English - Global Environment Facility

trails, 103Km), only two PAs have a visitor center building, seven have sanitation facilities, and
4 have access to potable water. Moreover, only the Altos de Campana Park (PNAC) has trail
guides onsite. In terms of food and lodging services, less than 6 PAs offer these services.
Project approach
5. The project objective is to generate a model of low environmental impact ecotourism in the
National Protected Areas System (SINAP) that contributes to biodiversity conservation and
sustainability of protected areas, in a framework of innovation, entrepreneurial integration, and
sustainable social development.
6. The project takes a two-pronged approach aimed at mainstreaming biodiversity conservation
through ecotourism in protected areas both at the national and local scale. At the national level,
the project will contribute to developing a model for sustainable ecotourism development in the
SINAP through activities which will: (i) strengthen national-level strategies and norms for
promoting ecotourism in accordance with the objectives of the SINAP; (ii) improve SINAP´s
financial sustainability; (iii) create an enabling environment for private and public investment
that foster replication of similar activities in PAs of considerable socio-economic and ecological
importance; and (iv) enhance sectorial institutional collaboration and coordination, particularly
between the environmental agency (ANAM) and the tourism authority (ATP). At the local level,
the project will finance activities that correspond closely to the particular context encountered in
nine PAs selected as priority destinations, and it will promote and strengthen community
participation in the development and implementation of the project.
7. The selection of the nine PAs that will pilot the Program was based on a set of specific technical
criteria jointly agreed to by ANAM and ATP, including: (i) biodiversity value; (ii) conservation
status; (iii) presence of endangered species; and (iv) status of management plans. Furthermore,
for the selection was also important the presence of biodiversity of global significance and thus
international criteria were considered (i.e. RAMSAR, Biosphere Reserve and WWF Global 200).
Priority was given to those sites which register most endangered species (UICN Red List). The
presence of endemic species was also considered. These criteria were cross referenced with the
current and potential ecotourism demand statistics, as well as with the close proximity of each
area to the official tourism destinations included in the Master Tourism Plan for Panama (2007-
2020). With regards to social and economic aspects the following was taken into account: (i) the
potential to replicate lessons-learned from those protected areas with representative social and
environmental conditions within the SINAP; (ii) the level of community participation and the
capacity of their organizations; (iii) the potential to link this initiative with other projects and (iv)
the availability of baseline data. The nine selected areas are: Parque Nacional Marino Isla
Bastimentos (PNMIB), Parque Internacional La Amistad (PILA), Parque Nacional Volcan Baru
(PNVB), Parque Nacional General de Division Omar Torrijos Herrera (PNGDOTH), Parque
Nacional Darien (PND), Parque Nacional Soberania (PNS), Parque Nacional Chagres (PNCh),
Parque Nacional Altos de Campana (PNAC), and, Parque Nacional Coiba (PNC) (see Map in
Annex F).
8. The terrestrial extension of the nine PAs represents 42.2% of the total of terrestrial PAs within
SINAP, while the marine parts of PN Coiba in the Pacific and PN Marino Isla Bastimentos in the
Caribbean represent 49.3% of the total extension of marine protected areas in the SINAP. Taken
together, these nine PAs account for 60% of the current visitation to the SINAP. Three of the
selected terrestrial protected areas are among the most important in size in Panama (PN Darién,
PN La Amistad and PN Chagres). PN Chagres and PN Soberanía are key protected areas of the
CEO Endorsement Template-December-08.doc 11