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Organization type: Government
Profile:
USAID and DOI established the DOI International Technical Assistance Program (ITAP) in 1995 to provide capacity-building in other countries using the diverse expertise of DOI bureaus. DOI-ITAP capacity-building includes: on-site technical assistance, study tours, mentoring, train-the-trainers workshops, procurement, and training in operations and equipment maintenance. Project expenses are covered by external funds, while DOI contributes salaries and benefits of short-term technical experts. To date, DOI-ITAP has provided technical assistance to 25 countries, with $20 million in donor funds from sources such as USAID, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the U.S. State Department.
Areas of Sustainable Tourism (ST) expertise:
- Park management, infrastructure, and business plans
- Cultural resource management
- Guide training
- Community outreach
- Resource interpretation
- Recreation management
- Environmental education
- Tourism promotion
- Sustainable ecotourism
- Visitor services
- Concessions management
- User fees
- Law enforcement
Regions worked:
- Africa:
- Asia and the Near East:
- Indonesia
- Morocco
- Mongolia
- Nepal
- Europe and Eurasia:
- Republic of Georgia
- Croatia
- Latin America and the Caribbean:
- Belize
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Southern Mexico
- Peru
Recent projects:
- Ecuador: Technical assistance to Andean parks and the Galapagos Islands in interpretive planning and environmental education, sustainable ecotourism, biological monitoring, and marine law enforcement. ITAP has trained local park staff in the design, construction, and installation of interpretive and destination signs, panels, and educational displays.
- Central America: Development of the Mundo Maya regional tourism circuit to connect areas with a common Mayan heritage. ITAP has supported efforts to protect the archaeological and forest resources, educate visitors and locals, and bring economic benefits to the region. ITAP has worked in twelve sites to improve visitor infrastructure and services, strengthen education and outreach, and increase community participation.
- Guatemala: Worked with community and a local NGO on cave ecotourism, including trails development, protection, and an interpretive program. ITAP is also working closely with the Guatemalan government to strengthen protected areas management in the Mayan Biosphere Reserve. Training and technical consultations are being provided in park management, fire management, infrastructure planning and design, and policy development.
- Honduras: Trained remote indigenous communities to effectively manage local resources and reduce poverty; advised local entrepreneurs, resulting in 90 new small businesses—75% of which are managed by women; designed and helped build ecotourism infrastructure in 12 communities, which improved community sanitation, water quality, and disease prevention; and provided visitor services (e.g., food, housing, transportation, guiding, interpretation, and safety).
- Tanzania: Collaborated with Tanzania National Parks and the Tanzania Coastal Management Partnership to plan and build a uniform system for directional and interpretative signs, enhance the road network within the parks, and design new visitor centers.
- Morocco: Provided support to develop a cultural tourism circuit and interpretive signage.
- Republic of Georgia: DOI interpretive experts helped design and build interpretive visitor trails in Kolkheti National Park, including signage to highlight unique features of the park's wetland ecosystem.
- Mongolia: In Lake Hovsgol National Park, DOI experts helped design and build a new visitor center, made improvements to HQ offices and a park hotel, established a park radio communications system, installed appropriate signage throughout the park, developed information materials, and trained managers, rangers, and specialists in all aspects of park management.
- Nepal: ITAP assisted park staff in Shey Phoksundo National Park to develop trail maps and signs, inventories of birds and mammals, and brochures and visitor center displays. ITAP also trained local people as guides to park resources.
ST partnerships and collaborations:
Partnering with the Department of the Interior is done through an InterAgency Agreement or direct government-to-government partnerships. DOI technical experts are accessed according to depth of their technical knowledge, international experience, and relevant language skills. DOI-ITAP is able to field interdisciplinary teams from multiple bureaus, and covers all salaries and benefits for employees detailed to an international project. Two-way exchanges are also an option.
Example partners include:
- African Wildlife Foundation
- Central America Commission on Development and the Environment
- Charles Darwin Research Station
- COHDEFOR (Honduras)
- East Asia and Pacific Environmental Initiative
- Fundacion Defensores de la Naturaleza (Guatemala)
- Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
- International Snow Leopard Trust (Nepal)
- Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (Mongolia)
- State Department: Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES)
- The Nature Conservancy
- USAID
- The World Bank
- World Wildlife Fund
- Asia Pacific Partnership
- Biodiversity Support Program
- Conservation International
- World Heritage Convention
Contact:
U.S. Department of the Interior
International Technical Assistance Program
1849 C Street, NW, MS-4426
Washington, DC 20240 USA
Phone: (202) 208-3048
www.doi.gov/intl/itap
March 8, 2007 |
