Sustainable Development

The town of Minca, known as the "Ecological Capital of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta", has one of the highest levels of biodiversity and wildlife endemism in the world: however, the uncontrolled development of tourism in recent years is negativtely impacting the sustainable natural balance in the town.

In response, Misión Gaia has mobilized local stakeholders to create a more sustainable community, one that can lead the way in shifting attitudes and behaviours for the betterment of all.

Misión Gaia focuses in three areas:

Promoting sustainable development of tourism through effective waste management
Organizing hazardous waste collection initiatives
Fostering solidarity & cooperation-based tourism - our current primary focus

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT of TOURISM

We work hand in hand with touristic businesses, community groups, tourists and schools in Minca to turn them into leading examples for the local sustainable development. We are putting in place a project that helps local businesses to design a personalized plan to adopt more sustainable business practices and management and reduce single plastic use in this location.

WHY ?

The steep increase in tourism and tourist-oriented businesses in and around the village.
New businesses often open uncontrolled or unsupervised by public authorities.
Increased levels of production and consumption result in rapid resource exhaustion and multiplication of waste.
The short-term and main focus on immediate profit often makes businesses lose focus on important factors such as sustainability.

OUR GOALS

Rasie awareness about the importance of responsible tourism through social media, local initiatives and community involvement.
Expand our cooperation and internship programs to strengthen activities focused on local sustainable development.
Generate life and learning experiences that change lives and make a lasting impression.

"Best Practices in Tourism Management for sustainability"

Misión Gaia has been working on the development of a strategy to provide tourism enterprises with materials and educational tools on the implementation of sustainable solid waste management practices based on national regulations. By increasing theoretical and practical knowledge and applying sustainable practices, Misión Gaia aims to bridge the gap between awareness and action in the hope of triggering long-term behavioural change in the tourism sector.

In the short term, the objectives are:

To provide educational tools to 50% of host companies to acquire theoretical and applied knowledge on sustainable business practices.
Facilitate the implementation of sustainable solid waste management practices in 50% of tourism enterprises.

In the long term, the objective is to reduce the negative environmental impacts of host tourism enterprises in Minca.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY

We are always looking to improve our impact and strategies. Working on our project to reduce the negative impacts of tourism offers a great opportunity for a Research Project about Sustainable Tourism. We are calling pre- and post graduate students from national and international universities to come on a regular basis to help us to develop the project. You can also be a part of this!

SOLIDARITY TOURISM

We are aiming to promote cultural exchange and local cooperation by developing programs with volunteers and professional interns focused on Scientific, Academic, Volunteer and Educational (SAVE) travel.

In order to promote mutual understanding, we also provide Spanish classes.

WHY ?

Tourism is rapidly becoming popular and represents both a risk and an opportunity for the local community. Solidarity tourism benefits not only local economies, but also often leads to national economic benefits by helping to improve the capacity of educational, scientific and cultural institutions.

The economic benefits generated by this type of tourism tend to be more widely distributed than those arising from mass tourism.

WHAT WE DO

Work with volunteers and interns throughout the year.
Engage with our community about the growing tourism industry by offering life and learning experiences.
Develop plans to support sustainable development.

OUR GOALS

Create awareness of the importance of responsible tourism through social media, local initiatives and community engagement.
Expand our volunteer and internship program by increasing the range of SAVE travel products and through collaboration agreements with other environmental and educational organizations.
Increase the number of foreigners learning Spanish to encourage and facilitate cultural exchange.

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