21958 %I Public Disclosure Authorized INSlTUTOF TOURISM OFHONDURAS TheWorli BankResident Mission in Honduras Public Disclosure Authorized Socio-EthnographicEvaluation SustainableTourist Project on theNorth Coast offHonduras Public Disclosure Authorized TegucigalpaM.D.C. October,2000 Public Disclosure Authorized iL u. CONTENT EXECUTIVESUMMARY 4-19 CHAPTER 1. SHORT OUTLINE OF THE NORTH COAST OF HONDURAS A. Outline of the Influence Area of the North Coast A.l Climate 20 A.2 Geomorphology 20 A.3 Main Ecosystems 21 A.4 Natural Resourcesand Environment 22-24 A.5 DemographicInformation 25 CHAPTER II. TOURISM IN HONDURAS A. Tourist Activity at National Level A. .Importancein NationalEconomy 26 A.2 Tourist Demand 26 A.3 Trends 27 A.4 Land Ownershipand PropertyRights 27 B. Outline of Tourism on North Coast B.I Historv 28 B.2.TouristAreas 28 B.3 Toun'sttrends in the area 28 BA4.CurrentTourist Activity 29-30 CHAPTER llI. SOCIO-ETHNOGRAPHIC SURVEY A. Objective 31 B. Description of Area of Study 31 C. Results 31 C. I General Description of the Sample 31 -32 C.2 Schooling 32-35 C.3 Ethnic Origin 35-36 CA Languages 36-38 C.5 Community Languages 38-39 C.6 Regional Languages 39-40 C.7 Organization 40-43 C.8 Community Organization 43 C.9 Information Supply and Decision Making 43 C. 10 Health Situation 43-46 C. I Land Use 47-48 C. 13 Labor situation 48 C. 14 Existence and Use of Forest 49-50 C. 15 Natural and Cultural Resources 50 C.16 Available Tourist Infrastructure 50 C. 17 Tourist Activities and Related Activities 51-53 C 18 Antiquity of Tourist Enterprises 53-54 C. 19 Investment Needs for Sustainable Tourism 54-56 C.20 Training with Environmental Approach 56-58 C.21 Training needed for Sustainable Tourism 58 C.22 Infrastructure Needed for Tourist Enterprises 59-61 BIBLIOGRAPHY 62 ANEXES No. I Plan for Participation No.2 Indigenous Development Plan No.3 Maps APPENDIX No. Description and general analysis of the sample. socio-ethnographic survey 4 EXECUTRIE SUMMARY' Introduction 1. The purpose of the social-ethnographic assessment of the North Coast is to evaluate the different activities related to the development and management of sustainable tourism at municipal and community level, land use, land management and land ownership, from a gender perspective; to identify the main direct beneficiaries of the project that participate in the preparation and execution of the project, as well as other stakeholders, to identifv the possible negative impact of the proposed activities and to propose methods for their mitigation; to identify the most proper opportunities for technical and institutional strengthening to initiate activities of sustainable management of tourism at municipal and community level, including the improvement of the balance between the participation of men and women in the community organizations and local authorities in the municipal sphere to achieve a better planning and execution of the project, to identify mechanisms preferred by the beneficiaries to participate in each of the project's components; to identify the main links between the natural and cultural heritage, including the following aspects: (i) traditional religious rituals, Garifuna dances, etc. (ii) strong ties between the cultural survival, local control of natural resources, specificallyits link with the protected areas; and to explore the possibilities of co-financing and sinenergy with other programs in the influence area. Description of the Area 2. The study is carried out in the area defined as the North Coast of Honduras, from Omoa to the municipal boundary of the Iriona Municipalitv with the Gracias a Dios department and the island group the Bay Islands. This area includes 4 departments: the municipalities Omoa and Puerto Cortes in the Cortes Department; the Atlantida Department, with emphasis on the municipalitiesof Tela and La Ceiba.and the Garifuna villages around them, and secondly the municipalitiesEl Porvenir, La Masica and Jutiapa. The Department Col6n, with emphasis on the municipalities Trujillo and Santa Fe and including the Ganrfunavillages around them, and secondly the municipalities Iriona, Limon Balfate, Saba, Tocoa and Sonaguera. The Bay Islands, with emphasis on the context of the municipalities Utila and Roatan and secondly the municipalitiesSantos Guardiola and Guanaja and their communities. Results 3. The four teams of surveyors (one per department, consisting of three technical staff per team), carried out 427 surveys under community leaders, small entrepreneurs, local authorities and non-governmental organizations, as well as 12 focal group exercises with the same actors. - In the sample there is a clear predominance of men, almost 2/3 of the sample. The age range best represented in the sample of both men and women is between 31-50 years of age. In all age categories mestizo men and women form the majority, with the exception of the people of 61 and older. In that age g,roup there are twice as much Garifuna men as mestizo men. while the difference among women is not significant. Schooling level 4. Summary about the schooling level in the influence area The prevailing categories of the sample that are also similar in absolute terms are those with more than 12 years of schooling and those between 4-6 years of education. This means those with complete secondary education (a third of the sample) and those with at least 4 years of primary school (another third of the sample). The other schooling ranges (1-3, 7-9 and 1-1 I years of schooling make up the last third of the sample). The data reveal the trend that men and women have an equal chance to access first cycle of primary education (1-3 years). This trend not only continues for women, but their opportunities to finish the second cycle, or primary school increase (3-6 years). This trend remains stable and favors women even more in the third cycle (7-9 years) of basic education, traditionally known as the basic education plan. However, when entering the diversified cycle that concludes secondary school (11-12 years), the curve abruptly drops for women and a proportional inverse growth is observed for men, in such a way that only a very small percentage of women finish secondary school. This means that for a large percentage of women primary school is the end station. However, once women have managed to pass the threshold of 11 years of schooling, finishing secondary school, the likelihood for them to continue their education improves remarkably, although the gap with men is not closed The mestizo men and women have a preferential access to primary and secondary school compared to the Garifuna and island population. The differences between mestizos and Garifunas are significanttowards the end of secondary school and after finishing secondary school. The differences between Garifunas and islanders are important in the first cycle of primary school, and they increase again after the third cycle until after secondary school. For the majority of the male islanders the access to the first cycle of primary school is limited, and once surpassed that level the third cycle is the end station for the majority. The differences between mestizo and Garifuna women gain importance after the third educational level or basic education plan. However, the Garifuna women recover and are at the same level as mestizo women when finishing secondary school. However, after having finished the secondary school, the gap is extremely big and only a minority continues. The differences between Gafifuna women and island women are significant from the first cycle and throughout the second cycle of primary school, but in the third cycle the participation increases considerably to disappear completely from the registration towards the end of secondary school. This means that as for island men, the third cycle is the end station. Afier finishing secondary school, a very small proportion continues. Summarized, the trend among mestizo men and women is to finish secondary school and they will likely continue their studies, above all the women that finish secondary school. Among the Gafifuna men and women the trend is weaker, with a critical moment for men at the end of the third cycle, and for women at the end of 6 primary school. For the island population the critical point is during the first cycle, and once this threshold is passed it is repeated at the end of the third cycle, which for women is definitelythe end station. Ethnic representation 5. The most ethnic representation foundings - Half of the sample (51.76 %) consists of mestizo men and women; the Garifuna men and women form around one third of the sample (3 5. 13 %), while the island men and women make up 11 % of the sample. The foreign residents represent 1.64 % of the sample, Among the women, the mestizo group is better represented while on the contrary among men the Garifuna population is better represented. Apart from the Garifuna and island population no other indigenous group is represented in the sample. The Miskito speakers mentioned in the sample are mestizo, Garifuna, and island people. The sample in general can be considered representative in terms of the proportion between the majority ethnic group (mestizo) in the country and the North Coast, especially regarding the culturally different population (Garifuna and island populations), the ethnic groups of this region. Prevailing Languages 6. Prevailing languages among the north cost population As was to be expected, the prevailing maternal language of the people surveyed is Spanish, followed by Garifuna and Island English. The incidence of foreign languages (standard English, Italian, French and German) as mother tongue is completely irrelevant in the survey. Spanish is not only the first language of the mestizo population, but also of around 10 % of those who declared to be not mestizo, meaning that Spanish is the first language of a certain number of Garifunas, among which more men than women.