Impacts of Tourism and Carrying Capacity for River Environments

Tourism developed in natural areas has shown high growth rates. If it is not developed in a way that contemplates sustainable use it can cause irreversible impacts on the environments and sub-environments involved as well as their surroundings. One of the strategies for the development of sustainable tourism is to study impacts and determine the carrying capacity (support) for the location with the aim of containing undesirable and irreversible impacts. In this way tourism becomes a tool for the conservation of existing natural resources in the location. The methods of carrying capacity and impact studies are mostly adapted from other countries with different realities and often do not take into account the specific characteristics of the location. The book presents an innovative method for determining the carrying capacity (support) of tourism for river environments in large tropical rivers considering their intrinsic characteristics and studies of impacts or possible impacts on river environments.