Protected areas in land use planning policies Key articulation for territorial justice

DEGELE, PAMELA ESTHER

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2023 vol. 140 p. 189 - 201

1462-9011

The Latin American region has been marked by a historic process of extractivism andweak institutional structures, causing deep socio-environmental and economic crises.The restauration of territorial justice has then become the center of the debate. Naturebased solutions, for their innovative and systemic nature, could be key in approachingthese complex problems. However, the interplay between these strategies and justiceis not clear enough. This article addresses this interaction centering on protectedareas, the most traditional response from regional governments to nature degradation.We attempt to test the hypothesis that integrating protected areas in land use planningpolicies improves the exercise of justice, understanding it from a place-based point ofview. To this end , we carried out quali- and quantitative analysis of social perceptions,historical background, land use policies and governance in Tandil and Tornquist, twomunicipal districts of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The results showed thati) protected areas were associated with justice if a conservation project reached a legalrule and if the community was involved in its formulation and management; ii) theintegration of protected areas in land use planning policies helped to satisfy bothconditions. We end by proposing a theoretical model which outlines how threestrengths of land use planning can turn PAs into more just NbS. We also discuss theneed to develop a broader and place-based approach of justice as “territorial justice”