Participatory diagnosis to develop an alternative tourism project in the community of Agiabampo, Huatabampo, Sonora, Mexico

Abstract

Agiabampo is a fishing community that faces a lack of options for carrying out productive activities, which puts enormous pressure on its natural resources. The purpose of this work is to identify areas with tourism potential through a participatory diagnosis that allows for the evaluation of the relevance of this type of projects that contribute to sustainable development.

The community of Agiabampo is located at the coordinates 26° 21’ 58’’ north latitude and 109° 08’ 37’’ west longitude, an altitude of less than 15 meters above sea level. It is located within the Ramsar site called “Agiabampo-Bacorehuis-Rio Fuerte Antiguo lagoon system”, and is also part of the “Las Bocas” priority terrestrial region (RTP-21) and the CONABIO program of Areas of Importance for the Conservation of Birds (AICAS), AICA 131 “Agiabampo”. According to the rules of operation of CONAFOR (2009), to carry out the tourism diagnosis, an inventory and ranking of natural and cultural resources was carried out. Five participatory workshops were also held with community residents and municipal authorities, semi-structured interviews with key agents of CONANP and three field trips with community guides.

The natural attractions identified are: Ensenada la Herradura, Ensenada San Lucas, Isla la Bocanita, Playa los Baños, Peninsula de Bamocha and Isla de los Patos. The cultural attraction identified considers gastronomy, traditional medicine, crafts, customs and traditions. Two tours are proposed, the maritime one through the Lagoon lasts 3.5 hours, the land one is through the Peninsula de Bamocha and lasts 3 hours.

The potential that Agiabampo has to develop alternative tourism projects is indisputable thanks to its geographic location and the natural and cultural attractions it has, which allows them to be preserved and generate jobs in the community.