South West Caribbean Sun. A Private organization based in San Andres Island, with the partnership of the local travel agents tour operators, has started an eco-tourism program at San Andres Marine Reserve and Hooker Bay Mangroves, that includes environmental education about the Caribbean ecosystems. Our tours include guided observation on our Artificial Reef, and natural Coral Reef Patches, with trained local guides that provide a good environmental interpretation
We also offer bird watching, on our mangrove forest, San Andres Marine Reserve MPAs, is located in our Island harbor, inside of our Main Barrier Reef It is represented by the majority of our underwater sea life, and a variety of endangered endemic birds. A rich cultural history, to many tourist located in the nearby complexes. Mangroves and offshore coral reefs are important elements in or near San Andres Marine Reserve boundaries.
Our objectives with this program are:
-    Provide environmental education to the participants.
     To facilitate the union of the program with the local communities and  private tour operators           
-   To develop tours that are differentiated from existing market and that  fillunmet market
     expectations.
-   To add value to conservation from local community and private tour  success oriented tours   
     operator perspectives 
-    Trough demonstrated of low impact, sustainable conservation,
-    Minimize the negative impact of large-scale tourism in San Andres Marine Reserve (MPAs)
-    To add value on conservation outreach to the local community
      perspectives through direct financial  benefits of   Participating in low 
      impact, environmentally sustainable tours.
On San Andres  Island, we offer an excursion that offered instruction on two of the most important islands ecosystems.  [Coral Reef and the Mangroves] This tour is more  known as "Eco-tours" and will provide our passengers all the different levels of guidance as far as the marine and/or coastal environments were concerned. And since we have a snorkeling stop on some of the Coral Reef Patches {Morgan Reef, and Busty Reef}, we recommend to all our passenger to  "Don't step on the reefs" during the snorkeling stops, we also teach our passengers or captive audiences about coral reef dynamics, marine geology, reef fish, etc....Don't make it a graduate course, but give the people some understanding about our Islands Ecosystems. In general, we would like to fit in he status of eco-tourism in the Caribbean, i.e., tours that instruct the public on area ecology. We are aware of the Green Globe effort on protection on our Coral Reefs. This tour is as a business opportunity as well as an opportunity to educate the visiting residents and native public.  We develop this program (private, government or NGO sponsored) whereby local citizens (government employees or otherwise) our crew are well trained to instruct eco-tours.  We venture there would be a noteworthy market for such services.  A program such as this would further sustainable tourism in several ways:
1) It would enhance the vitality of the visiting public's environmental awareness.  In general, this leads to greater respect for the environment and that can only be beneficial in the long term
2) If an area can be shown to produce revenue other than by building upon it, maybe set-asides would increase.
3) Training local peoples to do our Eco-tours would help increase and enrich the educational base.
4) Data collection could even be worked into the picture.  Many other benefits exist.
For more information about Miss Behave Glass Bottom Boats Alliance, and Ecotours program and ours tours, you can contact:

Miss Behave, EcoTours/ Ecotourism Program
Apartado Aéreo [P.O.Box] # 272,
San Andres Island, Colombia, South America
Tel & Fax (57) 8 5130129 and Telfs  (57) 8 5130035/ 5130129
Email: [email protected]