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This study of the Rosario
Micro-region (province of Colonia, Uruguay) was possible in the framework
of an agreement between the Municipality of Colonia and the Centro
Latinoamericano de Economía Humana (Latin American Centre for Human
Economics), and with the support of the EMS/IDRC programme.
The team was integrated by
the Hygiene Division of the Municipality of Colonia, The Environmental
NGOs Coordinator for Colonia, and the Local Development Programme of CLAEH
(Latin American Centre for Human Economics).
The area under study
includes the eastern part of the province of Colonia. It is a strongly
integrated micro-region with an urban sub-system that includes five
locations (Rosario, Nueva Helvecia, Colonia Valdense, Juan Lacaze and La
Paz) and a rural area with highly developed farms. For the sole purpose of
this study, the city of Tarariras and its area of influence were also
included.
Environmental quality and
sustainable management of the environment represent the main objective for
the Rosario Micro-region, as not only the standard of living of its
population but also the quality of their produce and services are closely
linked to it. Several economic and social players in the Region have been
making efforts along this line; municipal authorities and environmental
NGOs can be mentioned among others.
The boosting development of
agribusiness activities –dairy farming, forestry-paper industry and
tanneries—and the need to strengthen such processes to provide the basis
for the economic prosperity of the region, poses authorities, businessmen
and neighbours with the challenge of sustainable resource management.
The issue under study
Two levels are identified
in terms of the environmental issue:
1) the
impact itself, as a technological problem that can be assessed with
"technical" measures or studies; and
2) the
level of awareness on the part of different stakeholders that are involved
or affected by it. This refers to the level of awareness and knowledge of
the cause and its connection to the real situation and, naturally, the
opinion on possible improvement --as ground for any measure that could be
implemented for its solution or control.
Most of the work is focused
on this second level and the approach was through
"semi-structured" interviews to "qualified
informants".
Hypothesis
The central
hypothesis is that shared knowledge on the different environmental
impacts, their causes, consequences and possible solutions represents an
instance for dialogue and cooperation. If priority is given to collective
interest over individual interest, it favours cooperative management
actions. This hypothesis can be broken into the following explanatory
elements:
Different
interpretations of the problem by different stakeholders imply potential
conflict of interests that could prevent group-agreed solutions.
Ignorance or exaggeration
of a problem could favour external attitudes, causing multiple positions
around it.
Ignorance of the real
situation leads to the search or acceptance of "recipes" taken
from different realities and contexts that are not necessarily applicable
to the local reality.
Methodology for study and
intervention
CLAEH directed and
supervised the work; coordination with local agents was the responsibility
of experts from the Municipality of Colonia and the NGOs representative.
The methodological proposal
is based on the multi-dimensional analysis of the issue under study; to
this end, historical data, previous census, indicators of production,
economic and land management indicators of the micro-region as well as
information on the legal land management and legislation in force,
specific studies on Environmental Management that could be of comparative
value to the condition of the micro-region, were taken into account.
The intervention method
suggested by CLAEH is not limited to the preparation of a
"diagnosis"; it rather creates and promotes "thought and
analysis instances on the basis of the expertise of the team of experts
and the players involved. Thus, strategic thinking capacity will be
generated to define the role of players and the factors that could limit
or facilitate development projects".
Within this Project the
Working Team itself represents an instance of thought and horizontal
exchange, given the special combination of local actors and CLAEH as
external actor; each party with different but complementary logic to
understand the issue in all its complexity.
The working team
compiled and analysed the information available before conducting the
field work; this allowed them to have a better understanding of the local
reality prior to establishing contact with the interviewees.
"Semi-structured"
interview
The main study tool was
the "semi-structured" interview. Interviews are essential in all
attempts to study local realities; they facilitate communication with
local players on issues that are –in most cases—proposed with
anticipation by researchers; others issues come up during the interview
itself and cover different aspects of the local reality, the person’s
life, and several other aspects that shape up the "context" of
the interviewee and his/her "position" in it.
Three "variables"
that explain the position of the interviewee in the local reality were
considered together with their influence on the perception of each
individual --in terms of the environmental problems and their management
in the Micro-region.
Level of incidence of
environmental problems in their personal interests
(benefits/inconveniences): personal involvement.
Sector or institution
he/she belongs to or represents.
Level of knowledge and
implication in the environmental issue: the "Knowledge" or
accrued knowledge of the interviewee in terms of the issue under study.
The objective was to
collect opinions from the protagonists in decision-making processes and/or
opinion creators in the local society; in addition, the most relevant
activities and sectors had to be represented.
Workshop with local actors.
A workshop for the
presentation of the Report drawn by the working team on the basis of
interviews and a report on the Potential Environmental Impact in the
Micro-region, was held. Interviewees and other local actors participated.
As part of this activity, a panel was also organised during which three of
the interviewees presented local experiences.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The opinion of local
actors.
Activities that would
imply similar impact or management problems are presented together; the
same applies to those activities that are conducted jointly or in
association. The list of activities is limited to those on which real
concern was expressed on the part of interviewees and those that also
represent an environmental risk requiring a solution.
Commentaries and quotes
complementing the opinions collected are also included.
The analysis of interviews
was conducted taking the following into account:
1) The
environmental issue, and
2) The
different players and their roles in environmental management.
In line with
expectations, environmental issues and environmental management problems
are perceived differently, depending on the actors interviewed, as a
result of the geographic restrictions of their action and the way their
interests are affected. We present some general conclusions in this
regard.
Improvement of
environmental management in the micro-region.
Ideas and proposals
contributed by the interviewees themselves have been included together
with considerations and thoughts of the working group.
Bearing in mind the opinion
of local actors and the analysis of other extra-local experiences, some
conclusions were drawn on alternatives to improve the environmental
management in the micro-region.
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