Uso e ocupação do Parque Estadual Mata do Pau Ferro Areia / PB e seu potencial para atividades ecoturísticas: subsídio à geoconservação.

Abstract

There are numerous places with great eco-tourism potential in Paraíba. Many of these sites constitute protected areas, especially with regard to State Parks, which serve as leisure and ecotourism practices. But, there are several problems involving the use and occupation of these areas, such as inappropriate land use for agricultural purposes; plant extraction, marketing and trafficking of fauna and flora biodiversity, buildings in inappropriate locations, among others. So, this research aimed to analyze the use and occupation of the area comprising the State Park Mata do Pau Ferro, in Areia / PB in order to assess the possible problems / environmental benefits and local ecotourism potential to harmonize economic interests and conservation / preservation of natural resources, with a subsidy to Geoconservation. Therefore, literature surveys were made, it was conducted research on site with any photographs records and application of semistructured questionnaire, and image processing through remote sensing and GIS. The results helped to the conclusion that the Park presents numerous problems as preservation and conservation, strong human intervention, and the absence of the governing body responsible for the area; but also great potential for economic activities such as ecotourism.