The study of economic systems is mainly characterized by the analysis of the productive and distributive aspects of a society. By incorporating the environmental dimension to the economic analysis, ...the environmental economics branch focuses on remedying market failures to continue with cost-benefit approaches. As a critique of this vision, the ecological economics bases its studies on a systemic perspective. On the other hand, the self-organization and governance approach of Elinor Ostrom analyzes the sustainable use of environmental resources (natural) in a sustainable way. Combined with the prospective analysis, it allows progress in the comprehension of socio-ecological systems. Despite these advances, the treatment of environmental problems and poverty in an urban environment seems to be limited to specific quantitative cost-benefit approaches, in which the possibility of governance and bottom-up policies is ignored. To move in that direction, we propose a conceptual discussion on the environmental impact of urban poverty, based on the concept of socio-ecological system in an urban space.
El estudio de los sistemas económicos se caracteriza principalmente por el análisis de los aspectos productivos y distributivos de una sociedad. Al incorporar la dimensión ambiental al análisis económico, la rama de la Economía Ambiental se concentra en subsanar fallas de mercado para continuar con valoraciones economicistas costo-beneficio. Como crítica a esta visión, la Economía Ecológica basa sus estudios en una perspectiva sistémica. Por otro lado, el enfoque de autoorganización y gobernanza de Elinor Ostrom analiza la utilización de los recursos medioambientales (naturales) en forma sostenible. Combinado con el enfoque cualitativo proveniente de La Prospective, permite avanzar en la definición y el estudio de los sistemas socioecológicos. A pesar de estos avances, en el tratamiento de los problemas medioambientales y la pobreza en el entorno urbano, el análisis económico parece estar limitado a enfoques cuantitativos puntuales de costo-beneficio, en los que la posibilidad de gobernanza y políticas bottom-up se ignoran. Para avanzar en esa dirección, en este artículo se propone una discusión conceptual sobre el impacto ambiental de la pobreza urbana, a partir del concepto de sistema socioecológico en un entorno urbano.
La pandemia ha desatado una crisis a nivel mundial. En el presente trabajo se realiza un análisis sobre las primeras consecuencias de la pandemia y el aislamiento en la población vulnerable, bajo la ...hipótesis de que podrían conformar un nuevo grupo de excluidos al llegar la “nueva normalidad”. Se emplea una estrategia metodológica de combinación de análisis cuantitativo y cualitativo sobre tres barrios vulnerables de Bahía Blanca. Se concluye que esta población es severamente afecta por la situación pandémica y la crisis, favoreciendo el desenlace en nuevas trayectorias de exclusión.
Natural disasters generate profound socio-economic changes in the affected communities. A consistent methodology that allows quantifying its impacts is essential for the implementation of adaptation ...and mitigation policies. The objective of this work is to provide a systematic review of existing methodologies to quantify the economic impact derived from the occurrence of natural disasters. To do this, a keyword search is conducted in two search engines (Scopus and Science Direct). The results suggest the existence of wide differences between methodological proposals. Consideration of physical damage (direct effect) is more frequent than the impact on productive flows (indirect effect). The destruction of the natural environment (loss of ecosystem services) is not usually included. In the context of global climate change, these findings highlight the importance of having a consistent methodology.
Los desastres naturales generan profundas alteraciones socio-económicas en las comunidades afectadas. Una metodología consistente que permita cuantificar sus impactos es fundamental para la ...implementación de políticas de adaptación y mitigación. El objetivo de este trabajo es brindar una revisión sistemática de las metodologías existentes para cuantificar el impacto económico derivado de la ocurrencia de desastres naturales. Para ello, se recurre a una búsqueda por palabras claves en dos motores de búsqueda (Scopus y Science Direct). Los resultados sugieren la existencia de amplias diferencias entre propuestas metodológicas. La consideración del daño físico (efecto directo) es más frecuente que el impacto sobre los flujos productivos (efecto indirecto). La destrucción del ambiente natural (pérdida de servicios ecosistémicos) no suele ser incluida. En el contexto de cambio climático global, estos hallazgos resaltan la importancia de contar con una metodología consistente.
Several examples of community-based natural resource management in Latin American social-ecological systems exist in which communities control the management of common-pool resources. Understanding ...community perceptions of the performance of these systems is essential to involve communities in sustainable management strategies. In this analysis of three areas in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina, we analyzed the local perceptions of the social and environmental challenges faced by these social-ecological systems and how these challenges and drivers affect their resilience. To do this, we combined prospective structural analysis to unravel stakeholders’ perceptions of each system’s functioning along with network analysis to assess resilience. We identified external variables as the most influential variables in the Colombian and Argentine cases. In the Mexican case, larger influence is exerted by internal variables, particularly those linked to the governance system. The case study analysis revealed that the community-based natural resource management approach needs external support and recognition to work effectively. In the Argentine and Colombian cases, megaprojects were perceived as controllers with medium or strong influence but low dependence. The use of ancestral knowledge (Colombia), the history of land use (Mexico), and the history of the artisanal fishery (Argentina) were all perceived as common challenges to community-based natural resource management. In terms of social-ecological resilience, framed within the three-dimensional model of the adaptive cycle, all three social-ecological systems were considered to be highly connected and resilient but with different degrees of capacity or cumulative potential.
Mientras que el objetivo del desarrollo sostenible es común a todas las economías, la performance ambiental difiere entre regiones. Los motivos de esta divergencia son variados, en particular en el ...presente trabajo se analiza la posible existencia de una relación causal entre la calidad de las instituciones y la sostenibilidad ambiental. Una revisión de la literatura identifica autores que proponen una relación positiva; un enfoque más actual postula a los marcos institucionales débiles como causa de la degradación ambiental, relacionada con la idea de “maldición de los recursos naturales”. Para realizar el análisis se aplican estimaciones de causalidad de largo plazo y de correlación para 180 países, utilizando un indicador de calidad institucional de elaboración propia y datos del Environmental Performance Index (EPI). Los resultados evidencian una alta correlación entre las variables y permiten sostener una relación causal de largo plazo.
Local communities collectively managing common pool resources can play an important role in sustainable management, but they often lack the skills and context-specific tools required for such ...management. The complex dynamics of social-ecological systems (SES), the need for management capacities, and communities’ limited empowerment and participation skills present challenges for community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) strategies. We analyzed the applicability of prospective structural analysis (PSA), a strategic foresight tool, to support decision making and to foster sustainable management and capacity building in CBNRM contexts and the modifications necessary to use the tool in such contexts. By testing PSA in three SES in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina, we gathered information regarding the potential of this tool and its adaptation requirements. The results suggest that the tool can be adapted to these contexts and contribute to fostering sustainable management and capacity building. It helped identify the systems’ dynamics, thus increasing the communities’ knowledge about their SES and informing the decision-making process. Additionally, it drove a learning process that both fostered empowerment and built participation skills. The process demanded both time and effort, and required external monitoring and facilitation, but community members could be trained to master it. Thus, we suggest that the PSA technique has the potential to strengthen CBNRM and that other initiatives could use it, but they must be aware of these requirements.
En el marco de la Agenda 2030 del PNUD y los Objetivos del Desarrollo Sostenible, las actividades intensivas en el uso de recursos naturales son de gran interés. Entre ellas se destaca el turismo ...como actividad impulsora del crecimiento. Sin embargo, dicha actividad también causa daños ambientales que podrían, incluso, minar la base de la propia industria turística. Así, este artículo presenta un modelo de crecimiento sencillo de generaciones solapadas y análisis discreto para economías basadas en turismo con uso intensivo en recursos naturales. Los resultados muestran que la posición final de la economía está determinada por el grado de utilización de los recursos en la actividad turística, la impaciencia de la población respecto de las decisiones de consumo intertemporal —preferencia intertemporal—, la presencia de polución y la existencia o ausencia de medidas de mitigación. Se concluye la presencia de un autorreforzamiento positivo entre los recursos económicos destinados al desarrollo de la actividad y el stock de recursos naturales, si las medidas de mitigación son las adecuadas. El aporte es hacia la formulación de política al reconocer los fundamentos de los mecanismos causales que conducen a un resultado de turismo sostenible.
Since the emergence of COVID-19, one of the sectors most affected has been tourism. However, the scenario and measures such as restrictions of movement abroad, led to a growth of regional tourism. ...The objective of this research is to determine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the tourist demand of Pehuen Có (Argentina). From there, the opportunity arises to position itself as a regional tourist destination considering the proximity to Bahía Blanca and the attractions that the resort has. The methodology consists of a bibliographic review of relevant concepts, a characterization of the town and an analysis of the surveys carried out by the Tourism Directorate of Coronel Rosales in the summer periods from 2015 to 2021 (between 900 and 1200 annually), considering a sample error of 3%. The results show that Pehuen Có has greater resilience than other tourist destinations and has competitive advantages in the post-pandemic tourism context. The conclusion reached is that the pandemic has been an opportunity to revalue local tourist spaces, with proposals focused on the development of creative, sustainable and responsible tourism.
Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) studies how institutions (the rules of the game of a society) determine the performance of a social-economic system. Elinor Ostrom extends the ...institutional analysis to the collective action for a particular case, the study of the social-ecological systems (SESs) (Ostrom 1990). Any group that attempts to manage a common resource (e.g. aquifers, pastures) for optimal sustainable production must solve a set of problems in order to create institutions to facilitate collective action. Some evidences show that following a set of design principles in creating institutions can lead to overcome these problems. The aim of the paper is to apply the SES framework to an artisanal fishery community in Argentina in order to: 1) describe the principal features, key variables and relations of the small-scale fishery system; 2) detect the principal drivers of a potential common-management and the leading detractors from the current communal performance; and 3) analyze the possibility that a self-governing for sustainable fishery may appear. Several drivers for potential common-management and some detractors from the current common performance are summarized. Artisanal fishery SES is currently at a bifurcation point. A common historical and cultural root, the presence of leaderships, the relevance of local knowledge, the dependence on the resource to sustainable livelihoods and the threat of big-scale fisheries area have generated incentives to collective-action. But, simultaneously, internal conflicts are the most important barrier for an integrated community-based management. The heterogeneity among actors and the relevant external conditions have resulted in two groups diverging in their self-organization. The work is framed by the project COMET-LA (COmmunity-based Management of Environmental challenges in Latin America; European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme of Research and Development), which aims to identify sustainable community-based governance for the management of natural resources that can be used in different social-ecological systems in a context of climate change and increasing competition in the use of resources.
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