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Linking Culture and the Environment

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K. Horochowski <strong>and</strong> R.N. Moisey 187<br />

mangrove forest estuaries. Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve has been managed<br />

since 1987 by a non-governmental organization (NGO) – Fundación<br />

Cuero y Salado (FUCSA). Cuero y Salado Wildlife Reserve receives an<br />

increasing number of visitors departing from La Ceiba (population 105,000),<br />

a port town 37 km east of <strong>the</strong> reserve, which hosts many tourists also visiting<br />

<strong>the</strong> popular Bay Isl<strong>and</strong>s. Currently ten tour operators offer trips to <strong>the</strong> wildlife<br />

reserve. Tourism in La Ceiba <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Bay Isl<strong>and</strong>s has been dominated by<br />

large-scale, capital-intensive projects that accommodate large numbers of<br />

foreign tourists <strong>and</strong> is based largely on <strong>the</strong> beaches in <strong>the</strong> area. The NSTP<br />

identified <strong>the</strong>se natural areas as key in diversifying <strong>the</strong> more established ‘sun<br />

<strong>and</strong> beach tourism’.<br />

The second site, Guaimoreto Wildlife Reserve, was assigned protected<br />

status in 1992 <strong>and</strong> has experienced low-scale tourism development. It is<br />

located only 3 km from city of Trujillo <strong>and</strong> is being managed by an NGO –<br />

Fundación Capiro-Calentura y Laguna de Guaimoreto (FUCAGUA). The<br />

city of Trujillo is also a popular tourist stop for beach goers <strong>and</strong> for its historical<br />

importance – Columbus l<strong>and</strong>ed near Trujillo on his fourth <strong>and</strong> final voyage<br />

to <strong>the</strong> New World <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> city was <strong>the</strong> first Honduran national capital. It<br />

is a more colonial town than La Ceiba <strong>and</strong> is more accustomed to low-budget,<br />

adventurous travellers.<br />

Methods<br />

The present chapter reports on results from a larger study of sustainable ecotourism<br />

development in nor<strong>the</strong>rn Honduras. The results of this chapter are<br />

based on scheduled, personal structured interviews with community leaders,<br />

ecotourism operators <strong>and</strong> local residents. The key individuals were identified<br />

through snowball sampling techniques using <strong>the</strong>ir potential influential<br />

capacity as criteria. Local residents were r<strong>and</strong>omly selected. During <strong>the</strong><br />

months from August to December 1997, 32 key individuals <strong>and</strong> 208 local residents<br />

were interviewed. Key individuals included local government officials,<br />

<strong>the</strong> mayors of <strong>the</strong> regional centres, local ecotour operators, community leaders<br />

<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> NGOs managing <strong>the</strong> reserves or working in <strong>the</strong> region. At all levels,<br />

respondents were asked to give <strong>the</strong>ir views on topics concerning protected<br />

areas <strong>and</strong> conservation, social institutions, <strong>the</strong> political processes, community<br />

participation <strong>and</strong> tourism development.<br />

Findings<br />

Community organization (formal <strong>and</strong> informal)<br />

The formal organizational structures into which <strong>the</strong> communities of Cuero y<br />

Salado <strong>and</strong> Guaimoreto organize <strong>the</strong>mselves are similar in both areas.<br />

Communities consistently (although not entirely) associated into three core<br />

formal organizations which address basic needs. These groups are <strong>the</strong>

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