SECTION
1- Introducing
the Tourism–Conservation–Research Strategic Alliance
Dr.
Ceferino Sanchez, National Secretary for Science, Technology and Innovation,
acted as Conference Chair during the first day of the conference. Opening
day keynote presentations on the TCR concept applied in Panama emphasized
the concept’s applicability and capacity to boost the quality of tourism
via cross-sectoral partnerships that involve members of the scientific
and conservation communities as well as hotel developers, managers,
and corporate leaders. These presentations (PART A) included welcoming
remarks by Panama’s President, Dr. Ernesto Perez Balladares, as well
as keynote speeches by Cesar Tribaldos, General Manager of the Panama
Tourism Bureau (IPAT); Dr. Hana Ayala, originator of the TCR concept
and consultant to the government of Panama; Dr. Richard Nicholson, Executive
Officer of AAAS and Publisher of Science; world renowned architect Frank
Gehry; Dr. Ira Rubinoff, Director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research
Institute; and Dr. Jorge Arosemena, Executive Director of the City of
Knowledge Foundation. Following these keynote presentations, the concept
of the TCR heritage routes, a package of several thematic routes that
comprise the core of Panama’s heritage tourism product, was illustrated
through a multi-media presentation (PART B). At the end of the first
day, the potential of the TCR teamwork among government sectors and
in the context of public-private partnerships was further underscored
through the presentation of a pilot portfolio of hotel projects that
have embraced the TCR platform in its business value (PART C). Finally,
the Panamanian government’s commitment was explicitly demonstrated by
the presentation of Executive Decree No. 327, which officially created
the TCR Strategic Alliance Committee (PART D).
PART
A - Keynote
Speeches
His Excellency Ernesto Perez Balladares
President of the Republic of Panama
Si
la expresión optimista y constructiva “abrir perspectivas, encontrar
soluciones” tiene razones poderosas, la Conferencia Internacional Turismo
Patrimonial para el Próximo Milenio y el Simposio Internacional simultáneo
que ustedes desarrollarán durante estos tres días, es una plasmación
de horizontes y retos de primer orden, que mucho me complace inaugurar
y felicitar.
Este evento, sostenido por una fuerte base de pensamiento y de análisis,
se constituirá, con el tiempo, en un suceso y en una referencia al salto
geométrico del turismo en Panamá, fundamentalmente por el enfoque, por
los objetivos y la reingeniería de la concepción estratégica de abordar
esas perspectivas y nuevos rumbos.
Quiero dar la bienvenida a todos los participantes internacionales y
saludar a los especialistas y líderes nacionales del sector. Muy especialmente
al Dr. Theodore Panayotou del Instituto Harvard para el Desarrollo Internacional
y a la Dra. Hana Ayala, Presidente de Eco-Resorts Internacional y Consejera
Internacional de nuestro gobierno para el Plan de Acción Turismo-Conservación-Investigación
Científica, quienes presiden la Conferencia y el Simposio.
Digo que es un salto geométrico de la concepción porque se trata de
encaminar y conectar un desarrollo del sector turismo en Panamá en concordancia
con las nuevas realidades, tendencias mundiales y expectativas del mercado
turístico internacional.
El corazón de este enfoque es una oferta científicamente demostrada
y que Panamá va a llevar a la práctica, como uno de los primeros países,
sino el primero, en forjar la Alianza Estratégica de Turismo-Conservación-Ciencia,
que dará por resultado un universo muy rico y beneficioso de ofertas
al visitante y el sector pasará definitivamente a ser uno de los principales
motores de desarrollo nacional.
Entusiasma sobremanera que este camino se abra para Panamá y que la
enorme potencialidad de sus recursos patrimoniales, tanto naturales,
como culturales, ocupen el valor que siempre han merecido y sea este
lugar privilegiado del planeta, un destino del atractivo y del deseo
del movimiento humano en general.
El Plan de Acción, ya conocido entre nosotros como Plan de Acción TCI
para Panamá, puesto en marcha y como está diseñado por los especialistas,
es una puerta que abrirá entre nosotros una dinámica de muy importantes
alcances.
No sólo porque apunta a colocar a la industria turística en el lugar
clave, que ya sería un logro suficiente, sino porque las febriles iniciativas
que de allí van a derivarse, arrojarán otros resultados de alta significación:
Nuestra condición como país, descrita con certeza como Puente del Mundo,
nuestros fundamentos históricos, nuestras riquezas naturales y valores
culturales, se integrarán en armonía con las ciencias, con la investigación
y con la protección y conservación ambiental, como políticas estatales
de impulso a todo el sector turístico.
Hay que imaginarlo un instante: aquí estamos a la puerta de desatar
una perspectiva, es cierto, pero de una poderoza fuerza económica, donde
intereses empresariales y de la Nación concurren positivamente al escenario
del desarrollo y a la elevación de la Nación panameña. Ello significa
crecimiento nacional, nuevas fuentes de empleo, rescate patrimonial,
aseguramiento de nuestro habitat, reconocimiento del mundo de nuestras
expresiones artísticas hasta los productos culturales legítimamente
ubicados en el comercio y el mercado turístico, desde nuevas inversiones
internacionales, hasta la valoración de nuestras etnias, su integración
deseable y con respecto a sus esencias culturales dentro de la totalidad
nacional que somos.
Por ello, abrir perspectivas va a ser una realidad con fundamentos sólidos.
Este Congreso tiene esa riqueza en los enfoques y en la práctica de
poner en marcha estas ideas y aciertos.
Mis felicitaciones a todos ustedes; tengo la certeza de los estupendos
resultados que aquí van a producirse.
Como Presidente de la República, les doy las gracias por poner sus talentos
y entusiasmo al servicio de estos horizontes promisorios, factibles
y que Panamá va a lograr concretarlos.
Cesar Tribaldos
General Manager, Panama Tourism Bureau
(Presentation
at the conference was given in Spanish)
It is a great honor and real pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the
Instituto Panameño de Turismo or Panama Tourism Bureau.
This keynote speech gives me the unique opportunity to share with you
some basic information about tourism in Panama. I will also go over
some of the actions and programs that we are implementing in order to
make our country a preferred tourist destination, not only because of
the Canal, but also because of its cultural, historical and natural
attractions.
As you well know, Panama is considered by many as a key country within
the region, because of its geographic and political strategic location.
Approximately three and a half million years ago, this continent was
divided by the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Then, from the depths
of the oceans emerged the Isthmus of Panama, a land of singular appearance
that formed a natural biological bridge between the Americas.
Because of its “S” type shape, the Isthmus of Panama has some geographic
and natural phenomena that amazes the most devoted observer. For example,
in Panama, the sun rises in the Pacific and sets in the Atlantic, and
the city of Panama is located south of the city of Caracas.
Archeological evidence reveals intriguing tracks of Panama’s role as
part of a significant commercial route between North and South America.
There is firm indication that thousands of years ago, the New World’s
first colonist must have crossed over an “iced bridge” between Siberia
and Alaska, in their way to the Southern lands of this continent, via
the Isthmus, creating different cultures.
The discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa from the
coasts of Panama created a new East-West maritime route through Panama,
and made possible the conquest and colonization of Central and South
America.
By the end of the eighteenth century, Panama was recognized as the center
of the world commerce and trade, on account of the famous fairs of Portobelo.
Historians have estimated that between the sixteenth and the seventeenth
centuries, more than half of the gold and silver sent to Europe by the
Spaniards made its transit through Panama.
In 1849, with the discovery of gold in California, Panama played an
important role again, due to the needs of the people from the East Coast
of the United States to move into the West coast, in search for the
gold mines. This “gold rush” originated a demanding market that made
possible the construction of the Panama railroad, the first locomotive
in America that connected the Caribbean-Atlantic and the Pacific coasts.
Later on, in 1876 and under the supervision of Ferdinand de Lesseps,
France started to build a canal through the isthmus. The failure of
this project brought the attention of the United States, which in 1903
acquired the rights and responsibility to build the canal. After solving
incredible problems of construction, sanitation and logistics, the canal
was successfully completed on August 15, 1914, when it was finally opened
for the use and benefit of world commerce.
Although for years since it was built, the Panama Canal has been the
most popular target and attraction for international travelers, few
investors or tourists have really been aware of the country’s natural
beauty and its great potential for tourism development. Thousands of
cruise passengers and business travelers have passed through Panama
City and the Canal each year, but ironically, never experienced what
lies just beyond their business hotel or the historic waterway. This
is a country packed with unique ecological treasures, a great historic
and colonial heritage, plus a multiracial culture that includes people
of European, Chinese, Hebrew, and Afro-Caribbean origin and seven different
ethnic cultures among the native groups.
This “bridge of the Americas” is a natural habitat for thousands of
birds on their North-South migratory flights, making it possible for
the Audubon Society to report in Panama world records in bird observation,
with counts of over 400 species in one single day.
Just 45 minutes from the city of Panama, you can get to Barro Colorado
Island and visit its world famous research site for tropical research,
managed by the Smithsonian Institute. There you will be able to appreciate
the sights and sounds of the rainforest, see the tucan, howler monkey,
green iguana, porcupine, capuchin monkey, white tail deer, large crocodile,
and thousands of other bird and mammal species. Nature has also blessed
Panama with 1,200 species of orchids, 1,500 species of butterflies,
more than 1,500 species of trees, and over 10,000 species of medicinal
and vascular plants.
Panama has more than 1,000 islands, almost 3,000 kilometers of coast,
and thousands of acres of unique coral reefs in the Caribbean and the
Pacific coasts. More than 143 world records of sport fishing have been
broken here.
All of these tourist attractions, and much more, can be enjoyed in less
than one-hour distance.
More than 25 percent of our territory pertains to the national protected
areas system, composed of 48 protected areas, including 14 national
parks, two heritage sites, one biosphere reserve, five marine parks,
and forest areas bordering each frontier.
More than 50 percent of the Panamanian territory is forested, and its
tropical rainforests have been set aside for national parks and wildlife
refuges, making the country a world leader in protecting indigenous
species in their natural habitat.
Panama has such an exceptional geographic position, that in less than
3 hours you can be within reach of important markets, of more than 300
million people.
The priority for Panama’s tourism policy has been oriented specifically
to achieve a better advantage of what has been the main tourist product
of the country—the shopping and business travelers- which have represented
during the last decades almost 70 percent of the international visitors
to our country.
The tourism sector of Panama has been characterized for maintaining
a significant growth during the present decade, equivalent to 12 percent
average annual growth. During 1997, a total of 517,000 visitors arrived
to Panama. Therefore, it is expected that by the year 2000 we can easily
reach the figure of 600,000 visitors.
Currently, tourism occupies the third place in the economy of the country,
after the exports caused by the services of the Panama Canal, and the
income received from the business transactions made at Colon Free Zone.
Based on current conditions, it is estimated that if this 12 percent
growth is sustained over the year 2000, tourism can step ahead and become
the second source of foreign reserves for the Republic of Panama.
The tourism master plan of 1993, the Strategic Alliance for the development
of tourism in Panama, and the approval and implementation of several
fiscal incentive laws, such as Law 8 (1994) and Law 9 (1997) for the
rehabilitation of the historical area of Panama City known as “Casco
Antiguo”, have all favored the execution of tourist projects. These
laws have also favored the construction of new hotels in the city of
Panama, such as the Miramar Intercontinental, Radisson, Country Inn,
Bristol, and Marriott.
In addition, other investments made by existing hotels to rebuild and
upgrade their installations for a better service, as well as the construction
of other new hotels in different areas of the country, were all favored
by Law 8.
Currently, there are some important tourist-related and hotel projects
under construction in the areas of Colón, Gatún and Amador, that will
increase the offer of rooms for the year 2000 by about 3,000 additional
rooms, with an investment cost of over $500 million.
The new global economic order demands a series of actions to be taken
in order to promote our natural, historical and cultural heritage among
the tourists of the world. With the financial cooperation of the Inter-American
Development Bank, an strategic study of marketing, planning and communication
will be completed that will permit the prioritization of the objective
markets that will constitute the main source of attention on which the
efforts and the international promotion campaigns will concentrate.
Under a new scheme of patronage for the protection and conservation
of its resources, Panama has come forward and is ready to initiate a
new and exciting project of quality ecotourism, oriented towards conservation
and scientific research.
This project, called the Action Plan for the Development of Tourism-Conservation-Research
(TCR), will place our country in a privileged position to enter into
the next century with a unique tourist product, which integrates tourism,
conservation and research as an important catalyst for the welfare of
Panama.
This conference will integrate the high profile of the Canal transfer
from the United States Government to Panama with the high profile transformation
of Panama into a model of heritage destination that will make conservation
leadership and advancement of knowledge the hallmarks of its largest
industry to be.
Our objective is to turn Panama into a leading tourism destination and
a model of heritage conservation for the twenty-first century. We plan
to become part of the critical mass of professionals, investors, researchers,
educators and communities that are seeking to create the synergy of
real examples for a more sustainable world.
Welcome to Panama, land of great heritage, splendor and business opportunities.
A
Bridge to the Millennium: The Ideal and the Promise of a Heritage-Driven
Economy
Dr. Hana Ayala
I
am deeply honored to take the floor following this very special inaugural
ceremony. It fills me with gratitude to have heard the support that
His Excellency Ernesto Perez Balladares, President of the Republic of
Panama, has given to a daring vision for transforming the ideal of sustainable
development into a tangible economic paradigm in a most symbolic setting
of the “bridge of the world.”
As Napoleon put it, riches do not consist in the possession of treasures,
but in the use made of them. We are meeting in a country that in the
uniqueness, importance, and beauty of its natural and cultural endowment
represents a rare treasure trove. Yet, the potential of this bounty
to yield riches for the nation is currently almost entirely untapped.
The roots of Panama’s dormant wealth go back in time. Some three million
years ago, the rise of the Isthmus of Panama completed a land bridge
between the two Americas, splitting apart the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
What followed this milestone geological event has been nothing short
of an evolutionary spectacle. The Isthmus of Panama has become a migration
route along which the species of two distinct worlds have intermingled—producing
an extraordinary biodiversity. In the number of species of flowering
plants, Panama compares to all of Europe; it has more species of insects,
reptiles, birds, and mammals than Canada and the United States combined.
From the rainforest-clad Darien National Park to the Amistad International
Park, an intricate mosaic of landscapes of striking beauty and diversity
mirrors the geological, evolutionary, and ecological complexity of Panama.
The country’s cultural heritage is equally remarkable. The Isthmus and
Panama’s almost 800 islands have been traveled, settled, and endowed
with a rich cultural legacy by a number of distinctive ethnic groups.
At the time of the Spanish conquest, this bridge between the two continents
was transformed into the true bridge of the world, when Balboa’s discovery
of the Pacific Ocean in the early 16th century enabled the
unification of the world’s geography and history.
Less than a century ago, the Panama Canal—the “eighth wonder of the
world”—spanned the Isthmus from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Scheduled
to be reflagged to Panama on December 31, 1999, this engineering marvel
is focussing global attention on the adjacent rainforests. These rainforests
are the source of the water in the Canal, which, in turn, yields Panama’s
riches. Nowhere in the world is the momentum greater than in Panama
for proving that the priceless resources provided by ecological systems
deserve equal rank with the market forces that govern production, investment,
and trade. And nowhere is the opportunity more spectacular than in Panama
for engaging the world’s largest industry, the tourism and hotel industry,
with this exercise of upgrading conservation to the economic imperative
of the 21st century.
I am talking now about hard-nosed economics. Panama has embarked on
developing tourism into its largest industry. This enterprise comes
at a time when international leisure tourism is undergoing profound
transformation—towards SUN PLUS. The Plus, which stands for the quality
of a destination’s natural and cultural attractions and the quality
of the experience of these heritage attractions, is becoming the engine
that drives international leisure travel and defines the competitive
strength of the tourism offer. The multi-country initiatives of the
Silk Road and the Maya World offer high-profile testimonies to the Sun
Plus paradigm. These and other similar initiatives are redefining tourism
products of entire regions around powerful heritage themes that no competitor
can replicate. Amanresorts are the front runners in the hotel industry’s
endeavor to channel a destination’s heritage into a unique image that
is immune to imitation. The resort concept is at a crossroads: ecoresort
is the new platform on which the resort hotel industry readies to enter
the new century.
This SUN PLUS megatrend poses some serious challenges to the industry’s
control over product quality and investment security. Firstly, the tourism
and hotel industry now has very little control over protection of the
heritage attractions that have become the cornerstone of its products.
That would change dramatically if the industry gained access to heritage
resources endowed with conservation guarantees, and if it had the opportunity
actively to fund these guarantees.
Secondly, the key business tasks of diversification and upgrading of
the leisure tourism product are increasingly carried out at the level
of diversification and upgrading of the experience of nature and culture.
That confronts the industry with a great need for knowledge about the
destination’s heritage resources. However, generating such knowledge
is not within the expertise of the tourism and hotel industry per se.
Consequently, an option to enter into partnerships that would guarantee
the industry access to existing knowledge and to future discoveries
about the prospective attractions would be nothing short of a major
economic incentive. There clearly exists a novel economic opportunity
for transforming the world’s number one industry into a major benefactor
of both revitalization of traditional knowledge and advancement of modern
research. What is most intriguing about this opportunity is that the
value of knowledge that will boost the quality of heritage-centered
tourism extends to agriculture, education, health, and other sectors
of the host countries’ economies.
Thirdly, relationships that exist among heritage attractions are a grossly
under-appreciated component of the tourist value of these attractions.
We have the opportunity in waiting to master plan tourism industries
around prominent historical, ecological, cultural, and other linkages
that tie together multiple heritage attractions across countries and
regions. These ties will give each development the highly marketable
advantage of being part of heritage themes that are unique to the destination.
The Spanish parador network embodies this little appreciated concept
for dramatically augmenting the drawing power and the economic impact
of the tourism product. These historical monuments-turned hotels captivate
tourists through fascinating stories of civilizations, religions, and
arts that cannot be accessed during a stay at only one hotel, while
spreading tourism-generated benefits throughout the country.
The SUN PLUS megatrend opens enormous opportunities for enhancing the
quality, competitiveness and lasting appeal of the tourism products,
and for hugely increasing the national and regional benefits of the
tourism and hotel industries.
The Action Plan for the Development of the Tourism-Conservation-Research
Strategic Alliance (TCR Action Plan), which I am honored to carry out
for Panama and with Panama, targets these opportunities. It will forge
the first national partnership among tourism, conservation, and research
on the denominator of value-added heritage resources (i.e., resources
endowed with conservation guarantees and access to research, and linked
to heritage themes). The TCR Action Plan aspires to distinguish Panama
as the first country that not only brings tourism, conservation, and
research into a mutually reinforcing relationship, but also transforms
that alliance into a catalyst for the national economy. As we wish to
share with pride and excitement at this Conference, Panama is well positioned
to set international precedents on multiple fronts.
Central to this daring effort is a themed valuation of the country’s
natural and cultural wealth via a network of heritage routes. As an
unparalleled living laboratory of evolution, Panama has become legendary
in the academic world, thanks to the edge-cutting research of the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute (STRI) based in Panama. I am most grateful
to STRI’s Director, Dr. Ira Rubinoff, and many others among the Institute’s
scientists and staff. They have lent tremendous support to my vision
of transforming the extraordinary web of geological, ecological, and
cultural themes that pervade this living laboratory into the foundation
on which to build the flagship TCR partnership. I am equally grateful
to a renowned cultural expert, Dr. Omar Jaen Suarez of Panama’s Interoceanic
Region Authority, for charging this foundation with the hope of reviving
Panama’s rich legacy of cultural routes that gave rise to the nation’s
identity as the crossroads of the world. My thanks also go to the United
Nations Development Program for supporting this groundbreaking teamwork.
I wish to offer a brief preview of this afternoon’s premiere of a themed
tribute to Panama’s extraordinary patrimony. The remains of Panama La
Vieja (The Old Panama) enjoy the unique legacy of being the first Spanish
city founded on the Pacific shore of the Americas. Yet this potential
treasure of Panama’s largest industry-to-be stands unprotected and unprepared
to pass its priceless legacy on to the modern world. The fort of Portobelo,
which shares UNESCO’s World Heritage recognition with the fort of San
Lorenzo, echoes, on the Atlantic, the untapped potential of Panama La
Vieja. A considerable investment will have to be at both sites if long-term
protection of these jewels through quality tourism is to materialize.
However, the rewards awaiting the investors will go beyond the rescue
of two singular sites to the resuscitation of two landmarks of the legendary
trans-Isthmian route—the Camino Real. Through the Camino Real the gold
and other riches of the Inca Empire moved from South America across
the isthmus on their way to Spain, contributing to the emergence of
modern Europe.
The archipelago of Bocas del Toro has all the attributes necessary for
being an “island paradise” and for competing with countless other island
paradises that subscribe to that formula. Or, it could opt to become
one-of-a-kind. It can take the visitor on a mind-boggling journey millions
of years back in time, without denying the traveler the pleasures of
a beautiful island setting. Sediments saturated with preserved marine
faunas, dramatic coastal exposures, and many other fascinating testimonies
found in this archipelago offer the most complete history of the evolution
of tropical life in the sea over the last 20 million years. As a sun-plus
destination, Bocas del Toro could also be the terminus of a trans-Isthmian
route, which spectacularly reveals the geological history and life zones
from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Again, considerable investment is
needed to develop the interpretive, accommodation, and other infrastructures
that can transform these heritage treasures into a source of riches
for the present and future generations. But the stakes are very high.
It is nothing less than a value-added heritage product that is immune
to competition, shares in the prestige of the Smithsonian, and is designed
to keep appreciating in value.
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
and Venezuela have just joined the ever greater number of countries
and regions that are devising multi-destination routes as new tools
of tourism marketing. The originality of Panama’s network of heritage
routes is in that this network is not conceived as a marketing scheme,
although it provides the overall framework for promoting Panama’s leisure
tourism product. Panama’s route network is being fashioned as a blueprint
for developing a highly competitive and sustainable tourism industry
that systematically gains strength by aligning conservation and research
priorities with tourism investment opportunities. The viability of this
blueprint stems from its capacity to ensure that each new tourism investment
heightens the returns on the existing investments for both the investors
and the destination.
Panama has a unique competitive advantage in having yet to develop the
bulk of its infrastructure for leisure tourism. It has the luxury of
pro-actively addressing, across the entire nation, the ongoing merger
of international leisure tourism and international ecotourism through
planning and design. And now, Panama has the thrilling chance to capitalize
on the genius of architect Frank Gehry, a man whose recent creation,
the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, has been dubbed the architectural masterpiece
of the 20th century. I am most grateful to architect Gehry
for the interest and support he has given the TCR Action Plan, for delivering
a keynote address, and for assembling and bringing to Panama an outstanding
team of architects from Europe and the United States to help Panama
make history. I wish to thank also the Interoceanic Region Authority
for sponsoring this group’s visit. About a month ago, I was honored
by an invitation from the National Public Radio to give an interview
together with Mr. Gehry. When asked by David D’Arcy, who is with us
today, whether there is any great ecotourism architecture, I replied
no, without hesitation. Then I added for clarity: yes, there are some
examples of good architecture, but there is nothing in the league of
greatness, excellence, and economic impact as defined by the works of
Frank Gehry. I very much hope that we will launch the prototype in the
arena of heritage tourism here in Panama.
That brings me to the infrastructural blueprint that is being advanced
by the TCR Action Plan. Key to this blueprint are the original concepts
of TCR Staging Areas & TCR Benefit Zones.
The
TCR Action Plan is pro-active. Its central premise is to make the conservation,
knowledge, and resource-management benefit zones an integral part of
introducing a staging area to the market. The idea is to equip each
staging area with a “menu” of sponsorship opportunities that will be
defined through the expertise of the conservation and research sectors
and with advice from the grassroots organizations. Backing this idea
will be a new incentive scheme. The centerpiece of this scheme is the
access the tourism and hotel industry will gain to partnerships that
could guard the quality of leisure tourism products at the time when
the industry’s chief selling point is decidedly shifting beyond the
hotel sites. This approach goes further than any existing approach in
the assurances of product quality and investment security it offers
to the investor, developer, or manager who seeks to channel the intrigue
of the destination’s nature and culture into the competitive strength
of the tourism product. This approach also pinpoints a huge untapped
reserve of tourism’s excellence and multisectoral benefit, namely, experience-management.
Experience-management is a zoning tool, an instrument for transforming
visitor satisfaction into funding for conservation and research, and
it has many other functions. Therefore we have chosen Experience-Management
as the content of the International Symposium that culminates this precedent-setting
gathering of leaders from the tourism and hotel industry, conservation
experts, prominent architects, and academic leaders. This will be a
“brainstorming” event, involving broad-ranging expertise. I want to
thank the co-organizers, with a very special “thank you” to the Panama
Tourism Bureau headed by Mr. Cesar Tribaldos, which is also the principal
sponsor of the Conference. The National Secretariat for Science, Technology
and Innovation, the City of Knowledge, the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute,
and Cyber Tech, a corporation specializing in information management,
are the other co-organizers of this conference. Warm welcome to all
the experts and participants in this Symposium. We are extremely fortunate
to have the wisdom and leadership of Dr. Theodore Panayotou, Director
of the International Environment Program of the Harvard Institute for
International Development. Theo, thank you for accepting my invitation
to chair the symposium, which ensures that the economics of the TCR
partnership will be given significant attention.
We already have tangible evidence that the TCR partnerships are opening
formidable new areas of benefits and employment opportunities in conservation,
research, and sustainable resource management. The enormous potential
these partnerships possess for enhancing the quality of life and for
fortifying the ecological security and economic viability of an area
is hardly anywhere more obvious than in the heritage treasure-trove
that surrounds the World Heritage Site of San Lorenzo, as it will be
presented this afternoon.
The TCR Pilot Portfolio, whose main focus is on hotel projects including
our host hotel—the Miramar Inter-Continental, is a remarkable demonstration
of the potential of the TCR partnerships. The pilot portfolio has been
assembled through personal networking in an effort to prove that the
TCR Action Plan makes perfect business sense and to do so in the most
contagious manner possible so as to trigger the Plan’s implementation
country-wide. The letters of commitment, here on display, demonstrate
the seriousness with which the portfolio members have made their pledges
to the TCR partnership.
The “Millennium Vision” of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)
identifies the pursuit of sustainable development as a key strategy
to move the industry forward, and it urges hotels to lead the way in
developing this vision for the new century. But there is a condition
involved. According to the Council’s president, hotels need to look
beyond the mere reduction in laundry loads to realize their full input
into sustainable development. The TCR Pilot Portfolio is the first result
of an orchestrated effort to pioneer, in Panama, internationally meaningful
approaches to empowering the hotel industry to shape the sustainability
of tourism development while energizing the sustainability of national
development. I am very pleased that the World Travel and Tourism Council
is represented at this Conference by Dr. Donald Hawkins, Director of
the International Institute of Tourism Studies of the George Washington
University.
As heritage-centered tourism goes mainstream, so must the ecotourism
philosophy, which emphasizes proactive protection of the natural and
cultural context of exploratory and enriching travel that, in turn,
generates economic benefits for the local economy. I submit that all
heritage tourism will have to embrace the philosophy of ecotourism if
it is to become greener, more sustainable and, thus, competitive in
the 21st century. I term this platform ECOTOURISM PLUS. I
wish to use this prestigious gathering to invite the cruise-line industry,
the airlines, the leaders of the banking sector, and other powerful
players in the tourism industry and beyond to join in the launching
of the flagship ecotourism plus economy. The support that Panama’s private
sector has already lent to distinguishing Panama as the country that
would craft the road map for tapping this economic opportunity of the
21st century has been overwhelming. Our gratitude goes to
the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (APEDE), Panama’s
Chamber of Commerce, and many others.
A tourism-conservation-research partnership, conceived as a public-private
partnership, is the prerequisite of an ecotourism plus economy. There
must be a mechanism in place that will establish and coordinate tourism,
conservation, and research priorities. It will systematically pursue
these priorities with consultation and engagement of the private sector
and the local communities and will maximize the linkages between the
quality of tourism and the strength of the host country’s economy. Thanks
to the great support the TCR Action Plan has received from the leaders
of the public sector, Panama now has this mechanism. This afternoon,
we will unveil the establishment of the Committee of the Tourism-Conservation-Research
Strategic Alliances, a high-level committee ascribed to the National
Council for Sustainable Development and, thus, positioned to become
the generator of the strength and sustainability of Panama’s economy.
I am honored by and appreciate the endorsement of the Presidency for
creating this novel cross-sectoral partnership, which gives a tremendous
boost to Panama’s chance to inspire a new course for tourism-driven
economies. In this context, I also wish to express our gratitude to
the law firm of Arias, Fabrega and Fabrega for their outstanding help
with fashioning the legal foundations for this precedent-setting partnership.
Enhancing the effectiveness, long-term impact, and international prestige
of Panama’s model will be the TCR International Advisory Circle. I wish
to recognize those who have already joined this prestigious circle.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science, which is the
world’s largest federation of scientific and engineering societies,
will be represented on the Advisory Circle by its chief executive ,
Dr. Richard Nicholson, who is also the publisher of the prestigious
journal Science. Richard, my thanks to you for accepting my invitation
to join the Circle, for the wonderful contribution that AAAS has made
in co-organizing the highlight of this Conference—the Symposium—and
for your willingness to give a keynote address on this Inaugural Day.
I am grateful to Dr. Federico Mayor, Director General of UNESCO, for
also accepting the invitation on behalf of his organization and for
delegating Ms. Gloria Lopez Morales, UNESCO’s Regional Director for
Latin America and the Caribbean as the representative of UNESCO on the
Advisory Circle. One more eminent expert on the Circle is Dr. Peter
Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, a member of President
Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) where
he chaired the Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, and a member of
the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic
Society.
We are also setting up the TCR International Trustees Circle as a tool
for inviting and recognizing contributions and investments—by institutions
and individuals, national and international—into implementing the model
TCR partnership in Panama.
Synergy is the key word of the TCR Action Plan. A great contribution
to this synergy is the presence at this Conference of prestigious international
press. Thank you for coming. Your presence greatly energizes our effort
and fills us with excitement over the prospect of spreading the seeds
of this effort throughout the world. Your interest offers us invaluable
help in proving that heritage tourism can be the centerpiece of national
and regional strategies of sustainable development, in which conservation
becomes a viable economic strategy for lucrative investment.
Ladies and gentlemen: I shared with you an ideal, and I alluded to its
promise. The product is far from complete or perfect; these are just
the first steps. But the enthusiasm is genuine, the commitment serious,
and the next threshold clearly defined: an International Summit we wish
to hold in Panama in December 1999. Our aspiration is to see Panama
become a flagship Heritage Destination that will display compelling
evidence of the central role that a partnership among tourism, conservation,
and research can play in driving a nation’s wellbeing. Geology has molded
this bridge of the world; it is now up to the human mind and heart to
make of it a bridge to the millennium. Let’s together transform this
unique opportunity in a historical reality, to the benefit of Panama
and of the whole world.
Dr.
Richard Nicholson
Executive
Officer and Publisher of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
I
am truly honored to be a participant in this very unique meeting, which
I hope will be looked back upon as an historic event in an effort to
make progress while preserving biodiversity and sustainable development.
First of all I want to thank the other co-organizers and the sponsors
of this meeting. I want to specially thank Dr. Ceferino Sánchez, the
head of SENACYT. Dr. Sánchez has worked with AAAS in a number of collaborations,
and we are glad to continue those collaborations here.
I also would like to congratulate the Government of the Republic of
Panama, and particularly, I want to congratulate IPAT, the Panama Tourism
Bureau, and Mr. Tribaldos, for their leadership in starting Panama in
this unique path.
I specially want to congratulate Dr. Hana Ayala, because if it were
not for Dr. Ayala, we would not be here. I have known Dr. Ayala for
a number of years, both as a scientific colleague and a personal friend,
and I know her to be an individual of intellect, great insight and tremendous
energy. Those of you who know Hana know that this meeting exemplifies
all those skills that she possesses.
In my brief remarks this morning I want to do two things: I want to
tell you about AAAS, the organization I represent, and then I want to
tell you why an organization like AAAS has chosen to be involved in
an activity such as this.
AAAS was founded in 1848, in Philadelphia, in the United States, which
makes it the oldest scientific society in that country. This year was
our one hundred and fiftieth or “sesquicentennial” celebration. We started
this celebration this year with a special meeting in Philadelphia that
included important speeches by the President of the United States and
many other dignitaries, both in the scientific community and in other
fields. We are an organization that consists of about one hundred and
forty-five thousand individual members and 300 affiliated societies
around the world. About 20% of the membership of AAAS is from outside
the United States, and those numbers make us the largest general scientific
society in the world.
AAAS is best known around the world as the publisher of Science Magazine.
Science was founded in 1880 by Thomas Edison, a North American hero,
and AAAS has been the publisher of Science since around the turn of
the century. Science is a weekly scientific journal that includes both
scientific news and information about scientific research, and also
original scientific articles. Many of the most important scientific
breakthroughs that are being currently reported are published in Science.
AAAS is also well known for its annual meeting. Our meeting is unusual
for its size and because it represents all fields of scientific endeavor.
At our annual meetings several activities in these fields go on in parallel,
and the meeting is also very international in character. Because there
is so much scientific information conveyed at the AAAS Annual Meeting,
it attracts nearly 1,000 science journalists from around the world each
year. That many science journalists covering a 5-day meeting make it
each and every year the most reported scientific event in the world.
AAAS also has program activities that it conducts on behalf of the scientific
community internationally to promote the progress and the advancement
of science. These programs are in the area of science policy, education
and human resources, and international activities. In the international
area we have had for more than 25 years a set of activities focused
on improving collaboration and interaction amongst scientists in the
Western Hemisphere; in that regard, Panama and SENACYT have been involved
in a number of these activities over a long time.
I hope that in these brief comments I have convinced you that AAAS is
a major and prestigious scientific organization within the international
scientific community. Based on that, one would ask why would a scientific
organization like AAAS be involved in a meeting promoting tourism in
Panama? Many scientists in fact would regard tourism as one of the predators
that is reducing biodiversity in the world. So, how does it make sense
that we are involved in such a meeting?
This meeting is really not about tourism per se, but it is about a very
novel and strategic vision of how we might, as a world community, work
towards ideas such as preserving biodiversity and achieving sustainable
development.
This conference is about the TCR (Tourism, Conservation and Research)
Strategic Alliance, a vision that makes scientists and the scientific
community a part of the plan from the very beginning, so that science
is incorporated into the planning of what TCR and tourism can be. It
is an idea that we will be discussing during the next two days during
the workshops, about how the industry could work to create win-win situations
with government organizations, local communities and the research sector.
And it is an idea that even perhaps offers the opportunity for the business
community to support scientific research.
TCR is mostly about the goals of trying to achieve, in a realistic way,
sustainable development. Because of their training, scientists understand
the issues of biodiversity and sustainable development in a different
way from many people. As scientists, we know that about half of the
world’s plant and animal species inhabit just 7% of the planet’s surface,
namely in the rainforest areas of the planet. Even in those tropical
rainforests, there are very small subsystems that are ecosystems of
their own, that contain species of plants and animals that exist no
place else on Earth.
We know that the planet is losing about 42 million acres of tropical
rainforest every year, that is 100 acres per minute or 700 or 800 acres
since I started talking. Scientists estimate that the rate of extinction
of species on this planet is about 50,000 per year or 140 per day. You
may say, “why does that matter? There are a lot of species on Earth
and they go extinct any way, does it really matter? Eminent biologists
Paul and Mia Ehrlich have given a very good analogy by likening the
loss of species on the planet to the continued loss of the rivets that
hold airplanes together. Airplanes are held together by millions of
rivets, and in the short run, the loss of some of those rivets does
not make any difference. But over a long period of time, the accumulated
loss of rivets on a plane is catastrophic, just like over time, the
accumulative loss of species on our planet could be catastrophic for
all of us.
My background is as a chemist. Chemists realize that many plant species
have evolved over millions of years, and over that period of time they
have devised synthetic pathways and made molecules of amazing structure
and complexity, chemicals that are found and known no place else. Many
of these chemical molecules have properties that are beneficial for
humankind. For example, about 25% of the pharmaceuticals that are used
in the United States today originated in rainforests. As these species
are destroyed, chemists will forever lose the opportunity to discover
some of these creations of Mother Nature that have occurred over millions
of years.
The trouble is that just saying and knowing that is not enough; conservation
for conservation’s sake just does not work in the real world, where
economic incentives exist. Altruism is not going to get the job done.
That is why the TCR model is so intriguing, and why it makes sense for
the scientific community to support this. The TCR model makes the point
that ecotourism, just like the rivets on the plane, cannot survive in
the long term if it does not in fact incorporate scientific knowledge
and expertise in the very planning and management of our natural resources.
TCR recognizes the fundamental fact that economic incentives are mainly
what make things happen in the real world. But we need to recognize
that economic incentives can be used for good, creating win-win situations
where all the participants can benefit. They create what Dr. Ayala has
termed “the reciprocity of benefits”. The TCR model also recognizes
the value of partnerships in it. In the scientific community, partnering
and collaborating is a part of how scientists work. Science is an international
activity that values collaboration and partnering.
One of the reasons why it makes so much sense to start this in Panama
is that you have one of the world’s leading research facilities in the
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). This is a world-class
scientific operation that has been in existence for over 75 years. It
is known by scientists around the world, it does world-class research
and it attracts top scientists from around the world to Panama to be
involved with its research activities. STRI is one of Panama’s most
valuable, most important and certainly most unique assets.
If it is possible, as TCR envisions, that ultimately the hotel and tourism
industry might actually fund scientific research at an organization
like STRI, that will be an amazing accomplishment and one that will
be widely recognized by scientists around the world.
There are many other reasons why an organization like my own and the
scientific community should support the TCR concept. To illustrate this,
consider AAAS’ objectives. AAAS has six strategic objectives contained
in the constitution of the organization that have been with us for a
long time and are intended not to change over time.
I will tell you those six objectives, both as a way of telling you a
little more about AAAS, and so that you can see how well TCR fits in
the support of the scientific community.
The first objective is to “further the work of scientists”; it is self-evident
that if TCR succeeds as a model, then it will accomplish that.
Objective number two is to “facilitate cooperation amongst scientists”,
again as we have seen this morning, this is also an element of the TCR
model.
Our third objective is to “foster scientific responsibility”, so that
scientists behave responsibly in the world community. This goes with
the idea about having the scientific community at the table in the planning
stage of the TCR model. Thus, it is essential for the community to be
involved.
Our fourth objective is to “advance science education”. If TCR is successful
it will also do that. We know that the so-called “hands-on” is the best
way for young people to learn about science, and some of the opportunities
of sustainable tourism provide that experience.
The fifth objective is “for us to use science in the promotion of human
welfare”. If it succeeds, if the TCR idea can be a realistic way for
us to maintain biodiversity, and for the world community to achieve
sustainable development, that will meet AAAS’ fifth goal very clearly.
The sixth goal is to “increase public appreciation of the promise of
science in human progress”. If the idea and the model that Panama has
the opportunity of creating can be adopted on a global scale, then AAAS’
sixth goal could be implemented on a scale that we scientists could
not otherwise imagine happening.
For all those reasons, it makes sense for scientists and AAAS to support
the TCR concept. That is why we have been one of the organizers of this
Conference and why I am here.
On the Conference program, I was to be followed by two architects: Architect
Henry Cobb was going to introduce architect Frank Gehry. Now that schedule
has been changed, but I wanted to close by mentioning something that
relates to architecture. AAAS has recently constructed and now occupies
a new headquarters building in the heart of Washington, D.C. This is
an award-winning building of very elegant design, great beauty and functionality.
The building has set a new office building standard in the United States,
for its energy efficiency and its environmental consciousness. Henry
Cobb is in fact the architect who designed our building. Harry Cobb
is a great friend of AAAS and he has become a great friend of science;
it is a beautiful symmetry that people such as Harry Cobb and Frank
Gehry are willing to participate in a Conference like this. Although
Harry will not be able to be here with us, he is a great friend of science
and mankind.
I want to thank you for your attentiveness to my remarks and, again,
I hope that some day all of us will look back and think that we participated
in an historic event that put the world on a slightly different course.
Frank
O. Gehry
Design Principal, Frank O. Gehry and Associates
An
expert in ecotourism I am not. However, ecotourism to me means respect
for nature and respect for people.
There is a lot of interest in this Conference and in Panama. The reflagging
of the Canal is something the world is watching. Everytime I told somebody
involved with the press or media that I was coming here, they immediately
said: “Can I come? Can I be there? I want to be there, I want to know
about it!” You are being watched. So your intentions, as honorable as
they might be, must bear fruit and be realized in the best of all possible
ways.
I have been coming to Panama for twenty-four years now. My wife is Panamanian
and she has a big family here. I suspect everybody Panamanian in this
room is related to her.
I brought with me a group of architects, a “dream team”. Our intent
is to become involved and to bring attention to architecture. Architecture
can help, can make a difference.
In gathering this group of architects, I went to the elder statesmen
first. I called Henry Cobb, head of I.M. Pei Associates in New York,
who could not be here but promised to be a resource in the future. And
I brought Robert Tannen, from New Orleans, an architect-planner interested
in transportation. Tannen is closer to my age and has worked with public
officials and public agencies in New Orleans, a knowledge he could bring
to bear in Panama.
We thought that the elder statesmen should be just a resource. I worked
on a hereditary disease foundation for thirty years, where senior scientists
were allowed in the room but not allowed to talk. The young post-doc
scientists were the generating force of ideas and would treat the elder
statesmen as a library that they could call upon.
I was thinking of that model when I thought of bringing some young architects
from around the world. These architects include Greg Lynn and Sylvia
Lavin, from the University of California, Los Angeles; Alejandro Zaera-Polo,
from Spain; Ben van Berkel, from Holland; and Lindy Roy, from New York.
We brought them together with Panamanian architects such as Erik Wolfschoon
and the firm Arango, McGrath and Miro.
It is not our intent to criticize the Panamanian architectural profession.
I believe that there is a lot more architectural talent in Panama than
it has the opportunity to make real architecture. Architects can only
make good and real architecture working for enlightened clients. For
what I have seen over the last twenty years in Panama, there does not
seem to be a lot of enlightenment.
Architecture can contribute. Some very old examples of this are the
Eiffel Tower and the Sidney Opera House. I am not suggesting that you
build an Eiffel Tower or a Sidney Opera House in Panama, although a
nice opera house could be a good thing here. I know Panamanians like
the opera!
I know a lot about Panama. My wife’s father comes from Anton and when
I go to Anton we get manjar blanco. My wife’s mother is from Las Tablas
and when we go there we go to the Santa Librada Festival. And I know
about the feud between Calle Abajo and Calle Arriba. I also love the
tamborito.
There are public work projects that attract people, like the Golden
Gate Bridge in San Francisco or the Hoover Dam in Nevada. The Great
Wall in China or Machu Pichu in Peru. The Parthenon in Greece and Frank
Lloyd Wright’s works in New York. People still go there.
You can have small projects, at a modest scale, and still make great
architecture. The amount of money to turn the corner from just ordinary
to something great is not so big either. It just takes a willing client,
somebody with the willingness to stand up and take the little extra
time, and urge and nurture a talented architect to work, to make their
best, real effort to do something special.
In Bilbao, I had an incredible client. On one hand, I had the Basque
government, which had a business vision. The Guggenheim Museum was created
for business reasons. The Basque government thought of architecture,
art and cultural facilities as an opportunity to make Bilbao an important
place. My client was also the Director of the Guggenheim Museum, quite
a genius and an inspiration. He was very much with me, when I was lagging
he would push me, when I gave him ideas he would interact and explore
them, and was open and willing to make the project better.
I was given an industrial site. I loved the idea of being under a bridge,
feeling the energy of the cars above us. When you are in the building
you feel like the cars are coming right into the space. I engaged the
building with the river Nervion and the bridge. Buildings can engage
people’s imagination.
One of the things that serve Bilbao is the necklace of green hills that
surrounds the city. The entrance to the Museum is connected to one of
the main streets; it is a cascade of stairs down to the river. Inside,
there is a big atrium, a big public space. For the opening, they had
choral groups singing in the atrium. It was just amazing.
This building has paid for itself already in its first year. A million
and a half people visited it. That was not only because of the architecture,
but also because of the feeling that made this building. It was the
client, it was the Basque people, and it was the Guggengeim.
You cannot just say “come and do a thing like this to turn our place
on”. It must grow naturally out of the relationship with the people,
with the client, and with the governing bodies.
That is why I brought this team of architects to Panama. They are really
talented and interesting people. We are all here because of Hana’s infectious
energy and because we want to help. We want to be a part of it.
The
Role of Scientific Knowledge
Dr.
Ira Rubinoff - Director,
Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute (STRI)
Panama
has a wealth of resources to interest heritage ecotourism, including
rich, easily accessible tropical forests, spectacular coral reefs, and
a very diverse cultural heritage. But Panama has another vital resource,
one that is often overlooked, but which can also be a valuable tool
for attracting visitors, and that is scientific knowledge. Panama has
one of the richest heritages of scientific research of anywhere in the
tropics. That heritage today is a resource that not only serves to attract
foreign scientists to Panama, but can also serve as an attraction to
tourists.
Panama was the focus of biological research as early as the 19th
century. Several globetrotting expeditions from various European countries
stopped off at the isthmus and collected specimens of plants and animals
to stock the museums back home. But the first big stimulus for scientific
research in Panama was the initiation of construction of the Panama
Canal by the U.S. in 1903. A major problem that the canal builders faced
was the control of mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and yellow
fever. The fight against these diseases led to a large influx of biologists,
in particular entomologists.
In 1923, several of these scientists persuaded the Canal Zone governor
to set aside Barro Colorado Island, the largest island in Lake Gatun,
as a nature preserve. Barro Colorado thus became one of the first protected
areas in the New World Tropics. For two decades after that, a consortium
of research organizations, including Harvard University, the American
Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian Institution, ran the
station. It became a world-famous research site and attracted hundreds
of visiting researchers.
A number of groundbreaking studies were carried out on Barro Colorado.
Among these was the work by Ray Carpenter on howler monkeys, the first
study of free-ranging wild primates, which long preceded the work of
Jane Goodall on Chimpanzees and of Dianne Fossey on the Gorilla. Other
landmark studies on tropical forest birds produced popular books about
Barro Colorado with romantic titles such as My Tropical Air Castle by
Frank Chapman that attracted many tourists to Panama during the 1930s.
Barro Colorado was placed under the Smithsonian Institution’s management
in 1946. A permanent scientific staff was established. Short-term visitors
had carried out most of the previous research. With researchers now
living in the tropics full time, it became possible to document in detail
tropical seasonality and to monitor changes that took place over periods
of many years.
In the mid-1960s, the Smithsonian expanded its activities in Panama
to include marine research, and established marine laboratories on both
coasts, at Naos and Galeta. In addition to its wealth of tropical forests,
the peculiar geography of Panama presents unique opportunities for the
study of tropical marine environments. The Atlantic and the Pacific
shores of Panama present drastically different environments to marine
life. Within the Pacific, the Gulf of Panama and the Gulf of Chiriqui
are also quite different, so that in a very short distance marine biologists
have the opportunity to study what amounts to three different oceans
in ecological terms. On the Atlantic, there is a very small tidal range,
dissolved nutrients are low, and the water is clear and warm all year
round, all factors which have promoted the prolific development of coral
reefs. In contrast, in the Gulf of Panama the tidal range is enormous,
more than 6 meters. Dry season trade winds from the north push warm
surface water away from the coast, allowing nutrient-rich cold deep
waters to rise to the surface. These nutrients fertilize dense bloom
of microscopic plankton, which in turn provided food for a host of shrimp,
fish, sea birds, and dolphins. However, these cold waters also inhibit
the development of coral reefs in the Gulf of Panama. In the Gulf of
Chiriqui the environment is different once again. Here the high mountains
of the west deflect the trade winds, so that cold water upwelling does
not occur. Because of this, the area features the best-developed coral
reefs of the eastern Pacific, but these contain species completely different
from those of the Atlantic side.
Today STRI has a staff of more than 400. They work from facilities that
include:
-
The Tupper Center in Panama City, with modern laboratories, a conference
center, and one of the most comprehensive libraries on tropical biology
in the world.
- The
nearby Ancon facility, which houses STRI’s Center for Tropical Paleoecology
and Archaeology.
- The
Barro Colorado Island research station, which as part of the 12,000
acre Nature Monument, has undergone a major multi-million dollar modernization
program which permits state-of-the-art research far beyond the dreams
of the original founders. Here, an interpretive Visitors Center receives
2–3,000 tourists each year.
-
Residences, teaching facilities and laboratories in the town of Gamboa,
a base for research in the 54,000 acres of Soberania National Park.
-
And also a small station near Fortuna providing access to the cloud
forests of the Western Highlands.
-
For marine studies, the Naos Marine lab offers access to the Pacific
coast and the adjacent Culebra Marine Education Center receives 70,000
visitors per year.
-
And the Galeta facility on the Atlantic provides access to fringing
coral reefs and well-developed mangrove forests.
-
A major new marine laboratory is currently under development in Bocas
del Toro on the Atlantic coast.
Research at STRI today continues to be innovative and groundbreaking
using as a base the facilities I have listed but working as well in
many field sites throughout Africa, Asia, and the New World tropics.
Some examples:
1. STRI has initiated innovative research in tropical forest canopies,
one of the last frontiers on this planet, by pioneering the use of construction
cranes to provide three-dimensional access to the delicate outer branch
tips where most biological activity takes place.
2. From methodology developed on a 50 Ha. Forest Dynamics Plot on Barro
Colorado Island, our Center for Tropical Forest Sciences program has
expanded to 14 nations where more than 2,500,000 trees of 6,000 species
are being monitored. The need for these large-scale studies to understand
the dynamics of tropical forests becomes apparent when you consider
that in a single 2 Ha plot in the Amazonian region of Ecuador more than
960 tree species have been identified. This is more species that are
been found in all of North America, where Canada and the United States
combined have only about 700 species.
3. STRI developed the first molecular evolution laboratory in Central
America in order to examine the evolutionary difference that has evolved
in the marine species which where isolated when the Isthmus arose 3,000,000
years ago. This laboratory is uniquely suited to examine the process
of speciation—the engine that drives the biological diversity of this
planet.
4. STRI developed a Paleocology program, which examines all aspects
of the history of the Isthmus from its tectonic origins 8,000,000 years
ago to the development of agriculture by the human inhabitants during
the last 5000 years. The understanding of the causes and rates of past
changes are essential if we are to understand the calls to change economies
in the face of perceived anthropogenic climate changes that many people
believe we are experiencing.
5. STRI scientists along with colleagues from McGill University and
the Department of Energy are currently installing the first Free Air
Carbon Dioxide Enhancement Experiment in the tropics. If successful,
it will enable them to predict the composition of future forests as
atmospheric CO2 increases.
One of the most important results of the long history of scientific
research in Panama has been the production of a large amount of information
about Panamanian natural history. Over the years STRI has produced many
thousands of scientific articles, books, and other publications, and
STRI scientists and associates are currently turning out more than 250
publications per year. This very strong information base is an important
factor in attracting scientific visitors to Panama. This is one of the
few places in the tropics where researchers can come and have a good
chance that they will not only be able to identify the organisms that
they are interested in, but also that others may have worked on them
previously and that there is already a substantial foundation of knowledge
upon which they can build.
My scientific colleagues at STRI enjoy the luxury of unfettered research
time at a well-equipped tropical laboratory. With the freedom and confidence
we have always enjoyed from the Government of Panama, our permanent
staff including scientists from 10 nations can afford to ask the big
questions, engage in long term studies, and as a result make cutting
edge contributions to science. Scientists at STRI, at Panama’s universities
and the hundreds who visit each year contribute to the enormous knowledge
base of the natural history of the Isthmus. Additional colleagues employed
at the City of Knowledge will soon join them. You will hear more about
the City of Knowledge in Dr. Arosemena’s talk that follows.
Aside from its role in attracting scientists, Panama’s rich information
base can be a valuable resource for attracting ecotourists as well.
The local flora and fauna have been well enough studied so that most
animals and plants a visitor will see (at least the larger ones) can
be identified. But more importantly, it is possible to provide visitors
with accurate, detailed and up-to-the-minute information based on ongoing
research, about what they may observe on their trip. This capacity can
be a very important factor in enhancing the overall quality of a visitor’s
experience.
Educated tourists interested in experiencing the natural and cultural
resources of Panama are likely, as well, to be concerned with two issues,
which will define the quality of our lives in the next century. I refer
first to the concerns presented by the reduction in the biological diversity
of our planet. Most of this diversity is found in the rainforests and
coral reefs of the tropics—most of it is undescribed, and the many ways
in which the various species contribute to the stability of the ecosystems
where they are found is poorly understood. Consequently, we are unable
to properly assess the cost of losing species or biological diversity
at an ever-increasing rate.
Second, the climate of our planet is changing. It has always done so,
but there is good evidence that the rate of this change may be increasing
as a result of our increased consumption of fossil fuels and the associated
accumulation of greenhouse gases. There is an important relationship
between the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the
ability of rainforests and oceans to store this carbon.
Research in Panama is making important contributions not only to the
two problems, which will pervade the economics of the next century but
whose solution may, as well, be crucial in determining whether our species
exists in the next millenium. Thus, tourists who select Panama as a
destination will not only have the opportunity to experience its enormous
natural and cultural diversity but they will also be able to become
engaged with a variety of ongoing scientific research and developing
issues that affect our lives.
STRI recognizes that there can be a bottleneck in the transfer of information
from scientific research into a format that is accessible to a non-scientific
visitor. Data in scientific articles and reports is usually highly technical,
and often has to be interpreted so that its everyday significance is
apparent. STRI is committed to help bridge this gap by recruiting the
head of a new research-interpretation unit that will provide the link
between scientific research and the information and programs that will
be useful to the tourism industry. We are already engaged in a dialogue
with some of the local hotel owners regarding many of the projects of
which you will hear more about later this afternoon.
I will end by saying that all human progress has been fostered by basic
research. At STRI we are committed to increasing knowledge of those
processes that affect the evolution and ecology of life in the tropics
and the way these systems interact with the rest of our planet. The
natural processes of this planet do not respect the geographic boundaries
drawn by generals at the end of wars in past centuries. We cannot afford
to continue to concentrate most research efforts in the developed world.
At STRI we are devoted to the success of the Tourism-Conservation-Research
Action Plan as a means of fostering appreciation of the tropics by a
wider audience and for the development of the economic use of natural
areas that will prevent their conversion.
A
City of Knowledge for the New Millennium
Dr.
Jorge Arosemena - Executive
Director, City of Knowledge Foundation
(Presentation
at the conference was given in Spanish)
Since we are getting close to the new millennium, there is a growing
perception that humanity is encountering a new period in its history
in which questions and expectations are being analyzed. In Panama’s
case, this historical moment is imbued with great transcendence going
much farther than just Panamanians’ operation of the Panama Canal after
the year 2000, an occupation which we have come to do in an efficient
and responsible manner. We are talking about responding to a wide range
of challenges as we undertake the job of knitting our national territory
together, and positively integrating ourselves into a worldwide context
that constantly becomes more global and competitive.
If one were to select a single characteristic that summarizes the most
transcendent of the changes that identify this transition from the 20th
Century into the 21st Century, we would not doubt the indications
that are common place today. The technological revolution in communications
and its impact on the generation and application of knowledge constitute
the most conspicuous variable in today’s world. Thus, the development
of human resources becomes a strategic variable par excellence.
The City of Knowledge is one of those projects through which Panama
is confronting this great challenge, getting answers that reach out
to and have a bearing on the whole region. In the following remarks
I will try to summarize the vision of what has already begun and what
will be fulfilled in the future as the CITY OF KNOWLEDGE in Panama.
Afterwards, I will make a few comments about the role of this initiative
within the plan of TCR.
The first public reference to the creation of the City of Knowledge
was made by the President of the Republic at the Summit of Ibero-American
Leaders, in Miami, in December 1994. On that occasion, he announced
the decision of the Panamanian government to convert military bases
into an international complex dedicated to the fostering and diffusion
of higher education, science, technology, the humanities and culture.
In February 1995, the City of Knowledge Foundation was formally created
as a private, non-profit organization of public interest. First, it
pulled together a Board of Trustees, which today is made up of representatives
from the academic, scientific, technological, business, and labor sectors.
Moreover, there is representation ex oficio of the National Government
and the Legislative Assembly. In a complementary manner, the Foundation
Statutes foresee the installment of an International Council of Advisors,
composed by individuals from the scientific, academic, business and
international organizational worlds. In the near future, we will be
inviting some of the distinguished visitors here today in this Conference
to form part of this Council.
In order to consolidate the basis and ensure the successful execution
of the City of Knowledge, a legal structure for the project was created
to regulate the relations between the Panamanian Government and the
Foundation. After broad consultation, and relying on the support of
various sectors, which constitute the Panamanian society, Decree Law
#6 of February 10, 1998 was promulgated. Through this instrument, the
Government transferred to the City of Knowledge Foundation, the initial
foundational patrimony consisting of a 120 hectare block of land in
what is today Fort Clayton, with all its buildings and facilities. Moreover,
it established the mechanism for adding new areas to it in any part
of the country, once the relationship with the activities of the City
of Knowledge has been duly documented. The law also creates an immigration
framework, with a special visa for students, researchers, professors,
and businessmen participating in the various programs. In addition,
it creates a system characterized by complete freedom from taxes for
all the institutions, organizations, and participating companies, creating
what some are calling a “Free Knowledge Zone.”
During 1996, two basic studies were carried out to clarify the concept
and analyze its viability. The first was the responsibility of the Academy
for Educational Development (AED), headquartered in Washington, and
the second focused on the initial formulation of a Strategic Plan and
was done by experts from UNESCO, a United Nations agency which from
the beginning until now has offered permanent support to the City of
Knowledge.
Both documents concluded that the City of Knowedge is a place where
academic formation, research centers, a technological park and prestigious
cultural entities converge simultaneously. Moreover, to establish the
viability of the project, the studies proposed 4 lines of action among
which relationships will be developed characterized by sinergy: academic
formation, scientific research, technological and innovation park, and
forums. The specialists concluded that Panama enjoys several comparative
and competitive advantages which make it attractive for the successful
execution of such an ambitious regional project. They noted the geographic
location of the country, its long experience in offering international
banking, commercial, and insurance services. They also mentioned the
use of the US dollar as legal tender, and Panama´s biological and cultural
bounty as a place where diverse cultures combine. They added to this
the availability of extraordinary installations and infrastructure on
the military bases. All of this constitutes a solid base to develop
a new international complex of specialized services.
It is worthwhile to note that beginning with the overview outlined by
the mentioned studies, valuable cooperation has been received from such
institutions as the European Union, which made a donation in terms of
technical assistance to kickstart the Technological Park in the City
of Knowledge. This donation was extremely valuable for the development
of the project. In a similar manner, we have enjoyed support from the
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Japanese government.
Moreover, the Panamanian government has continually sustained its cooperation
through the Autoridad de la Region Interoceanica (ARI), agency responsible
for the integration of the areas formerly known as the Canal Zone into
the national development plan.
From the beginning, manifestations of interest have come in from a wide
range of institutions and companies. In the case of Tecnoparque Internacional
de Panama (TIP), with the concurrence of the European experts, and together
with the direct participation of Panamanian business people and scientists,
the clusters of concentration have been clearly defined, taking into
account the special characteristics of our country. These are: biology,
information and communications, multimodal transportaton, and the restoration
of historical patrimony.
With satisfaction we can say that we have a considerable number of companies
committed to begin operations in the Technological Park once we have
access to the installations, which shall take place during 1999 with
the gradual departure of US armed forces from Fort Clayton, the future
central location for the City of Knowledge.
Likewise, here are profiles of several initiatives, each one of them
in different degrees of progress, to develope formation activities.
As an example, and keeping in mind the theme of Tourism-Conservation-Research,
we can mention the beginning in January of a program from the prestigious
McGill University from Montreal, together with the Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute. They will offer courses on the Neotropical Environment.
In the final phase of legal documentation is what will be the Panama
International Maritime University, formed by the University of Texas
A&M, the Escuela Nautica de Panama and the Universidad Santa Maria
la Antigua. The Board of Directors has already been selected for the
recently created Sistema Hemisferico de Educacion Agricola Superior
(SIHDEA), under the auspices of the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación
Agrícola, a specialized agency of the Organization of American Statres
(OAS). From May of this year, it will also operate from the provisional
headquarters of the City of Knowledge, located in the old Albrook airbase,
the Centro del Agua del Tropico Humedo para America Latina y el Caribe
(CATHALAC).
Currently, various requests are being processed, notably among them,
in the area of training for human resources specialties in tourism.
Proposals have been presented by the Colegio Superior Suizo-Latinamericano
de Administracion de Hoteleria y Turismo, the University of Balear Islands,
and the University of South Carolina which are planning on offering,
together with national universities, a Masters in Hotel, Restaurant
and Tourism Administration. In the area of forums, looking ahead into
1999 is the “International Conference on Tourism Human Resources Development”
under the auspices of the University of Houston. Their theme is “Latin
American Tourism in the New Millenium: Education, Investment and Sustainability.”
On the theme of the environment and sustainable development one can
also mention a proposal in the final stages of being approved for the
creation in the City of Knowledge of the Regional Center RAMSAR for
the study of Wetlands of International Importance in the Western Hemisphere.
The School of Forestry of Yale University has presented a preliminary
proposal to offer a Masters degree to prepare future leaders in the
field of the environment. The acceptance of the Creation of a Sanctuary
for Non-Human Primates on the Tigre Islands located in Gatun Lake in
the Canal, through the initiative of Florida State University, together
with Panamanian universities and national research centers, constitutes
another project that enriches what Panama has to offer through the City
of Knowledge. Special mention is due here for the efforts of various
national universities, together with non-governmental organizations,
and the City of Knowledge Foundation, to constitute an “Earth and Sea
Foundation” which is working together with companies and organizations,
both national and international to create a large center in the Province
of Chiriqui where tourism and scientific research can coincide in what
may be a town to be built during the construction of the Fortune Dam.
The University of Tulane has proposed the creation of a Center for Disaster
Management and Humanitarian Aid, having received a proposal for the
future creation of a Center for Applied Research into the biogeochemistry
of the Environment.
In other words, esteemed friends, through synergy, the City of Knowledge
will prosper with the development of a national Tourism-Conservation-Research
strategy. At the same time, it will be a place where visitors can participate
in forums and conferences and have contact with companies that are developing
and incorporating new technologies for the development of our countries.
We invite you to accompany us in the achievement of this national strategy,
which carries with it a profound pledge for regional goals and the integrated
development of our countries.
PART
B - Panama’s
Heritage Routes
The Heritage Identity of the Bridge of the World
Presented by Dr. Richard Cooke (STRI) and
Dr. Omar Jaén Suárez (Interoceanic Region Authority-ARI)
(Dr.
Jaén’s presentation at the conference was given in Spanish)
The
Saga of the Isthmus
In the Chucunaque valley in the Darién and on the Burica peninsula,
row upon row of geological sediments—now raised high above the coastline—call
to mind a Jovian drama that had a profound impact on the world’s climate
and biological diversity: the collision of the Central American Arc
with the Andes and the intersection of three tectonic plates.
Here and elsewhere in Panama, these strata also record the evolution
of marine and terrestrial life before and after the Isthmus rose high
enough to separate the Caribbean Sea from the Pacific Ocean. Scientists
have shown how 20 million years ago there was no isthmus and how the
ocean was then a kilometer deep in Bocas del Toro. By 12 million years
ago an island chain of volcanoes had emerged. Inland from Colón dramatic
exposures of 9 million year-old marine sediments recall the time when
the isthmus was an archipelago. This ‘Gatún Formation’ contains hundreds
of species of mollusks and huge shark teeth. Deposited above it—and
visible between Fort Sherman and the Colonial ruin of San Lorenzo—lies
the Chagres Formation. Myriad skeletonized plankton are mostly Pacific
species, demonstrating that, at this time, the area where the canal
now passes was a wide marine strait between the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Three million years ago the isthmus grew again—rising high enough to
separate the Caribbean from the Pacific, dividing animal populations
and creating new marine species.
Interpretive Centers at four palimpsests of Isthmian geology—Colón,
Bocas del Toro, the Chucunaque valley and the Burica Peninsula—will
serve as “staging areas” for another isthmian journey: the “Peaks of
Natural Diversity”.
The Peaks of Natural Diversity
This trans-Isthmian journey relates Panama’s geology to the outstanding
richness of life zones and species that can be found along a coast-to-coast
transect. On the Burica Peninsula, visitors will observe the collisional
phase of isthmian mountain-building; at Volcán in the Chiriquí highlands,
the magmatic phase; and in coastal Bocas del Toro, the slow deposition
of marine sediments packed with fossils.
Their journey will begin in Chiriquí’s coastal mangroves. After crossing
seasonally dry Pacific savannas and moon-like volcanic landscapes, they
will pass through patches of montane rainforest before ascending to
the páramo at the summit of the Barú volcano. Finally, they will walk
down deeply incised and heavily forested valleys to the perennially
humid Caribbean coastal lowlands. They will follow in the footsteps
of the intrepid Victorian naturalists who first documented this extraordinary
botanical and faunal diversity.
The Route of Gold and Mountain Gems
This route takes the visitor across Veraguas, the only province in Panama
that stretches from sea to sea. It was on the windswept northern shore
of Veraguas that, in 1502, Christopher Columbus tried unsuccessfully
to found a settlement that would tap the golden riches of the local
ruler, the Quibián. Columbus abandoned Santa María de Belén after four
months, but later settlers did find gold, and have washed and mined
it, off-and-on, for four centuries: at Santiago de Turlurlí, in the
wettest forest in Panama; at El Remance, in the degraded savannas of
the Pacific; and at Mariato, on the Pacific coast. Near Santa Fé—founded
in 1559 to supply Santiago de Turlurlí’s sodden miners with meat—the
visitor will seek out the beautiful humming-bird known as the Mountain-Gem
in nearby montane forests. The road from Santa Fé to the Gulf of Montijo
on the Pacific coast passes by San Francisco de la Montaña, where friars
once Christianized native peoples and whose brick and stone church houses
exquisite polychrome carved altars, pulpits and screens.
The Harpy Eagle’s Route
Our symbolic guide on this exotic journey through the Darién will be
Panama’s national bird—the Harpy Eagle. The harpy will lead us through
lands that belonged to the pre-conquest Cueva people, whose fields and
villages are in many places covered by dense forest. Balboa followed
this route on his way to the Pacific shore. So did scores of pirates
and gold-miners, surveyors and naturalists. This journey epitomizes
the Darién oxymorons of isolation and migration, native and foreign,
the soporific sounds of waterfalls and the boisterous clamor of macaws
and monkeys. The Darién Highlands—islands long ago—have nurtured many
endemic species. At the same time, both highlands and lowlands have
been corridors for the passage of plants and animals between North and
South America. The harpy’s world is home also to Emberá and Wounáan—forest-farmers,
fishers and hunters; and to small groups of Kuna, who remained in the
Chucunaque and Tuira valleys after most of their brethren migrated to
the San Blas coast.
Route of the Blue Marlin
This route explores the wealth of marine life that exists in Panama’s
two Pacific “oceans” and meets some of the cultural groups that have
taken advantage of their bounty. In Panama Bay, seasonal upwelling lowers
surface temperatures and stimulates abundant masses of tiny organisms
and their fish and bird predators. In the Gulf of Chiriquí—protected
from the northerly trade wind by the central cordillera—year-round warmth
has favored coral growth.
Starting at Coiba—sport-fisherman’s mecca and preserve of the Scarlet
Macaw—the marlin’s journey passes along the bay-bountiful southern coast
of Veraguas, across the southern edge of the Azuero Peninsula with its
secluded beaches and turtle nesting grounds, on to tiny, coral-fringed
Isla Iguana, known for its white sands and raucous seabird colonies.
It then moves eastwards across Panama Bay to the Pearl Islands where
descendants of African slaves still ply the coastal waters in dugouts;
and from there to Jaqué and the well-known sport-fishing lodge of Bahía
Piña on the steep Darién coast.
The Coral Path
Extensive coral reefs are found along parts of Panama’s Caribbean coast.
Very different from the reefs in the Gulf of Chiriquí on the Pacific
coast, they harbor a much more diverse fauna, which in wind-less months
can be watched at ease in the clear, virtually tide-less Caribbean waters.
Modern corals and their fauna can be compared with the geological record
for past animal species, which is captured in exposed strata at various
points along the coast. The many islands of Bocas del Toro and the tiny,
steep-sided Escudo de Veraguas island provide insights into how species
have diverged in the few thousands of years since rising sea levels
split them off from the mainland. Abundant shipwrecks bear mute witness
to the precarious maritime trade that once made Nombre de Dios, Portobelo
and Bocas del Toro household names the world over.
The Bridge of the Quetzals
First-time visitors are often surprised to learn that Panama is quite
mountainous. The Barú volcano—the highest peak—rises to more than 11,000
feet, while over half the country lies above 1,000 feet. In the cool,
montane forests live many species typical of temperate climes. Some
of these occur in both North and South America. Others are restricted
to certain mountain ranges, and even individual peaks and valleys. The
magnificent Resplendent Quetzal is easier to observe in Chiriquí province
than anywhere in its Central American range. On the other side of the
canal, its short-tailed congener the Golden-headed Quetzal extends into
South America. Along this highland route are several volcanoes whose
last eruptions took place thousands and even hundreds of years ago.
Coffee, planted widely in mountain valleys, is picked by Ngobé and Buglé
families who still live where their pre-Columbian ancestors built their
pallisaded villages and fought the Spanish with spears and slings.
The Pre-Columbian Journey
Native Americans arrived in Panama at the end of the last Ice Age and
have remained there ever since. Originally hunters of large extinct
animals, they began to cultivate plants in tropical forests more than
10,000 years ago. Organized into small bellicose chiefdoms, they did
not make grandiose temples and pyramids like their neighbors the Maya
and Inca. Their creative energy was directed towards stone sculptures,
engravings on rocks, goldwork and brightly colored pottery—all decorated
with animals and people from the Natural and Supernatural worlds: the
King Vulture, the Crocodile Spirit and the Jaguar-Man. Some chieftains
were unbelievably wealthy. When they died, they were buried wrapped
in fine cotton mantles and with hundreds of pottery vessels and gold
ornaments. Four foci of archaeological research will highlight Panama’s
rich pre-Columbian heritage: Panama Viejo, where a pre-Columbian village
lies buried under the Colonial town; El Caño and Natá in Coclé province;
Sarigua and Cerro Juan Díaz in Herrera; and Barriles and Volcán in Chiriquí.
These will become regional Interpretive Centres. Active research programs—including
extensive excavations open to the public—will demonstrate how archaeologists
go about studying pre-Columbian communities in the humid tropics.
Mythological Landscapes and the Indigenous World
Seven Native American peoples now live within Panama’s borders, each
with its own language, history and customs: the Bribri, Naso, Ngöbé
and Buglé in the forests and savannas of the western provinces; the
Kuna, Wounáan and Emberá east of the Panama Canal. The architecture
and layout of their communities reflect centuries-old adaptations to
different tropical habitats. Their handicrafts fuse past and present
traditions, intertwining myth and modernity; mythology and the natural
world. They symbolize the close relationship between the artisan and
the products of coast and forest. Ngobé and Buglé beadwork; Kuna molas;
Emberá and Wounáan baskets and exquisite carvings of cocobolo wood and
ivory palm attain the highest levels of artistic expression. Interpretive
centers financed by the tourism and hotel industry—but managed by native
communities—will summarize each people’s history, art and way of life.
They will promote the idea that the legacies of Panama’s seven native
peoples will be enriched and protected through sustainable development
and natural resource management.
Route of the Three Oceans
Three million years ago, with the creation of the land bridge of the
Panama Isthmus, the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans were separated, becoming
two different oceans in terms of tides, climate, and marine fauna.
The Caribbean remained isolated as a closed sea of high temperature
(28º C), small tides (1 meter), humid climate, and rich coral reefs.
Only 14 thousand years ago, the sea level around the world started rising
by one hundred meters, as the great glaciers begun to melt. At this
point, the Gulf of Panama and the Gulf of Chiriqui in the Pacific were
created, separated by the Azuero Peninsula, with tides as high as six
meters, drier climates and different fauna. The Gulf of Chiriqui would
remain homeothermal (around 28º C throughout the year), with live coral
reefs.
On the other hand, an upwelling was produced in the Gulf of Panama,
with cold water rising from the bottom in the summer and surface temperature
falling to 20º C. This process produces nutrients that become part of
the food chain, which is richer here than in other parts and consists
of fish, crustacean and marine mammal species. Thus, the Route of the
Three Oceans is comprised of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Panama and the
Gulf of Chiriqui in the Pacific.
Route of the Sanctuaries of Life
In the Panamanian Isthmus we find five major endemic areas, which are
the natural habitat of terrestrial tropical animals, true sanctuaries
of natural life. At the Western edge of Panama, the low lands of the
Caribbean emptying at Bocas del Toro form a tropical jungle that is
wetter in the area of Río Teribe and Changuinola, where the training
site Panajungla is located and visited by astronauts. Immediately South
of this zone we find the very wet and lush high lands of Chiriqui and
Talamanca, where Volcán Barú (3,475 meters) is located, surrounded by
Cerro Punta (2,200 meters) and Boquete (1,200 meters).
Further south, we find the low and drier lands of Western Chiriquí,
their savannahs and tropical park surrounding David and Puerto Armuelles,
with rich alluvial soils and a large area of banana plantations. It
is here, next to the Pedregal mangrove, where the natural sanctuary
Cerro Batipa is located.
Since mid Nineteenth Century, this trans-Isthmian route of life sanctuaries
attracted the interest of European and American naturalists who collected
samples and studied the natural environment, recording these experiences
in various books and articles.
At the opposite corner of the country, to the East, we find the low
lands of Darién, with its center at El Real, on the plentiful Río Tuira.
These lands are drier and comprise both dry and humid forests. Near
the low lands we find the high lands of Darién, with more rain and forests;
their center is at Meseta de Cana (600 meters), in the mountainous area
of Pirre, the natural habitat of the Harpy Eagle.
The Pearl Route
This is a fascinating route at the center of the Gulf of Panama where
the old and eroded reliefs of the Islas de las Perlas (Pearls Islands)
have stood out for 9,000–11,000 years due to their elevation relative
to the Pacific Coast. The dominating central island, formerly known
as Isla de Las Flores or Isla del Rey, is surrounded by the other 226
islands of the archipelago.
This region is full of history and charms as few others. These were
the first islands in the American Pacific visited by the Spanish Conquerors
of the New World in the 16th century, including Vasco Núñez
de Balboa, who discovered the Pacific Ocean. In 1513, these conquerors
found indigenous people diving to get beautiful pearls. These indigenous
people told the conquerors about the wealth of Peru. Then, starting
in 1510, more experts in diving and pearl fishing were brought in, including
indigenous people from Margarita, Venezuela, and African slaves, since
this activity had become very lucrative. For example, the famous pearls
of the ceremonial crown of the Queen of England were found here. Even
in the beginning of the 20th century, these pearls were still
being sent to jewelers in Paris.
Small colonial towns in this region include Saboga, Viveros, Chapera,
Cazaya, Pedro González, and Contadora, a beautiful island and meeting
place for famous personalities, such as the last Shah of Iran (who lived
here during part of his exile) and former US president Jimmy Carter,
a frequent visitor.
Since the 16th century, Islas de Las Perlas have been the
defenders of the trans-Isthmian route of treasures from Peru, as well
as the Panama Canal during World War II. This place also became a frequent
route for privateers and pirates that attacked ships leaving the Panamanian
ports of Taboga and Naos, before these ships could reach the wide Pacific.
Route of Pirates and Secret Paths
This route runs parallel in time and space to the trans-Isthmian route,
from the 16th century until the 19th century.
An illegal route in terms of transportation activities, this was also
an alternative route full of secrets. It was used by pirates, smugglers,
runaway slaves and road robbers that devastated Panamanian towns, lying
passing people and their trans-Isthmian treasures in ambush, and favoring
the opening of the Hispanic closed commerce on the coasts of the South
American Pacific.
Some of the 16th, 17th and 18th century
pirates that used this route include Mansvelt, Dampier, the feared L’Olonnois,
Sir Francis Drake—who devastated Nombre de Dios and then died in front
of Portobelo in 1597—and Henry Morgan—who took Portobelo in 1668 and
the old city of Panama in 1671, leaving only its ruins in front of the
ocean.
There are several written testimonies, pirate narratives, and stories
by Leonel Wafer and Dr. Exquemelin about this route, describing the
natural environment, people and culture of the Las Perlas Archipelago,
the Panamanian Isthmus and Darién.
This route was used by Spanish and Creole smugglers working in coordination
with English, Dutch, French and Jamaican merchants, facilitating the
exchanges between the Caribbean and the Pacific and between Europe and
South America.
And the route was also used by robbers that fell over masses of travelers
to or from California in the 19th century, during the “Gold
Rush” that started in 1845.
The Path of the Trade Winds
Very much related to the route just described, we find the Path of the
Trade Winds. This is a very peculiar, 110 kilometers long, trans-Isthmian
route. It was created between 1717 and 1747 in Coclé by smugglers based
in Natá, site of the Alcaldía Mayor, the political capital of the central
provinces and where one of the best colonial churches from the 18th
century is located.
This route comprises several X-shaped paths, going from the ports of
Río Grande or of Antón in the Pacific, to the mouth of Ríos Indio and
North Coclé in the Caribbean, passing through Penonomé and the lower
valleys of La Pintada or of Toabré. This route joins two flowings of
the Panamanian Isthmus with different natural environments: the dry
savannas of the Pacific in Llanos del Chirú and their rich pre-Columbian
centers and wide mangroves in the South, and with the lush and rainy
Caribbean high plains in the North, of great biodiversity in the mountains
of Coclé, near the extinct volcano El Valle to the east, and with altitudes
of more than 1,500 meters near Copé to the west.
Route of the Treasures of the Americas
This is the main route, the axis around which Panamanian history is
articulated. It has offered, until now, the image of Panama as the “Bridge
of the World”. It comprises the legendary paths through which America’s
treasures have traveled: The Trans-Isthmian Camino Real (Royal Road),
the Chagres Route and the Camino de Cruces.
We have taken advantage of the concurrence of three geographic phenomena
to establish the route here: the narrowest portion of the continent,
the presence of low reliefs, and the plentiful Río Chagres. This river
is 195 kilometers long, and has dug a wide valley and hydrographic basin
in the shape of a butterfly, with its open wings facing North. The basin
has a surface of 2,600 square kilometers, and tributaries to the east—Gatún,
Pequení and Boquerón rivers—and to the west—the Trinidad-Cirí system,
which originates in the range of the extinct volcano El valle de Antón.
From there, and depending on the predominant means of transportation,
there would be two routes until mid 19th century. The land
route and the water route.
The first route is the trans-Isthmian royal road between Panama and
Nombre de Dios-Portobelo. The trans-Isthmian royal road is the 80-kilometer
land road that goes from the city of Panama, founded in 1519, to Nombre
de Dios to the north, and Portobelo, since 1597—when it was created—until
at least mid 19th century—when the city of Colon was founded
in 1852.
The second route, the Chagres route, is comprised of the short Camino
de Cruces, 25 kilometers long by land, from Panama until Cruces, founded
in 1527 and then later on, starting in 1678, also Gorgona, ten kilometers
further, to then continue on the larger water roads. First, there is
the river road along Río Chagres, for 50 kilometers until its entrance
in the Caribbean, in the castle-fort San Lorenzo and its little port
town Chagres. Then, there is the maritime road, 45 kilometers along
the coast towards the Northeast up to Nombre de Dios and then Portobelo,
Panama’s Atlantic port, surrounded by castles-forts, and their impressive
colonial customs.
The trans-Isthmian route would then become, at least during the three
colonial centuries, the royal road of America’s treasures that allowed
for mercantilism and the rise of Modern Europe. Nombre de Dios, famous
for its annual fairs, was, due to the value of its merchandise, the
first port of the American continent in the 16th century.
Through the trans-Isthmian axis of Panama-Nombre de Dios/Portobelo passed
50 to 60 percent of all precious metals, gold and mostly silver, that
arrived to Europe during the 16th and 17th century.
In Portobelo, the celebrated fair lasted until mid 18th century.
Later on, in the 19th century, the Panamanian railroad was
established. This was the first trans-continental iron road in the world,
started in 1850 and finished in 1855, and built as a response to the
California Gold Rush demand for trans-Isthmian transportation, until
at least 1869, when the two U.S. coasts were linked by railroad. Departing
from Colon, the journey took approximately four hours, stopping in several
stations—Gatún, Muindí, Matachín, Culebra, Gorgona, Obispo, Emperador
and Miraflores—located between the two port cities of Colon and Panama.
Undoubtedly, this route preserves the greatest variety of attractions
in the Panamanian Isthmus, both historic and current attractions, as
well as natural attractions such as the rain and dry forests on both
sides of the Panama Canal.
In the 20th century, two more components were added to this
fundamental and central route: the Panama Canal, officially inaugurated
in 1913, and the Pan-American Highway, linking the cities of Panama
and Colon since the end of World War II in 1945.
The
Passage of the Millennium
Looking towards the future, we have called this route “The Passage of
the Millennium”. The center of the American continent, Panama, was the
site of the most important transformation made to the geographic environment
by men in the history of the world. This transformation mobilized human,
capital and technological resources, as well as land and rocks unknown
until then, to build the Panama Canal. The Canal was the greatest effort
in the history of humankind to transform, in such short time, such a
large extension of land surface. All of this occurred during the 40
years of construction of the Panama Canal, initiated by the French in
1880, lead by Ferdinand de Lesseps, and continued by the North Americans
starting in 1904.
The Panama Canal, an engineering masterpiece and the product of thousands
of European, American and Caribbean workers, faces today the challenge
of modernization to meet the increasing demand of transportation foreseen
for the 21st century.
As the interoceanic canal has become the obliged route of more than
14,000 deep vessels—such as the 75,000-ton Panamax, it is expected that
in the first two decades of the next millennium a third set of locks
will be built for ships of up to 150,000 tons. This would imply the
need to double our efforts to conserve the Chagres watershed and its
capacity to provide water, as well as the rich biodiversity found there.
That way Panama, the gate to the Pacific in the Western Hemisphere,
will continue to provide a considerable service to commerce and transportation,
the globalization of economic development, and the approximation of
continents and cultures in the 21st century.
Route of the Southern Sea
This is the first of all routes. Following a circular movement, we go
back to the Route of the Southern Sea, the first interoceanic route,
created in 1513, and the second most important geographic event in this
continent after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in
1492.
During his trip across the Darién Isthmus and in a journey that took
him ten days of effective march, Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered, in
September 25th 1513 and from the heights of Cerro Pechito
Parado, the Pacific Ocean. This day marked the beginning of the union
of the geography of the planet and the origin, since the 16th
century, of the most unified history of the world.
Balboa’s route is a variant of the Río Sabanas route, the latter being
more of a straight line and originating in Río Sasardí in the Caribbean,
near the Bahía de Caledonia. It was in Bahía de Caledonia where Scottish
colonizers arrived from 1698 to 1700 lead by William Patterson, founder
of the Bank of England. The Río Sabanas route is 60 kilometers long,
with rugged and muddy land, and ends in the Gulf of San Miguel in the
Pacific. This is one of the most studied routes by explorers in the
19th and 20th century for the project of a canal
at sea level.
The final trans-Isthmian route, located on the border of the historic
Darién and Panama’s jurisdiction, is the shortest route of all routes
in the American continent, since it extends for 50 kilometers between
the mouth of Río Bayano in the Pacific and the Gulf of Mandinga in the
Caribbean, going through the Cordillera de San Blas that here reaches
heights of up to 800 meters.
Camino Real (Royal Road)
Next to the Trans-Isthmian Camino Real already mentioned (between Panama
and Nombre de Dios and Panama and Portobelo), we find the longitudinal
Camino real, 80 kilometers to the north and of approximately 560 kilometers
from east to west. This Camino Real goes through the coastal plains
of the Pacific, from Chepo to the border with Costa Rica. This route
follows a biological route of savannas and tropical parks in front of
the Pacific Ocean, which extends all the way up to Río Bayano, 80 kilometers
east of the city of Panama.
This colonial Camino Real was used by the thousands of mules that were
imported by land from Central America each year, and the cattle from
the haciendas in the country’s interior that would feed the population
of the city of Panama. Numerous pedestrians between the two oceans,
at least from the 16th century to the 19th century,
also used the route. During those times, it generally took 15 days to
travel the 500 kilometers of this royal road that separate the Isthmus
capital and the border with Costa Rica. By the end of the 18th
century, a traveler would spend the night during those 15 days in towns
and villages such as Bugaba, David, San Antonio de Guaymí, Remedios,
San José de Tabarabá, Las Palmas, Santiago de Veraguas, Santa María,
Natá, Antón, San Carlos, Capira, La Chorrera and Cárdenas, before arriving
to the city of Panama, meeting place with the trans-Isthmian path and
the international world.
This colonial Camino Real is Panama’s oldest population axis and, as
all other royal roads that originated in Hispano-America, links very
old towns loaded with rich Hispanic, Indian and African folklore.
From the area of Santa María in this Camino Real originates a 110-kilometer
branch towards the south of Península de Azuero, which links the towns
of Parita, La Villa de Los Santos, Guararé, Las Tablas, Pocrí and Pedasí,
and to the interior of the hills, Macaracas, Pesé and Ocú, all of them
showcasing colonial architecture and 18th century churches.
All of these small colonial towns established along the Camino Real
form the deep, local and internal Panama, the other side of a dual,
trans-Isthmian and international country. Both sides create what Panama
is today, a nation that opens to the world its immense heritage, natural
and cultural wealth.
PART
C - TCR
Portfolio of Projects
TCR Portfolio of projects
Roberto
Eisenmann Jr. - President,
Coronado Hotel & Resort
Tengo
el gusto de presentarles el “Coronado Hotel & Resort,” de las primeras
empresas que ingresan al Portafolio de Hoteles del Proyecto Turismo-Conservación-Investigación,
adoptado e impulsado por nuestro país como propuesta para el desarrollo
sostenible de la industria turística del Siglo XXI.
Nuestro establecimiento fue concebido originalmente con un carácter
tradicional: ofrece golf, tenis, SPA, playa y sol. Desde el inicio realizamos
esfuerzos por competir con todos los países que tienen una oferta similar,
con la desventaja de que Panamá no alcanza a ser un destino turístico
internacional.
El éxito moderado logrado en este marco de competencia, circunscrita
al precio, se proyectaba insostenible para una instalación de categoría
5 estrellas, como la nuestra. Nuestra exploración en búsqueda de alternativas
de mercados para un producto de calidad, que se compara favorablemente
con los mejores del mundo, se vió compensada al conocer la tesis de
desarrollo turístico para nuestro país, presentado por la Dra. Hana
Ayala, distinguida integrante de la comunidad científica internacional.
Nos hizo sentir que había llegado la hora de pasar del éxito a la trascendencia,
a un objetivo superior. Percibimos, repentinamente, que habíamos encontrado
la gran certidumbre en nuestro camino, como industria y como Nación.
Habíamos encontrado visión y claridad conceptual, lo que a su vez despeja
la voluntad para la acción creadora.
Concordante con esta propuesta decidimos colaborar en la conservación
del Parque Nacional y Reserva Biológica Altos de Campana ubicado entre
los Distritos de Capira y Chame, y apoyar los proyectos de investigación
científica que allí se adelanten mediante el otorgamiento de becas en
hospedaje y alimentación a los científicos y estudiantes del Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute y de otras instituciones de igual naturaleza,
con el compromiso de servir como naturalistas y compartir con los huéspedes—nacionales
y extranjeros—los conocimientos e interpretación de la riqueza del sitio.
Además introduciremos la modalidad de invitar a nuestros huéspedes a
incorporarse, mediante contribuciones voluntarias, a los programas de
conservación e investigación que se llevan a cabo en el Parque. La propuesta
de desarrollo turístico sostenible de la Dra. Ayala contenido en el
Plan TCI incluye, en adición a la excepcional diversidad biológica del
Istmo de Panamá por ser puente de transición de toda la flora y fauna
del continente americano, al patrimonio histórico y cultural de la Nación
como componente de la oferta única y extraordinaria en el campo del
turismo, lo que constituye la ventaja comparativa de la República de
Panamá y que es el factor vinculante de los hoteles que se incorporan
al Proyecto.
Las instalaciones del Coronado Hotel & Resort, que ocupan una superficie
de aproximadamente 100 hectáreas, se encuentran ubicadas en el area
geológica formada por las capas de lava solidificada y cenizas depositadas
por el Volcán del Valle en su vertiente sur, próxima al litoral de Mar
Pacífico, durante su período de actividad hace millones de años. En
el area que hoy se conoce como Coronado se han encontrado evidencias
arqueológicas que indican la presencia—desde hace más de 10.000 años—de
poblaciones indígenas americanas que formaron parte de las migraciones
que utilizaron al Istmo com puente entre las masas continentales.
A partir del primer cuarto del Siglo XVI los colonizadores españoles
del Istmo establecieron, pasando por Coronado, la ruta del Camino Real
que inicialmente se extendía entre la ciudad de Panamá La Vieja y la
población de Natá, atravesando los territorios que hoy forman los Distritos
de Arraiján, Chorrera, Chame, San Carlos y Antón, y que hace 500 años
eran los dominios de los caciques indígenas Natá, Chame y Chirú. El
Camino Real, con el avance de la colonización se prolongó al resto del
Istmo de Panamá y Centro América, hasta Mexico.
El actual alineamiento de la Carretera Panamericana sigue en gran parte
la ruta usada por los pioneros de la colonización, siendo Coronado un
sitio que históricamente sirvió de posada a los transeúntes que viajaban
a lo largo del Istmo de Panamá o que utilizaban las antiguas rutas del
contrabando transístmico.
Las autoridades del imperio español radicadas en la ciudad de Natá otorgaron—durante
el Siglo XVIII—los primeros títulos de propiedad del Istmo, propiedades
conocidas como “haciendas reales,” que eran grandes latifundios dedicados
a la cría extensiva de ganado bovino, quedando comprendida el area de
Coronado en la Hacienda La Yeguala, una de las más antiguas en la jurisdicción
de Natá.
En adelante nuestro esfuerzo de negocios se hará con un objetivo nacional
y universal superior como parte de un nuevo círculo virtuoso: hotelería-conocimiento-turismo-investigación
científica-conservación.
Coronado Hotel & Resort y su equipo de gestión se siente muy orgulloso
en formar parte del primer Portafolio de Proyectos junto a los demás
compañeros hoteleros que han dado el trascendental paso de incorporarse
y que nos acompañan hoy aquí.
Lorenzo Hincapie
Owner, Hotel Campestre
El Hotel Campestre fue fundado en 1944 y está ubicado en el Valle de
Antón, sitio de gran atractivo turístico, localizado en el área montañosa
de un antiguo volcán. Está a una distancia aproximada de una hora y
media de la ciudad de Panamá y a una altura de 800 metros sobre el nivel
del mar.
En el Valle de Antón tenemos un clima muy agradable, con una temperatura
promedio de 18 grados centígrados, que favorece el crecimiento natural
de plantas nativas como las orquídeas.
Dadas estas condiciones y nuestro decidido interés en participar activamente
en la Alianza de Turismo-Conservación-Investigación, el Hotel Campestre
se ha comprometido a desarrollar un proyecto para el cultivo y estudio
de distintas especies de orquídeas que se encuentran en esta área.
Con la asistencia técnica de reconocidos profesionales panameños en
el tema de orquídeas, vamos a iniciar el proyecto con la construcción
de un vivero en las instalaciones del hotel, para luego recolectar la
mayor cantidad de especies y dedicarnos a su estudio y cultivo.
También proyectamos desarrollar un sistema de reproducción “in vitro”
y posteriormente comercializar las orquídeas, permitiendo que los turistas
nacionales y extranjeros tengan acceso a adquirir algunas de estas especies,
sin que tengan que afectar el bosque natural.
El proyecto también comprende la capacitación de guías naturalistas,
oriundos de El Valle de Antón, en la observación y clasificación de
estas especies nativas y también en el conocimiento de los distintos
atractivos naturales que ofrece esta área. Estos guías serán seleccionados
de un grupo de jóvenes conservacionistas de El Valle de Antón, a quienes
en la actualidad apoyamos y orientamos, con el objetivo de conservar
nuestros recursos naturales.
También tenemos pensado patrocinar becas para estudiantes nacionales
y extranjeros que estén interesados en el proyecto de orquídeas que
pensamos construir.
Ya próximos al nuevo milenio, nos enfrentamos a un tiempo de rápidas
transformaciones y nuevas ideas y experiencias, que nos conducirán de
un modo integral a la continuidad de nuestro desarrollo. Por eso, nos
hemos interesado y comprometido con este Plan de Alianza Estratégica
que el Estado de Panamá ha impulsado para intentar fortalecer la industria
hotelera y turística a la cual representamos.
Agradecemos sinceramente este esfuerzo de nuestro Gobierno y reiteramos
nuestro compromiso de participar activamente.
Alfonso Jaén Conte,
Owner, Posada Cerro La Vieja
Desde 1979, en las faldas del Cerro La Vieja, ubicada en Chiguirí Arriba,
Distrito de Penonomé, Provincia de Coclé, iniciamos una campaña de regeneración
de bosques, reforzando con especies nativas como Laurel, Espavé, Ceibo,
Criollos y otras variedades y dejamos que la madre naturaleza hiciera
lo suyo en tierras privilegiadas por su altura y humedad. Fue entonces
que con la recomendación de algunos amigos, empezamos a adquirir algunas
pequeñas propiedades que comprendían extensiones entre el Cerro La Vieja
y el Cerro Gaital, por un lado, y por otro lado, entre el Cerro La Vieja
y la Serranía del Escaliche.
Este compromiso ambiental, que tuvo la aceptación y participación de
las comunidades vecinas, lo bautizamos en aquella época “Corredor Biológico
La Vieja” coincidiendo más tarde con la política ambiental y geográfica
del Corredor Biológico Mesoamericano, con la primera ruta también propuesta
por el Sr. Darío Tovar.
A pesar de que fue cambiada la ruta del corredor más hacia la costa
Atlántica, nuestro proyecto puede considerarse aún como un brazo del
Corredor Biológico Mesoamericano, al tomar como punto de referencia
para su inicio, el Cerro Juan Lana, de la Cordillera Central, pasando
por Puerto Frio, Vaquilla, Cerro El Viejo, Cerro La Vieja, Loma Grande
hasta llegar a las faldas del Cerro Gaital en el Valle de Antón.
En 1992 se inaugura La Posada a las faldas del Cerro La Vieja, explotando
turísticamente los innumerables atractivos naturales del área, buscando
la integración y armonía del hombre con la naturaleza.
De ahí que nuestra misión dice “administrar con sostenibilidad turística
la Posada del Cerro La Vieja y su entorno natural, ofreciendo a sus
huéspedes las mejores condiciones para el contacto y disfrute respetuoso
de la vida silvestre.
Desde hace seis años establecimos para los estudiantes graduados en
las carreras de Biología o afin, dos becas anuales que consisten en
el 20% de los costos del material para la elaboración de la tesis de
graduación y además el hospedaje y alimentación en las instalaciones
de La Posada, durante el tiempo que dure la investigación de campo de
éstas, pidiéndole a los estudiantes que siempre dejaran una copia de
sus estudios para que los huéspedes pudieran consultarlas.
Además hemos tratado de convertirnos en padrinos de una comunidad vecina
que se llama Vaquilla, comprometiéndonos con una granja didáctica de
agricultura orgánica que va a ser instalada el próximo año por la ONG
Fe y Alegría y que tiene el respaldo de otras organizaciones.
También hemos sido intermediarios para que muchos de nuestros huéspedes
sean donantes o se comprometan con algunas de las campañas sociales
de los campesinos del área.
La Posada del Cerro La Vieja, hoy se compromete a seguir adelante con
su primer compromiso y nos adherimos como empresa, al Plan de Alianzas
Estratégicas Turismo-Conservación-Investigación.
Octavio Vallarino Arias
Project
Counterpart, Marriott Hotel
Hace unos años atrás, cuando un grupo de inversionistas del cual yo
soy parte, decidimos traer a Panamá a la Marriott, en esos entonces
no existía la inquietud y el entusiasmo que hay hoy en día con lo que
es el turismo ecológico, el turismo de investigación y hay que darle
un gran aplauso de admiración a la Dra. Hana Ayala por habernos motivado
a todos nosotros, al iniciarnos en esta nueva era de turismo que se
nos aproxima. Al igual, reconocemos y admiramos el esfuerzo que los
demás colegas han iniciado en estos momentos, la tarea de establecer
en Panamá hoteles orientados en esa dirección.
A nosotros en el momento lo que nos toca es patrocinar esto, incentivando
a nuestros huéspedes a que se queden unos días y que sigan visitando
Panamá para que gocen de estas fabulosas facilidades que existen ya
y otras que están por venir.
Nosotros, de hecho, estamos haciendo nuestras propias investigaciones
alrededor del Archipiélago de Las Perlas, del cual tenemos una real
y verdadera impresión favorable, no solamente de nosotros, sino muchas
de las personas que hemos traído de afuera y que nos han ayudado hacer
las evaluaciones del caso.
Pensamos que el Archipiélago de Las Perlas, constituido por 70 islas
en el Pacífico y, como siempre hemos dicho, el Caribe está lleno de
islas, pero en el Pacífico las pocas que hay las tenemos nosotros y
hay que darles la importancia que se merecen. Por eso, estamos encaminando
todos nuestros esfuerzos en explorar esa parte del Pacífico nuestro
que hasta ahora no se le ha dado tanta importancia.
Nuestro patrocinio va a ir orientado hacia el ballet folklórico de Panamá
y en ese sentido haremos todos los esfuerzos con el Instituto Nacional
de Cultura (INAC) por engrandecerlo.
Herman Bern,
President,
Gamboa Tropical Rainforest Resort
Para
mí es un privilegio estar aquí esta tarde y presentarles nuestro proyecto
Gamboa Tropical Rainforest Resort.
Este proyecto tiene un compromiso muy formal con la iniciativa TCI:
Turismo-Conservación-Investigación, porque está precisamente dirigido
a poder mostrarle al resto del mundo las bellezas naturales que tenemos
en nuestro país y desde un primer momento acogimos con gran entusiasmo
la iniciativa propuesta por la Dra. Hana Ayala, porque este proyecto
del TCI, auspiciado por la Sociedad Panameña y patrocinado por el Estado,
es la culminación de esa visión que hemos tenido en los últimos dos
años, dándole forma a nuestro proyecto.
Como todos ustedes saben, Panamá siempre ha sido ruta obligada por donde
pasa el comercio mundial y esto ha sido así desde los tiempos de la
colonia española, especialmente el paso por el Camino de Cruces y el
Camino Real.
Nuestro proyecto, Gamboa Tropical Rainforest Resort, ha adoptado el
Camino de Cruces, que se encuentra justamente frente al proyecto, como
parte de la iniciativa TCI, para ayudar a restaurar este camino, que
es parte de nuestra historia.
Además, como compromiso con TCI y necesidad obligante del propio proyecto,
tenemos el compromiso ineludible en los próximos meses, iniciándose
realmente a partir del próximo mes de enero, de iniciar el entrenamiento
de los guías, historiadores, y personas que van a mostrarle a nuestros
turistas todas las bellezas que tenemos en el área de Gamboa.
Tenemos un plan de entrenamiento muy dinámico, con un gran apoyo de
diversas entidades como Smithsonian, Ecological Society y otros grupos
con los cuales estamos conversando para armar un equipo multidisciplinario
para la enseñanza de nuestros guías.
En el área de Gamboa se encuentra una cantidad increible de destinos
patrimoniales. Estos recursos son entre otros, el Canal de Panamá y
el Río Chagres. La ubicación de nuestro resort es la confluencia del
Río Chagres con el Canal de Panamá, el histórico Camino de Cruces, el
pueblo de Cruces, el Parque Interpretativo que es parte de nuestro proyecto,
el Parque Nacional Soberanía, el camino del oleoducto y el poblado de
Gamboa.
Gamboa Tropical Rainforest Resort tiene una concesión con la ARI (Autoridad
de la Región Interoceánica) para la utilización de 137 hectáreas de
bosques y de áreas donde antiguamente existió un Club de Golf.
En las márgenes del Río Chagres y el Canal de Panamá, todo rodeado por
el Parque Nacional Soberanía, está situado a escasos treinta minutos
(siempre pendiente del tráfico) de la ciudad de Panamá pero una vez
que salimos de la ciudad, estamos alrededor de 20 minutos del centro;
equidistante de ambos océanos, de manera que podemos recibir visitantes
tanto del Caribe como de la ciudad de Panamá.
Este será un resort de cinco estrellas con un alto nivel de servicio
y calidad, pero a la vez donde se va a conjugar la historia, la aventura,
el servicio, la seguridad y sobre todo una conciencia ambiental para
todos nuestros visitantes.
Nuestra filosofía incluye en primer lugar un enfoque en la ecología,
la investigación científica y la conservación del medio ambiente.
Tendremos un parque ecológico muy bien diseñado, con atractivas e imaginativas
actividades, entre ellas un teleférico sobre la montaña para poder apreciar
la belleza del dosel del bosque.
Nuestro proyecto está dirigido a la educación, por lo tanto el programa
de educación científica, a todos los niveles y para todas las edades,
es punta de lanza de nuestro proyecto.
Finalmente, tenemos que tener una fuerte alianza con todas las organizaciones
científicas, ecológicas y conservacionistas del mundo, así como una
muy fuerte presencia en Internet, como parte de nuestro programa de
mercadeo.
Estamos rodeados de miles de hectáreas de bosque tropical primario,
que ha sido protegido de la deforestación porque es parte de la cuenca
del canal y por lo tanto área protegida y parte de un parque nacional.
En nuestros planes está un centro de visitantes, un museo histórico,
tiendas y centros interpretativos, así como exhibiciones de diversas
especies que normalmente no se pueden ver en la naturaleza.
Además contamos con una villa científica que estamos en este momento
en plena renovación, que tiene 100 apartamentos con aproximadamente
140 habitaciones y que estará lista en el mes de marzo de 1999, en la
cual vamos a alojar a científicos, estudiantes y todas aquellas personas
que se estén entrenando como guías.
Tenemos la gran suerte de que muy cerca del Resort y dentro del Parque
Nacional Soberanía, también existe una villa de indígenas Emberá, con
la cual vamos a tener una relación muy estrecha, para que ellos sean
parte integral de nuestros atractivos y sean parte de nuestros guías
y entorno.
El monumento natural de Barro Colorado, dirigido por el Instituto Smithsonian
se encuentra a escasos kilómetros del Resort y esperamos conjuntamente
con el Smithsonian poder visitarlo en la medida en que sea factible
para ellos.
Muy cerca del Resort también se encuentra el camino del oleoducto, por
lo tanto vamos a traer vehículos especiales para hacer excursiones para
observación de aves.
Para aquellos que conocen Gamboa, están viendo fotos de la realidad
hoy en día de lo que es un terreno muy especial, son 37 hectáreas de
“landscape”, área que ha sido muy bien mantenida y que vamos a crear
aumentando la cantidad de flora al construir nuestros jardines botánicos.
Al hacer una revisión de los conceptos arquitectónicos que queríamos
emplear para este proyecto, decidimos tomar el tema histórico de lo
que antiguamente fue el Hotel Tívoli. Si ustedes ven la foto del Hotel
Tívoli, que fue construido para la visita de Teddy Roosevelt alrededor
de 1912, en nuestra arquitectura estamos adoptando muchos elementos
de esa arquitectura tradicional de principios de siglo, para que nuestro
edificio sean un museo lleno de memorabilia de detalles que recuerden
la época. Eso incluye también todo el mobiliario y el diseño de interiores
que será hecho, en la medida de lo posible, de acuerdo con la época
de principios de siglo. Y esto es un tema para nosotros muy importante,
porque recientemente logramos adquirir una hermosa colección de una
persona que había por muchos años coleccionado historia, fotografías,
cartas originales de gente de esa época, y tenemos esto con nosotros
para que forme parte de la exhibición que va a ser el edificio principal
del hotel.
Nuestros programas educativos forman una parte fundamental de este proyecto
porque tenemos que tener un sofisticado programa en geología, pre-historia,
historia, ecología, antropología y conservación.
Nuestro centro de visitantes tendrá todo tipo de exhibiciones interpretativas,
para que cada paso de nuestros visitantes sea una lección en las ciencias
naturales e historia. También vamos a contar con una biblioteca especializada
en los temas, porque estamos seguros que nuestros visitantes van a ser
personas muy educadas, que han estudiado, que se han preparado para
venir a Panamá y queremos que ellos tengan la fuente de información
que necesiten.
La villa científica, que está en estos momentos en plena renovación,
consiste de 25 edificios que tienen cien apartamentos. Algunos inclusive
estarán disponibles a partir del próximo mes de enero. Ya los estamos
también amueblando y serán una parte fundamental de la cooperación entre
el Resort y la Comunidad Científica. Esta villa se utilizará como parte
del entrenamiento y alojamiento de nuestros visitantes y científicos.
Por sugerencia del Smithsonian, cada uno de los edificios que tenemos
en la villa científica, será dedicado a un científico mundial panameño,
norteamericano, alemán, etc. que de alguna u otra forma haya contribuido
en el último siglo a la investigación científica de los trópicos.
El Instituto Smithsonian de Investigaciones Tropicales es uno de los
más importantes centros mundiales de investigación sobre la ecología
tropical. Conjuntamente con ellos estaremos trabajando día a día, colaborando
y a su vez aprendiendo del trabajo que ellos están haciendo en nuestro
país.
Gamboa es una mezcla de muchas cosas. Es recreo y descanso, es pesca
en el Río Chagres y el Lago Gatún, excursiones por el Camino de Cruces,
historia y cultura, estudio de la biodiversidad de la flora y fauna
del área, observación de aves, paisajes naturales, cultura indígena,
aventuras, tales como una excursión por el Río Chagres de noche para
observar cocodrilos y, por supuesto, el Canal de Panamá y su historia.
El Río Chagres es muy famoso por su belleza y por sus actividades acuáticas.
Es reconocido por la pesca de Sábalo, de Róbalo y lo que llamamos Sargento.
El Camino de Cruces se encuentra aproximadamente unos 300 metros de
nuestra orilla del Resort y es parte importantísima de la presentación
a nuestros turistas.
También el camino del oleoducto es famoso por ser un área para observación
de aves; hay más de 400 especies de aves reconocidas por la Sociedad
Audubon que se han visto en el área de Gamboa.
Queremos que el proyecto de Gamboa sea no solamente un hotel sino un
museo de todas aquellas riquezas que tenemos en nuestro país y que muchos
panameños tampoco conocemos.
El mercado de cruceros es un mercado que abandonó Panamá por razones
políticas y económicas hace muchos años y estamos hoy en día tratando
arduamente, el gobierno y la empresa privada, de que regresen a Panamá.
Ya estamos en Internet y estamos listos para abrir nuestras puertas,
inicialmente desde el mes de enero con algunas villas que vamos a estar
usándolas para nuestro personal de entrenamiento y luego a partir del
mes de mayo o junio de 1999, estaremos ofreciendo giras al público,
a las personas que se alojan en los hoteles de la ciudad.
Nuestro compromiso con la conservación es firme y tenemos que hacer
un gran entrenamiento de personal pues es uno de los grandes retos que
tenemos, pero estamos en buen camino y con muy buenos asesores.
Eva Martínez,
Marketing Director, Sheraton Grand Park Hotel
Para
el Sheraton Grand Park Hotel es un verdadero placer identificarse plenamente
con el Plan de Alianzas Estratégicas, en patrocinar la conservación
y mantenimiento del Parque Natural Metropolitano, mediante el apoyo
que asistiremos a través de expediciones guiadas por naturalistas expertos,
a los turistas locales como extranjeros que se alojen en nuestro hotel.
Igualmente deseamos mencionar la intención de patrocinar una beca para
estudiantes con el fin de realizar estudios dirigidos hacia el Parque
Natural Metropolitano.
Para darles una breve descripción del Parque Natural Metropolitano,
podemos informarles que el área que ocupa hoy el parque formó parte
de la antigua Zona del Canal. En 1983 estas áreas boscosas revirtieron
al Gobierno de Panamá, a través de los Tratados Torrijos-Carter en el
año 1977.
Bajo la presión ejercida por el constante crecimiento de la ciudad de
Panamá y la necesidad de construir importantes vías a través del área
recreativa, se hizo necesario elaborar un anteproyecto de ley, mediante
el cual fue aprobada la ley en 1985, creándose así el Parque Natural
Metropolitano, primera área revertida a Panamá con un plan específico
de manejo.
El parque se encuentra ubicado en la ciudad de Panamá, Corregimiento
de Ancón, llamado por muchos el pulmón de la ciudad. Comprende una extensión
de 265 hectáreas de las cuales 192 están cubiertas por bosques secos
tropicales, un ecosistema que casi ha desaparecido en otras regiones
del país.
Los turistas podrán ser testigos, durante su recorrido al parque, de
la diversidad de más de 200 aves, a lo largo y ancho de sus cuatro senderos,
además de familias de monos Tití y Gato Solo, entre otros animales propios
del lugar.
El Parque Natural Metropolitano es el área natural protegida más cercana
para los habitantes de la ciudad capital. Igualmente es el único bosque
tropical, dentro de un centro urbano en Centro América, por lo que se
puede catalogar como un parque singular.
Ninguna otra área en la región cuenta con bosques protegidos tan cercanos
y de fácil acceso desde una ciudad para la población capitalina y visitantes
nacionales e internacionales, de manera que presenta grandes oportunidades
de esparcimiento al aire libre, de educación ambiental e investigación
científica, realizadas actualmente por el Instituto Smithsonian, como
el Estudio del Dosel del Bosque en grúa y la concentración del CO2
en las plantas.
Podemos mencionar también que el Parque Natural Metropolitano es parte
del Corredor Biológico Interoceánico. Sus bosques se comunican con el
Parque Nacional Camino de Cruces, que está conectado al Parque Nacional
Soberanía. Estos tres parques conforman un cordón contínuo de bosques
que se extienden a lo largo de la ribera Este del Canal de Panamá, lo
que garantiza el funcionamiento del canal y la diversidad biológica.
Finalmente, uno de los objetivos del patronato encargado del Parque
Natural Metropolitano, es mantener en la ciudad de Panamá, un área natural
que contribuya al equilibrio ambiental de las zonas urbanas, a fin de
prevenir la contaminación, propiciar un ambiente sano y proveer de educación
a los habitantes y turistas que lleguen a visitar el parque.
Por todo lo anteriormente expuesto, pero sobre todo el mantener un área
de uso exclusivo, donde los animales y las plantas se reproduzcan y
vivan sin los riesgos que enfrentan en otros lugares del país, es que
el Grand Park Hotel apoyará la gestión de los miembros del patronato
del Parque Natural Metropolitano y de esta manera fomentar el turismo
ambiental.
Raul Arias de Para
The Canopy Tower
I
have a confession to make. On August 22, 1996 I fell in love with a
building. It was not a regular, run-of the-mill glass and concrete building;
it was a steel structure, a radar tower built by the United States Air
Force in 1965. It was not a spring chicken either. How can anybody in
his right mind fall in love with this metal structure that looks so
forbidding and which has been described by someone as resembling a gigantic
beer can?
It defies logic. In any event, it was love at first sight not only with
the tower but also with its location, right in the center of Soberania
National Park. As with all relationships based on first impressions,
there was a lot of imagination involved.
I imagined the view from the top would be fantastic and it is! you can
even see ships traversing the Culebra Cut, the narrowest part of the
Panama Canal.
I imagined it would be easy to see beautiful birds and mammals and I
turned out to be right.
I imagined I could transform the tower into a unique lodge with rooms
opening at the level of the treetops and I did. This metamorphosis from
an abandoned radar tower to a mini-lodge took two years, lots of money
and more sleepless nights than I care to remember. I call it the ultimate
recycling project, from a military installation to a bird watching center…
and what can be more peaceful than bird-watching?
The biblical passage of turning swords into plowshares acquires a new
meaning and it is represented perfectly in this case. It also shows
that we, Panamanians, are perfectly capable of utilizing in a rational,
sustainable manner the properties being transferred to us by the US
government in compliance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. In particular,
those properties located in the vital watershed of the Panama Canal.
Sometime during this metamorphosis along came a lady from the United
States, our dear friend Hana Ayala with her revolutionary ideas about
linking tourism with conservation and research. I had always thought
that ecotourism should be an instrument of conservation, more than an
end in itself. But Hana went farther: tourism in general, the biggest
and wealthiest industry in the world, should be a patron of conservation
and research, two activities that are essential for human development
in its broadest sense, but that are usually short of funds. And this
link would not be merely because of civic-minded reasons but because
it is also good business. Needless to say, I readily enlisted in her
crusade to transform tourism in Panama and here I am an enthusiastic
proponent of this new strategy.
And what is the role of The Canopy Tower in conservation and research?
We are located deep within Soberania National Park, at the entrance
of Old Plantation Rd. This is an easy graded dirt road that passes through
a mature forest for about four miles connecting to the legendary Las
Cruces Trail.
It is called Plantation Rd. because it used to lead to a cacao plantation
owned by the Panama Canal Company in the early days of the former Canal
Zone, more than 50 years ago. You can still see some of the old cacao
trees with their peculiar fruit growing straight from the trunk. It
is hard to believe that the elegant, gold plated boxes of Lady Godiva
chocolates come from this humble tree. This is also one of the best
areas in Panama for bird-watching and hiking through the rainforest.
We are committed to keeping this road clean and to helping in its surveillance,
helping the park rangers of the environmental authority, which, unfortunately,
total only 8 for an area of 20,000 hectares, approximately 43,000 acres.
To help us in this task we have an unexpected ally, a former poacher
who is now in our staff and who knows the forest as well as the palm
of his hand. He is also a great guide, for he knows the behavior of
animals very well and has a particularly uncanny ability to spot them
within the dense foliage of the underbrush.
Perhaps his eyesight is so good because he did not spend his childhood
days glued to a TV screen!
Every night he spends at the Canopy Tower means one more day of life
for a deer, a paca or a pecary.
His name is Segundo, we call him the “eco-poacher”, a perfect oxymoron.
The Canopy Tower is one of the observation points from which Dr. George
Angher of STRI, in collaboration with Dr. Sid Gauthreaux of Clemson
University and with the support of the U.S. Department of Defense Legacy
Program, is monitoring the migratory hawks and vultures that pass through
Panama every year.
Virtually the entire North American populations of three species, the
Turkey Vulture, Broad-winged Hawk, and Swainson’s Hawk, numbering millions
of birds, pass through the isthmus en route between their breeding grounds
in North America and their wintering grounds in South America.
These birds rely almost entirely on soaring, rather than flapping flight,
during their migration. They take advantage of the rising warm air currents,
thermals, produced by the sun’s rays during the day in order to gain
elevation. Then they glide for many miles, slowly losing altitude, before
they need to find another thermal and rise again. By this means they
are able to complete a migration of many thousands of miles expending
very little energy.
Because these birds require rising warm air to soar, they are unable
to migrate at night or on rainy days. At these times they require roosting
sites in the forest to rest. One of the objectives of this study is
to determine the importance of the existing forests of the Panama Canal
Area as overnight roosting sites for these migratory birds.
The actual count is done by expert birdwatchers from the Panama Audubon
Society and the University of Panama, who have been trained by Dr. Angher.
Guests of the Canopy Tower will be invited to participate. This study
will contribute valuable information on the population sizes of migratory
raptors as well as the value of Canal Area forests in the preservation
of the world’s biodiversity.
In closing, I would like to add two comments:
First, I must thank my wife Denise for believing in this project from
day one, actually for believing in my dreams and me.
I would also like to invite you all to come and visit the Canopy Tower
and fall in love with it.
I am not jealous.
Dr. Nicolás Ardito Barletta
General
Administrator, Interoceanic Region Authority
New
Protected Area of San Lorenzo
Let
me try to explain how we envision the development of Sherman in a sustainable
TCR context. I would like to give you the framework within which development
around the former Canal Zone is taking place. The private and public
sectors, non-governmental organizations, and all Panamanian citizens
are working in the development of the former Canal Zone.
First, we have a regional plan that covers the whole Canal watershed.
The Canal lives on water and the biodiversity around it, so we have
a very updated professional plan, which guides the process in relation
to the watershed. We also have a general plan that brings together the
different sustainable development aspects of zoning in the former Canal
Zone.
In effect, within fifty miles of the Canal we have urban, economic and
social development, environmental protection, and the functioning of
the Panama Canal. The challenge for us Panamanians is to put this together
over the next fifty to one hundred years, in a harmonious and sustainable
way, so that we can service the international economy through the Panama
Canal, sustain the magnificent biodiversity in the area, and improve
the lives of Panamanians. The plan has been developed thus, taking into
account all of these criteria.
The economic and international aspect of this strategy is to create
a larger international business hub serving the international economy,
integrating the Americas, and enhancing the well being of Panamanian
people. The project will join the Canal, the Free Trade Zone, and the
banking center, and it will promote maritime development, manufacturing
for exports, tourism, more trade communications and transportation,
and the City of Knowledge, making this part of Panama a little like
Singapore or Rotterdam.
Let me focus on Fort Sherman, located on the Atlantic side nearby Colon
City. Sherman is located only twenty minutes from a major urban center
with a lot of economic activity. It is like finding the Amazon, which
would take you three to four days to access, next door to you. The objective
is to convert what General McCarthy (former head of the Southern Command
of the US Armed Forces and now Drug Adviser to President Clinton) called
the number one military training center in tropical areas into the number
one ecological tourism conservation and research center in the world.
There are ten thousand hectares of jungle in Fort Sherman that we want
to protect for research and ecological tourism, and to help improve
the lives of the local people. This beautiful jungle is unspoiled and
next door to an urban center.
The objectives we have for Sherman are conservation of biodiversity
and national beauty, scientific research, tourism development, maritime
development, Canal maintenance, community participation and benefits,
the protection of the Meso-American biological corridor, and the physical
integration with the rural coastal area. Development opportunities can
be combined harmoniously according to a plan where the private sector
community and the government can participate.
The first opportunity is the development of tourism, because of all
that is already available there, just next door to where the cruise
ships go by, twenty minutes away from Colon City, hotels and airports.
Secondly, scientific research opportunities have already started to
materialize with the participation of STRI. Third, maritime development
is a great opportunity because of the proximity to the Canal area, where
some shipyards are going to be located away from the jungle area that
we want to protect.
The action plan is currently being developed in coordination with the
National Environment Protection Institute and ARI. The plan establishes
a conservation and maintenance program, including an ecological evaluation
of carrying capacity, the criteria and parameters to guide development,
and administrative systems that will combine government, private sector
and community activities.
We have ten months to get there. We have begun and are moving fast.
The expected project results are within the sustainable development
goals of the TCR alliance, including private sector investment to protect
the environment and support scientific research, economic development
within carrying capacity limits, and community participation, all within
the guidelines and policies defined by our government.
Help us make Sherman a reality, help us make it one of the great environmental
tourism centers in the world. We welcome your advice and support.
PART
D - Executive
Decree No. 327
Mr. Olmedo Miranda, Minister of the Presidency, presented Executive
Decree No. 327. Signed by the President of the Republic of Panama, Dr.
Ernesto Perez Balladares, this decree establishes an international precedent
in Panama through the creation of the Tourism-Conservation-Research
Strategic Alliance Committee. The Minister of the Presidency, who has
delegated Dr. Ceferino Sanchez, National Secretary for Science and Technology,
as the Committee’s President, will govern this high-level committee,
ascribed to the National Council for Sustainable Development. In addition,
this Committee will involve representatives of IPAT, ANAM, INAC and
STRI as well as a representative of the hotel association, tourism operators
association, non-governmental organizations and indigenous organizations.
The full text of Executive Decree No. 327 is included below, as announced
at the end of the first day of the conference.
Decreto
Ejecutivo No. 327
30
de Noviembre de 1998
Por el cual se crea el Comité de Alianzas Estratégicas “Turismo-Conservación-Investigación”
como un organismo adscrito al Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo Sostenible.
EL
PRESIDENTE DE LA REPUBLICA
En
uso de sus facultades constitucionales y legales,
CONSIDERANDO:
Que según las tendencias actuales del turismo mundial, los principales
destinos turísticos son aquellos que permiten al turista experimentar
la riqueza natural y cultural del destino.
Que Panamá cuenta con riquezas naturales, culturales e históricas que
pueden ser de gran atractivo para el turismo nacional e internacional,
asi como para personas y entidades interesadas en el estudio de dicho
patrimonio.
Que la industria del turismo tiene el potencial de convertirse en una
de las principales actividades económicas del país.
Que dentro de los objetivos que está llamado a cumplir el Consejo Nacional
para el Desarrollo Sostenible, creado mediante el Decreto No. 163 del
25 de noviembre de 1996, está el de impulsar una estrategia para el
desarrollo de la industria del turismo y la conservación del patrimonio
natural y cultural, en la que se conjugue la participación de las instituciones
gubernamentales, del sector privado y la propia comunidad.
Que para la puesta en marcha de esta estrategia, se estima necesaria
la integración de un organismo de alto nivel, que dependerá funcionalmente
del Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo Sostenible y que deberá integrar
los sectores del turismo, conservación e investigación, y a las comunidades
en un sistema de alianzas que permitan el desarrollo del turismo patrimonial
sostenible.
DECRETA
ARTICULO 1: Créase un organismo administrativo de alto nivel denominado
Comité de Alianzas Estratégicas “Turismo-Conservación-Investigación”,
que funcionará adscrito al Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo Sostenible,
que será responsible de diseñar, fomentar, promover y ejecutar un plan
nacional para el desarrollo de la industria turística del país, a través
de un sistema de alianzas entre los sectores del turismo, la conservación
del ambiente y el patrimonio, la investigación científica, cultural
e histórica y las comunidades en general.
ARTICULO 2: El Comité de Alianzas Estratégicas “Turismo-Conservación-Investigación”
estará integrado por los siguientes miembros:
1. El Ministro de la Presidencia o el funcionario que éste designe,
quien lo presidirá;
2. El Administrador General de la Autoridad del Ambiente o el funcionario
que éste designe;
3. El Gerente General del Instituto Panameño de Turismo o el funcionario
que éste designe;
4. El Director General del Instituto Nacional de Cultura o el funcionario
que éste designe;
5. Un miembro escogido de ternas presentadas por la Fundación Ciudad
del Saber y el Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute;
6. Un miembro escogido de ternas presentadas por la Asociación Panameña
de Hoteles y la Asociación Panameña de Operadores de Turismo Receptivo;
7. Un miembro escogido de ternas presentadas por las Organizaciones
No Gubernamentales Ambientalistas y las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales
Indígenas.
Los miembros del Comité que representen asociaciones u organismos de
carácter no gubernamental, serán designados por el Ministerio de la
Presidencia.
ARTICULO 3: El Comité de Alianzas Estratégicas “Turismo-Conservación-Investigación”
tendrá las siguientes funciones:
1. Promover y ejecutar un Plan Nacional para el desarrollo del turismo
patrimonial sostenible del país, mediante la creación de alianzas estratégicas
entre los sectores involucrados en el turismo, la conservación e investigación
del patrimonio natural y cultural y las comunidades, con el objeto de
conservar y estudiar dicho patrimonio y facilitar la promoción y desarrollo
de actividades turísticas relacionadas con el mismo;
2. Identificar las rutas temáticas patrimoniales que pueden ser objeto
de alianzas estratégicas y fijar los criterios aplicables para el desarrollo
de actividades turísticas en las mismas;
3. Promover, en coordinación con el Instituto Panameño de Turismo y
otras entidades del Estado, inversiones destinadas al desarrollo de
proyectos turísticos en las rutas temáticas patrimoniales que identifique
el Comité, las que gozarán de los incentivos fiscales o de otra naturaleza
previstos en la Ley;
4. Impulsar la integración y coordinación entre las entidades gubernamentales
encargadas de la conservación del patrimonio natural y cultural, las
organizaciones no gubernamentales y las comunidades, lo mismo que con
organismos privados, nacionales y extranjeros, que tengan dentro de
sus objetivos el desarrollo del turismo, la conservación y la investigación;
5. Incentivar la creación de patronatos y asociaciones de carácter no
lucrativo para que participen con su patrocinio en los programas de
turismo, conservación e investigación que desarrolle el Comité;
6. Impulsar políticas y mecanismos de coordinación entre las distintas
entidades gubernamentales a cargo de la promoción del turismo, de la
conservación del medio ambiente y del patrimonio cultural, con el objeto
de promover políticas tendientes a agilizar los trámites para la expedición
de permisos, licencias y autorizaciones requeridos para incrementar
y ejecutar los proyectos contemplados en las alianzas estratégicas;
7. Elaborar un reglamento interno de funcionamiento;
8. Las demás que le asigne el Consejo Nacional para el Desarrollo Sostenible.
ARTICULO 4: Los interesados en la ejecución de proyectos para el desarrollo
de alianzas estratégicas de turismo, conservación e investigación podrán
presentarlos al Comité que, a su vez, se encargará de coordinar su evaluación
y aprobación por las entidades correspondientes.
ARTICULO 5: Para el desarrollo de las funciones que le confiere el presente
Decreto, el comité contará con la asesoría del “Círculo Internacional
de Asesoría”, integrado por instituciones e individuos, nacionales e
internacionales, comprometidos con el desarrollo sostenible de las riquezas
naturales y culturales mediante alianzas estratégicas de turismo, conservación
e investigación.
ARTICULO 6: Así mismo, el Comité promoverá la creación de un Círculo
Internacional de Patrocinadores”, integrado por instituciones e individuos,
nacionales e internacionales, que contribuyan de manera significativa
a las tareas del Comité.
Los miembros del “Círculo Internacional de Patrocinadores” y del “Círculo
Internacional de Asesoría”, serán designados por el Comité de Alianzas
Estratégicas “Turismo-Conservación-Investigación” y prestarán sus servicios
en forma ad-honorem.
ARTICULO 7: El Comité de Alianzas Estratégicas “Turismo-Conservación-Investigación”
tendrá un Secretario Ejecutivo, nombrado por el Organo Ejecutivo, por
recomendación de los miembros del Comité.
ARTICULO 8: El Secretario Ejecutivo del Comité tendrá las siguientes
funciones:
1. Coordinar y dar seguimiento a la ejecución de las políticas, programas
y acuerdos que establezca el Comité para el cumplimiento de sus objetivos;
2. Administrar los recursos asignados al Comité, bajo principios de
transparencia, economía y eficiencia;
3. Presentar al Comité informes periódicos sobre su gestión;
4. Servir como ente de comunicación y coordinación entre los miembros
del Comité, los organismos asesores al mismo, las entidades públicas
y privadas vinculadas con la actividad turística y las comunidades;
5. Ejercer las demás funciones que le señalen los miembros del Comité.
ARTICULO 9: Las aportaciones, donaciones, legados y herencias que personas
naturales y jurídicas hagan a nombre del Comité de Alianzas Estratégicas
“Turismo-Conservación-Investigación” se considerarán, para los efectos
del artículo 697 del Código Fiscal, como gastos deducibles a favor de
los contribuyentes en el cálculo del impuesto sobre la renta.
ARTICULO 10: El presente Decreto Ejecutivo empezará a regir a partir
de su publicación en la Gaceta Oficial.
COMUNIQUESE Y PUBLIQUESE
Dado en la ciudad de Panamá, a los treinta (30) días del mes de Noviembre
de mil novecientos noventa y ocho (1998).
Firmado:
ERNESTO PEREZ BALLADARES
Presidente de la República
OLMEDO
DAVID MIRANDA, JR.
Ministro de la Presidencia