Tools for systemic change. Crucial stance on sustainable tourism projects with international cooperation resources.
The case of the Coast at Oaxaca-Chiapas, México.
By: Natalia Tavera Daza and Alejo Heymo
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International cooperation as a strategic vehicle to promote the conservation of ecosystems and rural development has been cause of strong criticism in previous years (Mochi Alemán, 2018) (Cardozo, 2023). Even though it has goals aligned with Agenda 2030 and it receives organizational, government and civil pressure, its purpose does not always manage to fit into territorial realities in order to address the civilizing crisis. In the specific case of tourism, the implementation of projects is, mainly, led by renowned consultants who are hired for short periods and forced to find positive impacts. Our experience in México and Central America allows us to infer that these programs focus their success metrics in relation to management indicators, losing sight of the sustainability of the processes, that is, a long-term vision. Or, by contrast, they establish indicators based on projections that have little to do with the territory.
The result is repeated over and over in the tourism field in different geographies: extraordinary sustainable tourism projects in offices without a real connection to the place where they’re meant to come into play and the procurement of a quality work team that, due to implementation times, requires hastening processes and accommodating results. The final goal is usually centered in strengthening tourism enterprises where the development of business models; product design; and market analysis are performed enthusiastically while the resource for the project is valid, but once the consultants return home, the work is lost in everyday life.
To get more context on sustainable tourism, we recommend accessing Alba Sud’s website and exploring its content.
The lack of continuity with this type of program is not due to a lack of community interest, nor is it a manifestation of resistance or a failure of the implementing team; it is more a natural response to processes that lose sight of the social base and the territory it intends to impact. We have optimistically seen the concept of systemic change used to describe the results of tourism initiatives, but it requires more than a project to even think that something is being modified in a place. The systems behave in accordance with their structure and tend to reorganize themselves after receiving external stimuli, creating engineering that modifies structural needs more than financial resources and will; it needs a complexity of factors that we will analyze below. Please keep in mind that this is a case study, it does not mean it can be replicated nor scaled, but it does reveal takeaways for the tourism field.
In this context, The GEF Sustainable Landscapes Project Costa Oaxaca-Chiapas (hereinafter, Paisajes Sostenibles) implemented by Conservation International [Conservación Internacional] (CI) between 2021 and 2024, in which we had the chance to participate as facilitators, brings major findings to the discussion of sustainable tourism. In addition to setting a precedent in matters of community leadership and inclusion, the project integrates key actions in design and tourism planning which guides projects at this scale as well as their ability to drive lasting change.
What is a GEF project? They’re specific initiatives that are implemented with financial support from the Global Environmental Fund. They intend to contribute to sustainable development while addressing crucial environmental challenges at a global level.
Throughout this research, we managed to identify and share the keys that made Paisajes Sostenibles a positive social and environmental impact tool for the territory. Likewise, and perhaps more valuable, we present a series of questions that invite the reader to reflect on the variables of success, the areas of opportunity, and the roles needed for this type of process to prosper. The text is structured in six sections: first, we start by identifying key points and challenges in the initial phase; secondly, we address participatory diversity followed by the coincidence in a shared purpose centered in conservation; later, we talk about facilitation and our role in the process; we proceed with reflections on equity and gender in tourism; and we end with conclusions on collective leadership and the importance of communities of practice for the sustainability of processes in tourism.
Tourism from a collaborative viewpoint
One of the keys to the success of Paisajes Sostenibles lay in the fact that it was placed in a region were conservation topics, agricultural production, and tourism were already advanced. Instead of starting a new process, the project opened dialogues with key actors in the territory, among them non-government organizations and government entities. Fondo Oaxaqueño para la Conservación de la Naturaleza [Oaxacan Fund for Nature Conservation] (FOCN, per its Spanish acronym), La Mano del Mono [The Monkey’s Hand] (MDM, per its Spanish acronym), Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas [National Commission for Protected Natural Areas] (CONANP, per its Spanish acronym) in their regional offices, and the respective Secretarías de Turismo [Ministries of Tourism] (SECTUR, per its Spanish acronym, in Oaxaca and Chiapas) stand out. At a later phase, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and private ventures joined. The result: a varied perspective which enriched the process and brought a historical vision. Nonetheless, civil society and inhabitants of the territory who do not feel represented by these types of organizations were left out of reach of the project. Is their participation relevant? How can they be included?
The tourism strand of Paisajes Sostenibles required integrated tourism companies to complete a formative program on conservation. Contrary to the intersectorial dialogue, the convening was weak and disjointed. The information reached the tourism companies as a rumor of another training program for transference of information. We have seen this pattern repeat itself in projects implemented in Honduras and the Eje Neovolcánico [Neovolcanic Axis] in Mexico, there is great effort to develop the project, but the people with which they’re going to work are not taken into account until a much later phase.
The selection criteria for the convening demanded the participation of social ventures or coops that performed nature tourism within the region and could show the participation of women, youth, or indigenous communities. It was an open and transparent invitation through social media, but, above all, directed to key actors in the territory. Are social and digital media the ideal communication channels for the grassroots community? What other strategies for dissemination could be implemented to include the trade and practices of the area? Thanks to the follow-up work carried out by the destination managers, the first indicator was achieved: the number of participating ventures. Even so, they themselves recognize that there could have been more effort exerted at this stage. It is relevant to emphasize that the convening stage is key in these large-scale projects and in the majority of them, this is something that is not prioritized.
What is a destination manager? Professionals who interact with the different actors in the tourism value chain to optimize the quality of services while at the same time preserving the biocultural patrimony of the place. In this GEF project, it specifically refers to public sector professionals..
Diversity of Participation
The first in-person gathering for the program took place in La Escobilla, Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. It was the first time that the team met, both the managers and us, as well as nature tourism ventures. The group was a sample of diversity. People from the Museo de la Tortuga [Turtle Sanctuary] from Mazatlán, about 11 hours away, as well as from Madresal, Chacahua, Huatulco and other coastal areas. Baggage was diverse. They came from commons; from rural areas, from remote and frontier productive zones; from cities; from National Parks and protected areas. They were seniors, immigrants, women; fisherfolk and artisans, or those who work the land; university-educated folks, or those who at some point had been involved with illegal enterprises. What they had in common: people interested in promoting a change through tourism and guaranteeing the preservation of their ecosystems. But above all: people.
In the workshop, we not only shared helpful technical tools, which surely had been presented in other tourism courses, but an acknowledgement space was opened for the other. Understanding that the most important link in the process is people. Thanks to this process, we concluded that without nature there is no tourism, but for there to be sustainable tourism, people are needed. It is impossible to think of conservation and sustainability without a social foundation, and that was what started to emerge from this gathering.
“Normally we held very theoretical workshops or trainings that outperform you as a community … For me the human aspect that was lived daily in those gatherings was the most redeemable”
Héctor Cruz — Guide and partner in the Cooperativa Huatulco Salvaje [Coop]
The presence of women was most relevant in the process, historically, attendance was mostly by men, including business directors and facilitators. The facilitation team (of which we were a part), was diverse in gender and provided childcare with nannies to guarantee the participation of women heads of households and a concentration of the same. The sessions were designed in a dynamic way which ascertained everyone’s participation. After moments of sharing technical information, we would open the floor to debates through a series of thought-provoking questions, always with the intention of integrating every opinion. What changes are perceived with the integration of women in rural tourist and community formations?
The sessions were marked by specific goals that were presented in a clear way at the start of the session in order to align the participants’ expectations, always with open dialogue to have flexibility in the agenda and to adapt to the needs that emerged. Even though this GEF project had already been designed with a specific conservation goal and it was required to comply with specific deliverables, the facilitation and design of the gatherings generated spaces that served the main goal while building trust amongst the people. The key: always using examples from tourism practices. The program’s approach ceased to be strengthening tourism capacities and became the humanization of tourism. The work methodology generated value by understanding the tourist destination as a set of ventures which are also a group of people working towards a common goal.
“It is not a competition… because that’s the way we used to look at it. Now I realize that no, on the contrary, it is a link where we can get together so other tourists will visit us more every day.”
Ana Lilia — Partner in Cooperativa La Salina Escobilla [Coop]
A desired future, a shared purpose
Uniting the group was made possible thanks to an identity developed around the landscape and not to political or state limitations. Paisajes Sostenibles used the argument of the preservation of 15 priority species for the Oaxaca- Chiapas Coast which generated conditions for dialogue and the recognition of cultural diversity, of trades and knowledge, which shared common grounds. To guarantee the existence of the ecosystem on which everyone depends (or on which we all depend) it is necessary to take coordinated action in its preservation.
Different from traditional tourism which promotes highly competitive environments, an example of which can be seen in Oaxaca de Juárez, the capital of the State, where an important anti tourist movement has emerged along with a strong resistance to gentrification and the growing foreign influence. In this case, tourism has served as an enclave economy that gives nothing in return, and deteriorates the social fabric and the environment.
A great discovery regarding Paisajes Sostenibles was finding a common purpose between the project and the people involved, all within the argument for conservation. The old paradigm of competition brought forth by traditional capitalist economies was replaced with collaboration principles. Designing tourist experiences that integrate sustainable management for priority species, common throughout the coastal landscape, enabled the exchange of experiences among initiatives and the novelty of identifying as collaborative ventures in search of a common goal that went beyond profitability.
In spite of the fact that the project was not designed through a participatory mechanism that integrated territorial needs, it managed to align to the community’s goal which was preserving the ecosystem. And it’s because the purpose, the reason why what is done is done, guides the people’s day to day and determines the results of a process. For this reason, it’s essential to understand that tourism, be it traditional or sustainable (or whatever last name you want to give it), is a tool but not an end in and of itself. The goal assigned can be the catalyst for social dialogue and well-being; promote conservation and an abundant economy; or be extractive and destroy, in every sense, a territory.
How are collaborative ideas articulated? The role of facilitation
It is common to find spaces where there are collaborative ideas but great difficulty in listening and building. In the coastal landscape of Oaxaca and Chiapas, there was a decade of work around conservation tourism but few opportunities for dialogue and convergence. What made articulation possible in this case was the figure of the facilitator. This role is not only about distributing the word in sessions, but it is a key piece that speaks the language of the project and the territory. It has the ability to communicate with multiple levels: communities, funders, destination managers, and government entities. It works as a bridge that weaves the voices and interests of all involved parties.
“The figure of the facilitator is key, it is the gear that allows the projects to move forward. They act as a catalyst that drives both the structural objectives and those brought by each participant and organization…”
Irving Barrera — Project Coordinator at FOCN and General Manager of Costa Magia
This role is often compared to that of a workshop facilitator; however, it goes beyond that. It is different from someone who participates in a vertical manner and transfers information; it’s about speaking less and listening more, about creating conditions for dialogue among participants. Paisajes Sostenibles had multiple facilitators, from different countries and contexts, mostly women, among whom Karla Bazán, operational leader of CI, stood out. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this team was their connection and commitment to the place. To weave networks of change, as moderators, it is essential to relate to the territory in an intimate way. We emphasize that what makes the difference is a process of humanization.
“Getting to know each other at a personal level, in order to recognize myself and others from there, before understanding ourselves as part of the tourism system, is what made the difference. All those dynamics that helped us feel like family, to feel united to work towards a common goal”
Maria Ernestina Rodriguez — CONANP Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga Escobilla [Mexican Center for the Ridley Turtle]
The people who facilitated this project, in addition to convening and coordinating in-person workshops at specific locations, made other efforts to stimulate cohesion and the exchange of knowledge among participants, such as: individual follow-up sessions via Zoom or WhatsApp calls (depending on internet signal availability); visits and field trips to each of the participating ventures with emphasis on involving all partners and/or employees; exchange of experiences between ventures in the region (see the Communities of Practice section); and a collection of images and videos on-site that showcased the tourist experiences designed to enhance the livelihood of the area.
Equity as the foundation for change
The inclusion of women in tourism is a topic of debate, as high participation rates are shown with the employment indicator, but the reality is that the incidence in decision-making and leadership positions is low. At the same time, it is concerning that some studies have found that ecotourism, instead of generating opportunities for women and historically excluded populations, reproduces the hegemonic role that devalues and invisibilizes women’s care work and deepens gender stereotypes (Suárez, 2016) (Estrada, 2022). Although there is no assessment in this regard, in the preliminary results of Paisajes Sostenibles a simple decision was made in the convening that meant significant changes in participation dynamics. Have you noticed significant changes after making small decisions? We found that even with gender challenges, making a simple strategic decision, no matter how small, managed to impact our study universe, and therefore we consider it relevant to document it.
In a society where men have traditionally occupied public roles, and in the specific case of tourism, decision-making positions; in managerial, operational, and customer-facing roles, it turns out to be disruptive. We noticed the change after the first workshop when in addition to the male executives of community tourism enterprises who attended, young people and women also participated. Some were more eager to speak than others, but with the support of facilitation, spaces for dialogue and integration were opened. Today, we see compelling results such as one of the participating cooperatives having a woman as president; a woman from a rural cooperative being certified as a nature guide; and a destination manager from CONANP acknowledging gaining confidence and presenting herself as an empowered woman.
The results of Paisajes Sostenibles show that not only did we meet a management indicator that required 50% of the participants to identify as women, but we also generated a level of involvement. Even with areas of opportunity regarding gender parity and reinforcing stereotypes, such as believing that women can only be in administration and sales because operations are strenuous or very physical, as some of the program’s men have referred to them, it is indeed true that ground has been gained. The workshops, which became spaces for exchanging experiences, served to inspire other women from different regions and to understand how they could participate in the tourism sector or how it is possible to perform tasks other than household care. At the end of the program, it was recorded that 8 out of the 11 ventures had at least one woman participating in their commercial presentation rounds, arguing the value generated by tourism experiences designed with a conservation focus.
By taking agency over simple actions such as hiring someone for childcare, considering activities for kids, including menus for vegetarians or seniors, we created physical conditions for integration and collaboration. Diversity is not only found in natural areas but also where there are people, and for equity to be cataloged, plurality is essential. Simplifying language use with everyday examples related to the territory, such as the beach, the jungle, and the market, succeeded in communicating important values of sustainable tourism such as the relationship with livelihoods, the integration of youth, equity, and the reinforcement of territorial identity.
“Even though we still have a long way to go, I believe the program allowed for the inclusion of an excluded group in these topics. The initial picture vs the final one at the end of those four years of work not only reflects a greater number of women, but also more committed and present enterprises with a clearer image and communication, and a more vivid purpose. The fact that there’s women’s presence in the processes, opens up the opportunity for more women to dare to participate and question their current duties.”
Karla Bazán, Technician at Paisajes Sostenibles, CI.
Collective leadership and Communities of Practice
It is common for the continuity of this type of programs (social, sustainable tourism, or rural development) to be dependent on the resources of the funding entity, whether public or private. Once this capital ends or is diverted with new budget allocations, the processes are not maintained over time. First, because they were carried out without including the people who inhabit the place, and second, because they generate dependency relationships. Paisajes Sostenibles reaches the end of its temporal horizon with final report deliveries and administrative closures. What happens to the dynamics that drive the intention for change day by day? How to sustain the new work strategies? These questions are common to any exogenous process in a system.
“What we weave among diverse actors was and is very valuable. The fact that CI no longer continues, that you’re no longer in the territory is not a reason to disengage. In fact, we continue working. We have the tools, we continue the dialogue and working together.”
José Colmenares — CONANP — Lagunas de Chacahua
The facilitation design in Paisajes Sostenibles fostered learning among colleagues; an interaction of a horizontal nature was sought to promote dialogue among peers. It was never the intention for the facilitator to establish what was right, and this contributed to the continuity of active processes. FOCN’s community of practice evolved to form a community tour operator. Costa Magia is now a self-managed entity that brings together 11 cooperatives from the region to offer sustainable tourism experiences. This group of companies gathers every month at a different venue to exchange challenges and learnings and has managed to articulate its own tourist product with a solid commercial proposal.
On the other hand, the destination managers’ group maintains fluid contact to address doubts and request advice on how to support new emerging groups interested in ecotourism. María Ernestina Rodríguez from CONANP comments that she is “working with a group of women in the Escobilla area, and the idea is to replicate the same methodology that was addressed with Paisajes Sostenibles.” Among the different Protected Natural Areas, exchanges of experiences based on similar themes have been carried out. Gerardo Galdámez, also with CONANP, shared with us that “the results of the gathering between turtle conservationists from Chiapas and Oaxaca were very interesting, so we are thinking of having another one to continue deepening good practices.”
“Now that I’ve returned to the coast, after almost two years, I was delighted to see how much the ventures have grown and how they have been linking with each other. And also how they have driven and inspired new entrepreneurs in their region.”
Sofía de la Cruz — SECTUR Chiapas.
Paisajes Sostenibles’ last gathering took place in Huatulco at a five-star hotel, where the group’s widespread reaction took us by surprise. The choice of location was criticized for not being aligned with their values; we were certain of a clear manifestation of identity and awareness. Gradually, the participants in the program became leaders and references in their teams, fostering collective work and ways of living consistently with their origin. This shows us that it is not only necessary to address the direct results of tourism activity but also the way of being and doing of people in relation to their destination (livelihoods). Our lens of systemic analysis requires understanding the different layers that make up a system and studying their relationships; in this case, we see a nesting between people, companies, cooperatives, and the destination.
“I used to get angry when my mother took me to plant, but now I love it because it’s a seed that belongs to us.”
Vicente Pizza, Cooperativa Aventura y Ecoturismo [Adventure and Ecotourism Coop] Lagunas de Chacahua
Conclusions: the necessary foundations for systemic change
We find key elements that allow us to conclude that the Paisajes Sostenibles project closes in a satisfactory manner, both for the facilitation team and for the participating ventures. This is due to the points we have emphasized: the importance of collaboration with other actors in the territory, regardless of whether they are project allies; diverse participation with the intention of designing spaces to listen to everyone’s voice; the empowerment of destination managers; sharing a desired future to work towards a shared purpose; using tourism as a development tool but not as an end in and of itself; the role of the facilitator as key to integrating processes and exchanging information; equity as the basis for a change that aligns with the common goal; and sharing leadership through communities of practice.
The challenges faced at the territorial level are critical, and in this article, we have mainly focused on our study area, which is tourism. However, there is a whole world left to explore and analyze, including social, territorial, and public order issues faced by the Oaxaca-Chiapas coast. At the level of tourism management, we list the following challenges: how to increase the participation of young people and women; how to integrate territories isolated by state power dynamics, as was the case in Chiapas, where despite their participation, geographic distance always posed a challenge; advocating for the promotion of environmental low-impact tourism rather than commercial interests; securing resources to ensure the conservation of protected natural areas and endangered species; and, of course, how to finance mitigation strategies for climate change.
Important milestones for sustainable tourism literature are highlighted, such as the importance of humanizing tourism activity. The social sphere goes far beyond considering the employees of a company. It is essential to understand that tourism is a human activity and that civil society must be included from the very first instance of ideation, whether through diagnosis or direct participation, as it catalyzes cohesion and diversifies the communities of practice that are necessary for the prosperity of a project.
A more humane tourism, which seeks to have a systemic impact on the destinations where it operates, must consider certain roles that are generally overlooked. How do we empower the voices of women? What strategies are necessary to enable women’s participation in tourism? Experience shows us that the role of the facilitator plays a significant role in building collective processes; it allows each actor to contribute equally, aligning their personal purpose with the group’s goal. But what skills do facilitators need in addition to technical knowledge? Are there specific training programs to strengthen and prepare these individuals? Would it be valuable to train facilitators from the local communities before starting these international cooperation programs?
Acknowledgments:
Immense gratitude to the community tourism cooperatives and grassroots community ventures of the Oaxaca-Chiapas Coast, with special congratulations to Costa Magia.
Karla Bazán from Conservation International.
Mauricio Miramontes from La Mano del Mono.
To our former facilitator colleagues: Vianney and Mariana.
Ismael “El Mosco” Jiménez.
To the great Destination Managers team: Selene, José, Gerardo, Cristina, Sofía.
Raúl and Gise, always.
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