The Role of Citizenship in the Protection of Wetlands. Comparative Analysis of Three Urban Wetlands in Chile, Colombia, and Peru

Stamm C.; Rojas Quezada C.; Aldana-Domínguez J.; Moschella P.; Sepúlveda M. · Sustainable Development Goals Series (2024) · DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-69590-2_13

Resumen

Latin America leads the loss of wetlands worldwide and urbanization is one of the main causes of this change. The cases of the Aconcagua wetlands in Chile, La Ciénaga de Mallorquín in Colombia, and Pantanos de Villa in Peru are examples of the loss of Latin American urban wetlands in the last 20 years. In response to this situation, various initiatives have emerged to protect these three wetlands, which have involved the adoption of forms of territorial governance associating the public sector, the private sector, and civil society. The aim of the chapter is to analyze the role of citizenship in the protection of these three wetlands, with the aim of contributing to the construction of more resilient cities. Using semi-structured interviews conducted with local actors, the results show that, despite the differences between the governance mechanisms in the three cases, coordination between stakeholders and citizen participation are perceived as deficient. The interviewees propose to establish working tables with representatives from all sectors and productive dialogue instances and highlight the lack of participation of the neighboring communities of these wetlands. These communities are subaltern groups, as they are also the most socioeconomically vulnerable, and occupy, for the most part, the territory informally. Their participation, as well as motivating their interest in participating, is key to ensuring the protection of these spaces. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú