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Resources Approach and Land-use Changes in Gran Canaria. Case Study: Maspalomas Dunes. The last centuries have been marked by a significant increase of human-induced disturbances in the natural environment, as man uses an increasing proportion of the earth’s surface, in order to capitalize, one way or the other, the natural resources. The aim of this research was to analyze the land-use and resources approach changes in Gran Canaria, as well as their consequences on the natural environment, focusing on the Maspalomas dunes system. The set of methods used in this research was made of quantitative and qualitative analyses, along with partially structured interviews and direct observation. During the agricultural society, sand has been seen as a potential threat to crops due to its unpredictable mobility. Moving towards the tourism based economy, the importance of sand as a resource increased, resulting in ample land-use changes with consequences both on the natural ecosystem and the human activities. Nowadays, there is an intense preoccupation for preserving the Maspalomas dunes system, not only for environmental reasons, but also for maintaining the main tourist attraction of the island.

Keywords: resources, land-use changes, preservation, sustainable development.