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The Final Report contains ,
Parts I and II of the technical results, evaluating the management of
ravines in the Commune of La Florida, Metropolitan Region, Santiago de
Chile.
This Report, with 107 pages
of text and 44 pages of Annexes, must be part of a larger context, in this
case, the sustainable management of the Andes Mountain Chain. Chile
"turns its back to the mountains" in contrast to other countries
where man has integrated more to that mountain chain.
The Andes have been
traditionally considered a barrier, something fixed, unchangeable over the
years or just an administrative limitation. Chapter XIII of Agenda 21 says
"mountains are very vulnerable to ecological imbalance caused by
human and natural factors. Mountains are the most sensitive areas to
change…".
Due to strong pressure to
build houses, infrastructure and other works on the mountainsides –and
more specifically on the lower parts of the mountain side—risks
increases and the area is subject to rapid degradation.
In 1993, an Association of
Municipalities of Santiago signed an Agreement to undertake the PROTEGE
("protect") Project and "rescue the natural heritage of the
Metropolitan Region of Santiago: its pre-mountain area and Andean mountain
range, between the communities of Lo Barnechea, Las Condes, La Reina, Peñalolén,
LA FLORIDA, Puente Alto and San José de Maipo.
The priority of this
objective is to place emphasis on the conservation and management of its
main micro-basins: De Ramón, Nido de Águilas, MACUL, LO CAÑAS, El
Manzano, Cobarrubias and Potrerillos, by protecting water courses,
reducing erosion and the risk of landslides.
Within this context, the
Municipality of La Florida –with the technical help of IULA—applied
for and was granted a donation by SEMA/EMS to implement this study on the
management of gorges and more specifically, to focus on the Macul gorge.
In 1993, there was a
catastrophe at the Macul gorge and surrounding areas. It was caused by a
mass removal that very quickly slipped down the natural course of the
gorge and due to the magnitude of the material, it overflowed the gorge
and flooded nearby houses and streets. Apart from material damages there
were over 20 casualties.
This Report includes both
the technical results of Part I and II.
The first part basically
contains a prospective diagnosis, highlighting the results of the
Workshop-Seminar held by mid 1998 where an important consultation process
took place with the participation of residents living in the vicinity of
Macul gorge.
This Part I contains some
technical details that must be pointed out and that, among others, are
explained as follows:
It was concluded that
technical information on the gorges (mainly physical aspects) was very
satisfactory in terms of its quality. However, information on human
aspects was weaker while there was a lack of data and information on
standards and management of gorges. There were several studies that were
of little use in relation to management.
A second Chapter of Part I
refers to:
Results of a consultation
with local residents: A slight "sense of belonging" was detected
on the part of people living in areas surrounding the gorge, between the
San Carlos and Las Perdices Canals; it was a sense of territorial
attachment. Therefore, in our opinion, a community that is ready to value
its heritage is ready to take up the responsibility for sustainable
management of the ravine, either through preventive action –such as
Early Warning—or through activities related to reforestation or
construction of a cycling path, among other ideas.
Another Chapter includes
the vision of technicians and municipal employees that took part in the
successful operations of 1993. They all agreed that it was necessary to
include short-term works within a strategic context and a preventive
framework. It is not enough to be efficient and provide immediate help.
The most relevant was
probably Chapter V of this Part I, which refers to the results of the
Workshop-Seminar, organised by the Municipality in July 1998. A series of
proposals and criteria to improve gorge management are included. The
possibility of expanding the urban limit up to 2,000 metres or more was
raised as a useful proposal in terms of gorge management.
A series of significant
results should be mentioned here resulting from the three workshops that
trained technicians with the local people and NGO that are aware of the
problem. In Workshop I, Measures to Mitigate and Prevent, the following
activities were recommended among other things: Study and Assessment of
Risk (being the scale 1:5.000); Contingency and Evacuation Plans;
Encouragement for Insurance Plans for Residents; Implementation of an
Early Warning System according to Phases and use of Codes; permanent clean
up and maintenance of sedimentation basins; eradication of houses in
imminent risk areas (within the exclusion area).
The second Workshop,
Increased Community Commitment, recommended a Tree and Bush Planting Plan;
Respect to the Exclusion Area; Training Courses (and Prevention) for the
population; to prevent the Accumulation of Garbage and to create a Sports
Infrastructure and/or Green Areas around the ravine.
Finally, the third
Workshop, Guidelines for an Urban Regulation on Gorge Management,
recommended the acknowledgement of the territorial competence of the local
government; use of legal instruments to determine and enforce
environmental standards. Maybe and Environmental Decree for the Mountains
or a non-urban Regulatory Plan, or just a simple land use management
instrument that includes environmental impact assessment.
The II technical Part of
this Report combines both precise short-term recommendations as well as
activity proposals to be carried out in the medium to long-term. The
results basically try to strengthen both technical and institutional
management activities. It is therefore important to try to increase the
level of commitment of the Municipality of La Florida and other similar
institutions or to involve them in more concrete activities.
Our first contribution
includes a more theoretical interpretation where the analysis is based on
the WATER resource. It aims at including the gorge management in a more
holistic, systemic and sustainable scheme. The idea is to involve daily
activities and local features that can be accomplished in a global
context. As an analogy we paraphrase the paradigm ACT LOCALLY AND THINK
GLOBALLY. The pressure to provide immediate response leads us to forge our
spatial and temporal environment. Therefore, it is important to introduce
some key concepts that will help us understand the specific within the
global.
The intention of the
schemes incorporated to the text was to substitute the classical
analytical approaches that were sectoral and linear in water management
and use an ecosystemic and sustainable vision for the cycle of water.
Other recommendations in
this Part II refer to the proposal to hold round tables on two pending
issues, namely: (i) How to Increase Useful Information in the Management
of Gorges and (ii) Bases for an Environmental Management Decree.
Within the previous
context, some recommendations appeared to incorporate the community of La
Florida (it has the air quality monitoring station with the most negative
indexes of all Santiago) in the Santiago Decontamination Plan, through the
application of the so-called "20% Plan" (over a period of 2
years, to increase or reduce an index or environmental component by 20%).
It would be declared a Biosphere Reserve for the Andean Mountains. A list
of indicators was included to complement these operational aspects. These
will be applied in the implementation of a Green Area being built around
the Macul Gorge.
Another important component
of this Part II is Chapter V that includes the Preliminary Bases of a
Proposal for a Pre-Andean Management Decree, a non-urban territory that
extends over the mountain territory up to the summit of Cerro De Ramón
(the highest point in terms of community limits). The proposal for
discussion includes 5 Chapters and 21 Articles that refer to some Zoning
and Soil Use criteria.
Finally, some proposals are
included and could be incorporated both in the conceptual and applied
plans:
official approval of
the Municipal Decree for Pre-Andean Land Use Management;
building and
accreditation of a micro Meteorological Station half-way up the
mountain; and
modular design and a
first contact between private and public sectors to build a path
leading to the mountainous sector of the Commune.
In order to implement the
recommendations resulting from this comprehensive study of the Macul
gorge, financial support must be found. An important part would stem from
a contribution from the Municipality of La Florida (approximately 32,000
US dollars go to the PROTEGE Project) and a smaller sum of around 8,000 US
dollars for this phase of the study. However, additional financial support
will be needed from SEMA/EMS.
To make the commitment of
the donor agency effective, we are suggesting a supplementary donation for
1999, a single disbursement of an additional 16,000 US dollars. We will
thus ensure the existence of authoritative instruments to favour the
integrated management of the Pre-Andean zone. The population of La
Florida, especially those who live near the pre-Andean sector, will no
doubt be the best allies and keepers of this natural space located a few
kilometres away from the urban limit of the commune.
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