Guidelines for Environmental Management in the Alto de Los Cedros Protected Area and Its Surroundings

Abstract

We present the results of research aimed at providing environmental management guidelines for the Alto de Los Cedros protected area and its surroundings, located within the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Marinilla and El Santuario (department of Antioquia). This required gathering information on the area's biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics; diagnosing environmental and land-use problems; classifying the zone according to protected-area management categories, objectives, and criteria set by the National System of Protected Areas and the International Union for Conservation of Nature; analyzing the management approaches taken by Marinilla, El Santuario, and the relevant environmental authority; and identifying the degree of territorial appropriation among the communities settled there. Based on this, the creation of an "Integrated Management District" (DRMI) was proposed as a comprehensive management strategy for the Alto de Los Cedros protected area, along with the urgent need for an inter-institutional information and management system to facilitate coordination among the various public and private bodies with jurisdiction or interests in the area's land use.