Government and civil society representatives evaluate existing environmental policies
CONANP
Due to its spectacular marine life, Cozumel is a main tourist destination for diving. Poorly planned and managed tourism development has critically damaged Cozumel’s coastal and marine habitats. Strengthened cooperation and coordination among key public and private stakeholder groups are necessary to more effectively implement the environmental management plan. In addition, information campaigns raise the local population’s awareness and involve them in protection and conservation strategies.
Photo and video gallery
Context
Challenges addressed
badly planned coastal development, biodiversity loss and incongruent public policies
Beneficiaries
fishermen, tourism service providers, coastal villages, local governements and the inhabitants of Cozumel
Location
Isla Cozumel, México
Caribbean
Process
Summary of the process
= will be added = (available in Spanish)
Building Blocks
Evaluation of Environmental Policy
In focal group meetings, government and civil society representatives analyse and evaluate existing environmental policies and land-use planning tools to determine the competencies and responsibilities of each. Special emphasis is given on identifying shared interests and concerns to come up with common goals and objectives.
Enabling factors
• Participation of the community
• Government committment
• Reformed legislation
Lesson learned
To analyse environmental policies it is necessary to consider the needs of the utilization as well as the capacities of every sector.
Multi-stakeholder Workshops
In participatory workshops, common objectives as well as individual roles and responsibilities are identified. This helps to strengthen coordination and cooperation among the key stakeholder groups including government officials, representatives of private enterprise, academia, civil society organisations and tourism service providers.
Enabling factors
• Community participation
• Government committment
• Strategic alliances
• Reformed legislation
Lesson learned
A cross-sectoral, transparent and constant communicationis of key importance.
Awareness Raising
The importance of nature conservation is brought out to the local community - including the tourist sector. Awareness raising campaigns are conducted to transform knowledge, values, skills and attitudes towards sustainable tourism development. Information is disseminated via videos, brochures, press releases and organised flash mobs.
Enabling factors
Community participation of the community, resources for public relations in the alliances, formulation of clear messages.
Lesson learned
Because the efforts have been achieved with the participation of very diverse sectors and institutions it is necessary that all the members have similar understanding regarding the terms used; all the messages communicated have to contain the same information, no matter who is communicating.
Impacts
• Synergies between different institutions to reach a common goal • In-depth knowledge on various issues, gained by the participants of the working group • Higher environmental quality • Active participation of the local population • Creation of a high-quality tourism that is conscious about its contribution to benefit the local community
