Evaluación de los servicios ambientales en la parroquia Sangay, Cantón Palora, Provincia de Morona Santiago - Ecuador

Several environmental services are provide by ecosystems. These are defined as the benefits that people obtain from the environment and are the basis of human livelihoods and welfare. This research took place in the parish Sangay located in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The study was carried out within the conceptual framework of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment MA. The local biodiversity and two ecosystem services were assessed. These services were local ecological knowledge of medicinal plants and food provisioning. They have been selected based on the availability of information. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used as a main analysis tool to study the biophysical indicators of biodiversity and the above-mentioned services. In addition, survey yielded information has been applied to analyze the local population perception about these services and their drivers of change. Higher values of biodiversity have been mainly identified in natural and semi-natural ecosystems, whereas the hotspots of food provisioning and local ecological knowledge of medicinal plants services have been localized in highly anthropized areas around the settlements. The most important service for the population is the food provisioning because this is the basis of the farming which is the principal sector of the local economy. In the second place of importance is the biodiversity and finally the local ecological knowledge of medicinal plants. The latter is noticeably affected by the cultural changes of the inhabitants in the studied areas. The results of this study have been the basis for developing a preliminary land planning proposal through the establishment of four types of territorial units: areas for agricultural and forestry land use, preservation, conservation and restoration. The main objectives of these units are to improve the quality of life of local people by providing sustainable use of the resources and maintaining the environmental services. This methodology is a valuable tool for the decision makers.