La conservación del patrimonio natural geológico en campos volcánicos, una herramienta para la gestión sostenible del territorio. El caso de la zona volcánica de la Garrotxa
Full Text
Share
The study of the geodiversity of an area and the conservation of its geological heritage, unlike biodiversity, has only recently begun to be systematized. This thesis analyses the conservation of geological heritage in volcanic fields, which are places of interest and usually have quite active socioeconomic dynamics. The study is based on a volcanic field located in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula where conservation policies began to be implemented in the 1980s, when a large part of this field was proclaimed a Natural Park. Quaternary volcanic fields such as this one, which may have experienced volcanic activity in the Holocene, are characterized by their excellent state of preservation, which ensures that their volcanic morphologies and the geological processes that have created them are fully visible. The Garrotxa Volcanic Zone is an appropriate case study to analyse the impact on geological heritage and economic sustainability in a volcanic field, since in just 40 years it has allowed the transformation of a little-known territory into one of the most outstanding and visited points of geological interest in Catalonia (Spain). The protection of this volcanic zone represented the end of legal and illegal quarrying activities that significantly damaged most of its volcanoes, but also provided an opportunity to develop the area for tourism. This thesis evaluates the social and economic consequences of the promotion of geotourism and whether it is compatible with the conservation of natural assets, especially geological ones, since areas such as the Volcanic Zone of La Garrotxa represent natural laboratories where we can observe the success in the application of environmentally friendly policies with a positive socioeconomic impact on geotourism. A methodology adapted to volcanic fields is proposed in order to select the inventory geological interest points, and to identify which ones should be preserved and which ones should be publicized. The strategy approved in 2000 for the management of the geological heritage of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park (PNZVG) is evaluated on the basis of indicators
L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi queda condicionat a l'acceptació de les condicions d'ús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/