Conservation Planning and Ecotourism Design Cusco Peru Brian Hettler September 20th 2011 Masters of Landscape Architecture Final Capstone Report State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry Syracuse New York S Scott Shannon Major Professor Department of Landscape Architecture Emanuel J Carter Committee Member Department of Landscape Architecture Richard S Hawks Department Chair Department of Landscape Architecture Conservation Planning and Ecotourism Design Cusco Peru Brian Hettler Br Hettler gmail com Masters of Landscape Architecture Final Capstone Report September 20th 2011 SUNY ESF Syracuse NY Table of Contents Introduction and Study Area 1 Sustainable Tourism and Analysis 41 Biodiversity The Tropical Andes 3 Regional Tourism Strategy Hiking Network 47 Threatened and Endangered Species 5 Sustainable Tourism Design 55 Quechua Cultural Landscapes 9 Tourism Driven Reforestation Strategy 65 Andean World View Ayllu 11 Traditional Land Use 16 Ollantaytambo Kancha Restoration 73 The Potato Park Visitor s Center 79 Lost Traditions Huilloc Botanical Garden for Natural Dyes 84 Changing Andean Landscapes 20 Abra M laga Textile Center and Polylepis Forest 89 Conservation Strategies 29 Conclusion 94 Conservation Corridor Planning 32 Bibliography 95 18 Abstract Background The rural areas of Peru are home to important cultural and natural resources and are experiencing a period of rapid change Conservation efforts in the region began with areas protected at the national level but limitations with this approach have led to conservation strategies becoming increasingly focused on incorporating elements of community development Ecotourism has become an important element in this conservation strategy but many times the design of these tourism projects would benefit from greater sensitivity to local culture and ecology This project has investigated strategies for the planning of a conservation corridor around the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary while also investigating community based ecotourism design that responds to local cultural and ecological needs This project is based on a four and a half month field research period in and around Cusco Peru during the period from July to November 2010 The first month was spent in the city of Cusco living with a Peruvian family while intensively studying Spanish to improve fluency researching hiking trails and ecotourism infrastructure and acquiring maps and other geographic data The second month was spent hiking trails in and around the Machu Picchu area and meeting local guides while learning about local culture plant species tourism trends and environmental issues The final two months were spent working with two Peruvian organizations The Association for Andean Ecosystems ECOAN and Association ANDES ANDES These organizations were instrumental in developing a greater understanding of life in highland villages and the ongoing conservation efforts addressing pressing environmental and social concerns These organizations expressed a need for an improved regional tourism strategy and helped identify specific needs for site design assistance with ecotourism projects that were either in early phases of construction or in the planning phases Study Area Introduction Rural areas of Peru are experiencing a period of rapid change that threatens the continued existence of important biological and cultural resources Formerly remote landscapes are increasingly becoming exposed to outside often global forces that are disrupting traditional land use practices that have maintained fragile mountain ecosystems for thousands of years Conservation strategies are increasingly emphasizing the integration of regional environmental conservation plans with small scale community development programs to help protect unique cultural landscapes Community based ecotourism programs are an important element in most conservation strategies because they incentivize environmental protection while providing economic benefits for local villages Existing strategies for community based ecotourism facilities have a number of shortcomings that limit their effectiveness The design of tourism facilities is often driven by outside investment and or non local entities commonly failing to reflect local culture and building traditions Even when local groups are the primary drivers of ecotourism efforts nontraditional materials such as metal roofs or lost knowledge of historical construction techniques can lead to seemingly inauthentic physical designs Financial limitations also make it difficult to promote some community based tourism programs resulting in underused facilities In other instances more successful tourism programs have resulted in uncontrolled tourism expansion leading to cultural and environmental degradation while inherently changing the very things that tourists originally came to see The development of a more regionally oriented and locally implemented ecotourism strategy would help promote dispersed small scale ecotourism thus minimizing negative impacts while promoting more widespread economic benefits The integration of sustainable tourism facilities and conservation efforts would help promote ecological restoration while maximizing the economic potential of community land resources Tourism design that better integrates local design traditions into ecotourism facilities would help celebrate local culture and create more appealing and authentic tourism destinations The study area for this project area is the Cusco region of Southern Peru This region is named after the city of Cusco the former capital of the Inca Empire and the largest highland city in Peru with a population of approximately 350 000 people Cusco is an area of interest due to nearby archaeological sites traditional villages and endangered ecosystems The economy of this region relies on agriculture mining natural gas extraction and tourism World Fact Book 2007 Cusco Desert Trends Photography Machu Picchu 1 Quillabamba Espiritu Pampa Huancacalle Ap ac im ur Vilcabamba VIlcano ta Mou Machu Picchu Uru bam Mountains r ve Ri Choquequirao Salkantay ba Riv ntains Lares Ollantaytambo Ollantaytambo er Urubamba Calca Pisac Cusco Abancay Study Area Urubamba Valley 2 Choquequirao Cordillera Vilcabamba Pisac Biodiversity The Tropical Andes Ecosystem Distribution The Cusco region is geographically diverse encompassing both mountainous Andean ecosystems and lowland Amazonian rainforests This
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