A $4 million GEF grant to protect biodiversity with community and business participation

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $4 million grant from the Global Environment Facility to develop a model for low-impact ecotourism within Panama's National System of Protected Areas (SINAP). 

The resources, which will be complemented by $10 million in parallel financing from governmental and nongovernmental organizations, will foster biodiversity conservation and sustainability in nine protected areas selected on the basis of innovation, participation of local businesses, and local sustainable social development.

The project will be carried out in the Bastimentos national marine park, the La Amistad international park, and in the national parks of Volcán Barú, Major General Omar Torrijos Herrera, Darién, Soberanía, Chagres, Altos de Campana, and Coiba.

These areas, in which more than 1,300 endemic species of plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and fish have been identified, cover some 40 percent of the area administered by SINAP and receive 60 percent of park visits.

Through the project, revenues from admission fees and related charges will increase from $300,000 to $530,000 annually, raising the percentage of SINAP’s operating budget derived from ecotourism fees from 17 percent to 30 percent.

The increases will result from improvements in ecotourism efficiency that will boost numbers of visitors to these areas from 43,000 to 50,000 a year, raising the annual growth rate of visitors from 2.2 percent to 4.5 percent.

The percentage of international tourists visiting at least one protected area will triple. It is also expected that the level of satisfaction with ecotourism services will increase significantly, resulting in a doubling of average daily spending per visitor from the current $20 to $40.

Other expected outcomes include a 5 percent increase in the number of local and community businesses providing ecotourism services in these areas. At least 20 organizations and private sector and community-based operators will receive training in the management of public use areas and ecotourism skills.

The other $10 million for the project will be provided by the National Environmental Authority and the Tourism Authority of Panama ($6.2 million), and by the Panamanian Aquatic Resources Authority and The Nature Conservancy ($3.8 million).