Elementos para la operatividad de un sendero interpretativo mediante estimativos de capacidad de carga e interpretación ambiental en el Campus Loma Linda USTA Villavicencio.

Abstract

In the framework of natural or alternative tourism, interpretative trails are one of the activities that allow the ecotourism activity to be reconciled with biodiversity conservation. However, it requires the implementation of methodologies oriented to the management of the ecotourism activity without causing serious alterations or degradation of the ecosystem in which the activity of tourism is carried out. One of the methodological tools that allows the above cited, is the establishment of the carrying capacity of an area, defined by the maximum limit of visitors that can transit along the established pathway; in this sense, a regulation of the ecotourism activity can be made on potential busy trails. The campus Loma Linda at the Santo Tomás University has attractions for the development of the ecotourism activity; as a contribution to the botanical garden project, in course by the faculty of environmental engineering, the elements for the operation of an interpretative path were established to promote the conciliation between the use of the site and the conservation of natural resources. The main objective of this project was to determine the operation in an ecological path by using estimators of the carrying capacity and the elaboration of environmental- interpretation standards, all of which could provide elements for the management of the ecotourism activity through the proposed walking trail. For the generation of load capacity estimators, the methodology established by Cifuentes (1992) was used. This methodology is based on the calculation of 4 load capacities, such as: physical carrying capacity, real carrying capacity, managed carrying capacity and tourist carrying capacity. The physical carrying capacity is established by the maximum number of visitors regarding the available space and the need for space. The real carrying capacity includes the quantification of factors related to affectations to the flora and fauna, and the environmental factors of the ecosystem (erosion, soil compaction, waterlogging, etc.). The results of the elements for the operability of the interpretive trail, could provide useful information for the project of the ecological and technical viability of the Botanical Garden in Loma Linda.