Coastal Dunes Geomorphosites to Develop the Geotourism in a Volcanic Subtropical Oceanic Island, Tenerife, Spain

Néstor Marrero-Rodríguez and Javier Dóniz-Páez
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Néstor Marrero-Rodríguez: Grupo de Geografía Física y Medio Ambiente, Instituto de Oceanografía y Cambio Global, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35001 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Javier Dóniz-Páez: Grupo de Geopatrimonio y Geoturismo en Espacios Volcánicos, GeoTurVol-Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Facultad de Humanidades, Universidad de La Laguna, C/Prof. José Luis Moreno Becerra s/n, 38200 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Spain

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: Coastal areas are exposed to high levels of human occupation, which has led to their degradation. Coastal dunes have been greatly altered by different historical and current land uses, causing the loss of their natural and cultural values. On the coast of Tenerife there are volcanic and organogenic sand active and relict dunes with multiple land uses, the most prominent of which is tourism (also the main cause of their deterioration). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the relevance of geomorphosites associated to the aeolian depositional systems of Tenerife as volcanic geoheritage through the application of international methodologies used for these evaluations, and to propose geotourism uses that will contribute to their sustainability. In Tenerife there are thirteen aeolian system geomorphosites in which palaeodunes, active dunes and a combination of both have been identified, 53.9% of which are protected. The main historical and current uses are related to grazing, sand mining and tourism. These different land uses have produced the degradation of these landforms, which have induced the loss of some of their scientific and additional values. The average score for the scientific values (0.58) is higher than for the additional values (0.41) in most of the thirteen selected geomorphosites; the values lie in the middle of the range and there is no correlation between the scientific and additional values (R 2 = 0.17). The geotourism proposal presented in this study is associate to the volcanic diversity of the coast of Tenerife and should be aimed at both the general public and specialists. The number of visitors should be restricted and sustainable according to the zoning laws for the regulations and use of the protected areas; and it should use the net of authorized paths which already exists in the geomorphosites. To this end, certain facilities will be required to help disseminate and promote the heritage of Tenerife’s dune geomorphosites through panels, websites, apps or QR codes.

Keywords: arid aeolian depositional systems; palaeodunes; cultural heritage; geomorphosites; geotourism; volcano tourism; itineraries; Tenerife (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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