Inter-institutional articulation and transfer as key elements in Territorial Environmental Planning at the local-regional scale
Introduction
In the central region of Argentina, natural ecosystems have undergone many changes due to the intensification of agricultural production. The system is constantly expanding, generating great losses in natural ecosystems. The city of Villa María (Cordoba), located in the studied area, has suffered modifications in its land-use caused by the advance of the agricultural frontier, among other reasons (Figure 1). Therefore, environmental services were lost and the risk of flooding increased due to the low absorption capacity, causing an increase in surface runoff. The loss of soil risks the urban areas and the urban-rural interface (peri-urban) of the city.
Here we show the public policies of Territorial Environmental Planning (TEP) obtained from articulated spaces with the community, at a local and regional scale. They will contribute to preventing environmental risks and adaptation to climate change.
Methodology
We did an institutional political diagnosis to identify the TEP capacities of the Villa María region, located in the middle basin of the Ctalamochita River. Land uses were classified using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (Bollati, 2020, Guzmán, et.al., 2016), and we obtained a database for the analysis of urban-rural interface spaces. On the other hand, participatory workshops and interviews with municipal agents were done to enrich public policies, with proposals for local regulations to prevent environmental conflicts.
Results and conclusions
In the Villa María region, the loss of natural ecosystems is notorious, evidenced by an increase in the area dedicated to extensive agriculture.
The TEP is framed on provincial public policies scale since 2014 through Law No. 10.208, which establishes that every municipality that proposes an TEP must be evaluated and presented to the Secretary of the Environment of the province of Córdoba. However, in this territory, the productive sector maintains the power of land management, leaving the municipal administrations little interference for the conservation of environmental services. There are few regulatory and action tools to conserve the region's natural ecosystems (Guzmán et al., 2021), which previously constituted Espinal forests (Morello and Matteucci, 2012).
Bibliography
. -Agost, L. (2015). Cambio de la cobertura arbórea de la provincia de Córdoba: análisis a nivel departamental y de localidad (periodo 2000-2012). Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 2(2): 111-123
-Bollati, M. (2020). Lineamientos generales para el ordenamiento territorial de Tío Pujio, Córdoba. Universidad Nacional Villa María 50 p
-Guzmán, L. A., Zulaica, M. L., & Mizdraje, D. A. (2021). Fragmentación de las estructuras ecosistémicas en el periurbano de Villa María, Córdoba, Argentina. GOT: Revista de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, (21), 139.
-Guzmán, L. A., Castro, R. L. , Becker, A., Furlan, M. L. y Rodríguez, M. J. (2016). Delimitación de parches de uso del suelo en la zona periurbana de Villa María, Córdoba, Argentina. Mapping, (177), 32-39.
-Morello, J., Matteucci, S. D., Rodriguez, A. F., Silva, M. E., Mesopotámica, P., & Llana, P. (2012). Ecorregiones y complejos Ecosistémicos de Argentina. Orientación Gráfica Editora, Buenos Aires.
Guzmán L. Ana, Furlan M. Lucrecia, Mizdraje Dafne, Morán Ignacio, Re virginia, Tuninetti Luis, Etchegaray Georgina
Center for the Study of Territorial Environmental Planning - Academic Pedagogical Institute of Basic and Applied Sciences - National University of Villa María
Inter-institutional management with different actors and government levels make a great contribution to the proposal of TEP tools. The maps of 4 localities in the work area showed a great diversity of land uses with agricultural activity and little native vegetation (Figure 2). These results were used in 6 workshops where more than 200 people and around 45 institutions participated (Figure 3). As a result of this work, Municipal TEP Ordinance N°. 7.209 of Urban Rurality area of Villa María were created (Figure 4). On the other hand, it is worth highlighting the work done through the "Integration with the Community" program of the Ministry of Agriculture of Córdoba, 5 municipalities and the National University of Villa María, which allows generating knowledge and TEP policies to prevent risks and incorporate the systemic conception of the environment into management.
Figure 2. Land use. Source: adapt to IDECOR
Figure 1. Work area
Figure 3. Workshops
Figure 4. Ordinance N° 7.209