Sistema integrado de avaliação de trilhas: subsidiando a gestão da visitação em áreas protegidas

Abstract

The main premise of recreation management in natural environments is that the best way to guarantee quality experiences to its users is through the provision of a wide variety of recreation opportunities. The most widespread visitor structure in protected areas is the walking trail, which is the most common activity developed by its visitors. The present thesis had as its objectives to develop a trail evaluation system applicable to the reality of protected areas in the country, as well as to apply such a system to four Brazilian National Parks (NP), spatializing the results obtained with geoprocessing tools: Chapada dos Veadeiros NP (PNCV, located in Goiás), Serra dos Órgãos NP (PNSO, located in Rio de Janeiro), Tijuca NP (PNT, located in Rio de Janeiro) and Brasília NP (PNB, located in Distrito Federal and Goiás). The developed system involved two main axes, the first axis being based on the evaluation of the trails themselves, while the second axis was based on evaluations of the visitors of these trails. The first of these axes consisted of visitation opportunities classes, using the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum (ROS) framework and in analyzes using an new methodology for grading the difficulty of trails. The second axis involved analysis of the profile, motivations, preferences and satisfaction of visitors, using the methodology of structured online questionnaires. The assessment of satisfaction also involved the use of “Importance/Satisfaction Analysis”. The results obtained show that the PNCV and PNB trail system is quite small, while the PNSO and PNT have better developed systems. As a whole, the PNCV and PNB trails have little supply of trails at the extremes of the spectrum of degrees of difficulty (i.e., they have few easy trails and few extreme trails), but have relatively good coverage in terms of opportunity classes. An evaluation of the PNSO and PNT trails reveals a small offer of easy trails, but also a relatively good coverage in terms of visitation opportunity classes. The characterization of the NP public shows that, in demographic terms, the users of their trail system are, in general, of a profile similar to that seen in other Brazilian NP. In terms of preferences and motivations, PNCV and PNSO users appeared to have a more pronounced “trekker” profile, considered in relation to PNT and PNB visitors. Regarding the satisfaction and quality of the visit, the PNCV and the PNSO stood out positively, while the PNB was the worst evaluated NP and the PNT was in an intermediate position. The data produced in this thesis can be used by Brazilian NP to improve the quality of their trails, as well as to implement and/or improve visitation monitoring protocols in the country.