{"id":12195,"date":"2018-06-11t12:35:46","date_gmt":"2018-06-11t12:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/a-tale-of-two-sustainabilities-tradition-and-tourism\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07t19:39:37","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07t19:39:37","slug":"tradition-tourism-guna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/tradition-tourism-guna\/","title":{"rendered":"a tale of two sustainabilities: tradition and tourism"},"content":{"rendered":"
by elizabeth guthrie<\/strong><\/p>\n
in the pristine beauty of an archipelago off the caribbean coast of panama, the indigenous guna people show tourists to their small cabanas, where they will be surrounded by the sound of the crashing ocean as they sleep. the hosts prepare meals of freshly caught fish to feed their guests, while others crack open coconuts for tourists to sip while relaxing in blue waters.<\/p>\n
guna women sell molas, part of their traditional clothing, and wrap long beaded bracelets around their visitors\u2019 wrists. the guna people rely on tourism to the san blas islands to bring in revenue of $2 million \u2013 80% of their total income.<\/p>\nan artisan makes and sells molas and bracelets on pelican island. (abigail foerstner\/medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
in the next 20 years, however, many of the islands of this idyllic destination will disappear under the waves.<\/p>\n
climate change is causing rising sea levels across the globe, which means that the ocean is slowly creeping up the shorelines of these small islands. eventually, they will be uninhabitable, and the guna people can already see evidence that their homes are shrinking.<\/p>\n
\u201clook at this island: we are not even 30 centimeters above the sea level,\u201d said diwigdi valiente, 28, a guna native who is an environmental activist and an advocate of ecotourism. \u201cthe urgency? it\u2019s much more than what you expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
abelardo (tito) nu\u00f1ez davies first arrived at his home on pelican island in the san blas chain 15 years ago, and he has already watched it transform in this short time span. \u201cthis island was much bigger before, and now some of the beach is disappearing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
although he can\u2019t ignore the sight of his changing landscape, he hasn\u2019t considered moving away yet and hopes he won\u2019t be forced to. but the guna government is working to prepare for the day when people who have lived here for generations will no longer be able to call these islands home. these plans are difficult to develop \u2013 scheduling a mass exodus of climate change refugees is an unprecedented move.<\/p>\n
\u201cfour years ago there was (a) budget to move the island to (the) mainland,\u201d valiente said. \u201cthe government changed, and the budget was gone.\u201d despite structural changes, the guna people continue to search for ways to plan for their inevitable move. \u201cthey\u2019re applying to have funds (from the) u.n. to develop an adaptation and mitigation plan for climate change for panama,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
aresio valiente l\u00f3pez, a law professor at the university of panama and member of the guna congress, wants to create a special environmental department in the congress. \u201cthey will be in charge of making sure that the movement from the islands to mainland is going to be organized,\u201d said l\u00f3pez, valiente\u2019s father. (note: valiente acted as a translator for l\u00f3pez, who was speaking in spanish.) <\/p>\n
this move is more than physical for the guna people \u2013 it requires a transformation of their industries and economy. to l\u00f3pez, this transformation is imperative so that the guna can continue to have a sustainable source of income. \u201cour economy has to change,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cwhat they are trying to do now is to diversify what the source of income is,\u201d valiente said. \u201cright now, the biggest source of income is tourism.\u201d<\/p>\nadept sailors steer boats full of tourists traveling across the islands. (abigail foerstner\/medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
the guna people don\u2019t have to abandon tourism completely if they can find ways to make it sustainable, which valiente is pioneering as a founder of bodhi hostels<\/a>.<\/p>\n