Change, Collective Action, and Cultural Resilience in Páramo Management in Ecuador

Mountain Research and Development

article

María López-Sandoval¹  Paola Maldonado² 

[1]Departamento Desarrollo Ambiente y Territorio

[2]Fundación ALDEA

关键词: paramos;    cultural resilience;    social–ecologicalsystems;    collective resource management;    communal governance;    Ecuador;    Andes.;   

DOI  :  10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-19-00007.1

来源: BioOne

【 摘 要 】

This study examines howagricultural frontier expansionand grazing practices developin the paramos ´ undercommunal tenure in thenorthern Ecuadorian Andesand how rules to control thememerge within communalgovernance. We approach these questions through the lens ofcollective action and cultural resilience, to understand theevolution of communal governance. We analyze a case study of theComite de Paramo ´ Nukanchik Urku, a multicommunal organization ˜created in the 1990s for collective resource management. We usethe analytical framework of social–ecological systems (SES) toapproach changes of the agricultural frontiers and grazingactivities as conservation outcomes resulting from changes inresource units, actors, and governance structures. Through amixed-method approach combining air photo analysis (years 1956,1993, and 2008) and qualitative research, we examine spatialpatterns of settlement and agricultural frontier expansion,historical grazing practices, and the main elements of currentcollective paramo ´ management. Our results indicate that: (1) thedemarcation of an agreed agricultural frontier as a territoriallandmark is a response aiming to control the increase of crops anddwellings at higher elevations, and to limit grazing activities; (2) theauthority’s legitimation of the Committee and its Board is crucial todevelop rules and to enforce them; and (3) legitimation is achievedthrough conservation knowledge and autonomous decisions tocontrol paramos ´ considered a communal territory. A broadercomprehension of the context and history of cultural change isneeded to understand the emergence of communal governance ofparamos. ´ Cultural-political dimensions are key to the culturalresilience of social systems in SES and to strengthening rules andinstitutional diversity to manage the commons in Andeancommunities.

【 授权许可】

CC BY