Gorgona Island: after its closure, activists denounce irregularities in the selection of the island’s tour operator
Gorgona Island is in the news again. This time, the Save Gorgona Committee denounced that the process to grant the tourism concession of the Gorgona National Natural Park (PNN) is not being transparent and made a strong call to the National Government to ensure that all actions aimed at handing over the island for tourism exploitation are carried out in a public manner and with the participation of the various stakeholders of Gorgona.
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The alleged “opacity” in the selection process of the tour operator aroused the concerns and worries of the community, who identified a company as the main option to manage the island.
According to the Colectivo Salvemos a Gorgona, another organization that defends the scientific character and ecological conservation of the island, the spotlight is on the Tequendama Society, linked to the Ministry of Defense and owner of the Ecohabs eco-hotel in Tayrona National Park. However, so far there is no official information on the matter.
At the end of August, suspicion increased, after learning that, so far, the environmental authorities have not published the opening of the new process to grant the concession to an operator, who will be responsible for the administration of the well-known ‘science island’.
The fact that the environmental authorities have not made a statement also contributes to the fact that part of the community is beginning to suspect that the operator has already been “handpicked”, says Andrés Pachón.
According to some publications on the Twitter account of the committee Salvemos a Gorgona and the Colectivo Unidos por Gorgona, the operator most chosen to manage the island is precisely the Tequendama Society, a company close to the National Navy, an entity that promotes the construction of the Coast Guard Station and complementary works.
Closure of Gorgona Island: Avian flu outbreak
The beginning of this story is framed by the closure of Gorgona Island on August 1 and the termination of the tourism concession in Gorgona National Park.
According to environmental authorities, the second closure of Gorgona Island this year was due to the risk of spreading avian flu in pelicans. However, one of the activists of the Save Gorgona Committee, Andrés Pachón, says that the inhabitants and fishermen of the area have no knowledge of the resurgence.
Pachón also claims that the announcement of the closure of Gorgona National Natural Park on August 1 coincided with the last day of the concession of the tour operator, Destino Pacífico.
The director of Destino Pacífico, Jhon Janio Álvarez, assured that the closure of the island, whose decision was adopted “from one day to the next”, is not justified by what is lived day by day in the place: “the situation is very complicated, we understand the technical concept of the ICA, but we who live here on the island, visit the beaches and the jungles every day, do not see that amount of dead birds”, said Álvarez to the newspaper Portafolio.
And the fact is that the closure not only coincided with the termination of the concession, as the Save Gorgona Committee claims; it also coincided with the high season for whale watching in the Colombian Pacific, which has affected the employment of at least 20 people.
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The Escazú agreement and the lack of information on the selection of the operator for the tourism concession of the Gorgona PPN
Among the main complaints of Gorgona Island activists to the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development is the lack of implementation of the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as the Escazú Agreement.
In addition, they question the participation of Sociedad Tequendama as it is a “non-local operator”, “without public bidding” and that “ignores joint governance with local communities”, says the Colectivo Unidos por Gorgona in its Twitter account.
Requests to Minister Muhammad
Both the committee and the collective for Gorgona demand to the Minister of Environment, Susana Muhammad, that during the closure:
- That the construction of the Coast Guard Station and complementary works, i.e., the pier, the third level coast guard substation and the communications tower, not be advanced.
- That the selection process of the tour operator be public, in accordance with the Escazú Agreement.
- That decisions about the island be made with the participation of its community: fishermen, tourism companies, biologists, divers and researchers, among others.
What is the Tequendama Society?
The Tequendama Society is a mixed economy corporation annexed to the Ministry of Defense. It is a company with vast experience in the hotel field in Bogota, such as the Hotel Tequendama, and in the Caribbean region, with presence in the Tayrona National Natural Park, in Cartagena and Santa Marta.
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