Strategies for the Development of the Value of the Mining-Industrial heritage of the Zaruma -Portovelo, Ecuador, in the Context of a Geopark Project

Abstract

The enhancement of heritage resources helps to promote conservation, contributes to more significant and better protection, and favors the efficient use of these resources. Many heritage works and liabilities linked to mining activity are abandoned, causing the deterioration of heritage resources that may become environmental liabilities over time. This work aims to develop strategies for the development of the Mining-Industrial heritages through participatory methods for geomining enhancement and development of places in the Zaruma-Portovelo area. The proposed methodology consists of: (i) The creation and development of a database with several publications and documents that register the Mining-Industrial heritage sites; (ii) The assessment of mining-industrial sites based on criteria or methodologies proposed by other authors; (iii) Focal group work considering: (a) The identification and cataloging geosites of interest, (b) The creation and/or development of museums, tourist mines, mineral routes or geoparks in which the natural and geological-mining factors complement each other and (iv) SWOT analysis and matrix which provides several strategies for value-making of geomining heritage and its promotion in the development of geotourism in a project proposal for Zaruma and its surroundings. In conclusion, this work includes twelve unified mining sites in the Proposal for Geopark ‘Ruta del Oro,’ as a strategy to guarantee the conservation of heritage values and contribute to local development and geotourism.