Turuépano National Park is found within Benítez Municipality, which has approximately 28,958 inhabitants, or 3.8% of the total population of Sucre State. Annual growth rate is relatively low, 1%, especially when compared to the national growth rate of 2.2% (INE 2005).
Ajíes is an important port for fishing, agriculture and tourism
Before the park was declared a protected area, the inhabitants of Benítez Municipality and nearby municipalities relied on extractive activities to survive, including fishing, harvesting mangroves, hunting, and illegal trafficking commercially valuable species like amazons, macaws, and manatees (Lentino and Bruni 1994).
Fishing and hunting
Fishing is important in streams like Ajíes where fish such as tarpon, snooks, seatrout, mullet, mojarra, catfish and grouper are found. Another commercially important activity is oyster (Crassostrea virginica) harvesting (Mondolfi and Müller 1979, Novoa 2000).
Floating fishing vessel used by local fishermen
Manatee hunting was a traditional activity carried out by fishermen who frequented the streams and lagoons of the Gulf of Paria. Manatee meat can be eaten fresh or cured. In addition, some of its bones are sold as amulets. Apparently this activity has been decreasing over the years, not because the hunters have suddenly decided to conserve these animals, but because they are increasingly hard to find due to low population numbers and because the younger generation has simply lost interest (PNUMA 1995). Indigenous inhabitants from Warao de Caño La Brea also sometimes hunt manatees for consumption and to sell the meat.
Forestry
Forests are harvested in areas adjacent to Turuépano, specifically from the Guarapiche Forest Reserve to the south. During the 1960s, a forestry management and industrialization project began to produce timber and related products and to harvest mangroves to extract the tannins. Improper management resulted-not only did the company fail to meet forecasted production levels, they degraded the mangrove ecosystem in the process (FUDENA 1989, Mondolfi and Müller 1979).
Agriculture
Nowadays, inhabitants living around Turuépano are farmers. Taro (locally known as "ocumo blanco") is the primary crop. Other commonly grown crops include plantain, squash ("auyama"), yucca, and cacao.
Agricultural products originating from the area
Petroleum Industry
Petroleum activity has been developing in the Gulf of Paria for many years. Important sources of hydrocarbons include "Lago de Asfalto de Guanaco" spanning 350 hectares, "Los Menes de los Caño Guanoco" (the asphalt deposit of Guanoco was exploited during the beginning of the XX Century, but was later abandoned) and Caño La Brea in the delta of the San Juan River. The perforation in front of Delta Amacuro was tapped after Trinidad found petroleum in Gulf of Paria in 1955 and then it was found in Venezuelan territorial waters in 1958. Between 1972 and 1975 Venezuela's Oil Corporation (Corporación Venezolana de Petróleo) carried out geophysical explorations and drilling using seismic and gravimetric operations in the Gulf of Paria.
In 1995, a multi-company exploration agreement called "Exploración a Riesgo y Ganacias Compartidas" (Shared Risk and Earnings Exploration) began in which several transnational petroleum companies started exploring and exploiting Eastern Gulf of Paria. Tridimensional seismic surveys have been conducted in parts of the gulf and discovered significant oil reserves. As a result, the second exploratory phase (which was supposed to be complete by the end of 2004) was implemented using identified objectives from the seismic studies and wells drilled up to that point. Revising the exploratory plan for the second phase began because of a new regional reinterpretation of the work and using additional seismic data. In addition, a new facility called "Complejo Industrial Petrolero, Gasífero y Petroquímico Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" (CIGMA) is planned for the outskirts of the town of Güiria.
Tourism
While official data is not available because no visitor registry is kept, it is estimated that the number of tourists visiting the park is low, probably around 1,000 per year. One evaluation of the level of environmental impacts in the San Juan River Basin and Orinoco Delta concluded that tourism has had a low impact in the zone (Rodríguez 1999).
Recommended attractions include Isla de Turuépano, Caño Viejo and Guariquén, and the watering hole of Puente Sabacual (half a kilometer from Ajíes Port) (Crespo 1995). One should also visit Ajíes Port, Guariquén Port, and the community of Warao.
There are also tourism camps that organize guided visits to the park. They offer bird watching and boat tours through the streams and mangroves. Isla de Turuépano and surrounding streams are definitely the park's main highlights. Another community worth visiting is Yaguaraparo because of their rhythmic Afro-American music and dance.
