Based on the importance of public policies, in their dual purpose of strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of systems, an attempt is made to analyze the actions carried out by the Laguna de Urao Ecologist Foundation (FUNDALAGUNA), to rescue an important natural monument located in the state of Merida, Venezuela, and identified as an arid ecosystem in high mountains. This analysis was approached from a qualitative research, based on the participant observation of the case study of Laguna de Urao, additionally, it was based on a model that combined both phenomenological and ethnographic designs. Findings show that, the origin of Fundalagunas is presented, and its actions to stop the progressive deterioration of the ecosystem around reforestation, the sanitation of spaces and environmental education; it is revealed that the actions of Fundalaguna are linked or adjusted to the duality of the objectives of public policies, as it is a protected space within the national legal framework. It is reasoned that they are practical applications of public policies for important reasons: 1) they are developed jointly with other organizations, 2) they are coordinated towards a common objective, and 3) they constitute deliberate interventions to try to correct market failures given by the consumption and enjoyment of public goods and services and countless externalities. It concludes with a constructive reflection on the existing problems for the application of such actions as tourism policy, circumscribed in the autonomy of competences, to be mitigated with cooperation and coordination.
