| The Programme for South-South Cooperation (PSC) |
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Since 2002, hundreds of projects have been promoted, supported, and implemented between two or more of the partner countries, joint declarations have been delivered at multilateral forums and policies have been engaged and debated towards achieving sustainable development. Many individual sustainable development agreements between the partner countries in the last decade have demonstrated the potential of an innovative framework of collaboration based on equity, reciprocity and participation that aims to break with traditional North - South relationships in development cooperation. Learn more about the history of South-South Cooperation.
The El Tigre Community Sustainable Tourism South-South ProjectEl Tigre was awarded a grant from Fundecooperacion for this project in August of 2008. Project construction began in February of 2009. Project construction on the last Phase 1 initiative was finished in April of 2010. The project to help develop El Tigre into a sustainable community tourism destination met the goals of the Programme for South-South Cooperation. These goals include: Sustainable tourism, Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, Access to sustainable energy and efficient energy use, Sustainable chains of production and consumption, and Gender equity. The three guiding principles of successful PSC project candidates are Equality, Reciprocity and Participation.
What is the El Tigre South-South Project?The El Tigre South-South Project is an international collaboration between the Republic of Costa Rica and the Kingdom of the Bhutan. The immediate project players are the small rural community of El Tigre, and the newly created Association of Bhutanese Outfitters in Bhutan. PSC Official Project Title was: Rural Adventure Tourism Enhancement and Sustainable Community Development in Bhutan and Costa Rica. How The El Tigre Project Started:Bajo del Tigre, also called El Tigre, is a small rural community of 100 members (25 families) located in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica, two miles from Rios Tropicales’ eco-lodge on the Pacuare River. The community has been serving lunch out of the homes of various families for the past couple of years to tourists who hiked and rode horoseback from the adventure company eco-lodges to the town. Once there though, there was nothing for the tourists to do but have a meal and plant a tree at the nearby Rios Tropicales rainforest reserve. El Tigre resident Javier Mora manages this reserve for Rios Tropicales. El Tigre community members had limited job opportunities in the town or related to the revenue potential of the nearby large adventure rafting industry. Several residents wanted to offer more things for tourists to do and see, to support their community in sustainable, environmentally-responsible ways, and create jobs and income for their families. Rios Tropicales had been involved in the community in various ways for years. Read the full history of Rios Tropicales and El Tigre. The Connection With The Kingdom of BhutanTo qualify for a grant through PSC, however, the El Tigre community had to have a partner in either Benin or Bhutan, in order to meet the reciprocity and international collaboration guiding principles of the PSC. This is where Rios Tropicales comes in! It turns out, the Kingdom of Bhutan wants to develop sustainable adventure-based tourism, specifically white water rafting, in its country. Costa Rica has a very successful adventure tourism industry that has been operating since the early 1980s, and the country's leader in sustainable adventure tourism is Rios Tropicales. On the reciprocal side, Bhutan has considerable experience in sustainable community development. Bhutan is sharing its lessons learned from its own successful sustainable tourism communities for the benefit of the El Tigre community in Costa Rica. Thanks to the leadership of Rios Tropicales, El Tigre was able to find and apply for a PSC grant with the Bhutanese partner of a nascent Bhutanese Outfitters Association. Rios Tropicales provided strategic consulting to key community members about financially viable adventure tourism attractions, As the proud recipient of major funding through the PSC, El Tigre now has economic, social opportunities never imaginable in such a small and remote rainforest community. The Costa Rican organization in charge of PSC grant awards and project implementation is Fundecooperacion, a longtime non-profit foundation tasked with sustainable development and PSC leadership in Costa Rica. Rios Tropicales Co-founder and President, Rafael Gallo, is the manager of the project implementation in El Tigre. El Tigre Becomes A Model Sustainable Tourism ProjectRios Tropicales, a successful adventure tourism company and distant neighbor to El Tigre, partnered with the community members to develop sustainable tourism initiatives that the community manages. The nearby Pacuare River rafting adventure industry offers a ready-made market of tourists for El Tigre. Significant South-South grant funding from Fundecooperacion provided the foundation for project development. The Year 1 initiatives (Phase 1) of the El Tigre South-South project will provide income, jobs, education, and international collaboration for the community:
The El Tigre Project Results So FarRios Tropicales, as manager of the overall project for Fundecooperacion, along with the El Tigre community project managers and owners are pleased to report that Phase 1 of the South-South project has been completed on time and on budget. All attractions are now open and have been receiving a growing stream of tourist visitors from the adventure outfitters operating on the Pacuare river. El Tigre’s elementary school, Escuela Los Angeles, became eligible for, and was awarded, the Costa Rica Blue Flag for Educational Centers as a direct result of this project. El Tigre is working toward becoming eligible for the Blue Flag for Community as well. Read more about Costa Rica's Blue Flag Ecological Program. A Phase 2 additional project of a hydroponic organic garden is also nearing completion. It will provide healthy food for the community and is a future revenue source as the owner plans to sell produce to the nearby eco-lodges on the Pacuare River upon reaching full production capacity. Learn more about the hydroponic garden. |
South-South stands for the Programme for South-South Cooperation (PSC) on Sustainable Development. This unique international program involves three partner countries: Benin, The Kingdom of Bhutan, and Costa Rica. The Programme for South-South Cooperation was spearheaded by the far-sighted Kingdom of the Netherlands, as the primary financial grantor to South-South Cooperation projects.
