Ecotourism in conservation units : proposal for Natural and Municipal Park of the Ingleses and Santinho Dunes, Florianópolis-SC

Abstract

The first studies related to ecotourism were done somewhere around thirty years ago. However, the great biodiversity found in the national territory have positioned our country as a potential destination for the practice of touristic activities which are in contact with nature. The present scenario favors the establishment of conservation units that have as their objective to legally guarantee the preservation of areas with natural relevant characteristics. Among others categories which are worth mentioning are the natural parks that allow public visiting in their outbuildings once these visits are planed and done in a way that is participative and sustainable. In the year of 2007, the creation of the Parque Natural Municipal das Dunas de Ingleses e Santinho in Florianópolis started to be discussed with the purpose of preventing urban growing on the dunes and the salt marshes and developing socioeconomically the region. However, the legislative power of the town has not approved it yet. Therefore the present study, based on bibliographic research, intends to present suggestions on the implementation of ecotourism activities, to community participation in the management processes and to formulate strategies for the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the conservation unit.