Global ecotourism ties established.

A North Bay environmental firm is hoping an ecotourism project in the tropical rain forests of Guyana will open doors to new opportunities in Latin and South America.

A willingness to "try something different" is what spurred Rod Bilz and FRi Ecological Services to go international with a proposal to develop ecological and economically sustainable tourism-related products in one of the last pristine jungles in the world.

Together with partner Cam Haddow, they are working on a sustainable forest product with tourism officials in Guyana to develop a world-class ecotourism development in the Iwokrama Rain Forest, a 370,000-hectare protected area.

Though the exact details of their Guyana project remain under wraps--until some government funding there is secured - Bilz says the project involves developing a number of different types of products, including hiking, kayaking, scuba-diving, rock-climbing and other outdoor activities.

"It basically highlights some of the natural and cultural features of the area, and links them to allow these other tourism products to grow from them."

International ecotourism is one of the components of Iwokrama's strategy for economic self-sufficiency.

The government of Guyana believes there are business opportunities to create a scope of eco-friendly outdoor and commercial activities revolving around wildlife and nature-based products.

"We're hoping once we get this off the ground, that we'll be able to develop other similar products for two or three other countries in that area as well," says Bilz, who hopes international business will comprise 20 per cent of their work over the next five years.

Since 1996, FRi has developed a stellar reputation across the North for their project expertise in environmental assessment in the resource extraction, transportation, private development and tourism fields.

The two former Ministry of Natural Resources fish and wildlife technicians started the company when the province issued a wave of layoff notices in the mid-1990s throughout the ministry.

Bilz and Haddow hooked up with about another MNR co-worker to form the company, originally known as Family Resources Incorporated- "but we're not social workers," cautions Bilz.

Clients gradually shortened their name to FRi, and the company, over time, has since whittled down to the two remaining partners.

Their range of work has evolved from tree-marking and assessment work for Tembec and Grant Forest Products to environmental screening, planning and design work for residential-commercial developments, road projects, mining and aggregate work.

Bilz says the company has diversified to the point where the forestry component of their business is "almost non-existent."

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Clients include the ministries of Natural Resources and Transportation, as well as some major southern Ontario engineering firms overseeing large mining and highway construction projects.

They specialize in trail development, conducting economic impact studies and developing tourism-related products.

They also perform work for non-governmental groups such as route planning for the Trans-Canada Trail group along with some occasional research work, including genetic studies on area lake trout for Laurentian University.

Determined to stay small and flexible, FRi relies upon a network of associates with expertise in archeology, engineering and fluvial geomorphology (the scientific study of landscape formed by water processes) to call upon when needed, or they enlist local post-secondary biology students for any recurring projects.

By far, Bilz says, within the last five years, the transportation sector is easily their largest area of growth, generating almost 60 per cent of their business, with major four-lane expansions to Highways 11 and 69 underway.

With a provincial pledge to reinvest in the North's crumbling highway infrastructure, they expect more work in the transportation sector for some time to come.

"The next big shift is going to be structures and bridges," says Bilz. "Many are in really poor condition and we're starting to see a bunch of them fail in the last little while.

"There's oodles of room to grow."

A growing segment of work-about 20 per cent of their business - is in resource-based tourism, a new segue that has opened up opportunities abroad.

"A lot of it is community-based tourism products, where we sit down in workshops with local stakeholders to determine what opportunities and resources they have and how to best use them."

Previously, they worked with the Municipality of West Nipissing in putting together a community network of multi-season trails.

"That came about just as the (Weyer-haeuser containerboard) mill in Sturgeon Falls was closing," says Bilz, "so they were anxious to look at other growth opportunities in the area."

That process continues, but funding to fully implement the project remains an outstanding issue.

However, about a year ago, the partners wanted to take their talents abroad and they attended a Caribbean conference on sustainable tourism development last April in Havana, Cuba, where they first made contact with Guyana tourism development officials.

Bilz says many Latin American states are looking for ways to improve their economies through eco-and soft-adventure tourism activities and ways to market these activities to their key clients, namely North Americans.

FRi is teaming up with a Barbados company to ensure all the business opportunities in Iwokrama will set a "world-class standard" for sustainable resource use and environmental conservation aims under the Green Globe 21 certification process.

The company is working with the Iwokrama Tourism Development Agency, along with the Guyana Tourism Authority, to secure funding for the project. They expect to receive approvals either later this year or in early 2005.

www.fricorp.com

By IAN ROSS 

Northern Ontario Business