Las reservas de biosfera como instrumentos de gestión territorial: el caso de la RBYungas (Argentina)

Abstract

Biosphere reserves are special areas declared by UNESCO that must combine three integrated objectives of nature conservation, sustainable development, and logistic support for education, science and training. After 40 years, biosphere reserves became complex tools for land management and use. The Yungas Biosphere Reserve (RBYungas), located in Jujuy and Salta Provinces (northwestern Argentina), occupies 1.3 million hectares of subtropical mountain forests, an ecosystem of high environmental and social value. Since its declaration, the Reserve went through several implementation stages, and in 2010 finished the Strategic Plan for the Jujuy-province sector.

The objective of this work is to analyze the current situation of land-use planning in the RBYungas and its integration to the regional context. We reviewed all available information for the study area, including scientific and technic bibliography, official documents, the implementation process of the reserve, land use plans for Salta and Jujuy, and the Strategic  Plan for the Jujuy-province sector. We also reviewed associated cartographic documents and discussed the coherence and integration of RBYungas actions and recommendations into the context of land-use policies. After 13 years of existence, RBYungas showed progress related to land-use planning and dialogue among both provinces and related stakeholders. However, pending challenges are to strengthen the notion of the Reserve across its entire territory and the need to include this management model into public policies that play a role in the territory of the Reserve.