Communities that have already proved that they know how to preserve their natural resources and which have experience in organized management of these areas of land shall be given incentive plans from the Government of the State of Amazonas for the tourist exploitation of their respective locations. For this purpose, the Secretariat for Sustainable Development and also the Amazon Tourism Company shall launch, by next month, an Invitation to Bid with rules for the tourist exploitation in preserved areas of the State.
To start off this work, seven communities have already been selected, which are located within areas that range from urban forest reserves to state parks, and that comply with a series of criteria that make up the profile of the sustainable developer.
“The following criteria have been used for the selection of the areas: communities already involved with public visitation; the presence of infrastructure for visitation; tourist attractiveness of the community; and the presence of projects for partnerships between the communities and the Government institution or NGO”, explains the Secretary for the Sustainable Development of the State of Amazonas, Nádia Ferreira.
According to Ms. Ferreira, the idea is to make the most of areas that already have a considerable tourist potential and which, as added value, stand within a protected area.
The communities that should start to receive legal support and guidance for this activity lie within the following reserves: Rio Negro State Park (North and South Sectors; Sustainable Development Reserve (SDR) of the Negro River; and the Environmental Protection Area (Área de Proteção Ambiental - APA) of the Left Bank of the Negro River. All shall start their activities in the first half of 2011. Other units, such as the APA of Tarumã Mirim/Tarumã Açu; the Sumaúma State Park; the APA of Maroaga Cave; and the Urubu River Forest, shall start their activities in the second half of the year.
“The first areas to be adapted for visitation are located close to the Capital, standing no more than 200 km from Manaus, which is 2 or 3 hours by car, if applicable, or using a voadeira (a vessel like a hovercraft). In both cases, the tourist also takes advantage of the route to register the scenic beauty of the Amazon Region”, adds Nádia Ferreira.
At the end of 2010, State Governor Omar Aziz signed Decree No. 30,873, of December 28th, 2010, which established guidelines for the public use of the State Preservation Units, according to the specific aims of each handling category. The forecast is that all these areas as already identified shall be able to host ecological tourism ranging from adventure sporting pursuits to sport fishing, by the start of 2013.
highlights
04/05 | News
