TERRITORIAL INDICATORS: DEGRADATION OF THE TOURIST NATURAL PATRIMONY IN REGION DE LOS RIOS?, 1998-2007 PERIOD

Abstract

This report presents the change of the natural resource in Region de los Rios during 1998 – 2007, which results in a set of indicators that determines and explains the territorial patrimonial change. In 2007, a monitoring to update the natural resources information of Region de Los Rios was carried out, taking as base information the graphic and alphanumeric data obtained through National Registry of Chile’s Natural Resources from year 1998. Both information periods were crisscrossed which allowed explaining what is happening space-wise in the Region, also change through the building of territorial matrixes and indicators was quantified.
The results helped detecting a considerable increase of plantations, i.e. introduction of exotic species to the Region; on one hand, the introduction of foreign species meant a decrease of the native forest, bushes, agricultural lands, and water courses, which are considered essential natural resources to tourism development. The growth of urban and industrial areas has also meant the decrease of wetlands (26,1 ha), agricultural lands (48,9 ha), prairies and bushes (814,3 ha).
The report main conclusions are related to the fact that Region de Los Rios territory has undergone significant changes in its natural resources during the studied period (1998-2007); Region de Los Rios presents a deficient and ambiguous territorial planning, on one hand by the lacking of planning objective instruments and, on the other hand, conflict of interests between the tourist and industrial developments; it is urgent and indispensable, on the part of the authorities, that they have indicators that will help perform an actual planning of the Region’s natural resources.