One of the areas with the most social conflicts in the system. Andean farmers, who occupy the forests bordering the highway, products of their inadequate agricultural practices such as “slash and burn”, removing the forest layer that protects the slopes from erosion, leaving them completely unprotected. In addition unsustainable activities such as migratory agriculture, selective extraction of timber forest species and illegal transport of timber species, as well as trafficking and illegal extraction of orchids, This has led to progressive deforestation, which has resulted in the loss of more than 25,000 hectares of forest, putting the ecosystem services provided by the protected area at serious risk. In order to promote the sustainable management of this Protected Area, “conservation agreements” have
been signed between the BPAM and the families settled in the interior or its Buffer Zone. These agreements generate commitments from both subscribers to guarantee the conservation of the Area’s targets, such as maintaining forest cover, promoting joint surveillance and control activities, avoiding hunting and the use of resources that are in any category of threat under national or international legislation, avoiding the use of products that are not aligned with organic agriculture and promoting the recovery and restoration of degraded areas under agroforestry systems or natural restoration for soil and water conservation etc. The benefits are the increase of ecotourism in the area, which has contributed strongly to reverse practices that deforested the forest, increase in coffee export, the empowerment of women and their role as defenders of the forest etc.
Keywords: Destination Management Policy or Strategy, Tourism Action Plan, Nature conservation, Property and user rights to resources, Community involvement in planning Ecotourism Community involvement, Community Empowerment, Tourism product creation, Empowerment of women, sustainable development, benefits for local communities
