Los páramos ecuatorianos.
In: MORAES R., M. et al. Botánica Económica de los Andes Centrales: 91-109. Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz.
Abstract:
Páramo is a natural ecosystem occurring above the limits of the continuous forest in the Northern Andes. It is dominated by a vegetation of grasses, rosette trees, shrubs, by wetlands and small forests. The climate is cold and the ecosystem is very sensitive to land-use changes; therefore, its productive potential is on the whole very limited. However, many people possessing a rich culture but lacking economic means, are taking direct advantage of this landscape’s resources. At the same time, a large population downstream benefits from them in an indirect albeit substantial manner, especially through its water-related environmental service. In this article we present the situation of this ecosystem in Ecuador and a preliminary analysis of economically sustainable products and environmental services, with an emphasis on plants and vegetation. Their potentialities and problems are presented within the current social and political context. Páramo products usually have restricted markets, which could be drastically affected by the current globalising trends. The ecosystem’s environmental services, such as tourism, carbon storage in soils and especially storage and regulation of water flows to lowlands, could represent interesting, though frequently conflict-laden, alternatives. Because of its social, cultural and political aspects, a detailed analysis of the productivity of páramo calls for a multidisciplinary approach.
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