Environmental Impact of Mountain Cycling in La Primavera Forest and an Environmental Education Proposal
Abstract
Mountain biking is today one of the most practiced sports. Athletes seek to enjoy the landscape and connect with nature in a healthy way. However, this has caused some protected areas to be saturated with visitors, which has had an impact on the deterioration of the environment. An example of this is the La Primavera forest, located in Jalisco, Mexico. In its 11 cycling routes, La Primavera receives around 1189 cyclists per week, according to data released in 2017—the trend indicates that the number today is higher. Said figure motivated a qualitative investigation to be carried out in order to preliminarily know the environmental impact that this protected area is suffering, especially in four of its cycling routes and in the designated automobile parking area for cyclists. To achieve this goal, an environmental impact matrix was prepared that allowed identifying the types of impact, their indicators and their intensity. The results show that two of the routes have a high impact in terms of damage to vegetation and soil compaction; similarly, two of the routes have a high impact caused by erosion; in addition, three of the routes and the parking area have a high impact on fauna; also, three of the routes and the parking area have a medium impact caused by pollution, and finally, the four routes and the parking area have a medium impact in terms of landscape modification. It is concluded that there is no adequate control of the entry of cyclists, that the load capacity that this forest can support in a balanced way was not considered, that a more profound and quantitative environmental impact study is also necessary with the intention that measures be taken in time, before the damage to the environment of this valuable natural area is irreparable. It was also considered necessary to modify the regulations and demand their compliance. And of equal importance is the recommendation to train cyclists through a theoretical-practical workshop on environmental education as a requirement to use the La Primavera forest cycling routes.
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