- Resource System
- Forest, land
- Resource Units
- Culture (information). Trees for lumber.
Agua Blanca Community is located in the province of Manabí, in the municipality of Puerto López, Machalilla parish. The community, founded in 1930, is within the Machalilla National Park, and occupies an area of 10,500 hectares. It is made up of approximately 80 families, that is, almost 300 people. It possesses one of the largest archaeological settlements on the coast related to the manteña culture (800-1532 AD). The community has historically conducted activities in agriculture and livestock, especially extraction of products that can be obtained from the cloudy dry forest. Recently, its inhabitants have dedicated to offering tourism services as an alternative for community development.
This study case focuses on institutional performance of the Community Agua Blanca. Previously, the community has been studied as a unit of tourism and the economic development in the community thanks to tourism. This present work uses the comparative analyses regarding Ostrom's Design Principles to analyze the institution framework. Community Agua Blanca represents in some sense a case of institutional failure, under the conditions and perspectives of development and generation of income.
Tourism and Natural Infrastructure in Agua Blanca, Ecuador
Resource System
Forest. Land. Culture
Resource Users
Community members
Public Infrastructure Providers
Central government, Local Government (municipality) and Internal Government
Public Infrastructure
Hard: internal roads, swimming pool, restaurant, huts, rooms
Soft: rules of the community, space use, business distribution, etc
Relationship 1
Community members extract resource units (culture and information for tourism) from the tropical dry forest. They also extract wood from the forest (for manufacturing)
Relationship 2
Community member organize and establish the board of the community, rules and responsibilities
Relationship 3
The board of the community is responsible for rule monitoring. Mambers of the community take care of every member and make others respect norms and rules.
Relationship 4
The natural infrastructure is used along with the public infrastructure to offer services of tourism and in other cases, to obtain raw materials to produce a basic level of manufacturing.
Relationship 5
Rules for the community about quantity of tourists accepted in the community, prices, available services, etc.
Relationship 6
No clear rules on maintenance and responsibilities for care of public spaces.
Exogenous Drivers 7 (Resource System)
Droughts. Deforestation.
Exogenous Drivers 7 (Public Infrastructure)
Lack of maintenance and investment. Lack of basic sanitation and water infrastructure. High cost due to proximity to rural areas.
Exogenous Drivers 8 (Resource Users)
Infux of tourists.
Extreme poverty of sorroundings
Exogenous Drivers 8 (Public Infrastructure Providers)
(none specified)Human Infrastructure, Private and Human-Made (Resource Users)
Lack of educated population. Extreme Poverty.
Human Infrastructure, Private and Human-Made (Public Infrastructure Providers)
Central, Local and Internal Government
Montalvo Clavijo CP, Arizona State University.
. 2015. Los multiplicadores de desarrollo local en el turismo comunitario: caso de Agua Blanca, Manabí, Ecuador. ECONOMÍA INTERNACIONAL Y DESARROLLO. Master:33.