Conservation: Priority for the sustainable development of adventure and nature tourism.

Our country, in addition to having a great diversity of flora and fauna species, has an enviable amount of ecosystems, landscapes and destinations for conservation and for the enjoyment of its inhabitants for different purposes: sports, research, production, wellness and of course , tourism.

The National Commission for Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) is the body in charge of efficiently regulating and administering the management of Natural Protected Areas or “ANP’S”.

The ANP’s are areas destined for the conservation of the natural heritage of Mexico: “All of them have the common characteristic of natural physical spaces where the original environments have not been altered by anthropogenic activities (human impact on the environment), or that need be preserved and restored, due to its structure and function for recharging the aquifer and preserving biodiversity. “(Secretaría del medio Ambiente – Gobierno de la Ciudad de México, 2020).

The country has 182 Protected Natural Areas that are located throughout the national territory, counting among them: 67 National Parks, 44 biosphere reserves, 40 flora and fauna protection areas, 18 sanctuaries, 8 natural resource protection areas and 5 natural monuments. (Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, 2019)

The ANP´s in Mexico have a particularity, probably in more than 80% of them, there are human settlements and many of them directly benefit from the ecosystem services of the ANP, taking advantage of their resources and its territory to generate sources of conservation and livelihoods, so its interest is the conservation and sustainable management of the territory.

Some of these communities have found and maintained their livelihoods long before the current land management programs. The complex and changing history of Mexico has resulted in the great biocultural wealth we have and which has generated an evident symbiosis between the territory, its heritage and the livelihoods of the communities.

Nature and adventure tourism has become a vehicle for conservation and income generation for many of these communities that coexist with the ANP’s. CONANP has developed criteria that define the Protected Natural Areas with tourist vocations, at least 100 (of 182) of which have this vocation in which its inhabitants have found in tourism a sustainable way of generating income and conserving the natural heritage of the inhabiting areas.

In many of them, nature and adventure tourism represent the main income for hundreds of families.

Within these criteria, there are some requirements such as the use of management tools such as Acceptable Limit of Change or Carrying Capacity, that have defined and suitable tourist activities for the environment, among others.

On the other hand, the global context is pushing tourism to pay more attention to natural destinations that are compatible with the new protocols and biosecurity requirements. Adventure and nature tourism is positioned as one of the most adaptable and attractive tourism classifications for the new normality.

Mexico’s potential as a destination for sustainable adventure and nature tourism is enormous. In response to new trends, our country has enormous potential not only for the generation of economic activities, but also for the conservation of biocultural heritage through the responsible management of tourist activities within the ANP’s.

Although it is difficult, tourism as a means of conservation is possible, some cases of projects in Africa (Tanzania and Kenya and other countries), have managed to contribute to the conservation of species through sustainable tourism projects, generating and promoting better conditions for communities co -owners of the territories, generating income and capacity building for the staff employed in the various parks and attracting greater awareness to the conservation of destinations.