Conservation Planning and Ecotourism Design Cusco, PeruBrian HettlerSeptember 20th, 2011 Masters of Landscape ArchitectureFinal Capstone ReportState University of New YorkCollege of Environmental Science and ForestrySyracuse, New York___________________________S. Scott Shannon, Major ProfessorDepartment of Landscape Architecture___________________________Emanuel J. Carter, Committee MemberDepartment of Landscape Architecture___________________________ Richard S. Hawks, Department ChairDepartment of Landscape ArchitectureConservation Planning and Ecotourism DesignCusco, PeruBrian [email protected] of Landscape ArchitectureFinal Capstone ReportSeptember 20th, 2011SUNY-ESFSyracuse NYTable of ContentsIntroduction and Study Area 1Biodiversity: The Tropical Andes 3Threatened and Endangered Species 5Quechua Cultural Landscapes 9Andean World View: Ayllu 11 Traditional Land Use 16Lost Traditions 18Changing Andean Landscapes 20Conservation Strategies 29Conservation Corridor Planning 32Sustainable Tourism and Analysis 41Regional Tourism Strategy: Hiking Network 47 Sustainable Tourism Design 55Tourism Driven Reforestation Strategy 65Ollantaytambo: Kancha Restoration 73The Potato Park: Visitor’s Center 79Huilloc: Botanical Garden for Natural Dyes 84Abra Málaga: Textile Center and Polylepis Forest 89Conclusion 94Bibliography 95AbstractThe 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.BackgroundThis 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.1IntroductionRural 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. Study AreaThe 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).CuscoMachu PicchuFinancial 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.Desert Trends Photography2OllantaytamboPisacUrubamba ValleyCordillera VilcabambaChoquequiraoLaresPisacCalcaUrubambaSalkantayChoquequiraoHuancacalleEspiritu PampaCuscoOllantaytamboMachu PicchuApurimac RiverUrubamba RiverAbancayVilcabamba MountainsVIlcanota MountainsQuillabambaStudy Area3Biodiversity The Tropical AndesThe Cusco region