Revista de Geografía Norte Grande

Evolución de los glaciares tropicales de Colombia (2010-2023) utilizando herramientas geoespaciales

José Eduardo Fuentes Delgado — 2025-01-20

Tropical glaciers in Colombia, located near the equator, are extremely vulnerable to climate change due to high temperatures and low precipitation. Over the past five decades, glaciers worldwide have been retreating alarmingly, and Colombia is no exception. To monitor these changes, high-resolution multispectral data from the Rapid Eye constellation (2010-2016) and PlanetScope (2017-2023) were used, along with the Deep Learning Segment Anything Model tool. Precipitation and temperature data from 1991 to 2023 were also analyzed using Google Earth Engine to calculate anomalies. Between 2010 and 2023, Colombian glaciers have shown a consistent decrease in their total area due to climate change, with temporary peaks of increase in 2011 and 2021. The average, maximum, and minimum altitudes of the glaciers were calculated using the SRTM elevation model, varying between 4804 and 5067 meters above sea level, with an average of 4952 meters. The El Niño and La Niña phenomena influence glacier surface, increasing during La Niña and decreasing during El Niño. Despite these fluctuations, the glacier mass has significantly reduced between 2010 and 2023, more than recorded in previous studies.

Evaluación de la degradación geoecológica del geosistema Llanura Costera del río San Pedro, Nayarit (México)

Francisco Jose Cantarero Prados — 2025-01-20

The aim of this methodology is to analyse the degree of geoecological alteration in order to evaluate the functionality of the territorial system in the hydrological sub-region of the San Pedro River, included inside the biosphere reserve "Marismas Nacionales" and its influence area (Nayarit, Mexico). For this purpose, homogeneous hydrogeomorphological units have been used to assess the degree of hemerobiology through the geographical superimposition of layers that provide information about the level of loss of naturalness of the territory, such as land use or anthropic interventions. The results show a geo-ecological system that increases the degree of degradation from inland areas towards coastal zones, in which, broadly speaking, a degraded part is identified due to the presence of primary land uses (agriculture, shrimp fishing, livestock) while another part remains in a semi-natural state, due to the conditions of the terrain, which do not allow its conditioning for human use. There is therefore a connection between landscape degradation and the configuration of the relief and geomorphology of the study area.

Cuencas Olivares-Colorado: Caracterización glaciológica y valoración de servicios ecosistémicos vinculados al recurso hídrico

Alexis Segovia — 2025-01-20

Se realizó una valoración de los servicios ecosistémicos del almacenaje de agua y aporte hídrico continuo en las cuencas de los Ríos Olivares y Colorado, cuenca del Río Maipo, Región Metropolitana, Chile. Para realizar la valoración del servicio ecosistémico de almacenaje de agua se utilizó el método indirecto de mercado “costo evitado”, y para estimar el valor del aporte hídrico continuo se utilizó una valoración directa de mercado. Los resultados arrojaron que las cuencas Olivares-Colorado en conjunto contienen el 29,2% de glaciares, el 46,2% de la superficie de hielo y el 55,7% del agua en forma de hielo de la cuenca del Río Maipo. La suma de ambos valores de servicios ecosistémicos para ambas cuencas resultó en un valor anual de USD 902 millones, y a un valor presente proyectado a 50 años de USD 14.224 millones. Dicho valor anual supera en 32 veces el presupuesto para todo el Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas el Estado (SNASPE) para el año 2022, por lo que su alto valor asociado, justifica ampliamente la protección de estos glaciares.

Floods and urban sprawl, their socio-environmental implications

José Juan Pablo Rojas-Ramírez — 2025-01-20

The institutional response is analyzed from the perspective of disaster risk management concerning socio-environmental implications, such as floods resulting from extreme rainfall in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (AMG), Mexico, over the past ten years. It is observed that since the beginning of the century, flood events have increased more rapidly in the last two decades to date. Similarly, the promotion of urban development oriented towards transportation, which in this case has involved vertical construction and the optimization of the urban mobility system, is also noted. Thus, a relationship is found between the increase in flood points and vertical construction in the territory. The theory of Risk Management and its application in the public sector is employed, specifically referring to the disaster risk management approach. Methodologically, process traceability analysis is used from a qualitative perspective, geospatial analysis is applied to understand the flood phenomenon, and participatory observation fieldwork is conducted. One of the main findings is that authorities manage to adapt territorial management instruments, but not the reduction of practices by real estate developers.

Geographies of faith in the symbolic dimensión of cross-border evangelical mobility between Bolivia, Chile and Peru

Miguel Ángel Mansilla Agüero — 2025-01-20

The objective of this article is to make a historical itinerary on the cross-border religious practices of different evangelical religious groups (Protestant and Pentecostal), considering that, on the one hand, they were missionary practices related to local indigenous groups offering schooling spaces, then due to the conversion of Aymara leaders, rituals, beliefs and Aymara cultural practices were intertwined with the Pentecostal discourse and finally became circuits of cross-border mobility and migration accentuated in recent decades. For this, we approached 3 stages that are not successive, but overlapping: missionary Protestantism; indigenous and evangelical Pentecostalism and cross-border links, theoretically we will approach it from the perspective of the cross-borderers and methodologically from a qualitative perspective that consists of a review of archives of institutional journals; in-depth interview and participant observation in cultic activities in the different tri-border spaces.

Aproximación a la identificación del territorio natural originario y de los efectos socioambientales de la urbanización en el Gran Corrientes, Argentina. Aportes para el ordenamiento territorial

Maria Florencia Rus — 2025-01-20

In this article we seek to construct an interpretation of the physical-natural territory and the associated environmental problems around an urban area and its surroundings: the metropolitan area of Corrientes, Argentina. The review, combination and translation of sources from different disciplines such as biology or geography, which address environmental aspects separately, is a relevant input for land use planning. Therefore, the objective of this article is to characterize the environment in which this metropolitan area is located by presenting components of the physical-natural territory. This description is based on the compilation and analysis of historical and contemporary documentary and cartographic antecedents. This allowed us to identify the system of watershed and compose a thematic cartography of environments of great relevance formed by the hydrographic system, regions of wetlands and associated vegetation, areas of native forests. At the same time, the construction of this map, related to some processes of urban space production, allowed us to recognize three interrelated categories that we distinguish and that we believe are fundamental to think about territorial planning based on its socio-natural logics: anthropocentric practices, valuation conflicts and socio-environmental effects

Convergencias y divergencias en la percepción de actores clave frente a los impactos de la industria acuícola. Caso de la mitilicultura en la Región de los Lagos, Chile

César Salazar — 2025-01-20

The rapid expansion of production in the aquaculture sector could generate various impacts on nearby communities, creating concerns among key stakeholders regarding its consequences in the domains of health, environment, and economic wellbeing. This paper identifies and analyzes stakeholders' perceptions regarding the impacts of the mussel industry in Los Lagos Region, Chile. Special attention is devoted to identifying convergence and divergence in these perceptions in the dimensions of interest. Information on stakeholders’ perceptions was gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus groups targeting a sample of individuals in governmental, scientific, productive, and community spheres. The results evidence a negative perception of the industry, which is shared by all actors in response to waste management problems, to whom this is also perceived as a sanitary problem with potential negative effects on individuals' health. Although scientists, government officials, and producers recognize the positive impacts of the industry in the form of ecological benefits, this does not seem to influence community perceptions, mainly due to a lack of knowledge. In the socio-economic domain, employment generation by the industry strongly influences a positive perception of the sector. This appears to be less relevant for large-scale producers, due to ongoing automation processes. Finally, small-scale producers and community representatives perceive an unequal distribution of the benefits of the sector, which could drive negative perceptions of the industry.

Modelos predictivos de cambio de cobertura y uso de suelo. Estudio de caso Cerro del Águila y Cerro del Quinceo, Morelia, Michoacán

Natalia Carrillo Reyna — 2025-01-20

Predictive models of use land cover change were developed in Cerro del Águila and Cerro del Quinceo in Michoacán, both systems of abundant natural wealth and providers of ecosystem services to the city and its surroundings. Both hills present serious problems that threaten their ecological integrity, such as the expansion of human settlements and agricultural activities. Previously, the dynamics and causes of deforestation and land use change in these important systems had not been characterized. The period of time analyzed goes from 1995 to 2023, in which we quantify the deforested and disturbed surface, the one that had vegetation recovery or that were reforested. From these data we prepared a diagnosis of the main activities that trigger deforestation and land use change in each site, an analysis in which various public policies and government programs that had an influence on said processes were also reviewed. The results show a strong disturbance process in both hills, such as the increase in secondary vegetation covers, the loss of forest and a strong relationship with the implementation of the PROCEDE program.

Comunicación del riesgo y respuesta pública. La exposición voluntaria ante marejadas en el borde costero del Gran Valparaíso, Chile

Gonzalo Vergara — 2025-01-20

Storm surges are a natural phenomenon threatening coastal populations, establishing a significant risk. This risk is constructed based on how, when and to whom they are communicated. Imprudent risk communication can preserve or even increase the perception of low risk. In this article, we analyze the communicative processes related to storm surge risk management in Greater Valparaiso, using the communication models of Shannon & Weaver (1948) and Westley & MacLean (1955). Through a content analysis of interviews, we present evidence of distortions in communication that encourage the voluntary exposure of the population, resident or floating, to storm surges. Consequently, narratives are generated with unintended interpretations and mainly reactive and short-term risk management. Finally, we discuss the implications of these distortions and narratives for more holistic risk governance aimed at increasing the resilience of the coastal population.

Patrimonio territorial en zonas áridas rurales: Vestigios ferroviarios y recursos bioculturales en el sur del sitio Ramsar Lagunas de Guanache, Desaguadero y Del Bebedero, Argentina

Mariela Edith Arboit — 2025-01-20

The decline in the rural population and the deterioration of habitat in arid areas present challenges for sustainability. In this context, the objective of this work is to investigate territorial heritage as a resource for local development, focusing on the railway remains located south of the Lagunas de Guanache, Desaguadero and Del Bebedero Ramsar site, Argentina. Methodologically, the state of conservation of the railway stations was surveyed and their risk of deterioration was assessed. Subsequently, territorial articulation nodes were identified, and biocultural resources were analysed in three areas of influence (800 metres, 3 km and 25 km), including those not recognised. The results show that 86% of the stations show a high degree of deterioration; those of the Justo Daract-Beazley-La Paz operational branch being the most affected, because they lack equipment, are inaccessible and, for the most part, are in disuse. The analysis of strategic nodes in La Paz, Desaguadero and Maquinista Levet shows the existence of cultural assets, socio and associated biodiversity. The work allows us to conclude that the management of railway heritage can be strengthened with other biocultural resources, diversifying and enhancing the attractiveness of the territory. Finally, it emphasizes the need to design comprehensive and strategic regeneration policies.

Industrialización del humedal y contestaciones socioambientales en las Islas Lechiguanas en el Delta del Paraná. Escalas, actores y producción social del espacio

Martín Scarpacci — 2025-01-20

From the relational perspective provided by critical geography and Latin American and urban political ecologies, we analyze the case of the Lechiguanas Islands in the Middle Paraná Delta in Argentina. To do so, we worked with an ethnographic approach with the central objective of studying the social production of space by observing the actors, processes and relationships with the urban-regional productive structure. From this multidimensional lens, we analyze the conflictual process, which materialized in intentional fires and anthropic transformations of the soil through large movements of land for livestock and agro-industrial development; the active and intermittent absence of State control; and the consequent activation of socio-environmental resistance that obtains an unprecedented judicial result for the Paraná Delta in attention to the pro-natura principle. A fundamental antecedent for the rights of nature in Argentina. It is concluded that extractivism is the expression of a systemic process that responds to a class-conscious power matrix, which produces and increases multi-scale inequalities. Likewise, hegemonic movements are contested by different forms of resistance, outlining other narratives, ways of living and producing.

Artistic Narratives of Transformation. An Approach to the Sensitivity and its Memory

María Esperanza Rock Núñez — 2025-01-20

The article explores the essential role of the arts as a vehicle and language for communicating affects and emotions, especially in the context of collective memory and worker cultural identity in Lota, Chile. Acknowledges their capacity to nourish critique and promote the decolonial turn as an analytical approach aimed at transformation. The focus is on a project that merges the Festival of Art in Ruins with the IV International and Interdisciplinary Congress on Cultural Heritage: Industrial Heritage, Social Issues, and Challenges for New Governance, thereby facilitating the communities of Biobío (Chile) to share their narratives about industrial heritage and their memories of deindustrialization. The work “Rescue of the Memory of a Miner”, created by former workers and mining families from Lota Coal, is analyzed as a compelling example of this artistic expression, reflecting a transformation in the perception of the past and future reflection, recognizing its status as an archive. Through an analysis of the symbolic systems contained in the work, the experiences of a territory aspiring to be recognized globally for the importance for the inhabitants of the area. This analysis allows for the identification of symbolic enclaves underlying the construction and preservation of collective memory and community identification of the post-industrial landscape.

Territorialización de la conservación de la naturaleza en Cerro Castillo, Patagonia-Aysén.

Rodrigo Aynol Gallardo — 2025-01-20

This research examines the political character of nature conservation territorialization in Patagonia-Aysén, focusing on the creation of Cerro Castillo National Park (PNCC) as a key case in the consolidation of the La Ruta de los Parques de la Patagonia conservationist megaproject. Through semi-structured interviews with key actors and field observation, the local implications of the conservationist turn in Cerro Castillo are explored. The results highlight two dimensions: first, the creation of the PNCC, driven by a public-private agreement, is based on an ecological sustainability rationale that conditions the historical forms of relationship between local communities and nature, generating tensions and controversies; second, the conditioning of the territory through the deployment of local development strategies, specifically based on local training in tourism, and reactive governance facilitates the local implementation of the sustainability agenda. It is concluded that the processes of conservation territorialization can help to understand how sustainability narratives are materialized in local territories, modifying the way local territories are produced and understood.

Ella Childhood obesity, food supply environments and socioeconomic segmentation:

Jael Goldsmith Weil — 2025-01-20

This paper explores the determinants and distribution childhood obesity from a spatial dimension in Chile’s six most populated cities. We integrated data bases containing socioeconomic characteristics of households, biometric measurements of grade-school students and locations of food retail outlets. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we created a depiction of urban food provision environments, spatial visualizations of socioeconomic segmentation and neighborhood-level childhood obesity rates which were mapped first separately, and then layered onto each other. City sectors with homogeneous socioeconomic characteristics were clustered into Grouped Socioeconomic Zones (GSZ) and the characteristics of neighborhood food commercial outlets synthesized generating a typology that integrates the distances to supermarkets, produce markets and small stores. Consistent with the literature on childhood malnutrition and its determinants, we found that clusters of obesity are inversely correlated with socioeconomic levels. However, the relation between food supply environments and obesity rates is unclear. In our findings, Chilean urban food retail networks are characterized by their extensive coverage and density. While we observe exhibit high levels of segregation in terms of both socioeconomic levels and childhood nutritional status; GSZ with middle and lower incomes have more proximity to produce markets in ways that suggest access to purchasing points of fruits and vegetables might not be a predictor of nutritional status amongst children. The paper concludes by stressing the importance of including contextual specificity in research design and calls for more research on the determinants of childhood obesity in a diversity of global settings.