Zonas de amortiguamiento de las áreas protegidas, lineamientos e inclusión en los planes de ordenamiento territorial

Abstract

Abstract: The effective conservation of protected areas requires a comprehensive spatial analysis of both the territories within their boundaries and the surrounding areas, better known as buffer zones. These areas reflect the interests and economic dynamics of the populations involved, on different scales, in the use of resources for this conservation strategy. In Ecuador, buffer zones are defined in the process of developing management plans for each protected area, without an official technical standard guiding their proper establishment and integration into territorial planning. This research proposes a methodology based on three fundamental principles, technically and legally justified and comprised of criteria and variables that, through analysis in geographic information systems, prioritize relevant areas to be considered in the buffer zones in order to efficiently achieve impact prevention and mitigation, complementarity for conservation, and coordination with the surrounding territorial system, thus directly contributing to the Environmental Authority responsible for the management of these spaces.