Ethno
Tribal Tourism, Volksgruppen, Archaische Lebensweisen, "konnten sich viel von ihrer Ursprünglichkeit bewahren", weitgehend unberührt von den Einflüssen der modernen/westlichen Lebensweise, traditionelle Gesellschaft, Wirtschaftsfaktor Ethnizität im Tourismus, etc.
GOING NATIVE A debate on Indigenous Peoples and Tourism, 1999 |
| Veröffentlicht von () am 14.02.2009 |
Proceedings of
GOING NATIVE
A debate on Indigenous Peoples and Tourism
_Amsterdam, 9 December 1999 _
The Netherlands' Centre for Indigenous Peoples (NCIV)
PREFACE
On the day of the debate, 9 December 1999, it became clear that tourism is a hot issue nowadays. There were about 180 people filling up the hall of the sold out Balie in Amsterdam. The Netherlands Centre for Indigenous Peoples (NCIV) was very pleased to be able to welcome guests from all over the world. Especially, the 20 indigenous representatives, who were able to participate thanks to the Indigenous Dialogue Project of the Narwal Institute in Wassenaar.
For the first time in the Netherlands a debate on tourism was organised from a human rights perspective. The programme was rich; ten speakers (see list of speakers p.13_14), including four indigenous representatives, had the opportunity to lance their points of view. The debate was led by chairman David Boerma. Both speakers and audience participated actively. Many new issues were raised in the lively discussions between panel members and the audience, demonstrating the scope and complexity of the problem of tourism, indigenous peoples, their cultures and their environments. The material presented here provides good cause for follow_up initiatives. There is much more to be said and done about tourism and indigenous peoples then can be discussed in one day only.
The proceedings following are short summaries of the presentations of the speakers and excerpts of the discussions. They highlight the various points of view held in the field of tourism and indigenous peoples. As was said by the coordinator of the debate, Ingrid Plante, the NCIV looks back on a highly valuable debate.
SUMMARIZED PRESENTATIONS
Introduction by Alison Johnston
Alison Johnston's introductory speach focussed on the effects of eco tourism on indigenous peoples and their homelands. "The year 2002 is declared by the UN as the international year of eco_tourism. From the perspective of indigenous rights this is a particulary worrysome step, because eco_tourism targets indigenous homelands and it often accelarates the erosion of their rights, especially land rights". Illustrated by a great many examples from around the world she presented an overview of the effects of eco_tourism on indigenous peoples and their homelands. Ranging from the loss of access land and the removal of propertyrights for the establishment of protected areas to the desecration of sacred sites and the (offensive) use of indigenous imagary without consent or benefitsharing. Many of these effects are hidden from the public's eye.
Then Alison Johnston moved on to outline the steps towards a solution to the question: "How do we move away from these exploitative terms of trade towards real partnerships". Observing that "most concepts of ecotourism are developed in isolation of the involved indigenous peoples or without respectfull and ongoing dialogue", she called upon the people present to replace token attempts of consultation of local peoples with a serious aplication of the principle of prior informed consent, based on the recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples as owners of their homelands and cultural heritage. Alison Johnston states:
"The bottom line is that indigenous peoples have to be ready to be at the negotiatig table. If they are not ready to be at the negotiating table that is a form of duress. In international law when negotiations are made under duress then they are invalid in any legal agreement reached in that situation".
For NGO's this implies that they should invest in network capacity of indigenous peoples, better models for tourism business and hospitality training.
PART ONE: THE IMAGE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY
Presentation by Nick Welman, Chairperson of the foundation REISbeWIJS
Based on research in Indonesia, Nick Welman stated that often tourism only produces a short lived change in the pre_conceived images of indigenous peoples. Therefore he raised the question: "how to make a lasting impression (on tourists, ed.)?" During his speech Nick Welman provided two answers to his question.
The first one is that indigenous peoples need to gain the respect of the tourist. Illustrated by the case of the Arhuaco in Colombia, Nick Welman stated that in order to be respected indigenous peoples need absolute control of the tourism development process in their communities. He called upon Dutch tour operators to base their travel programs on the will and the needs of the indigenous peoples themselves. To those tour operators who do not want to do this Nick Welman had to say: "if it is worth so little to you, then be honest and just skip this item from your travel program".
The second answer is about time. Nick Welman pointed out that, in order to get to know a culture the tourist will need time. "You can not expect tourists to acquire a better understanding of other cultures or different peoples if they are always in a hurry". Therefore Nick Welman concluded that tourists visiting an indigenous community should be forced to take the time they need to really understand a culture. "The tourism process has to be slowed down".
The complete text can be found at: http://home.iae.nl/users/cos/english.htm
Presentation by Wijnand van Riel, Anthropologist and author of travel guides
As a tour manager and author of travel guides Wijnand van Riel came in contact with many of the pre_conceived images of indigenous peoples: the Mystic of the Orient, the Passionate Latin Lover, the Noble Savage and so forth. According to Wijnand van Riel these pre_conceived images are fed by several sources. He named tour operators, tour leaders, guidebooks, web sites, tv_programs and indigenous peoples themselves as a collective authority. Because these pre_conceived images may lead to problems such as misunderstanding and even hostility between tourists and locals, he argues that it is important to get away from them.
To transform this into practice Wijnand van Riel pointed out three things. First of all tour leaders must be better educated, payed and even certified. This could be reached by means of collective agreements between employers and employees. Next, serious efforts should be made in good information dissemination. Finally, hallmarks for tour operators should be developed. These hallmarks will indicate on forehand what quality tour leader and information the tourist can expect.
Presentation by Jennelyn Nanglihan, Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA)
Jennelyn Nanglihan, a representative of the Indigenous People of Banawe, Ifugao in the Philippines tells us about the experiences with tourism in Ifugao. Banawe is famous for its rice terraces, which were recognised as a World heritage site by Unesco in 1994. This provided the Phillipine Government with an opportunity to attract international funds for restoration and conservation of this site. Even though the terraces and the indigenous culture are among the most important tourist attractions in the country, the money never benefited the indigenous population.
In Ifugao the tourists are being pulled by an exotic image of the landscape and the indigenous peoples. They are never confronted with the reality of the people of Banawe. A reality of extreme poverty, loss of access to life_sustaining resources, human rights violations and disintegration of the indigenous culture. "All news is censored so tourists have no information about peoples' struggles".
Not only is the serious poverty and erosion of local culture removed from the tourists eye, tourism itself has become a destructive force in the lives of the people of Ifugao. "Our experience in Banawe clearly illustrates that tourism has instead caused the disintegration if not loss of local culture and heritage which the government and tourist business claims to protect recognise and promote..... Local woodcarvers are exploited, roofs were painted to minimise the glare for taking photo's, the government is even staging our sacred dances to entertain tourists......Our culture is used for profit, but tourism doesn't benefit the community at all. Unesco and government are only interested in protecting the terraces for its commercial value". Moreover, " more and more tourism is monopolised by multinationals who are not accountable to anyone. Thus tourism becomes even more devoid of its human aspects."
Jennelyn concludes: "Tourism cannot be removed from the overall struggle for our rights......Only if we have full control of our resources can we define our own development. As long as it is controlled by international, national and local elites it can not be considered an alternative development strategy for meeting our needs. Tourism can never be considered an alternative development strategy for indigenous peoples. Recognition of land rights must be prioritized. After all our uniqueness revolves around our relationship with the land".
PART TWO: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Presentation by Estebancio Castro: Representative of the Kuna People of Panama
Estebancio started by commenting on the statement for the session: "I would like to say that sustainable tourism leads to the conservation of nature, environment and local cultures. However, looking at the history of our Kuna peoples, I can not do that". He continued to clarify the Kuna vision of their peoples relationship with other peoples in the world: "I would like to convey the following phrase of one of the elders in Kuna Yala: We respect the great cultures in the world and in the same fashion we would like to be respected as human beings and peoples with dignity".
The history of his peoples' experiences with tourism is marked by dissapointment and gradual growth towards self control. "Most of these (experiences with tourism, ed.) had negative impact on our peoples.... We had investors, who didn't keep their promises. Who took away our resources. We threw them out... Now cruisehips have come. They leave carbage and destroy our coralreefs. The tourists throw coins in the water so little boys will dive for them. Some boys have drowned". Also, the Kuna's prominent artform, the production of the mola (a typical cloth) has suffered to suit tourists taste for design and colour.
Estebancio wonders what the sustainalbe element is in the Panamanian governments' call for sustainable tourism in Kuna Yala. "The government wants to exploit our lands but it doesn't even have a development plan for the area".
After all this the Kuna decided to take control of tourism development in their homeland. Estebancio: "We can't deny ourselves this new source of income. We need research and alternative ways of development that can be managed by our grass_roots organisations". Therefore, the Kuna drafted a "Tourism Charter" in 1995, based on their own socio_cultural values and cosmovision. The charter sets rules for who is allowed to invest in tourism and on what conditions, including political, economical and ethical norms. No outsider may invest in tourism in Kuna Yala. But the Kuna themselves must also respect the environment, biodiversity and natural resources.
Presentation by Ton van Egmond, Lecturer of the National Institute for Higher Education on Tourism (NHTV)
"Tourism is there and whether you like it or not and tourism will play an important role the coming century". Ton van Egmond's presentation put tourism to indigenous peoples in perspective of the development of the tourismsector at large. "Tourism to indigenous peoples makes up for only a very small proportion of the global market for tourism". Only some types of tourists visit indigenous peoples; mass tourists stay away.
Ton van Egmond is convinced of tourism's potential for the protection of environment and culture. "But it's not easy. One must meet a lot of conditions to be able to use tourism as an instrument for the protection of nature and local cultures, or as an instrument for development."
Ton van Egmond put two keywords amongst these conditions forward. The first one is "integrated tourism planning and development"; linking the development of tourism initiatives with the overall development of an area, including agricultural, educational and other sectors of society. The second is "co_operation between stakeholders". One must be able to count on the support of local communities, governments on various levels, consumers, touroperators, private entrepeneurs and other key players. As a final remark he added. "If tourism planning is to be a succes one of the main aspects is to be planning for markets". One has to ask: "What kind of tourists do we want? And how can we attract these tourists"?
Presentation by Ruud Klep, tour operator Multatuli Travel
Ruud Klep was willing to prepare a presentation on short notice because of a last minute cancelation of one of the speakers.
Ruud Klep presented the approach of Multatuli Travel towards sustainable tourism. Multatuli Travel is an Amsterdam based tour operator. Ruud Klep: "We call ourselves a commercial idealistic tour operator. Idealistic because we believe tourism can be a positive force. Comercial because we also have to make a living out of it, which is sometimes forgotten".
He continued: "When we started 6 years ago, one of the first things we did was sit down and write a policy paper. It is the core of our business". The paper contains the guidelines for how Multatuli wants to work; guidelines for participation with local communities and NGO's, economic and social guidelines. Ruud Klep: "We always work on request of local organisations and we always use local guides". This method ensures good interaction between the tourist and the locals. Clients of Multatuli Travel esspecially appreciate this aspect of their product.
From a business perspective Ruud Klep had a few remarks to make. One is that if one wants to be successfull one has to be comercialy successfull. The principle is "A fair price for a fair product". Ruud Klep also pointed out that the expectations of local people are generally way to high. "People expect that within two years there are going to be lots of tourists and money. Neither is true. It takes at least five to six years for a business to become profitable. You need long term investment. This is something that also local people need to realise." Ruud Klep observes furthermore that many local people lack the knowledge and skills for marketing and business. Sometimes Multatuli Travel assist their partners in this field of expertise.
PART THREE: TOURISM AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Presentation by Nanda Ritsma of the foundation Retour
Nanda Ritsma based her speech on the experience of the Retour foundation. "Retour foundation stands for Responsible Tourism", she explains. It is as a consultant in community based tourism project. To make this work the organisation has developed a Tourism Planning Methond (TPM).
According to Nanda Ritsma, the TPM is a planning procedure, based on a process approach, in which the goal is: active participation of diffrent involved parties such as local communities, community development organisations, nature conservation organisations etc. "Retour foundation tries to stimulate, and initiate national and international co_operation between these diffrent parties. In these method the community development plays a central role. After each step in the process there are pilot studies and evaluations".
These pilot studies have shown tourism development _ if planned carefully _ can contribute to economic and social empowerment of the local population, sayd Nanda Ritsma. However, over the years there appeared some critical issues which seemed to be vital points in the development process of a community. Nanda Ritsma mentioned four.
* The conflicting interests between diffrent stakeholders, but also within a community, could prevent a community based tourism project to reach its goals. "It should be prevented that the weakest, mostly not organised peoples, get the worst out of the tourism project".
* The income out of tourism should be used as a supplement to the daily activities of the community.
* With the development of a tourism project, new skills and materials could be necessary. These skills and materials should be adjusted to the local situation.
* Local communities should participate in the world development process of the tourism project. This implies not only consulting local people, but also allowing local people to have decision_making power and control over the whole process.
Presentation by Marlon Palomo, Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)
"The PRRM is a development institution implementing an integrated area development programme in 19 provinces in the Philippines. It is assisted by NOVIB in the Netherlands. Its development programme includes tourism".
"I would like to start with the government plan on tourism. The Philippine government actively promotes native based tourism as a new way of doing the business of tourism. It actively invites on identifying and opening new sites to attract more tourists.....But eco_tourism as practised in the Philippines remains the same exploitative industry controlled by big business. The greening of the tourism industry trough eco_tourism provided opportunities for big business and foreign investors in the tourism industry. Worse, ancestral lands are transformed into tourism resorts, hotels, golf courses and the like. The indigenous peoples are one of the most affected sectors in the tourism industry in the Philippines.".
"In the Cordillera for instance, the corruption of culture characterises its tourism industry.....But will the people from Ifugao survive without the benefits of tourism? The may, they might not. Tourism will proceed as an industry anyway. The challenge is to transform the current structure into something that is community centred and based upon the stakeholder communities themselves. The earnings of the tourism industry of Ifugao are going out of the province. The challenge is how to build people stakes, such that the money flows directly into the communities, to support peoples initiatives".
"PRRM believes that in order for ecological developmental tourism to be successful, it should be guided by the following principals and strategies:
I. Community centred. The community plays a major role in planning and decision making for their own organisational structures.
II. Protection of the environment. The environment is the base of and the resource for development of the community. The natural resources should be managed by those peoples whose life depends on it: the community, the indigenous peoples.
III. Local economic development. Economic gains of tourism should be retained within the community to improve and sustain its economy. The gain of tourism should be channelled to improve the communities livelihood.
IV. Local area management capability building. The community learns to build its capability to manage the development of its area... ".
Marlon continued to tell how the PRRM bases it selves on the results of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). "Community members are the key actors in this process. They analyse and present their own situation..... The PRA is a very useful instrument for communities to be informed about the advantages of tourism. At the end of the PRA they make the decision themselves if they want to go ahead with it or not".
Presentation by Tom Ole Sikar (Maasai People) of the Cultural Tourism Programme (CTP)
Tom Ole Sikar speaks of tourism in Tanzania. Top attractions are wildlife, Mount Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Tanzania has taken steps to conserve nearly 20 % of its land for these attractions.
"If you ask the most Tanzanians how they profit out of tourism, they answer they profit very little out of tourism. So the SNV began in 1995 to explore ways of involving local people in tourism so that they can benefit in a decent way. Therefore a pilot study was carried out........ The results of that study were very positive. Various stakeholders were consulted: the local people, district councils, tour operators. And the reaction also from the tour operators was that if another program will be introduced, it will offer tourists a reason to stay one or two more days in the country and to spend that money in the country and help the community".
So in September 1997 the SNV and Tourism Board agreed to start a joint program, known as CTP.
"Here you can see that a development organisation really can play a role in tourism, and how it can position itself within the tourism project. CTP developed a form of local tourism in which local people are closely involved. They design and organise tours, showing tourists several aspects of their daily life in the area in which they live. They show soil conservation activities, or income generating activities, or women groups".
What can a development organisation do?
• assist local peoples to develop interesting cultural tourism models.
• promote this models to tourists and tour operators.
In order to meet these to tasks, development organisations should offer assistance in two area:
• Product development. They assist local people to identify natural resources and to identify natural and cultural attractions, that will form the basis of tourism in the area. On the basis of these attractions, they design tours together with local people.
• Training: guides, people who provide meals, or catering services and accommodation.
"Then you have to work out a price mechanism which really will ensure that local people are benefiting out of tourism. Our structure is based on the activities which local peoples perform for tourists..... These people earn a direct income. Besides, it devices a system in which the whole village earn benefits in the form of a village development fee. This goes to assist to local projects..., like a school or a nursery". Finally, Tom stated that for any such project to be successful one must make work of proper marketing..
Presentation by Hafsa Elkam (Amazigh People, Morocco) representing the Indigenous Dialogue project
Hafsa Elkam introduced herself as a representative of a group of indigenous peoples, participating in an indigenous dialogue network, which aims finding a new means of communication between contact persons of indigenous peoples organisations, through a mutual and common language and through internet. Among the issues they discussed was tourism.
Hafsa Elkam pointed out that every group of indigenous peoples had a different story. Some of them show positive experiences with tourism, most of them however have negative experiences.
In discussing the subject of sustainable tourism, Hafsa Elkam warned the organisations which want to make partnership projects with local governments. "We have to bear in mind that this indigenous peoples are sometimes not even recognised as indigenous peoples. If so, how can they be able to make sustainable projects for tourism?" According to Hafsa Elkam government will always make use of indigenous peoples when making a partnership with a government, because there is no consultation or participation of indigenous peoples in these projects.
"Indigenous peoples need another means of communication between them", Hafsa Elkam concludes. "They need to discuss tourism among themselves to find sustainable alternatives for the issue. We have very diverse cultures. But we can say that our diversity is our strength. So let's use it!".
EXCERPTS OF THE DISCUSSIONS
PART ONE: THE IMAGE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY
"How can we reinforce the cultural exchange between the tourists and the local people? One of the ways is the involvement of the Maasai themselves, to explain to the tourist their culture and show them their homelands. Another way is training local tour guides, who could serve as a link between tourists and local community". (Tom Ole Sikar).
"When we talk about tourism we are generally speaking about people who are leaving their homes for a certain period, and not in the first place because they are pulled, but because they are pushed out of here by all kinds of factors...........These peoples are not interested in the destination in the first place, but want to have a good time, a nice experience. The consequence is that people are not preparing for the destination in the first place, but are preparing for having fun........We should make use of the behaviour of most tourists to be interested in destinations with a lot of facilities that meet the expectations of most of these tourists, and don't bring these peoples to the remote areas of the world when they are not interested in those areas". (Ton van Egmond)
"We have for instance dishes that the local peoples can not prepare. In that case we need experts from the tourist generating countries to do that. In this case it is difficult to include the local people in the tourist industry. "(Audience)
Chairman: "How do you think you can select the "right" tourists?"
Audience: "Well I think that if we have a place where there is no Coca Cola for instance, then you will select the right tourist."
Wijnand van Riel: "I don't think tour operators can't sell destinations without facilities. They can sell everything. And they want to sell everything, because tourist want to go."
Chairman: "Do you think that tourist have other things to offer, apart from their money?"
J. Nanglihan: "That depends on the level of education or understanding of indigenous peoples on tourists. If you look at the profile of the people, they are mainly poor. They lack schools. The government don't inform the indigenous peoples on the tourist. In my community you learn from childhood that the tourist brings money. So that impression is created."
"It can also come from the tourists. You as tourist can also think: what can we offer, instead of just seeing us as exotic birds. And speaking of money; of course our intention is to make as much money as possible from the tourists. But it's also the other way around: you might be paying us 25 cents for a photo and than be selling it for a hundred of dollars. What we want as Kuna people is that tourist come and see us with respect, and that they respect our way of living. Gracias." (Estebancio Castro).
PART TWO: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Marlon Palomo: "One of the challenges is how to put people in contact with the major stakeholders such that they themselves can profit from tourism. And as was said before: tourism will be there anyway. So, for indigenous peoples the challenge is to maximise this opportunity in order to be the ones developing their own communities, their own livelihoods, their own social services......There should be some equity sharing of the benefits coming out of tourism, such that a portion of the earnings should go down at the level of communities for them to be able to sustain by themselves."
Chairman: "So, sharing of benefits is part of sustainability?"
Marlon Palomo: "Yes!"
"Eco_tourism is about a stakeholder approach, where tourism in indigenous homelands involves indigenous peoples as one of about 23 or 43 around the table. Therefore it is not a recognition as peoples with rights. But they are people invited to sit at a negotiation table where those rights are removed, because the very process of being a stakeholder means that you are outnumbered, that you don't have rights in the eyes of the other people around the table........"(Alison Johnston)
"I like to add something about visiting a place on the basis of an invite, because that changes the perspective. That means that there is a plugging into community conceptualised projects. Projects that are consistent with the values and spirituality of those people whom you are visiting...
We need to get away from industry as a provider of opportunity, as a provider of answers, as a provider of economic development. And start looking at it from what the conceptualisation of development and economic development is at a community level." (Alison Johnston)
Chairman: "Is a tour operator an equal partner, compared to an indigenous group?"
T. van Egmond: "If tourism development is going to be effective, you should have a private sector that is sustaining the development. Otherwise, it will not have any commercial success. And it must be a commercial success to be sustainable. This is a very essential part."
Chairman: "Is there a role for governments for legislation and regulation of tourist_flows"
Alison Johnston: "Yes, but it doesn't take the owners of industry. Industry is actually the one that has the power right now to make some changes. The common perception is that industry is the motor of tourism development, but there are some indigenous communities that have managed to develop something in a very different way."
"I think that, when you talk about stakeholders, government can play a very important role, especially _ and that is for IP very important _ when it comes to recognising the land rights. Namibia may be an exception, but part of the problem is solving the land rights, and then indigenous peoples can have a stronger say over whether or not they want a certain tour operator to operate". (Ruud Klep)
"In the case of Guatemala the peace accords have just been signed, and the cooperation is just beginning to passively becoming part of the process. We are being asked to think of sustainable development and we think that making projects stemming from our own cosmovision, we wouldn't even be able to manage it, to achieve it. In the long term this might give us an alternative, but we can't really start to work unless we have the financial resources that are lacking, desperately. So what I am asking it for those who are involved in the financing of projects, to co_operate in that sense because otherwise we could never manage to achieve". (Audience)
"Most of you must be knowing the famous park in India, where we have one horned rhinoceroses, that is the Kasaringa Park. This park belonged to the indigenous peoples, in the beginning. Tourism was flourishing, but in the same time the indigenous peoples where thrown out of the area they lived in...
Most indigenous peoples in the world are struggling for survival today. We are not at all aware of things that are taking place. Since the independence of India, we have been struggling for survival. So we can not even imagine for any sorts of tourism development. Because when the question comes for survival itself, we cannot think about the development of tourism". (Audience)
PART THREE: TOURISM AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
"I think Nanda Ritsma raised a very important point, which is that of making a pilot project as a means to test a idea that a community has about how it might want te be involved in tourism. The community can then test whatever protective mechanisms it develops, for example if it develops a memorandum of understanding about how it wants to negociate, setting out what the goals of the negotiations are about, what the provisions for conflict resolutions are." (Alison Johnston)
"A lot the discussion about management of tourism, both community tourism and tourism in general, is talking about what are the limits of acceptable change. And one of the problems right now is that that dialogue is happening amongst tourism experts, which is quite divorced and separate from the knowledge that exist at a community level". (Alison Johnston)
"For me there is no such thing as sustainable development. We don't believe in this. I give you four reasons. One, because the employment be provided is just seasonal. Two, because the rich are getting the benefits out of tourism in my area, so tourism widens the gap between the rich and the poor, further marginalizing the poor. And three, that even we put our energy in this, it will not succeed if the government doesn't recognize our right to self determination. And four, tourism is a politically sensitive issue, because of the negative impact it can have on the host community." (Jennelyn Nanglihan)
"While developing a sustainable tourism program, you should also fight for the right of self determination, land rights etc. If tourism is not carried out in that integrated manner, probably there is a problem about sustainability. It should be part of the whole approach to address the problems of sustainability in that particular area". (Marlon Palomo)
"I think the tourism industry has managed to appropriate itself the intellectual property rights of the peoples. For example in Guatemala, the use of Maya numbering is being used in other countries without asking us any kind of permission. I think globalization has to do a lot with this phenomenon, which is also resulting in an expropriation of our culture. The same has happened with the software program. Because it corresponds with the binary combination of the Maya. The same happened with our clothes. We see in different countries all kind of clothes with Maya designs". (Audience)
"I think what we have heard that indigenous peoples want to exploit their own cultural resources, but they are being taken away from them. Therefore the subject of intellectual property rights is very essential. To be able to hold on to their own culture, to be able to develop it in a tourist project". (Chairman)
"As soon as a protected area is started, it is highly marketable to eco_tourism. And there is a mentality that either you use the land in economic terms, or you lose it. So as soon as a protected area is established, you have conversations about eco_tourism. Some of the discussions become very difficult because you are talking about conservation, and you are talking about eco_tourism as a means for conservation. Meanwhile, you have these intellectual property issues coming in from the side. And for communities to monitor this and stand on top of this, it is very difficult." (Alison Johnston)
CONCLUDING REMARKS BY INGRID PLANTE
"We have heard a lot of different experiences and visions of various partners in tourism today. I must say we have heard positive and negative examples and experiences. Some conclusions and some quotes I just gathered today. I will present them here:
• Tourism should not be imposed on indigenous peoples.
• Before indigenous peoples can start developing sustainable tourism projects, they first have to gain their rights to self determination, their own culture, language, religion etcetera.
• If indigenous peoples want to initiate any projects on tourism, off course there are some criteria which have to be taken into account. How can we turn the negative experiences into positive experiences? A very important thing is respect. Respect for their culture, their religion, their ceremonial and spiritual life.
• A network for indigenous peoples is very important. A network where they can share their experiences and tell about the indigenous peoples tourism projects which do work out.
• Sustainable tourism takes time from everybody involved.
• There a certain preconditions any tourism projects with indigenous peoples. For instance:
Indigenous peoples should be informed and consulted about the consequences of tourism in all aspects.
Indigenous peoples have to decide themselves what kind of tourism they want, and how they should marked this tourism product.
Information should be shared between different parties on the consequences of tourism.
There should be a shared decision making and equal participating between different parties.
Equal share of income is important.
There should be education of tourist guides towards industries.
The development of more codes or agreements for tourist how to behave, for guides how to tell the appropriate information on indigenous peoples should be developed.
I think that this debate has been an eye_opener to the different parties, and that it will stimulate further discussions between all the partners involved in tourism, so that it can lead to a more sustainable form of tourism".
LIST OF SPEAKERS
David Boerma; chairman
As a specialist in natural resource management and natural resource rights, David Boerma joined the NCIV in January 1999. Previously, he had conducted field research on land and water rights issues in indigenous communities in Peru, Bolivia and Kenya. As head of communications department he now works to stimulate pubic awareness and spark political debate on the human rights issues of indigenous peoples. He is a member of NCIV's board of directors.
Estebancio Castro; representative of the Kuna peoples in Panama
Estebancio Castro is the international representative of the Movimiento de la Juventud Kuna (MJK), the organisation of the Kuna youth. He represents the MJK in the United Nations, where he works on the Declaration on the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples. Estebancio Castro is also a member of the International Indian Treaty Counsel, for which he participates in the Commission of Sustainable Development and the Commission of Nature and Environment.
Ton van Egmond; Professor of the National Institute for Higher Education on Tourism
Ton van Egmond has been working at the NHTV as a senior lecturer on tourism and consultant for more than twenty_five years. Currently, his activities are related to sustainable tourism development. The NHTV offers graduate and post_graduate courses on tourism and leisure studies. It participates in a large international network of educational institutes, non_governmental organisations, and private sector companies. The NHTV is a centre of excellence in tourism in general and sustainable tourism in particular.
Alison Johnston; executive director International Support Group for Sustainable Tourism
Alison Johnston works with indigenous peoples internationally in support of their self_determination and traditional resource rights, providing technical assistance for various capacity building activities. She serves as executive director of the International Support Group for Sustainable Tourism, an organisation dedicated to fostering dialogue and action on indigenous rights in relation to tourism. Her professional training includes a Masters degree in Community & Regional Planning, specialising in natural resource management, and an undergraduate degree in International Relations.
Ruud Klep; representative of tour operator Multatuli Travel
On the day of the debate Ruud Klep was still employed by Multatuli Travel in Amsterdam, an "idealistic tour operator". He was cooperator in the tour operating department and chief editor of Multatuli's travel brochures. At present he is working as a consultant on sustainable tourism.
Jennelyn Nanglihan; representative of the Cordillera Peoples Alliances (CPA)
Jennelyn Nanglihan is a native of Banawe (Ifugao, Philippines). Culturally she belongs to the ethnic group of the Tuwali. She works for the CPA, which for the rights of the indigenous peoples of Ifugao. Having grown up in a tourist area she is well aware of the impact of tourism on indigenous peoples. Therefore sustainable tourism is a topic of great importance to her. Besides her personal experience, Jennelyn Nanglihan took part in the research group which conducted a study on the impact of tourism on communities in Banawe.
Marlon Palomo; representative of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)
Marlon Palomo is the former manager of the PRRM Ifugao branch office for three years. In this area PRRM is implementing an eco_development tourism project. At present Marlon Palomo is Assistent Vice President of the PRRM and Assistant Field Operations Department Manager. The PRRM is a movement that implements various sustainable tourism programmes in 19 provinces in the Philippines. Its major strategies include policy advocacy at various levels to work for policy reforms and the demonstration of models of sustainable area development.
Ingrid Plante; co_ordinator of Going Native
After finishing her studies in marketing and communication in Groningen and culture, organisation and management in Amsterdam Ingrid Plante worked as a volunteer with street kids in Brasil whilst doing research on their socio_cultural background. She spent several years working and travelling in Southern Africa and Central America before she joined NCIV as editor of its magazine INDIGO and later as co_ordinator of Going Native. At present she is working as a freelance journalist and author of radio documentaries and other radio programs.
Wijnand van Riel; anthropologist and author of travel guides
After his study in anthropology, Wijnand van Riel worked in the Middle East and Central Asia for several years. As a tour manager he increased his knowledge of the countries he visited, the tourism industry and the tourists themselves. He has been an active member of Harmatan, the association for tour guides. Now he has committed himself to writing travel guides and articles on tourism.
Nanda Ritsma; representative of the foundation Retour
Nanda Ritsma has studied Recreation and Tourism Studies at the Agricultural University in Wageningen. Her masters thesis based on research on the involvement of local people in tourism projects. At the foundation Retour she takes part in the ECPAT_NL campaign against sexual exploitation of children. The foundation Retour develops strategies and activities that deal with both the opportunities and the threats of tourism. Based on the Tourism Planning Method, Retour offers the services of consultancy, implementation, training, workshops, monitoring and evaluation.
Tom Ole Sikar; representative of the Maasai
Tom Ole Sikar is project co_ordinator of the Tanzania Cultural Programme of the SNV, a Netherlands development organisation. This programme aims to build up a framework that can facilitate the development and promotion of cultural forms of tourism from which local people will truly benefit. It sets out to assist local people to develop cultural tourism modules that meet the interests of tourists, and to promote the cultural tourism modules to tourists and tour operators, so that they will be included in (package) tours in Tanzania.
Nick Welman; chairperson of the foundation REISbeWIJS
Nick Welman is chairperson of the foundation REISbeWIJS. He studied at the University of Utrecht and worked as a teacher at the Fontys Hogescholen of Eindhoven. Nick Welman is the author of the REISbeWIJS guidebook for foreign countries and co_author of the book "About environment and safety". REISbeWIJS is a project of COS Brabant, a centre for international co_operation. Since 1989 REISbeWIJS has been working on sustainable development projects in Asia, Africa and Latin_America.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Netherlands' Centre for Indigenous Peoples would like to thank NCDO, Novib, SNV and Hivos for supporting Going Native financially. We would also like to thank all the speakers for their great contributions to the debate. They participated without any pay or compensation in kind.
NCIV would also like to thank its volunteers for their contributions, especially Anouk Lambrechts, Mario Greatti and Ruth Jansen who spent months making it possible.
This report was drawn up by David Boerma and Ruth Jansen in August and September 2000.
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