The Mangrove Route, a project promoted by the Agro Ecotourism Group, in Isla Cañas, Tonosí district,  was launched on Saturday, May 22.

Daniel Pérez, its coordinator, said that the first phase includes the signposting of the tourist area and mangroves and landscaping, and roofing equipment for the boats of the tourist providers.

Pérez added that it is an experience of rural community tourism. It is based on conservation tourism and environmental sustainability.

With this project, Isla Cañas promises to become a tourist destination focused on conservation, since the island is the main nesting point for sea turtles in the Pacific of Panama but this activity only occurs between the months of July to November.

For this reason, the locals devised other activities that could boost tourism, in the summer season (December to July). "We have more than 1,200 hectares of mangroves that constitute a barrier against natural disasters such as tsunamis and floods," said  Pérez, 

With this initiative, the community is given the opportunity to develop as microentrepreneurs, he said.

Isla Cañas is a village of 700 people; its main economic activities are fishing, agriculture, and tourism.