaty, Guyana remains fully committed to the founding principles of protection of sovereignty, sustainable development, the fight against poverty, and improvement in the quality of life of its citizens.“I must acknowledge and congratulate ACTO for their vision and numerous initiatives to protect and promote the Amazon Region and their leadership in integrating the peoples of the Amazon.“The Amazon is literally the lungs of the world and we have a mandate to conserve, protect and promote it for the future well being of the planet. Each of us must be an ambassador for the preservation and protection of the Amazon. We must encourage the world to visit and to have a genuine,NFL Jerseys China, educational and unique experience called the Amazon.”He added that Guyana has adopted a Low Carbon Development Strategy and is confident that they can achieve economic growth and development without compromising its environment and pristine rainforest.Prashad said communities are a crucial element of the tourism product and are at the core of national sustainable development in Guyana. He said they play a key role in the development and delivery of the tourism product, adding that tourism provides numerous opportunities, income, livelihood, employment, poverty alleviation, improvement in standard of living and quality of life, empowerment, hope, and involvement in decision-making.Community entrepreneurship can make a real difference to the local and national economy, promote social cohesion and community pride, the Tourism Minister advocated.“Community based tourism is a valuable commodity that the industry at large and ACTO needs to nurture, support, and grow.”He emphasised that community based tourism in Guyana is expanding, and as such, it is an important niche market for which Guyana has established a competitive advantage.Prashad said Guyana is selling and promoting the ‘community experience’ and receiving growing recognition, with Surama Eco Lodge and Village recently copping the Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award, jointly with Barbados Harrison’s Cave.As such, he noted that thetheme of ‘developing sustainable community based tourism’ is very relevant and timely.The minister opined that the technical meeting is happening at a critical juncture when the world is confronted with climate change which impacts every sector of society, especially the more vulnerable indigenous, rural and remote communities.“Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is a development issue. As we strive to create more awareness of the Amazon and to promote linkages among the eight member countries, let us adopt a low carbon development pathway and be guided by the vision of inclusive and sustainable development.”The Tourism Minister recalled that in 2009 – Destination Amazonia Year, cognizant of the importance of the Amazon, Guyana was rebranded as ‘The Amazon Adventure’.He said Guyana also hosted ACTO’s fifth technical workshop and joined with other Amazonia members to nominate the Amazon River and Forest as a natural wonder of the world– which is placed in the top 14.The minister revealed that they recently completed the draft circuit manual for Guyana to promote geo and cross border tourism with Suriname and Brazil.Additionally, he said ‘Destination Guyana’ will be hosting the Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference in 2012 and extended an early invitation to ACTO to send a representative.Prashad urged that as they meet and deliberate and arrive at strategies and concrete actions focused on developing sustainable community based tourism in the Amazon Region, to consider: developing a best practice guide for community based tourism in the Amazon; developing a community based tourism manual; assisting with training and capacity building for communities in tour guiding, hospitality, and management; and developing and establishing a funding mechanism for selected pilot communities for product development, marketing and access to new information and communication technologies.
