GVI Pez Maya Monthly Achievement Report July 2016

July 2016
Pez Maya
PEZ MAYA COMMUNITY PROJECT

REACHES THE BOAT TOURISM COOPERATIVES
Objectives:
We aim to strengthen the tourist guides capacities and awareness on the ecology and conservation of
Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. To expand our impact, we are working on developing their skills and
keenness to pass it on to the thousands of tourists that come from around the world to do the tours
with them.
Summary
Our community project is now involving boat tourism guides in Punta Allen on a regular basis for our
conservation efforts to be wider in scope. We share information on the ecology and conservation of the
fauna and ecosystems the tours involve. By increasing knowledge and developing awareness on the
local tour guides that interact with thousands of tourists we not only have a positive local impact for the
preservation of the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve. Moreover, the tourists will hopefully take the learning
back home, and then we will have a global impact.
Report
Our community project used to reach only school students in Punta Allen. However, for our
conservation efforts to spread widely we decided to involve more people from the village, which will
also strengthen our relationship with the community. After a few meetings with the President of the
Cooperative Punta Allen we agreed on having weekly meetings with the guides who are about 30
members
to
share
information about the ecology
and the state of conservation
of the fauna and the
ecosystems they interact with
during the boat tours in the
area. One of the first steps
was to join them on the tours
in order to learn about the
specifications of the tours they
offer. Pez Maya volunteers Fig. 1 GVI volunteers joined the tour offered by the cooperative Punta
happily helped with that task! Allen
GVI 2016.1
(fig.1).
During the tours they encounter dolphins, manatees, turtles, mangrove birds, visit the lagoons,
mangroves and go snorkeling on coral reefs around Punta Allen. We began our first meetings with the
tour guides on April 2016 and since then we have covered different topics, including a couple of sessions
on the ecology of coral reefs and fauna such as turtles, manatees, sharks, etc. (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 We have weekly meetings with the guides at 7.30 am before the go for their tours
We have developed a cooperative relationship with the guides who are always willing to share their
own knowledge and experience they have acquired by interacting with the fauna and the ecosystems
every day. We have been developing a curriculum of power point presentations and information that
they can access at the cooperative office computer. We are also summarizing and selecting the most
relevant information to create Information Sheets for the tourist on the boats to read -these will
include rules to follow in the Biosphere - such as the usage of biodegradable sunscreen and care for
coral reefs. In addition, we are preparing Cheat Sheets for the guides to have on-board so they can
share the environmental information
during the tour. We are preparing this
Information and Cheat Sheets in English
and Spanish. Pez Maya Volunteers help to
gather this information and at the end of
each session with the guides we spend a
few minutes practicing pronunciation in
English (Fig. 3).
We have also identified skillful and
motivated individuals that will be able to
share the knowledge with other guides
GVI 2016.1
Fig. 3 GVI volunteers help guides practicing English pronunciation

that will help them share environmental information with the
tourists
joining this cooperative or from the

other cooperatives in the village
(Fig. 4). We are spending extra time
with them to develop their skills.
Other activities that we have
organized with them are beach
clean ups, we have collected about
160kg of litter so far! (Fig. 5)
The extra activities we are

incorporating in our Pez Maya
Community Project are to reinforce
Fig. 4 We have identified the guides most highly motivated and with
the
relationship
with
the
better skills to continue this environmental information exchange
community; to teach and learn
about the ecology of the ecosystems
in the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve, to strengthen and promote good practices on current activities
(e.g. fisheries and tourist cooperatives) in the village and to reinforce the environmental education.
During these activities we also want people from different ages and backgrounds of the community and
outside to interact with each other and with GVI staff and volunteers. Our mission is to create
environmental awareness and have a positive local and global impact.
Fig. 5 Guides from the 'Punta Allen Tourism Cooperative' and GVI Pez
Maya joined efforts to collect 160kg of litter during two beach cleans
If you want to know more about our Marine Conservation Expedition in Mexico, check out:
http://www.gvi.co.uk/programs/marine-conservation-expedition-mexico/
GVI 2016.1

GVI Pez Maya Monthly Achievement Report July 2016

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July 2016

PEZ MAYA COMMUNITY PROJECT

Fig. 3 GVI volunteers help guides practicing English pronunciation

joining this cooperative or from the

The extra activities we are

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