Geoturismo: uma ferramenta auxiliar na interpretação e preservação do patrimônio geopaleontológico da região central do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

This paper brings a study concerning the paleontological heritage existing in the municipalities of Santa Maria, São Pedro do Sul and Mata, belonging to the Paleontological Route, which are located in the Central region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The study aims to know and understand the paleontology of that region and check the possibility of this being interpreted and heritage preserved by the bias of Geotourism. Thus the search was based on the bibliography of the area, seeking to conceptualize and understand various topics related to the study as the geology, geomorphology, paleontology, and educational actions and public policies applied to the paleontology of the region and the legislation which deals with paleontology in governmental spheres. The study also presents the concepts of cultural heritage, geological heritage, paleontological heritage, geoconservation, geodiversity, geopark, Geotourism, passing the treat tourism and its relationship with sustainable tourism; the tourist product, tourist segments for the conservation of nature as ecotourism and its geo-shed. Field research sought through visits and photographic survey up and register the potential geopalentological (fossil sites, geological outcrops, laboratories and museums), which later were selected and ordered based on georeferenced location criteria resulting in maps of each County, obtained through Google Maps and Google Earth programs on the Web. The result of the study demonstrates a geodiversity of geossítios (fossil sites and geological outcrops of vertebrates and paleobotany), important museums of Paleontology and laboratories that were described considering their location, access, infrastructure, technical scientific and historical importance and occurrences and fossil finds. After described and sorted, these sites go to compose the final product of this dissertation, a "map geoturístico" integrating the municipalities of Santa Maria, São Pedro do Sul and Mata in geoturístico path, with temporal property and geological interpretation of their fossil heritage, demonstrating that the Geotourism is a segment that also benefits the education and dissemination of fossil heritage sustainably.