THE ROLE OF DISTAL DRIVES (TELECOUPLINGS) IN THE LAND USE CHANGE OF THE ARGENTINEAN DRY CHACO IN THE LAST DECADES

GASPARRI, N. IGNACIO

POSADAS

Conferencia; IUFRO Conference 2018; 2018

Along the last decades, the land use in the Dry Chaco has been incorporating actors and distant drivers (telecouplings) that in combination with local condition modeled the land use change in the region. This presentation tries to review the land use change in the region applying the concept of telecouplings in a description of the temporal sequence of links network of the region and howthis affects the modes to solve the land use competition and the forest landscape change. Different interested sectors try to establish the links and promote the competition resolution mode more convenient for their goals. On the one hand, the agribusiness sector prioritizes the commodities trade flows and try to retain the land-use competition playing out at a local scale, with littleregulation, and under market forces. On the other hand, local communities (indigenous communities and traditional small-scale farmers cattle ranchers), try to prioritize information flows to national and global actors to modify norms and rules of land use and shift the resolution to the policy action. During this process, new actors and links have emerged affecting the land use. The national government takes on the role of a mediator to resolve conflicts promoting a new legislation (new Forest Law that request forest zoning). The global community joins the land-use competition by adding alternative land uses (e.g carbon conservation) and by market mechanisms that create feedback to target the producers and their practices. A common pattern that I describe is that telecouplings related to agricultural trade promoted large forest area conversion. However,in the long run, others telecouplings may also act to partially counterbalance this transformation incorporating conservation and sustainable practices in the region.