EL TURISMO Y LOS IMPACTOS AMBIENTALES CASO: BOSQUE PETRIFICADO DE PUYANGO

Abstract

Puyango Petrified Forest (BPP) has the largest collection of petrified wood in the world, located in Puyango, Loja. In 2015, BPP received approximately 10,000 tourists. For this reason it has been considered important to analyze the impacts that tourist activities generate in the forest through the application of the large dams matrix, which allows to evaluate the environmental components of natural areas and it relations with the human activities and to determine the impacts, provide information to the actors involved and develop actions and strategies that allow improving the conservation of this natural heritage place. The findings found that the environmental high negative impacts were: air quality, topography and soils, hydrology, flora and fauna and landscape.