Local Participation in Forest Watershed Management: Design and Analysis of Experiences in Water Supply Micro-Basins with Forest Plantations in South Central Chile

Abstract

The joint “International Forests and Water Conference 2018” highlighted among its main conclusions the need to involve the viewpoint and participation of local communities in the management and monitoring of forest watersheds. This topic constitutes a strategic and transverse challenge for the sciences and public policies in the current context of global climate change. As a contribution to this challenge, the aim of this research was to qualitatively describe and analyze a territorial intervention model based on two case studies. Both involve stakeholders from the public sector, forest companies, and rural communities within the framework of implementing a participatory process at a local scale. The first case study was based on the collective creation of a set of indicators for local water monitoring. The second case, through the incorporation of the social and local dimension, culminated in the collective creation of a forest watershed management guide. The research hypothesis was that the inclusion of stakeholders and local knowledge in forest watershed management is essential to create and/or strengthen local abilities that ensure the involvement of communities in water governance, surpassing the current informative and consultative approaches. The research methodology was qualitative, and the data collection strategies were focused on the compilation of the process, the participatory work, and gathering diverse local knowledge. The data analysis included content tabulation, including both local indicators and ones extracted from the guide. In both cases, the systematization process and the main empirical findings were included. Among the findings, it was observed that both the pilot of local indicators and the design of the forest watershed management guide confirmed that the main challenge of local participation is the effective inclusion of local knowledge in water governance. This ethical and methodological challenge must be approached more rigorously and with more commitment.

Simulación hidrológica del caudal del estero Batuco en la microcuenca agroforestal Batuco (Ránquil, Región del Ñuble, Chile) bajo condiciones climáticas presentes y futuras

“…En la parte media y baja se encuentran las plantaciones forestales (Pinus radiata D. Don. y Eucalyptus globulus Labill) que pertenecen a los propietarios de bosques de mediana escala y la gran empresa forestal (Vargas et al, 2019).…”

“…El índice de vulnerabilidad proporciona una visión global del territorio, ya que incorpora aspectos ambientales (índices de aridez, presión sobre los recursos hídricos y riesgos de desertificación), aspectos productivos (producción agrícola y ganadera expuesta, diversificación productiva y seguridad de riego tecnificado) y aspectos socioeconómicos (población expuesta, índices de pobreza, acceso al agua potable, desempleo entre otros) (Ministerio de Agricultura et al, 2016). Vargas et al (2019) determinaron que, en términos de calidad y cantidad del recurso hídrico, el sector de Batuco depende en gran medida del régimen de las temperaturas y las precipitaciones, así como de las prácticas agrícolas y forestales que se realizan en las zonas aguas arriba (zonas elevadas). En términos de producción, la población local trabaja en agricultura y viticultura a pequeña escala.…”

Linking Land Tenure and Integrated Watershed Management—A Review

“…Adequate knowledge about watershed issues and the capacity of resource users contribute to effective participation and decision making in watershed management [27,28,42,43]. However, a study conducted in the Philippines indicates land tenure arrangements rather than inadequate knowledge constrained farmers' engagement in soil erosion management [29].…”

Managing Forests and Water for People under a Changing Environment

“…The Forest-Water Network: Planning tools This book represents a collection of some of the peer-reviewed papers presented at the Conference that are published in a special issue in Forests (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forests/special_issues/ Forests_Water). These studies cover a large physiographic gradient across major continents and climatic zones including the temperate rainforests in Chile [1][2][3] and the subtropical forests in Brazil [4] and South America; temperate rainforests [5] and boreal forests [6] in North America; and the large tropical Mekong River Basin in Vietnam [7], the Nenjian River in the boreal northeastern China [8], and the arid Loess Plateau in northern China [9], in east Asia. Five papers addressed issues of the effects of water quantity and quality of native forest buffers on dissolved organic matter in forested and agricultural watersheds in northwestern Patagonia [1]; effects of eucalyptus management on nutrient and sediments in small watersheds in Brazil [4]; effects of pine and eucalyptus plantation forests on water supply for large watersheds (>200 km 2 ) in south central Chile [3]; effects of forests and wetlands on water yield, surface runoff and baseflow in northeastern China [8], and the combined effects of climate and afforestation on soil moisture in Loess Plateau of China [9].…”

“…Five papers addressed issues of the effects of water quantity and quality of native forest buffers on dissolved organic matter in forested and agricultural watersheds in northwestern Patagonia [1]; effects of eucalyptus management on nutrient and sediments in small watersheds in Brazil [4]; effects of pine and eucalyptus plantation forests on water supply for large watersheds (>200 km 2 ) in south central Chile [3]; effects of forests and wetlands on water yield, surface runoff and baseflow in northeastern China [8], and the combined effects of climate and afforestation on soil moisture in Loess Plateau of China [9]. Five papers addressed management issues: Managing headwater streams under climate change [5]; local communities' participation in watershed management [2]; the nexus of forests, water, and policy [10]; ecosystem services in the Mekong River Basin [7] and; risk assessment of wildland fires in Alberta, Canada [6]. In summary, worldwide studies clearly show that forests and water are intimately connected, and forest management policies must balance the tradeoffs of ecosystem services and adapt to global environmental changes in order to meet sustainable development goals.…”