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Today I am going to tell you what the great management of the National Parks is like in the sister country of Colombia, an example to follow and replicate in our countries.
when I travel, I also like to be in nature, This involves either going to a park within a city to walk or if time permits, look for a large nature reserve outside away from the noise, This usually occurs in a national park..
Before getting into the matter of Colombia, we must take the context of my country, where the national parks are very beautiful, but there are big problems that I will detail to give context to why what happens in Colombian territory is an example to follow.
Many times I go in Ecuador to places like Cotopaxi, Pasochoa or Cayambe-Coca for example, beautiful places, full of life, nature, but with very important problems that would improve if we took good practices from our neighboring countries:
- Entry is indiscriminate.
- Admission is free and has no cost.
- There are no age limits to enter.
- Urban fauna control is minimal.
- The facilities, in some cases, They are not in good condition with closed bathrooms, without water or without paper.
- There is no control over what visitors do or don't do.
- And I'm sure there are others that you can contribute..
National parks in Colombia, an example to follow
I recently spent seven days in the Coffee Axis visiting several places and one of them was the Los Nevados National Natural Park, income among others, to the Nevado del Ruiz Volcano and my surprise, beyond the beautiful landscape and its nature, It was being able to learn how the PNs work in this country, an example of order, logic, common sense and concern for environmental care.
Colombia, with its exuberant biodiversity, It is a must-see destination for nature lovers.. Its National Park system is a model to follow worldwide., combining conservation and sustainable tourism in an exemplary way. In this article, I'm going to tell you how they do it and they do it well..
It is a network of protected areas that protects unique natural treasures in the world.. From the imposing Andes mountain ranges to the lush forests of the Amazon, passing through the colorful coral reefs of the Caribbean, each park offers incomparable landscape and biodiversity, and there they take very good care of them.
Tourism and food concessions: A balance between conservation and development
This is the key to everything. On Colombia National parks have concessions for both tourist services and the food offered., This guarantees two things: quality of service and that users must invest a sum of money if they want to have the privilege of enjoying these natural wonders.
What we are going to review today is not a generality, since each park could have variations in restrictions and prices, but it does give us a guideline for good management of them.
- Prior reservation is required to enter..
- Pay the respective values of each park.
- Pay for ecotourism services and rescue insurance.
- Entry times are limited to the daily capacity of each entry..
- All visitors must receive an induction talk.
- Be accompanied by a guide endorsed by the PNN Los Nevados, who in turn must be authorized by an endorsed tourism operator to carry out such activity, no visitor will be allowed to enter alone.
- The age range allowed for people to enter the protected area is between 6 and the 70 years.
- Pets prohibited.
- Present ID or ID.
Regarding the value of income, prices change from park to park, but as our example are Los Nevados, these are:
- National or foreign resident in Colombia or member of the CAN (greater than 6 years until 25 years) $11.500
- National adult, CAN member or foreign resident in Colombia (greater than 25 years) $22.000
- Foreigner Not resident in Colombia or member of the CAN $61.500
This is not everything, if you go in your vehicle, you will also have to pay:
- Automobile $9.000
- Collective $25.000
- Bus-Buseta $51.000
But, this doesn't end here, since you must also pay for the ecotourism services of the Temporary Union Operation Nevados: $15.000 and the rescue insurance: $5.000.
In total for a foreign person who is traveling in his car, the value is $90.500 Colombian pesos, which in dollars at the current exchange rate are $21,45.
Is it a lot or a little? Well, it all depends on the tourist and their ability to pay., but without a doubt it guarantees us good service, security and rest assured that you are investing in conserving the nature that we went to enjoy.
Surely many will say that these measures reduce tourism or drive away visitors., in fact, in my opinion, that's the goal. A national park is not a city park and it is not an area for mass tourism like a beach., thus, Curbing the entry of tourists somewhat with these measures allows for better control, above all, make nature suffer less with our impact.
What do you think?
Colombia's National Park system is an example of how to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable development. Your participatory approach, involving local communities, academics and non-governmental organizations, is key to your success.
We hope that this way of working can reach more countries in our region., especially Ecuador, where their national parks do not have the natural care and respect that they deserve to have.
I look forward to your opinions and points of view..
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