Multidimensional analysis of the buffer zone of the Colonso Chalupas Biological Reserve: Inputs for sustainable land management.

Buffer zones play a fundamental role in ensuring the conservation of biodiversity and the long-term sustainability of the environmental services provided by protected areas. The Colonso Chalupas Biological Reserve (RBCC), established in 2014, has not yet been able to formally establish its buffer zone. This has led to the failure of both local governments (GADs) and Central State institutions to consider the territorial specifics of these spaces when designing public policies aimed at supporting conservation objectives linked to the sustainable development of communities and the responsible management of natural resources.

In this context, this project aims to generate socio-environmental information for the RBCC buffer zone, which will help identify and design strategies that promote the development of productive and conservation activities with a sustainable approach. The project will generate spatially explicit models of human pressures on terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, as well as landscape suitability based on its structural characteristics to promote structural connectivity between protected ecosystems and forest remnants without protection status. Additionally, it seeks to produce an updated socio-economic study that identifies problems and opportunities for sustainable economic development to improve the quality of life for communities surrounding the Regional Amazon University Ikiam and contribute to the conservation objectives of the protected area and its buffer zone.

Generate updated socio-environmental information with a multidimensional territorial approach and spatially explicit data to serve as input for the design of public policies on conservation, sustainable development, and land-use planning for the buffer zone of the RBCC in the middle Tena River basin.

1. Identify the spatial distribution of threats to terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity through multi-criteria analysis methods combined with remote sensors and Geographic Information Systems.
2. Use multi-criteria analysis methods combined with Geographic Information Systems to analyze the suitability of the landscape around its structural characteristics to promote connectivity between the RBCC ecosystems and the unprotected forest remnants in the study area, with special emphasis on spatial connectivity with the forests located on the Ikiam campus.
3. Analyze the socioeconomic characteristics of the population and the opportunities to promote economic activities compatible with the conservation and sustainable development of the buffer zone.
4. Disseminate the results of the research through electronic media and digital tools.

Ikiam Regional Amazonian University/Internal call Ikiam Territory 2023