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Cape Verde currently presents a significant economical growth due to the emergency of tourism. It represents the 25% of the national GDP (2013), with an average annual growth of 17%. Recently, the Government has approved several laws, regulations, and plans to control the impacts of this new scenario, such as the Strategic Tourist Plan (2010/13) or the Tourist Marketing Plan (2010/11). A sustainable plan of tourism is requested by Cape Verdean authorities as a model of intervention that could be applied in the whole archipelago. The Island of Fogo is selected according to its specific offer in ecotourism, culture and sport tourism. Due to its similarities with the natural conditions of the island of Lanzarote, and its sustainable and art tourism strategy approach, the Canarian Island is taken as a successful model to study as a potential direction of intervention. In 2013, a multidisciplinary team leader by professors of the School of Architecture of La Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), received the commission to produce a Sustainable Tourism Master Plan in the Island of Fogo, Cape Verde. The emergency of the tourism in the island of Fogo is caused not only by its unique geomorphology as the tallest island of the world in relation with its surface, but scientific tourism due to its volcanic activity; ecotourism due to its richfull ecological environment; gastronomic tourism due to its unique wine, coffee, cheese and tropical fruits; culture tourism due to its architecture typology of “sobrados” in the capital of the island São Filipe, its music and festivals; and sport tourism in hiking and climbing. After almost 20 years with no volcanic eruptions in the island, the optimistic scenario of economical growth was interrupted the 23rd of November of 2014 when takes place an eruption in the island that remains until February of 2015. The damage cost estimation of more than 50 million euros force a new direction in the master plan according to the new scenario. A master plan for sustainable tourism becomes a potential guide for emergency, rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction of an island. A sustainable economical approach becomes an environmental sustainable and resilience approach. A top-down design strategy becomes necessary reinforced with social participation and a bottom-up strategy pilot project. PROJECT/ RESISTANCE vs. RESILIENCE - The project, initially focused in the guidance and methodologies of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the sustainable principles of the ecotourism defended by the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), in order to minimize environmental and social impacts; increase awareness and respect for the environment and culture; provide positive experiences for visitors and hosts, provide direct benefits for conservation; provide financial benefits and effective participation of local people; and increase the sensitivity of visitors towards the hosts political, social and cultural spheres; shifts its approach towards resilience of an island affected by volcanic activity with a return period estimated in 20 years.
OBJECT/ TOURISM FOCUS vs. INTEGRAL TRANSVERSALITY
Instead of a definitive project, the plan is defined as an open/pilot plan based in six objectives:
1- TOURIST MARKET SEGMENTS IN A SUSTAINABLE FRAMEWORK.
2- LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE AS A TOURIST RESOURCE.
3- SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY SYSTEMS IN THE TOURISTIC CONTEXT.
4- TOURISTIC CENTES AS MODELS OF SUSTAINABLE SYNERGIES.
5- PILOT MODELS OF TOURISTIC TYPOLOGIES.
6- SUSTAINABILITY APPLIED TO TYPOLOGICAL MODELS.
METHODOLOGY/ ISLAND SCALE vs. MULTIESCALAR
The Master Plan is structured in three scale frames confronting Cape Verde with the Canary Islands tourist model in each of them:
A- THE ARCHIPELAGO SCALE: Cape Verde and Canary Islands comparative models.
THE ISLAND SCALE: Fogo and Lanzarote tourist models.
The two models are compared in order to obtain five state strategies:
1. Integration of accessibility and mobility in the tourism sector.
2. Structuring the territory in tourism networks in cohesion with other economical vectors of the island.
3. Planning of tourist centers: natural, rural, urban, and as synergy spaces and economical attraction.
4. Draft an aesthetic regulation at territorial level.
5. Application of strategies for economic, social and environmental sustainability; especially in relation to the development of infrastructure systems of Renewable Energy what allow to emerge conditions for a sustainable tourism sector on the island of Fogo.
The result is a triple planning scenario based in a chronogram of time according to current conditions after the eruption of 2014-15.
C- THE ARCHITECTURE SCALE.
Is developed under four perspectives:
1. Typology models according to construction materials and finishing.
2. Typology models according to relative position in the island, and Renewable energy systems response.
3. Typology models according to morphologies.
4. Typology models according to specific usage.
