Ecoturismo y desarrollo rural en el Parque Nacional La Cangreja, Costa Rica

Abstract

Este artículo expone los resultados de un estudio de caso en el Parque Nacional La Cangreja, donde de manera puntual se revisan tres elementos. 1) Se valoran las características biofísicas del parque y se determina su potencial ecoturístico. 2) Se analizan organizaciones comunitarias de la zona para medir su capacidad de gestión de una iniciativa ecoturística netamente local. 3) Se valora la sincronía entre los mecanismos de apoyo institucionales y los requerimientos de las organizaciones comunitarias revisadas. Se concluye que a pesar de la existencia de un potencial biofísico para el ecoturismo, la organización comunitaria en el área no está preparada para explotar las posibilidades ecoturísticas de la zona, e institucionalmente no existen mecanismos consistentes para solventar las falencias prioritarias de tales organizaciones. This article presents the results of a research carried out at La Cangreja National Park, where three of these factors were investigated. Firstly, the biophysical characteristics of the Park were assessed in order to determine its ecotourism potential. Secondly, an analysis of local communal organizations was made to estimate their capacity of developing locally-based ecotourism initiatives. Lastly, a dialogue with institutional entities from the government and other sectors was established in order to evaluate the compatibility between the mechanisms of support managed by such institutions and the primary requirements of the communal organizations. It is concluded that despite considerable biophysical potential, the organizational capacity in the area assessed is poorly developed to exploit it. At the institutional level, there are mechanisms to promote ecotourism, but they fail to attend the immediate needs of local organizations and inhabitants.